Life Matters

In under 24 hours, the internet will look very different.  Nationwide, anyone under 16 will be locked out of social media. Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, X, Reddit, YouTube - all off-limits. If you're not yet 16, you'll be waiting until your birthday to log back in. Julie Inman Grant is Australian eSafety Commissioner.

Many parents have voiced support for Australia's social media ban for under 16s - but that doesn't mean it will be an easy transition. In fact, experts say it will mean a pretty solid adjustment for families, and a lot to navigate.  Professor Alina Morawska is a Parenting and Family Support Centre at UQ's School of Psychology and Cam Wilson is Tech Reporter at Crikey.

You've been gearing up for a holiday all year... and now the day is finally here. The tickets are booked, bags are packed, you've even picked out your outfit for the plane. Psychologist Christine Bagley-Jones discusses how to manage different expectations of your holiday.

Whether it's the big flashy state library in your capital city, or the humble one in your suburb, the role of a library is stretching to meet demand for its free programs and resources. That evolution hasn't come without friction, so in modern Australia, who, and what, are our libraries really for? Cathie Warburton is CEO of The Australian Library and Information Association, and Dr Heather Robinson is Research Associate at Flinders University and author of Beyond the books: Culture, value, and why libraries matter.

More and more people are turning to AI for spiritual support, by using bots for religious worship and guidance. They're known as "faith bots" and there's one for pretty much every belief. Christians can use Text Jesus. There's a virtual Islamic Scholar called Sheikh GPT. And Gita GPT allows you to exchange messages with the Hindu god Krishna. So, can AI help you become closer to God? Can it strengthen your faith? Dr Rosemary Hancock is a Senior lecturer and Convener of the Religion, Culture and Society Research Focus Area, at the University of Notre Dame and Venerable Dr JueWei, is Head of program of applied Buddhist studies and humanistic Buddhism at Nan Tien Institute.

It's a time to eat, drink, and be merry. But for Australians struggling with - or recovering from - addiction, holiday gatherings can become a test of willpower. An addiction specialist shares his first Christmas off the booze.  Benn Veenker is Manager of Lived Experience at Turning Point.

Developmental paediatrician Dr Billy Garvey says behavioural and emotional difficulties are the number one reason parents come to see him. But, Dr Billy says parents can learn to respond to challenging behaviour in a way that works for both them and their kids.

What do you do when it feels like you and your in-laws speak different languages when it comes to parenting? And the situation is heightened when your mother-in-law moves in to offer emergency childcare? Aunties Bridie Jabour, author, journalist and associate editor at Guardian Australia and James Colley, head writer for ABC's Gruen, offer their insights.

New research claims that the number of empty dwellings across Melbourne has risen dramatically... from more than 27,000 in 2023 to nearly 32,000 in 2024. And across the country ... experimental ABS data suggests that up to 140,000 dwellings are sitting vacant. So, why would houses, apartments, and blocks of land be left sitting empty? And is there a way to utilise these properties to address Australia's housing crisis? Rayna Fahey is Director of Advocacy, Prosper Australia and Dr Michael Fotheringham is CEO of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

Only around one in twenty Australians eat enough fruit and veggies. The rest of us are falling way short of where we need to be. Price is a common complaint, but is fresh produce really that expensive? A Monash study has looked at the perception of prices of fresh produce - and found that displaying a cost-per-serving on the ticket induces shoppers buy more vegetables. Fiona Newton is an Associate Professor and consumer psychology expert at Monash Business School and Jane Martin is Executive Manager of the Food for Health Alliance.

You've got dinner plans with a group of friends, and you've been looking forward to it for weeks. But in the days -or hours- leading to the catch-up... you get one... maybe several texts. Sorry, I can't make it. Sorry, work has been insane this week. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. So, are we flakier than we used to be? Dan Woodman is a Professor of Sociology at University of Melbourne.

From the desks we work at to the places we retreat to at the end of the day, the spaces around us quietly shape how we feel, how we live, and how we connect with each other. Good design isn't just about looks – it's about comfort, dignity, possibility, and the way a space can hold us, support us, even change us. Kevin McCloud, presenter of TV show Grand Designs and Tim Ross, comedian, broadcaster and self-described design nerd dig into how design can make our lives better.

Have you ever asked a hairdresser or a tradie if they can do a better price for cash? Have you done work for someone and got paid "cash in hand." Or perhaps a friend has a small business with a percentage of income generated "under the table." Australia's shadow economy is thriving and Tony Goding, Assistant Commissioner and Chair of the ATO's Shadow Economy Taskforce, is one of the people cracking down on this illegal activity.

