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Tama Leaver

@tama@aoir.social

mastodon 4.7.3

🎓 Discipline Lead & Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University
🌏 Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
🔬 ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child
➡️ Views mine; clicked, starred, bookmarked things aren't necessarily endorsements.
➡️ he/him

992 Followers

794 Following

20 Posts

Joined March 06, 2023

🔗:

https://www.tamaleaver.net/

🌏:

Boorloo/Perth, Australia

Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

As long as adults, teachers, parents, pundits and politicians keep referring to 'the real world' and 'offline' as if teen lives can just unproblematically and easily stop being digital, we will immediately lose young people as we're clearly saying we simply can't relate to their worlds and lives.

Ban or no ban, teen lives are deeply enmeshed with the digital tools, spaces and ways of knowing. This isn't a choice. It's the world we all live in, the world adults have made (and live in, too).

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 9mo ago

Great to see the #AoIR2026 Regeneration(s) 🇲🇽 full CFP now up and accepting submissions!
https://aoir.org/aoir2026/

[Disclaimer: Any fandom references purely coincidental, I'm sure! ;) ]

AoIR 2026 |

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 12mo ago

For folks attending #AoIR2025 come along and discuss Australia’s controversial Social Media Ban for all Australians Under 16, the global political turn toward age restriction & verification, and the implications of this so-called ‘world leading’ legislation both within Australian and globally. The discussion will be led by Professor Amanda Third (UWS); Professor @antmandan@aoir.social (QUT); Professor @snurb@aoir.social (QUT); & Professor @tama@aoir.social (Curtin).

Thurs 16/Oct/2025 , 11:00am - 12:30pm in Room 8B.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 23mo ago

Australia banning social media for everyone under the age of 16 remains absurd. Here's a longer version of me saying that with more words on ABC24 last Friday ... https://youtu.be/BIENYLgzLv0 #socialmedia #Australia

National Cabinet Endorses Plan to Ban Social Media for Under 16s

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 8mo ago

Zoë Hitzig's piece in the NYTimes really hits home why OpenAI's inevitable, but even more intrusive, shift to deploying ads in ChatGPT shows (a) an exploitation of private data that eclipses even social media platforms; & (b) that there really are no new ideas coming out of AI companies at all.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/opinion/openai-ads-chatgpt.html

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

Replying to

(I was delighted to be one of 14 researchers to work on this important project, led by Michael Dezuanni and Kim Osman from the QUT Digital Media Research Centre & ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. )

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 17mo ago

Your 2025-2027 @AoIR@aoir.social Executive Committee, taking office in October 2025 at #AoIR2025 ...

President: Sarah Roberts
Vice President: Andra Siibak
Immediate Past President: Nicholas John
Secretary: Nathalie Schäfer
Treasurer: Robert W. Gehl
Graduate Student Rep: Lynrose Jane Genon
Open Seats: Admire Mare, Rebecca Scharlach, & Meg Jing Zeng.

Looks like the future of AoIR is in great hands! Thanks to everyone who ran, and everyone who voted!

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 36mo ago

And just like that #AoIR2023 is done. Thank you to everyone who took part in the conference this year; to say this is a vibrant intellectual community is an absurd understatement.

So many amazing papers, ideas, and conversations, but more than that so many real people talking, listening, thinking and caring together.

AoIR is a community, not a conference, and that has been incredibly evident once again this year.

Safe travels; we'll see you online and in Sheffield for #AoIR2024!

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

Replying to

For teens: don't panic, you'll be able to find your feet, your people, your space another way if you need to. But do take some steps to prepare, including downloading the content you care about, and thinking about how you'll (re)connect with friends a different way. For parents, carers and trusted adults: take the feelings, concerns and quite possible trauma teens are feeling seriously. Be there to talk, be there to offer support, take these feelings seriously.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

@james@bne.social fair question. I think to get to YTM, the user has to hold a YT account, don't they? Which probably means no. I totally agree re the logic (or not) of it all, though.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

@scroeser@kolektiva.social i think you're right.

As we used to say: LOL!

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

Australian's #SocialMediaBan for Under 16s is now active. The rapid, convoluted lead-up to the ban has meant there are a lot of myths about what it is supposed to do, & what it will do.

It's vital teens, parents & other trusted adults do not have a false sense of security; online risk are not gone.

Many parents and trusted adults believe the ban will stop cyberbullying. Unfortunately, it won't.

Read "Australia's social media ban won't stop cyberbullying" here: https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.rsveesfje

Australia’s social media ban won’t stop cyberbullying

The Conversation

Australia’s social media ban won’t stop cyberbullying

A technical fix can’t solve a social problem.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 23mo ago

Replying to

@MikeMugabushaka@sigmoid.social Being driven in a car carries inherent risk, but as a society we've worked to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities of being driven (mostly *sigh* by their very dedicated parents). The opportunities for political engagement, activism, play and many other things are important. Social media as support and community for at-risk youth is vital. As an example, see this reflection by Emily Unity on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7262348073127804928/

#socialmedia #digital #technology #youngpeople #youth #children #youngpeople #mentalhealth #onlinesafety #disability #lgbtqia #humanrights #childrights #awareness #advocacy #auspol | Emily Unity | 140 comments

This photo is of me, aged 12, a few days before my first suicide attempt. Now our government is banning something that saved my life. 💙 When I was 12, I didn’t necessarily want to die. I just wanted the pain and loneliness to stop. As a disabled, LGBTQIA+, and multicultural kid, I grew up feeling like I was a mistake. No matter where I looked, I was always too “different” to be accepted or understood. All I needed was a safe space. Somewhere I could choose my people, control my environment,

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 23mo ago

Replying to

@MikeMugabushaka@sigmoid.social it's definitely the case that social media platforms can do more and do better at reducing the risks for 13+ users on their platforms, and we should continue to push for that. But I don't believe a blanket ban will solve most of the issues people have flagged and, in itself at least, will certainly not strengthen the digital literacies young people need to successfully navigate their digital world. IMHO, of course.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 23mo ago

Replying to

@MikeMugabushaka@sigmoid.social and thanks for taking the time to actually discuss this issue! :)

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 10mo ago

I had a few last thoughts for the day about Twitch being added to the #SocialMediaBan for under16s in Australia on Radio National's PM program this afternoon: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/streaming-platform-twitch-latest-to-be-banned-for-kids/106039244

Streaming platform Twitch latest to be banned for kids - ABC listen

Children under 16 will be banned from the streaming platform Twitch from December 10, after it was added to the Federal Government's list of blocked platforms.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 23mo ago

Replying to

@MikeMugabushaka@sigmoid.social I find the analogy with smoking/alcohol disingenuous because those are direct actual harms to bodies. The problem with social media is that, yes, there are some risks and harms that can be amplified, but there are also many important opportunities, too. Trying to create a world where young people can access the maximum opportunities with the least risks should be the aim. At 13, with proper support/education, I would argue young people are ready to engage with social media.

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Tama Leaver @tama@aoir.social

· 23mo ago

Replying to

@MikeMugabushaka@sigmoid.social there are many different experiences of TikTok, but one good example of a benefit is #BookTok, the way TikTok can supercharge teen interest in reading: https://theconversation.com/what-is-booktok-and-how-is-it-influencing-what-australian-teenagers-read-182290

What is BookTok, and how is it influencing what Australian teenagers read?

The Conversation

What is BookTok, and how is it influencing what Australian teenagers read?

Pre-pandemic, reading rates among teenagers were falling. But BookTok, a subculture of social media platform TikTok, has made teens read more often – and influences what they read. Here’s how it works.

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