Observe this "debate" over who should decide on what clothes kids are allowed to wear. Labour say parents, Tories say the state. Both of course in total agreement that the kids themselves should have no say in it at all.

Despite all the chatter, social media bans for teens lack evidence! New paper out in Nature Health. (1) Harms from social media are real & serious. (2) We need regulatory action but bans are not nuanced, do not empower youth, & are not supported by evidence. www.nature.com/articles/s44...

@bambosmp.bsky.social why is the @ukgovernment.bsky.social seeming not to care or do anything about this?

Why is "they're going to use it anyway so we should teach them to use it well" being applied to GenAI in the classroom while a very opposite point is being made about young people and social media. (and in neither case is the existing evidence or critique apparently of concern.)

This is causing despair in academe. (1) We were forced to close during Covid. We had no choice! (2) We're not service providers like a restaurant, we are institutions of state. (3) We did everything we could. (4) This will cripple current students' education. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

More #caturday lounging - again her not me. Might be a lesson in there! #CatSky

When Norfolk Police ask Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor if he has any special dietary requirements whilst in custody:

Designing parks for teenage girls does not mean taking space away from others. It means noticing who is not using parks and asking why. It’s about not assuming what teenagers want. It doesn't mean spaces just for teenage girls, it’s about designing spaces that girls, and others, want to use.

Great @nihrarcs.bsky.social webinar yesterday on evaluating #PublicInvolvement with children & YP. Brilliant presentation from my @hertsresearch.bsky.social colleagues Lauren Denyer & @helenabnett.bsky.social, & members of @hertsypag.bsky.social. Thank you to everyone who attended & contributed 1/2

How lovely is this?

Reminds me of when I went on a women's leadership course and one of the speakers gave advice on getting your colours done and having the right lighting on Teams calls. Do they tell men about the importance of looking pretty on camera? 🤔

Fully support this + also chasing anyone from the room who has 'more of a comment than a question' #AcademicSky

#Caturday lie-in (for them if not me) #CatSky #AcademicsWithCats

You have our support and that of over 80,000 women, plus hundreds of UK businesses who’ve stated this is not what they want in workplaces. Well done on your work and the positive outcome. People, please sign or share our open letter, or consider donating, as it flows directly to Good Law Project 🙏

Almost 260 people booked in now! Numbers capped at 300 so book soon if you haven't already

So the Epstein scandal is about politics? Silly me for thinking it’s about the mass abuse of women and girls | Marina Hyde

When people talk about the idea that some universities must go under, there’s a certain tendency to behave as if these smaller local campuses are negligible- regrettable casualties perhaps but not ‘real’ universities. This report does a great job of illustrating why that’s wrong.

Just 24 hours left to register for tomorrow's webinar 'Time for change: Co-producing peer research with diverse communities'. We have over 200 attendees already registered! #PPI arc-sl.nihr.ac.uk/events-train...

This is booking up fast - almost 200 people attending so far! If you're thinking of coming & haven't booked yet then do so soon. @nihrarcs.bsky.social @arceastofengland.bsky.social @arc-southlondon.bsky.social @penarc.bsky.social @elspethma.bsky.social #PPI #PublicInvolvement #InvolveYoungPeople

Too bloody right. Makes my blood boil. And also journalists, please use the internationally agreed term Child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Saying child pornography infers consent and minimises the victim and survivor experience.

Great stuff. Did you see this paper a while back? I loved Laura's plea: "We need a bold new vision with strident defence of interpretive qualitative analyses, which does not aim to be subdued by the rigid demands of quantitative empiricism or conservativism". www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Very exciting that our paper on qualitative researchers' experiences of the peer review process has struck a chord and is the third most downloaded article from an APA journal in 2025! @janeemcallaghan.bsky.social @jeffnz.bsky.social @andrealamarre.bsky.social @joannasemlyen.bsky.social

The first episode of our new #podcast series, Sick Society, is out today! We can't promise all the answers, but we ask some great questions about how society shapes #health long before the clinical encounter. Here's a little taster. Everywhere you get your podcasts. A few direct links below 👇

Hi @herts.ac.uk and good to see you actively posting on here 🙂 Lots of #UniOfHerts researchers and research-y people to follow in this starter pack + new additions always welcome: go.bsky.app/PcW4tMT @hertsresearch.bsky.social #AcademicSky #ResearchSky

For once #BBCRadio4 #TodayProgramme has made me happy! Finally the views of young people are included in discussions about the #SocialMediaBan. Great, non-judgemental interview with 3 brilliant YP just now

Italian voice actor Carlo Bononi was the voice of all of the characters on Pingu. A trained clown by trade, he used a theater technique called grammelot, which consists of "speaking" in a mix of babbled gibberish noises. He improvised all the voices live and unscripted.

