Australia has embarked on an ambitious social experiment to restrict access to social media for children under 16, a move aimed at tackling the rising concerns surrounding digital well-being and child safety. Approved by Parliament last week, the law challenges the entrenched role of platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram in young lives, raising questions about feasibility, enforcement, and potential repercussions. The ban, set to take effect in a year, will impose fines of up to AUD 50 million (USD 33 million) on platforms that fail to prevent underage accounts. Proponents argue that this policy could set a precedent for safeguarding children from harmful content and social pressures, but critics warn of unintended consequences, including challenges to free expression, privacy concerns, and the risk of isolating vulnerable youth. Enforcing the Ban: A Daunting Task While Australia aims to hold social media giants accountable, enforcing such a ban is no small feat. Young users often circumvent age restrictions, and platforms have struggled to implement foolproof age verification systems. Critics like David Inserra from the Cato Institute have called the policy ineffective, arguing that age-assurance methods risk undermining user privacy without guaranteeing accurate enforcement. Read: Australia imposes world’s first ban on social media for under-16 Impact on Young Lives Advocates like Julie Scelfo of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA) praise the initiative, emphasizing that less screen time fosters genuine human connections. Studies have linked excessive social media use among teens to heightened risks of depression, anxiety, and exposure to inappropriate content, including cyberbullying and social comparisons. However, skeptics caution that banning social media may cut off critical avenues for self-expression and community building, particularly for marginalized groups such as LGBTQ+ youth and those in abusive situations. Anonymity, a cornerstone of online interaction, could also be jeopardized if stricter verification measures become the norm. A Global Trend in the Making? Australia’s bold stance mirrors growing international efforts to protect children online. Norway is considering a similar ban for under-15s, while France is piloting restrictions in schools. In the U.S., initiatives like the "Wait Until 8th" campaign encourage parents to delay giving children access to smartphones and social media. However, federal progress remains slow, with child online safety legislation often stalling amid legal challenges. Balancing Protection and Freedom While Australia’s law represents a significant push to regulate Big Tech, it also highlights a broader debate: How do societies balance protecting children with preserving their freedoms? Parents, policymakers, and experts worldwide will closely watch Australia’s experiment, weighing its successes and pitfalls as they navigate the complex intersection of technology, childhood, and safety. Could this approach work universally? Time — and the resilience of tech-savvy teens — will tell. Source: With inputs from agenceis 

Depression among students is a critical issue that demands urgent attention. The gravity of this problem magnifies the alarming rise in dropouts from colleges, study breaks, drug addictions, even suicidal attempts among students. As parents and educators, it is essential to be proactive in addressing this crisis through understanding, support, and guidance. Let’s take a look into how to prevent depression in students. Common Reasons for Depression among Students  Depression among students can be attributed to various factors, and understanding these reasons is the first step in prevention. Here are some common causes: - High expectations and academic stress can lead to feelings of hopelessness - Loneliness and a lack of social support can make students vulnerable to depression and suicidal thoughts - Bullying, whether in person or online, can devastate a student's mental health - Drug or alcohol abuse can exacerbate depression and increase the risk of suicide - Relationship problems can be a major source of stress and anxiety for students - Conflict with their parents, siblings, or friends can make them isolated and alone - Economic constraints and worries about the future can take a toll on a student's mental health - Traumatic events during childhood, like physical or emotional abuse or loss of a parent increase the risk of depression - Mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder can trigger depression - Having certain personality traits, such as low self-esteem or being overly dependent, self-critical, or pessimistic is a reason for depression.  Read more: Protecting Your Child’s Mental Health: 10 Tips for Parents

