Commentary

Read our researchers' latest articles for The Conversation and other online media outlets.

2026

Australia Wants an Off Switch for 'The Algorithm.' That's the Wrong Fix

^{September 28, 2026}

_{Amanda Third | Tech Policy Press}

On September 8, the Australian government released an exposure draft of its proposed Digital Duty of Care, a welcome and necessary reform requiring online services to proactively identify foreseeable risks of harm and take reasonable steps to address them. It is a positive step towards protecting children, in particular, from the worst forms of harm originating online. Read more

High school students are protesting against One Nation. What’s the point if they can’t vote?

^{August 13, 2026}

_{Philippa Collin | The Conversation}

Hundreds of high school and university students are expected to skip classes today as part of a nationwide student walkout opposing Pauline Hanson and One Nation. Protest organisers the National Union of Students have billed it as a “fight against racism” and opportunity to “stand up against the far right” – pointing to the party’s stance on multicultural issues. Read more

^{June 10, 2026}

_{Amanda Third | iPolitics}

Banning children from social media is an incredibly seductive idea. But whether bans actually make children safer is a genuinely open question. Experts like myself, who have spent years studying these issues, are expressing serious reservations. We see children circumventing laws, the high costs of enforcement, and the privacy implications of universal age verification. We know that bans don’t make the challenges disappear—they just make children less visible to those who care for them. And when children finally come online at 16, they may enter spaces that are even worse, because bans let platforms off the hook rather than holding them accountable. Read more

2025

Climate change is a crisis of intergenerational justice. It’s not too late to make it right

^{October 28, 2025}

_{Philippa Collin | The Conversation}

Climate change is the biggest issue of our time. 2024 marked both the hottest year on record and the highest levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the past two million years. Global warming increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, bushfires, floods and droughts. These are already affecting young people, who will experience the challenges for more of their lives than older people. It will also adversely affect those not yet born, creating a crisis of intergenerational justice. Read more

^{September 10, 2025}

_{Philippa Collin | The Conversation}

Young people are under intense scrutiny. They are subject to community, media and policy concerns about everything from technology use to public safety. But of the more than three million young people in Australia aged between 15 and 24, most are just doing normal things, like school and work, trying to make a life. Despite this, young people are one of the most disempowered groups in society. Their views are rarely sought, taken seriously or acted on by those with influence and power. Read more

Australia has elected its youngest senator. With Gen Z wielding more political power, is it a sign of things to come?

^{May 28, 2025}

_{Philippa Collin | The Conversation}

It’s been 30 years since Natasha Stott Despoja became the youngest woman ever elected to the Australian Parliament. A 25-year-old Sarah Hanson-Young beat that record slightly in 2007. Just over a decade later, the Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed another record-breaking young woman will be entering parliament: 21-year-old Charlotte Walker, in sixth Senate spot for South Australia. Read more

What do young people want to see in politics? More than 20,000 pieces of their writing hold some answers

^{February 25, 2025}

_{Philippa Collin, Azadeh Dastyari, Michael Everitt and Sky Hugman | The Conversation}

This election will be the first in which Gen Z and Millennial voters (aged 18–40) will outnumber Baby Boomers (aged 60–79). Many of these young people were in high school during the previous two elections. While there are concerns about the effectiveness of civics and citizenship education, there is also evidence young people are interested in, and active on, many issues. So what do young people care about most? We analysed thousands of pieces of writing by young Australians to find out. Read more

Australian students just recorded the lowest civics scores since testing began. But young people do care about politics

^{February 18, 2025}

_{Philippa Collin | The Conversation}

Australian school students’ civics knowledge is the lowest it has been since testing began 20 years ago, according to new national data...The latest results are certainly concerning but as a researcher of the political lives of young people, I would caution against assuming young people “don’t care” about politics, or are unable to engage in it. Read more

2024

Instead of banning kids from online spaces, here’s what we should offer them instead

^{September 12, 2024}

_{Amanda Third | The Conversation}

Banning children under 16 from social media sounds like a seductive idea. For overwhelmed parents navigating their kids’ lives in a digital age, this move from the Australian government may seem like welcome relief. But evidence shows it’s highly unlikely bans will positively impact the youth mental health crisis in this country. Indeed, bans may make our children even more vulnerable online. Read more

2023

^{March 7, 2023}

_{Benjamin Hanckel and Shiva Chandra | The Conversation}

Much of World Pride has been about the visibility of LGBTQIA+ people. Social media offers new opportunities to be visible, and many people have shared their celebrations of Pride during this time. However, not everyone. Our new research shows that LGBTQIA+ young people are deciding what to post on social media sites with their families in mind, to foster and maintain ties with them. Read more

2022

You’ve got a friend: young people help each other with their mental health for 3.5 hours every week

^{November 30, 2022}

_{Benjamin Hanckel, Amelia Henry, Erin Dolan and Jasbeer Musthafa Mamalipurath | The Conversation}

Young people experience mental health difficulties at a higher rate than any other age group. While there’s ongoing discussion about the formal supports they need, young people say they’re most likely to speak with peers and friends – particularly when mental health care is difficult to access...Read more

2021

^{March 15, 2021}

_{Benjamin Hanckel and Shiva Chandra | The Conversation}

During COVID-19 lockdowns, a major concern for LGBTIQ+ communities, mental health professionals and academics was that young lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning, intersex and asexual+ people may suffer from being stuck in transphobic, biphobic or homophobic households. But encouragingly, our research found these young people largely managed to navigate these spaces successfully, by increasing their social media use, exploring identity through digital channels and finding safe ways to maintain family relationships. Read more

2020

No, Education Minister, we don’t have enough evidence to support banning mobile phones in schools

^{December 10, 2020}

_{Marilyn Campbell and Amanda Third | The Conversation}

The claim students’ use of mobile phones at school is connected with lower academic performance has consistently featured in the popular debate around school mobile phone bans. It has been used to justify blanket bans, both in Australia — such as the one in NSW public primary schools and all Victorian state primary and secondary schools — and overseas. Despite the claims, we actually don’t have sufficient data to back the policy. Read more

COVID-19 cases are highest in young adults. We need to partner with them for the health of the whole community

^{August 27, 2020}

_{Philippa Collin, Melissa Kang and Rachel Skinner | The Conversation}

Australian data confirms coronavirus is more common in younger adults. People aged 20-29 have continually had the highest rates of COVID-19 cases. To reduce these rates and support young people to play their part in stemming community transmission, we need to understand their experiences during the pandemic. Read more

Young people are anxious about coronavirus. Political leaders need to talk with them, not at them

^{April 3 2020}

_{Melissa Kang, Angus Dawson, Kate Steinbeck, Lena Sanci, Philippa Collin, Rachel Skinner, Sharon Medlow and Teresa Swist | The Conversation}

Young people in Australia are among the fastest-growing group to contract COVID19. According to the Department of Health, there are now more cases in Australia among people aged 20 – 29 years than any other age group. Our research has found that, contrary to popular belief, many young people in Australia are seriously concerned about the virus. YouthInsight, the research arm of Student Edge, conducted an online survey of 520 young people aged 14 – 25 around Australia in March 2020. Ninety-three percent of respondents were studying. Read more