If you're heading on an overnight hike or about to tackle a challenging climb on your summer break, how much thought have you given to the worst-case scenario? It's not something anyone likes to dwell on, but preparing for all possibilities can be the difference between life, death, or being extracted by specialist rescue teams. So how prepared are you to venture into the wilderness? Dr Jo Kippax is an emergency doctor and 2026 Tasmanian Australian of the Year, Dr Jim Whitehead is a search and rescue trainer, and Krystal Dacey is a PHD candidate looking into the way we behave when we're lost in the wilderness.

The Christmas party invite says smart casual. But what does that mean when it's 35 degrees and storms are on the way? And why are double pluggers acceptable in a Queensland office setting, but you'd never catch anyone in Sydney with their toes out at work? There's no doubt our weather and cultural trends influence what we wear. But how much personal freedom do we really have when we're getting dressed? Alex Haslam is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology, University of Queensland.

Two major clothing retailers have been busted using AI-generated ads. Now Heineken, Polaroid, and Cadbury are pushing back- branding their campaigns "human made." So, why are we bothered whether an ad is AI-generated or not? Paul Harrison is Chair of Consumer Behaviour at Deakin University's Business School.

Last Thursday morning, a woman died and her boyfriend was seriously injured in a shark attack at a remote NSW beach. The attack happened as the couple was reportedly filming dolphins in the water. It's a tragedy... and the fifth fatal shark attack in Australia this year. So, are shark attacks on the rise in Australia? And what's the most effective way of reducing attacks? Professor Culum Brown is Head of the Fish lab at Macquarie University and Steven Pearce is CEO of Surf Life Saving New South Wales.

AI is already pretty good at making decent music with bare minimum human input, but now one of the biggest AI-music generating platforms has partnered with one of the world's biggest record labels. It could mean the artificially-made music is about to be based on some of your favourite – and most popular – artists' work. So once the song is sung, do you care whether the music you love is AI or human-generated? Ben Lee is an Australian musician, Dr Emery Schubert is a Professor at UNSW, and Dr Ben Green is a music sociologist and Lecturer at RMIT. 

The consumer watchdog is urging shoppers to be wary of online "ghost stores" in the lead-up to Christmas. The ACCC has received more than 700 complaints about online stores suspected of misrepresenting themselves as local businesses. So how can you steer clear of online scams this festive season? And what should you do if you've been caught up in one? Dr Cassandra Cross is a Professor at Queensland University of Technology's School of Justice and Troy Hunt is a web security consultant and founder of Have I Been Pwned.

Although we’d all love to imagine you can have a second chance at love, the divorce rate for second marriages is double that of first. Psychotherapists Dr Zoe Krupka and Stephen Andrew have been a couple for 14 years and it's a second marriage for both of them. They say marriage number two can be the fulfilling and thrilling relationship people always hoped they could have.

In high school, sorting out friendship drama can take up a lot of time, but it can cause even bigger headaches as adults. So what do you do when your relationship with your new best friend is upsetting your old best friend? Aunties Patrick Lenton and Dr Rebecca Ray get to the bottom of the problem.

A big backyard used to be part of the Australian dream. But a shift has happened over time. Block sizes for new houses across our cities have shrunk by 22 per cent in the past 15 years, according to the ABS. We're building bigger houses with smaller yards. So, RIP the backyard? What does it mean for our communities if backyards become a rarity?cCosta Georgiadis is a landscape architect and host of Gardening Australia, Professor Joe Hurley is at the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University and Dr Thami Croeser is Deputy Associate Director at Regenerative Environments & Climate Action at RMIT University.

As the social media ban approaches, Meta platforms are prompting users under 16 to download their data before they're removed from the platform. As Australia enters our world first of taking social media off of teenagers, what do we need to make sure they take with them? Tama Leaver is Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University.

When you die, what sort of assets will you leave and who's getting them? Or maybe you've handed over your inheritance early - helping your kids out with a house deposit, paying for their uni, or your grandkids' schooling. Financial expert David Koch says Boomers are putting a good retirement at risk to give their adult kids money. Koch argues that outside of a stable upbringing and a good education, you don't really owe your kids anything. So ... do you? Patrick Stokes is Associate Professor of philosophy at Deakin University.

When you think of the 1960s, what comes to mind? Hippies, Vietnam War protests, the music? What about the 1990s? VCRs, grunge music, minimalist fashion? We're about to reach the halfway point of the 2020s, so what is the defining legacy of this decade? Nic Carah is a professor at the University of Queensland School of Communication and Arts. 

She has never revealed her name publicly, but her opinions about fashion have made a huge impact. Fashion Critical started making "silly posts" to entertain her friends, but her platform ended up gaining a huge following.  She tells us why we should never take fashion too seriously.

Even at low speeds... if you have a car crash... and you're a woman... you're more likely to be seriously injured than a man. But interestingly, car crash testing and plane safety testing is dominated by "male" crash test dummies... and has been for decades. These dummies are part of a system of testing methods designed with men in mind.... and it's been letting women down. Natasha Heap is the Program Director for the Bachelor of Aviation at the University of Southern Queensland.