Countries around the world are debating the same question: should kids under 16 be banned from social media? 🤔 In Canada, Manitoba has recently become the first province to take steps in that direction. Based on our research with Canadian teens, we have some thoughts. 💭

As a trusted adult, are you truly ready to talk about deepfake nudes with your children and teens? 🫥 We've got you covered! 🤝 We've just released a new infographic about “deepnudes' and its legality in Canada. 🇨🇦 Take a look! lnkd.in/ebzJ4Ah8

If you are in London (ON) and looking for opportunities to learn how to keep your children safe in the digital age, don’t miss this chance! Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes will be giving an in-person talk at Central Secondary School on April 16.

💡 We're pleased to share our latest report on tech-facilitated harms among youth! 📲 This presents findings from focus groups across Canada, involving 146 teens who shared their experiences navigating a growing, complex online environment. Check it out! 🔗 www.diydigitalsafety.ca/_files/ugd/1...

Why don't teens report digital harms to adults? 😐 🎥 Don't miss this talk, where our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social and Tricia Grant, from @mediasmarts.bsky.social, dive into the many questions they hear from parents about how to keep their children safe online. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYcd...

Dr. Alexa Dodge, part of the DIY team, will speak at the virtual Together Against Violence Symposium 2026. Participants will gain practical tools and strategies to improve support and foster safer online and workplace spaces. 🗓️ Feb 25–26 | 🕐 2–6 PM AST 🔗 Register here: ow.ly/KjLm50Y1iJV

Améliorez votre compréhension de la violence fondée sur le genre facilité par la technologie ! Joignez-nous pour un webinaire GRATUIT où nous explorerons le monde des deepfakes & partagerons des stratégies concrètes pour y répondre : bit.ly/WebinaireDan...

📱 The latest research article from Dr. @xadodge.bsky.social and @diydigsafety.bsky.social. It explores why young people may avoid talking to adults in the aftermath of digital harms. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @journals.sagepub.com #Tech #digitalcriminology #potatosafety #artswithimpact

Dr. Alexa Dodge of #SMUCriminology and @diydigsafety.bsky.social is a speaker at the virtual Together Against Violence Symposium 2026. Her work tackles crime, violence and justice in our digital society. 🗓️ Feb 25–26, 2026 | 🕐 2–6 PM AST 🔗 Learn more and register: ow.ly/KjLm50Y1iJV #TAV2026

📣 We are excited to share our latest peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 📌 These findings underscore the need for adult interventions in young people’s lives to shift from fear-driven approaches toward balanced, non-judgmental, and youth-centred responses.

📣 Don't miss this free opportunity to learn more about tech-facilitated violence. Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social will be part of this expert panel next Tuesday. 📍 Virtual (Zoom)

New guide for adults, informed by teens! 📝 If you are a parent, teacher, or trusted adult looking to build an open and trustworthy relationship with your teens so they feel safe seeking support about tech-facilitated harm, this resource is for you! 🫂 Available for free lnkd.in/e-eH3HGY

Why Canada should avoid Australia’s teen social media ban: A call for better solutions 📲 😐 🚫 📰 Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social and @cdietzel.bsky.social co-authored an op-ed in @thestar.com on key strategies to keep children and young people safe online. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

We often hear the importance of care in research with young people, but what does this look like in practice? 🤔 📣 We're excited to share our latest academic article with concrete strategies that scholars across disciplines can use. journals-sagepub-com.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/doi/10.1177/...

Gender-based violence also happens in digital spaces and has real-life consequences for women and girls. 💔 Today, it is important to remember that to end tech-facilitated violence, we also need a cultural shift to stop misogyny and sexism. ✊

To increase educators’ awareness & understanding of key topics including gender-based violence, harassment, consent, healthy relationships & systems of power that enable violence & discrimination we will be hosting an IG Live 🗓️Wed Nov 26 @ 7pm ET💻Tech-Facilitated GBV @diydigsafety.bsky.social

📣 Free online session to learn more about how to keep youth safe in today’s digital world. 💡 The City of Burnaby invited @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social to share tools for parents and caregivers to support youth in digital safety. 🔗 Register here: lnkd.in/ergcrhSZ www.burnaby.ca/recreation-a...

Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social shared fascinating facts about our research project on digital safety through The Impact Project by Western University. 💜 Check it out! www.theimpactproject.ca/stories/kait...

Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social discusses a new report showing the risk of harmful misogynistic content targeting boys. Check it out! ontherecordnews.ca/new-report-s...

Join us on Wednesday, October 22nd, as the AVA Webinar Series presents Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence: What You Need to Know, featuring Kaitlynn Mendes from @diydigsafety.bsky.social. ⏰ 12 – 1:30pm MST avatraining.ca/webinars/

We are pleased to share our latest article on @theconversation.com, where we discuss the findings of our recently conducted survey with more than 1,000 teens aged 13 to 18 across Canada 🇨🇦 about tech-facilitated sexual violence.

Can Instagram's new AI tool to detect underage users be really effective?? 🤔 Dr. @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social weighed in for The Canadian Press about the use of AI to detect underage users, as Instagram tests the tool in Canada. 📰 Check it out here: www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/business/ins...

