Had a great time yesterday presenting my PhD research at #DiGRAA2025 on VR, embodiment, and how we can rethink how we talk about VRs embodiment in mainstream discourses - looking forward to another fun day today!

At DiGRA Australia's 2025 conference today presenting on my work looking into ways to make games more available in higher education! Excellent opportunity to tap into everyone's expertise and experiences in this area.

I am in Adelaide for DiGRA Australia’s national conference the next three days! There probably won’t be any liveposting because no one really does that any more but here is the great program: digraa.org/post/digraa-...

Can't wait for this book to come out! I have a chapter in here about VR embodiment along with an excellent list of VR scholars. Also amazing work Leighton putting it all together 👏

Monash University has today admitted to a fresh round of wage theft from casual teachers. Australia’s largest uni has underpaid teachers a further $7.6m, taking Monash’s total underpayments to $17.6m since 2021

News payments announcement expected today. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

If you are a journalist who is covering OpenAI and its product launches this week, consider also covering this report from myself and AI Now, which sheds light on OpenAI's origins, and how it wields a story about emergent AGI to sell those products and services

Should other countries follow Australia’s example and ban under-16s from social media? I was thrilled to finally have @cameronwilson.bsky.social on the show to get the scoop on what’s driving the policy and why it would be better to take a different approach.

Had a great time at Digital Intimacies today, where I got the chance to talk about some of my PhD research! It was my first conference post-submission and it's so great to finally get my research out there

Digital Intimacies X in full swing! We were so lucky to hear from our original conference organisers about the event and the field of digital intimacies, with excellent provocations from current scholars in the field: Embrace vulnerability. Think community, not citations. Open up the space.

In session in the Federal Court for Monash Uni’s wage theft case. I’ll be live posting from this hearing today. The NTEU alleges Australia’s largest university has not lawfully paid hundreds, perhaps thousands, of its casual teachers going back to 2016. Justice Snaden is the judge.

Wrote a little thing about the Unpacking scam game situation on the Nintendo eShop, with a few words from the Witch Beam folks and @vook64.bsky.social. These are all still up in the store, one week later. www.patreon.com/posts/unpack...

Excellent overview of key findings from our study of LGBTQ+ young people's experiences of workplace sexual harassment. The full report is out today (see link in the article) theconversation.com/new-research...

A big win for the NTEU. Australia’s vice-chancellors are amongst the highest paid in the world but they’ve been poor stewards of higher education, unable to explain its national importance or to advocate effectively for HASS. This is long overdue: www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/ne...

Scrolling through user reception to this (very long-awaited) feature in VRC and seeing obvious concerns about data privacy, desires for adult social spaces (safe spaces away from children!), and expectations for the silo-ing of players (fears of being stuck in ‘Quest kid day care’).

"Germany bears considerable complicity." A group of prominent German intellectuals say their country should be held accountable for Israeli crimes in Gaza and be forced to pay reparations for the massive destruction. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/3s86v8

The Australian government rushed through legislation to ban under 16s from using social media - a measure widely criticised by experts. But after 18 months they haven't been able to implement a total ban on gambling ads to protect children - a measure almost unanimously supported by experts. 🤷‍♀️

Shameful. If this actually translates to any meaningful action, those who support it now will quickly come to regret it. I also suspect this will be extremely difficult to undo.

All you need to know about how much the government actually understands youth online safety: Apparently YouTube is "primarily for the purposes of education and health support" www.pm.gov.au/media/social...

Excited to be speaking on my PhD research at Digital Intimacies this week 🤓

Hi, so I've spent the past almost-decade studying research uses of public social media data, like e.g. ML researchers using content from Twitter, Reddit, and Mastodon. Anyway, buckle up this is about to be a VERY long thread with lots of thoughts and links to papers. 🧵

Elon Musk’s X/Twitter is claiming ownership of all accounts on its platform in the Infowars bankruptcy case, where The Onion has purchased all assets This reminds you that you do not own your social media accounts "X CORP. OWNS THE X ACCOUNTS." 🔗 www.404media.co/xs-objection...

