Australia’s new under-16 social media rules are now live. In plain terms, they function as a delay on having accounts: young people (and parents) aren’t penalized, but platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s from holding accounts, with civil Read More
🌟 Researcher Wish List: Navigating Digital Infrastructures for SSH Research
I was happy to deliver a keynote at the LBDI-SSH Expert Meeting in Utrecht on November 18, 2025. The presentation, titled “Studying the Sometimes Unresearchable: My Researcher Wish List“, focused on the urgent needs and structural challenges facing social sciences Read More
New Findings: We Are Less Digitally Skilled Than We Think
Our team at the University of Amsterdam*, just released new findings on the state of digital competence in the Netherlands — and the results are surely interesting! In short: most Dutch people think they’re digitally skilled, but our data show Read More
Helping Kids Get Smart About Media — My Collaboration with Kidsweek
This week marks the Week van de Mediawijsheid in the Netherlands: a nationwide initiative focused on helping everyone, young and old, use media in ways that feel healthy, balanced, and positive. It’s one of my favorite times of the year Read More
Renewed Erasmus Funding Powers Mundus Journalism’s Resilience-Focused Next Chapter
I’m thrilled to share that our Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Journalism, Media, and Globalisation has been awarded renewed Erasmus funding for the next five years — supporting the next chapter of our internationally recognized joint-degree program. For nearly twenty years, Read More
The Netherlands to Build the World’s First Population-Level Research Infrastructure
The Dutch government is funding a groundbreaking research infrastructure — the Macroscope — with €16.8 million, aimed at tracking how social change, trust, media and misinformation play out across the entire Netherlands. Coordinated by Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Macroscope is Read More
Focus-Friendly Schools in a Connected Age
This week, in sunny Lisbon, I spoke about a topic dominating education headlines in Portugal and beyond: the rise of school smartphone bans. While these measures are often framed as protecting students’ attention and wellbeing, the evidence tells a more Read More
Protecting Without Excluding
On September 23, 2025, I delivered a keynote at the 19th International Conference “Keeping Children and Young People Safe Online” in Warsaw, Poland. My talk, Protecting Without Excluding, came at a moment when age restrictions dominate policy debates. From parliaments Read More
Congratulations, Dr. Rebecca Wald!
It’s always a special moment to celebrate the achievement of a PhD, and it was extra special (together with promotion team Theo Araujo and Annemarie van Oosten) to watch our PhD student , Rebecca Wald, defend her dissertation “Hey Google, Read More
Donald Duck Meets Digital Competence
What a blast! I had the opportunity to join the panel for the launch of DigiDuck — a special Donald Duck edition focused on digital skills, AI, and online safety. Why DigiDuck matters Digital life is evolving fast. For many Read More