The Algorithm Age

Locals in one of the UK's most poverty-stricken areas have warned that its council is 'neglecting pockets of deprivation at its peril'. Caia Park, Wrexham, is the largest council housing estate in Wales and has been plagued with 'generational' child poverty and unemployment issues for more than two decades. Despite an influx of far-flung tourists and Hollywood A-listers piling into the city every other week to watch football, many children and families are going hungry just 10 minutes from the Racecourse Ground. It is only due to the relentless work of charities and social enterprises that starving kids are staying off the streets away from the temptation of crime , drugs and violence, say many locals. But with a lack of funding from Wrexham County Borough Council and requests for grants being exhausted, the funds to keep these organisations afloat are quickly dwindling - sparking fears over the future consequences. Colin Powell, 63, has lived on ...

Kanye West can no longer visit his wife Bianca Censori 's home country of Australia. Officials from Down Under revoked the controversial rapper's valid visa as a result of West's frequent antisemitic and offensive remarks — specifically ones made in connection to his new song "Heil Hitler." Kanye West Has Australian Visa Revoked During a recent appearance on ABC's Afternoon Briefing , Immigration Minister Tony Burke revealed West is blocked from entering the country in an effort to prevent the promotion of hate across the nation. "He’s made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released [that] song ," Burke explained. While West's visa wasn't specifically obtained for concert purposes, "officials still looked at the law and said if you’re going to have a song and promote that sort of Nazism, we don’t need that in Australia," the minister noted. The...

Child safety reforms fast-tracked after a childcare worker was charged with dozens of sex offences have been dismissed as "band-aid measures" that won't stop the alleged crimes being repeated. The Victorian government has ordered an urgent child safety review, the creation of a register of all early childhood educators and brought forward a ban on phones after two men were charged by sex crimes detectives. Childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was accused of abusing eight children aged between five months and two years at one centre in Point Cook. Federal reforms have also been flagged after the allegations were revealed, including cutting funding for childcare centres that fail to meet minimum standards. But the rapid government response doesn't tackle the root causes of issues in a sector where half of all educators had been working for less than three years, early education advocate Lisa Bryant said. The industry had a highly casualised and under...

A group of religious parents who did not want their children to be read to or be exposed to LGBT+ inclusive books in school , may opt their children out of class, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday. In a 6-3 ruling , the conservative wing of the court, which is often sympathetic to religious rights, sided with a group of parents in Maryland in a dispute over whether they could remove their children from classes that used books with LGBT+ themes or inclusivity. The court said it was “the rights of parents” to bring their children up under a religious belief, even when those beliefs disagree with LGBT+ people or themes. "We have long recognized the rights of parents to direct 'the religious upbringing' of their children. And we have held that those rights are violated by government policies that substantially interfere with the religious development of children,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. For now, those parents may remove their chil...

In today’s digital era, children are growing up in a world where social media are as integral to their daily lives as school or family. While technology offers tremendous opportunities for learning, creativity, and connection, it also exposes young people to significant risks that can no longer be overlooked. The consequences are deeply concerning. According to a 2023 report by the European Commission, one in three young people in the EU spends more than three hours per day on social media. This level of overexposure has been closely associated with a growing mental health issues among minors—including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. A 2024 study by the World Health Organisation showed that a problematic social media use among adolescents increased from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022. It highlights negative impacts on mental health, sleep, well-being and academic performance. Social media platforms – often built around addictive algorithms – are designed to keep you...

A South Australian high school has advised parents to talk to their children about a social media group chat "involving many" students containing images that could be used to "extort or exploit a young person". In a letter to parents of year 8 students at St Francis of Assisi College in Renmark the school said it had been made aware of a "large chat group via Snapchat". "We have been made aware that some of the images being shared through this Snapchat group could be classified as inappropriate and may be used to extort or exploit a young person," the letter said. The letter, which has been seen by the ABC, said it was likely there were more chat groups on other social media platforms and encouraged families to "play an active role in the online activities" of their children. "Additionally, families and students are encouraged to discuss the legal obligations of interacting in chat groups and on social...