For at least four years, thousands of children have been growing up in a camp in northeast Syria housing families of Islamic State group militants, raised in an atmosphere where the group's radical ideology still circulates and where they have almost no chance for an education. Fearing that a new generation of militants will emerge from al-Hol Camp, the Kurdish officials who govern eastern and northern Syria are experimenting with a rehabilitation program aimed at pulling children out of extremist thought. It means, however, removing them from their mothers and families for an unknown period of time, a practice that has raised concerns among rights groups. And even if they are deemed rehabilitated, the childrens' future remains in limbo with their home countries reluctant to take them back. "If these children stay in the camp, this will lead to the rise of a new generation of extremists who could be more fanatic(al) than those who were before," said Khaled Remo, co-chair of the Kurdish-led administration's office of justice and reform affairs. Recently, an Associated Press team was allowed to visit the Orkesh Center, a rehabilitation facility that opened late last year. It's home to dozens of young boys taken from al-Hol. Ranging in age between 11 and 18, they represent about 15 different nationalities, including France and Germany. At Orkesh, boys are taught drawing and music, all with the theme of tolerance. They also learn skills for future jobs like a tailor or a barber. They wake up early and have breakfast at 7 a.m., then have classes until 3 p.m., after which they can play soccer and basketball. They live in dormitory-type rooms, where they are expected to keep order and their beds made. They are allowed contact with parents and siblings. Authorities did not permit the AP to speak to the boys at the center, citing privacy concerns. During a separate visit to al-Hol, residents were hostile, and none agreed to be interviewed. The AP also approached families that were released from al-Hol, but none responded to requests for comment. The newness of the program makes it difficult to assess its effectiveness. Still, the center underscores how U.S.-backed Kurdish authorities are wrestling with the legacy of Islamic State, years after the group was defeated in a brutal war in Syria and Iraq that ended in 2019. Al-Hol Camp is an open wound left by that conflict. The camp holds about 51,000 people, the vast majority women and children, including the wives, widows and other family members of IS militants. Most are Syrians and Iraqis. But there are also around 8,000 women and children from 60 other nationalities who live in a part of the camp known as the Annex. They are generally considered the most die-hard IS supporters among the camp residents. The camp population is down from its height of 73,000 people, mostly because of Syrians and Iraqis who were allowed to go home. But other countries have largely balked at taking back their nationals, who traveled to join IS after the radical group seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Though Kurdish-led security forces run the camp, they have struggled to keep control. IS radicalism remains rife, with fervent followers intimidating others, particularly in the Annex, home to more than 5,000 children. Children in al-Hol have little to do and little chance for education. Fewer than half the 25,000 children in the camp attend reading and writing classes at its teaching centers. During a recent tour by the AP inside al-Hol, some young boys threw stones at the reporters. One drew a finger across his throat in a beheading motion as he looked at the journalists. "Those kids once they reach the age of 12, they could become dangerous and could kill and beat up others," the camp's director Jihan Hanan told the AP. "So we had a choice, which is to put them at rehabilitation centers and keep them away from the extreme ideology that their mothers carry," she said. Sheikhmous Ahmad, a Kurdish official overseeing camps for displaced people, said that once the boys turn 13, IS loyalists make them get married to young girls — another reason for removing them. So far, the number of children going through rehabilitation is small, around 300, all of them boys from the Annex. Ninety-seven are at the recently-launched Orkesh Center, near the border town of Qamishli about a two-hour drive from al-Hol. The rest are at al-Houri, another center that began taking in boys for rehabilitation in 2017, as U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces took back territory from IS in Syria. Al-Houri underscores the long-term problem: Some of the boys have been at the center for years since there is nowhere else to go. The only alternative would be to send them back to al-Hol. Only four children have been repatriated from al-Houri, administrators said. "While the transfer of these boys to separate detention centers may be well-intentioned, this is not rehabilitation. This is indefinite detention without charge of children, who are themselves victims of ISIS," said Letta Tayler, associate director of the Crisis and Conflict Division at Human Rights Watch. She said removal from the family may be appropriate if the mother or another relative is victimizing the child. Otherwise, separation could cause further trauma. "For many of these children, who have survived unimaginable horrors under ISIS and in the camps where they have been held since the fall of ISIS, the mother and other family members are their only source of stability," she said. Kathryn Achilles, media director of the Syria Response Office at Save the Children International, said separation from the mother "should only ever be as a last resort, addressed by individual countries after families return, in line with their laws." Hanan, the administrator of al-Hol, said they had few other options. One proposal is to set up rehabilitation centers in or near the camp, she said. "Maybe in the future we can agree on something with international organizations regarding such centers as they are the best solution for these children," Hanan said. But Kurdish officials and humanitarian agencies agree that the only real solution is for home countries to take back their citizens. "Once home, children and other victims of ISIS can be offered rehabilitation and reintegration. Adults can be monitored or prosecuted as appropriate," said Tayler of Human Rights Watch. The U.N.-backed Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria called in March for repatriation to be sped up. It added that the suffering inflicted on the camp's residents "may amount to the war crime of committing outrages on personal dignity." Until a solution is found, the centers create "an environment that is suitable to pave the way for mental change for these children," said Remo, the Kurdish official.  

Three teenage boys were killed as their motorcycle crashed into a roadside tree on Talma-Modelhat road at Sadar upazila in Panchagarh on Wednesday afternoon, police said. The deceased were identified as Natun Islam, 16, Mahabubar Rahman Shishir, 17, and Abu Bakkar Siddique, 16, of the upazila, said police. Also read: 2 siblings killed in Kushtia road crash, 5 hurt They said the trio was going to visit Bhitargarh Maharaja Dighi on a motorbike. The motorcycle crashed into a roadside tree as the rider lost control following a collision with another motorcycle at Pukuridanga Balurghat village in the afternoon, leaving the the three injured seriously. Locals rushed them to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital where the doctor declared them dead, confirmed Md Abdul Latif, officer-in-charge (OC) of Panchagarh Sadar police station. Also read: Two bikers killed in Dhaka road crash