ADM+S researchers from our ‘Critical Capabilities for Inclusive #AI’ project recently hosted a workshop at the Australian Red Cross 2024 Humanitech Summit, inviting participants to consider the potential of community data for building community resilience. 🔗 www.admscentre.org.au/critical-cap...

This is an essential story and well done to everyone interviewed for it. Mark Serrel. @serrels.bsky.social www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...

Labor gave the public just one day to make written submissions to the first and only hearing about the teen social media ban. It received around 15,000 responses. www.crikey.com.au/2024/11/25/t...

Alana was shocked when her boss shared her diagnosis in public. What does the law say? www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

Submissions to the inquiry into the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill have now been posted www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

ARC says they’ll release the Discovery Projects 2025 outcomes tomorrow. Recently, outcomes announcements have tended to happen at/around 11am Canberra time. My bot will pick up the announcement in RMS’s database and post immediately. Good luck!

It's so frustrating that the government isn't taking to experts considering how little they seem to know about tech - this VPN stuff is ridiculous!

“The evidence base for the underage social media ban is poor – and yet it’s that bill being rushed through parliament, not the partial gambling ad ban, much less the full ban.” www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Worth a listen in light of multiple references to Jonathan Haidt in today’s senate inquiry into the social media ban. (Spoiler alert, the arguments in the book have been widely discredited.)

With @benegliston.bsky.social and @kateeuph.bsky.social , our new article on Meta's $50m XR Programs and Research Fund in IC&S is out today www.tandfonline.com/eprint/JQ3DU...

The government's analysis supporting the teen social media ban contains sweeping statements, repeated references and typos. It's also thin on evidence supporting the restriction of kids under 16 from social media, writes @cameronwilson.bsky.social. Read it here: www.crikey.com.au/2024/11/25/t...

Finishing off my slides for AANZCA next week where I'll present an analysis of food delivery apps as locative media platforms aanzca.org

Zionists pursuing me and other opponents of Israel’s genocide have exposed themselves as Netanyahu’s footsoldiers in Australia. They'll never succeed, but will always have to their names the shame of having tried. michaelwest.com.au/sydney-unive...

Well, there's our deficit! #BadGovnernance #BetterUnis #HigherEd www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

"Youth and Social Media: Is Banning Access the Solution?" - a panel discussion hosted by the UTS Technology, Media, Strategy research group, in-person, Sydney, Dec 9. Register at: events.humanitix.com/youth-and-so...

“There are evidence-based alternatives to a ban.” The latest from @antmandan.bsky.social for the @aunz.theconversation.com on the government’s move to ban under 16s from social media. 👉🏼 theconversation.com/the-governme...

Monash Uni paid more than $16m in consultancy fees in a single year, including commitments of more than $1m to a single industrial relations consultant, Sian Owen. Yet Monash demand schools tighten their belts when it comes to delivering education?? SHAME! t.co/yYwsaq07Gq #BetterUnis #HigherEd

It's 2024, games should not be launching without subtitles. For a game to count as having subtitles, they need to actually be readable. Far too many are not. Can we please have none of this in 2025. Collectively as an industry we need to be doing better, our players deserve better.

Happy Holidays! ALL Haymarket Books are 40% off through January 3rd!

I just commented on the inquiry into the social media ban - a poorly thought out policy that will do little to address (very real) social media harms. Turnaround is quick (closing today!!), but if you're unhappy with the proposed ban I would encourage you to submit: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

It is unconscionable that the government is introducing its social media ban legislation to parliament tomorrow without any expert or practitioner consultation or review - or even a clear definition of ‘social media’.

Silicon Valley is seizing the levers of power, but we’re here to help you chart a course through the madness. I’m thrilled to announce SYSTEM CRASH, a new podcast I’ll be cohosting with my pal @bcmerchant.bsky.social. Join us as we dissect the tech dystopia. Starts Friday!

Gotta say that the parliament scrutiny of social media platforms is having some impact. Two days after recommending users be able to reset their algorithm, Instagram provides.

Registration is now open for DiGRA Australia's 2025 National Conference, which will be held at University of South Australia on 5-7 February (and online). This is the first DiGRA Australia conference held off the east coast!! events.humanitix.com/digraaustral...