Secret lucrative commercial deals signed by major Australian sporting organisations with bookmakers are encouraging the massive increase in gambling advertising, Deakin University’s Hunter Fujak has told ABC’s Four Corners in an investigation that aired 12 June.
And it’s time for action
Mumbrella reports that “Debate surrounding gambling advertising has raged for years but demands for tough action seem to be growing “louder”, one betting platform boss has admitted”.
Guardian not taking gambling ads
Guardian Australia said its move to turn away all gambling ad dollars will result in ad revenue losses “in the multi-millions”. However, if not now, the decision to cut ties with its fastest-growing ad category will only get harder from here. The publisher will now stop accepting gambling advertising for online, audio, video and print content as a part of the media group’s global move to “do the right thing”.
House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry
The Committee has yet to report on its inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm. The Committee held its last public hearings with Sportsbet, AFL, Tabcorp and others, plus the Australian Gambling Research Centre.
Junk food ads: keep kids out of the firing line!
ABC Radio World Today outlines the concerns and actions needed to reduce the adverse impacts of junk food ads on children’s health.
Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport has adopted an inquiry into Diabetes in Australia on 25 May 2023, following a referral from the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP. The inquiry includes the prevention, diagnosis and management of … obesity and its effects on the Australian population, including prevention, diagnosis and management. Think food ads, children and obesity! Submissions due by 31 August.
Bluey explains cricket
Backyard cricket takes centre stage in the latest episode of Bluey, Cricket, which you can watch on iView now. As is always the case with Bluey, the show has dug down to the very essence of the sport and its allegory to life and all its challenges.
ACTF takes children’s content to Canberra
The Australian Children’s Television Foundation brought the people bringing the shows, and children to watch them, into Parliament House on 15 June, to celebrate and demonstrate the value of investing in quality Australian children’s content. Programs shown included (Little J & Big Cuz (Lander Media, Media World and Blue Rocket), Kangaroo Beach (Cheeky Little Media), The PM’s Daughter (Fremantle Australia), and Barrumbi Kids (Ambience Entertainment and Tamarind Tree Pictures).
Instagram influencers promoting vaping products
Analysis of a social media campaign run by British American Tobacco to promote Velo nicotine pouches, conducted between January and May this year by the US nonprofit group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, shows that more than a quarter of their social media audience was between 12 and 24 years old.
FARE welcomes crossbench call to restrict marketing of harmful products
The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) has welcomed a call by crossbench MPs for the Federal Government to introduce measures that protect children and people who are most vulnerable from harmful product marketing including alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food.
In recent decisions, the Ad Standards Community Panel has reviewed ads for a cheesecake shop, for vape generation products, and for an etto oil spray, and upheld the complaints.
Outside the Screen podcast
Welcome to the very first episode of Outside the Screen! In this podcast, Kim Le and CMA’s Liz Handsley will be discussing research and policy developments about children’s interactions with screen-based content, to help you decide what’s going to be best for the children and young people in your life. Because it’s just starting out, they’d really value feedback on every aspect of the podcast: is it the right length? Do their voices sound OK? Are there topics you’d especially like covered? Have a listen, enjoy the podcast and give some feedback.
Cutting back on social media reduces anxiety, depression, loneliness
US researchers found college students who tried to cut their social media use to 30 minutes per day scored significantly lower for anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear of missing out at the end of the two week experiment and when compared to the control group.
Earlier bedtime and its effect on adolescent sleep duration
This study found that adolescents and young adults (aged 10–21 years) were able to increase sleep duration by 41 minutes per hour by advancing their bedtime. The results hold promise for new approaches to improve teen sleep duration.
Examining indirect effects of advertising exposure on young adults’ cannabis and nicotine vaping
The researchers concluded that greater exposure to recreational or medical cannabis advertisements may not directly increase young adults’ risk of vaping cannabis. However, exposure to these types of advertisements may increase young adults’ positive beliefs about the effects of cannabis; in turn, these positive beliefs increase young adults’ risk of vaping cannabis.
Teen streams: the best Australian teenager shows streaming now
Drama and comedy aplenty in this summary of 17 Australian teen shows which are available to stream now.
Phones delivering alcohol ads
Associate Professor Nic Carah explains how alcohol companies are using digital technology to target people with thousands of ads,
Five relaxing games
Gameshub says "These games are calming, colourful and full of positivity. They don’t take high levels of mental effort. They don’t require a huge time commitment. And as a bonus – acknowledging that finances are one of many things that could be causing overwhelm – they are all on the affordable side".
Elemental (PG)is an animated adventure that families can watch together and one that adults and teens may fall in love with too. The main messages from this movie are to not discount people because they are different, but rather embrace them, learn from them and both sides will be better for it; that true love will always find a way; and that we should be open and honest with those we love as we won’t have forever to say what needs to be said.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (PG) features a diverse cast and a fast-paced plot that may be confusing to some young viewers but is likely to appeal to older kids and fans of Spider-Man. The main messages from this movie are to trust yourself; that if you remember where you come from you will never be lost; that you should never listen to those who tell you that you don’t belong; and that bad things are going to happen, they make us who we are, but that good things happen too.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (M) is an action-adventure, Sci-Fi movie which is fast moving and full of action violence. It is also quite difficult to follow if the viewer hasn’t seen the other Transformer movies. The main messages from this movie are to learn to trust those who are different from you but are on your side; and that good overcomes evil. The high level of violence and scary scenes make this film not suitable for children under 12 and parental guidance is recommended for children aged 12–13.
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