📌 Free Webinar Alert! 👩‍💻 Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social will lead a free webinar hosted by AVA Training about technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) and how to talk and support youth. 🗓️ October 22 🕐 12:00 - 1:30 PM MST Register here: ucalgary.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

📌 Open call! The Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy at @mcgill.ca is accepting applications for Youth Fellows to join their 2025-2026 Youth Fellows Program on Online Safety. 👉 More info www.mediatechdemocracy.com/jobs

We've published our annual report, detailing our progress from May 2024 to April 2025. 📊 See our impact, key accomplishments, knowledge mobilization, research efforts, publications, and more! Explore what we’ve been up to ⬇️🔗 694cb6a9-ba35-4397-994d-7418024a481c.usrfiles.com/ugd/7d39c0_9...

✨ Publication alert ✨ We are excited to share our most recent publication in the Canadian Journal of Communication, which examines how Canadian secondary schools address TFSV within their educational curricula, policies, and legislation. Check it out! 👇 cjc.utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/...

A US teen died after being blackmailed with AI-generated nudes. His family is fighting for change via @cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com/news/sextort...

📺 Dr. @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social was interviewed by the CBC regarding the sexual assault trial of five former world junior hockey players. She provides her insights on consent and technology-facilitated sexual violence. Check it out! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

ETOP Council attendees learned about tech-facilitated sexual violence — deepfake nudes, sextortion, and digital harassment— and the legal rights of victims. Moving away from ‘cyberbullying’ language allows for people to seek the right help, said @WesternU sociology prof. Kaitlyn Mendes.

On the news 📰 | From trauma to anxiety and depression, how online sexual harassment can seriously harm victims’ mental health via @theconversation.com theconversation.com/from-trauma-...

🗣️ Free Webinar on “Understanding Tech-Facilitated Sexual Violence. Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes will discuss its rise and ways in which we can effectively identify and tackle this violence in our workplaces. Date: April 1, at 7:00 pm EST. Register here: bit.ly/42jNJfd www.unifor.org/news/events/...

📰 Our @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social was quoted in a recent CBC article about a new anti-women trend on TikTok. Give it a look! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

🤳TikTok investigated over use of children's data: The UK will inspect how the social media platform uses the data of 13 —to 17-year-olds to recommend further content to them. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Dozens arrested in global hit against AI-generated child abuse (via BBC News) www.bbc.com/news/article...

📌 If you live in Sarnia and are interested in learning more about tech-facilitated sexual violence, Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes will offer a workshop for The Centre Sarnia-Lambton. Register here www.revelree.ca/event/ht-tra...

L’Australie interdira les médias sociaux aux adolescents. Le Canada devrait-il faire de même ? 🤔 @cdietzel.bsky.social et @kaitlynnmendes.bsky.social discutent des implications et des impacts de ces mesures dans cet article de @theconversationca.bsky.social theconversation.com/laustralie-i...

Faire face à des préjudices en ligne peut être accablant, mais vous n’êtes pas seul·e. Des ressources sont disponibles partout au Canada. 🇨🇦 👉 Découvrez la liste complète sur notre site web : www.diydigitalsafety.ca/fr/support-services

@nytimes.com asked teens about banning children under 16 from social media, and they were very honest about how social media has affected them —both positively and negatively. They also discussed other ideas for helping young people navigate life online. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/l...

Come learn about youth's sexual safety online! I'll be speaking about the @diydigsafety.bsky.social project's research on January 22nd at 7pm. This event is open to the public. To learn more about the project see: www.diydigitalsafety.ca

Instagram Blocked Teens From Searching LGBTQ-Related Content for Months www.teenvogue.com/story/instag...

Interested in exploring the unique challenges young people face in navigating their sexuality in the digital age? On January 22 at @dalhousieu.bsky.social, Prof. Suzie Dunn will discuss some of our preliminary findings, including insights from interviews and surveys conducted with youth across 🇨🇦.

Australia is banning social media for teens. Should Canada do the same? Our experts, Dr. Christopher Dietzel and Dr. Kaitlynn Mendes, discuss the implications and impact of these measures in this @theconversationca.bsky.social article. theconversation.com/australia-is...

www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n... #digcit

Smartphone policies in schools: What does the evidence say? 🏫🤳 The @5rightsfound.bsky.social and LSE Media & Communications joint centre gathered evidence from around the world. Don’t miss their report 👇

Curious about sextortion and how to stay safe? 🛡️ Netsafe has amazing resources with tips, solutions, and support for parents and young people. Don’t miss out 🔗 netsafe.org.nz/scams/sextor...

Here’s a Starter Pack of feminist scholars working on tech-facilitated violence. Let me know if you’d like to be added! go.bsky.app/529SDPr

Instagram actively helping spread of self-harm among teenagers, study finds (via @theguardian.com) www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Australia is banning social media for those under 16. Is it a solution for Canada? (via @cbcnewsofficial.bsky.social) www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Technology-facilitated violence and bullying are significant concerns for young people today. 😕📲 If you're a parent, teacher, or trusted adult, you can learn more about how to respond to these issues in this fact sheet, available on our website. www.diydigitalsafety.ca/factsheet-cy...

Love working on this team ❤️ check out our free resources for young people & their supporters!