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Related News articles (links)
This section will contain links to news articles we have found in reliable sites. We include a brief title and the corresponding link.
This is the one section which we will update regularly, possibly on a daily basis. If you have suggestions, please let us know. We regularly monitor sites like the BBC, New York Times and some reliable technical sites, but it would be great to refer to articles in other countries (Australia, Canada, or Europe). We can read Spanish, French and Italian. We will not be able to understand articles in other languages. Deutsche Welle sometimes has excellent material in English, but we don't follow it regularly.
April 2026
BBC: Girls arrested as 'online trends' fuel disturbance [One of the risks of the communication tools available today.]
BBC: Fewer UK adults posting on social media, Ofcom finds [We are becoming conscious of the risk of leaving an indelible digital footprint.]
NYT: The Human Toll of One of the Internet’s Worst Jobs [People working as social media moderators or reviewers must see horrible things people post: images and videos can leave them traumatised.]
BBC: Teachers' union warns of 'masculinity crisis brewing' in schools [The effects of the 'machosphere' on young minds is quite worrisome. I refuse to use the term 'manosphere', as that way of thinking only represents a fraction of men, and it definitely does not represent me.]
BBC: Call for parents to teach online privacy like road safety [We totally agree, but first we need to teach parents about online safety, which is one of this book's purposes.]
BBC: Greece to ban social media for under-15s from next year [More and more countries are legislating on the need to protect minors from an environment which is use to distort their views of world with technologies designed to be addictive.]
NYT: Deepfake Nudes Are Haunting America’s Teens [Modified images have existed for a long time, but now, they can be created with ease, without any artistic or technical skill, and worst of all, they can be uploaded to online sites (social media mostly) where it's nearly impossible to know whether an image is real or modified, and the victims usually have no control on who can see or store those images.]
BBC: Man jailed after grooming girl he met on Roblox [Roblox is a platform meant for "kids", but adults can easily infiltrate it.]
BBC: Dutch police urge victims of 'international sextortion campaign' to come forward [ Sextortion, a problem we cover in the book continues rampant, and worst of all, in some countries is not legally typified.]
BBC: Meta pulls Facebook ads recruiting for social media addiction lawsuits [A clear demonstration that Meta can filter ads and other content, but it chooses to do it only when it goes againts its interests.]
BBC: The parents using play to stop children getting 'trapped' by screens [ It's back to the 80's or 90's, but it's not a bad thing for the children. Screens are so easy to use that they will learn how to use them at a later age, and won't be missing anything important for their development.]
BBC: Roblox defends expanded age‑checks after parents raise concerns over errors [Maybe rather than blaming Roblox, it's better to discard Roblox, as it is an insecure platform. If your children don't use Roblox, don't let them in the future. ]
BBC: The surprising reality of how teenage girls still define themselves [Things have not changed too much, except for the extreme views to which young people are frequently exposed 'thanks' to them using 'news feeds' controlled by social media companies and whoever pays for visibility or whatever generates more revenue for them. ]
NYT: You Can’t Game Your Way to a Real Education [A really insightful article ]
March 2026
BBC: 'We're having a moment' - fear and denial in Silicon Valley over social media addiction trial
BBC: Is screen time always bad and how do I manage it? [Avoid polarisation, nothing is always good or always bad, finding the balance is the key, but it's not easy.]
BBC: Women secretly filmed, then ridiculed and abused online [This is what we refer to as 'the dark side of having a camera in every phone. Dumbphones are making a come back.]
BBC: Screen time for under-fives should be limited to one hour a day, parents told [This applies to 2 to 5, the recommendation from the government follows the UN suggestion of no screen time for under 2s]
BBC: Don't panic - five ways to stop your kids' endless scrolling
BBC: How will the UK respond to US court verdict on social media?
BBC: Parents should monitor children '24/7' on Roblox, says developer This is almost an impossible task.
BBC: 'The era of impunity is over': What next for big tech after landmark social media verdict?