We're really excited (and a bit nervous!) to be talking about our co-produced evaluation at this webinar...

Organised by @arceastofengland.bsky.social @penarc.bsky.social & @arc-southlondon.bsky.social

📣 @nihrarcs.bsky.social #PPI webinar: Evaluating #PublicInvolvement with children & young people 🌟17/2/26 Presenters incl me, @helenabnett.bsky.social & @hertsypag.bsky.social + hosted by @skourkos.bsky.social & @elspethma.bsky.social Info & booking: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/involving-...

If I was President of the United States, the last thing I’d do is start questioning territorial claims based on ‘people arriving in boats hundreds of years ago’.

Great day at Birmingham with @barnardos.org.uk #NHSYouthForum supporting their peer research - despite some travel hiccups on the way! Such a great group and really looking forward to seeing their research reports soon #YoungResearchers #PeerResearch @joshharsant.bsky.social

@herts.ac.uk @hertsresearch.bsky.social

Yes this is a highly questionable decision, poorly managed, poorly communicated and I suspect in ignorance of the likely consequences

Whoa😲 "DHSC is standing down the NIHR Maximising Impact and Public Partnership contract. Teams across the NIHR Coordinating Centre and wider NIHR community will continue to embed Impact and Inclusion into everything they do": www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/wha... #PPI #PublicInvolvement

The paper in question- more reflections soon link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Whoa😲 "DHSC is standing down the NIHR Maximising Impact and Public Partnership contract. Teams across the NIHR Coordinating Centre and wider NIHR community will continue to embed Impact and Inclusion into everything they do": www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/wha... #PPI #PublicInvolvement

Not a bad effort 🍞 #Sourdough #BreadSky

👀From 2024... "If you’re an academic who is still using X, I would gently suggest to you that it is time to let go. The platform will either fold ~ or complete its evolution into the central engine of a politics, that compromises your professional credibility through association." #X #AcademicSky

In an effort to build/rebuild online networks I've set up 3 starter kits in my main areas of research interest: Links in the posts which follow - reply to be added. And if you're in the intersecting areas, especially the middle bit, and we don't know each other already - do say hello 😊

HI @skourkos.bsky.social and welcome to BlueSky 👋 Lots of #PPI people to follow on here: go.bsky.app/PWEAnFR. Let me know if you'd like to be added and/or have suggestions for other people to include 😊

We are looking for girls aged 12-18 who want to have their voices heard regarding parks. We are creating a video and would love them to be part of it. Find out more: www.makespaceforgirls.co.uk/blog/be-part...

As temperatures remain below freezing, we’ve activated SWEP to help ensure anyone sleeping rough has shelter. If you’re worried about someone sleeping rough, contact Streetlink via their website. Streetlink can help connect them to local support services. streetlink.org.uk

Anybody still on X, especially if working with children and young people, really needs to follow this example

We are now at 75k signatures, with many messages of support on Instagram, Facebook and here. This is a genuine groundswell of love over hate, and a call to focus on the real harms faced by women and girls. Thank you all who’ve signed and shared. Let’s keep it going 💜 notinourname.org.uk

How it started How it's going 🎄😼 #CatsofBlueSky #ChristmasCats

How it started How it's going 🎄😼 #CatsofBlueSky #ChristmasCats

The Child Poverty Strategy & the lifting of the two-child limit mark significant steps towards easing pressures facing UK children and families today. However, the strategy falls short of setting out a long-term, ambitious agenda for eradicating child poverty. Read our response: buff.ly/Dn7OeCg

📢 Your voice matters in SEND reform. Join the national conversation to make sure the system is one Disabled young people deserve. ✅ Join an online event ✅ Tell the Department for Education what works and what needs to change Every voice counts👇 🔗 www.gov.uk/dfe/SEND-conversation

Cruelty is anhedonic. It rarely delivers the euphoria promised because, in the abstract, what feels righteous and joyful inevitably reveals itself to be sordid and small. Then it's "No not like that". "No not enough". "No the real battle, the forever war to make this feel good starts now". Forever.