NYT: A Phone-Free Childhood? One Irish Village Is Making It Happen. Tired of seeing its elementary-school children struggle with online temptations, the town of Greystones proposed a ‘no smart devices’ code. Most everyone bought in.
BBC: Meta and YouTube found liable in landmark social media addiction trial In California, a single victim wins legal battle against Meta and YouTube for intentionally build addictive social media platforms.
BBC: Social media bans and digital curfews to be trialled on UK teenagers Social media bans should help with mental health issues, less cyberbullying and fewer distractions. "Curfews", or setting limits to the usage should help with the issue of teenagers (and adults) having shorter and more interrupting sleeping periods.
BBC: Has banning phones improved performance at Dutch schools? Early survey, but showing progress in the right direction. The biggest impact is students not being interrupted by frequent notifications during classes, hence, being able to concentrate in the content.
BBC: Apple brings in age checks for UK iPhone users A compromise solution, but it's better than not having it. Adults should not worry about restrictions. Still, several things need to be ironed out, such as who says what is appropriate for a given age range.
BBC: Meta told to pay $375m for misleading users over child safety A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $375m (£279m) for misleading users over the safety of its platforms for children. [This is just the first round, we need to wait to see what happens after Meta appeals, and what the final fine will be, but just the verdict is important.]
BBC: AI videos of sexualised black women removed from TikTok after BBC investigation AI generated content is propagating through social networks and reaching users indiscriminately.
BBC: German outcry over deep fake porn targeting actress prompts bid to change law Without adequate legislation, people exposed with deep-fakes have no protection. Legislation is not uniform across Europe, much less around the world.
BBC: Child seen in sex abuse videos identified after researcher spots school badge A sad reality, online child sex abuse (CSE) is not always denounced.
BBC: US messageboard 4Chan mocks £520,000 fine for UK online safety breaches Perhaps the government should consider under these circumstances to block access to site for UK users. It's technically doable.
BBC: School phone bans not enough to cut screen time alone, researchers say A point we make in the book; no single regulation will solve every issue.
BBC: Government backtracks on AI and copyright after outcry The AI industry created tools which make it easy to take others' work, modify them and presented as proper, breaking copyright issues.
Whistleblowers are worth listening to, they know how companies work from the inside.
If football (soccer) can protect under-18's, why can't we protect them in Internet?
This wunderkind is way too young to share with his teammates without a chaperone. Yet, we leave our kids online without any supervision. Something doesn't add up.
Loot boxes in online games are a potential danger for a mind still under development.
AI toys for very young kids, for us, a sign that the industry is trying to cover all bases ignoring the consequences. These images of "shiny happy people" having so much fun with products are part of a marketing campaign.
Children that young should be interacting with adults who can protect them, and other children, not with sychophantic devices void of human feelings.
The big question of our times. At what age is it safe to meet social media? Despite some positive uses, undeveloped minds are at a high risk, both because of the addictive technologies and the interaction with people willing to hurt them.
A child connected to social media in his bedroom is more unsafe than a child left in the middle of a park at night. At least in the park, some people may recognise the dangeour and try to protect them. That is impossible when online.
The subject of this article is not a minor, yet her online identity was stolen by cybercriminals and her life was ruined.
Not only children are at risk when they share information online.
Violence is another thing that can spread like fire on social media.
Parents have no way to know what their children (or others) receive in their news feeds or alternative channels.
Of all technologies created lately, news feeds is possible the most nefarious and consequential one, easily leading to polarisation in society and individual alienation.
More and more countries are recognising the risks of being in a social network represent for under age people.
Legislation is always reactive, but it's good to see that more and more countries are acting to protect their young ones.
Any media that presents "realities" as if they were normal have the chance to alter the perception people has on certain attitudes.
Social media is not alone, pornography also alters the perception of what sex should be.
Society should think carefully if they wan to accept porn as a form of sex education.
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