Ep 61: More on kidfluencers

An episode of the Outside the Screen Podcast podcast, hosted by Outside the Screen, titled "Ep 61: More on kidfluencers" was published on May 2, 2025 and runs 35 minutes.

May 2, 2025 ·35m · Outside the Screen Podcast

0:00 / 0:00

Episode Description

Good to be back! I had a lovely few weeks swanning (or rather traipsing) around Portugal, Spain, Norway* and Denmark, and now it’s back down to business.

I’m pleased to advise I finally got a chance to interview my former colleague Andrew Stewart about the state of affairs regarding kidfluencers in Australia. (It only took 19 episodes, but who’s counting?) While I said back in Episode 42 that I thought child protection law had the best scope for preventing harm and exploitation, Andrew suggests special guidelines under workplace health and safety law - to address the special needs and vulnerabilities of children. Bit of a theme developing there. Lots more gems of information and insight, so don’t miss this interview.

In Paper Round I take you through an article about screen time rules - and as usual the message is that it’s not just about length of time, it’s about the quality of the content AND the time of day. While the findings of the study seem quite small and localised, they can spark a lot of reflection on the general utility, not just of rules themselves, but of their content and the way they are enforced.

I also mention in this episode that I’m going to have an announcement soon about the future of the podcast. I’m mentioning it here, too. Watch this space. Or subscribe and you’ll get an email when something happens.

No review this week, but there’s a link below where you can access Know Before You Go and Know Before You Load. Glenn will be back next episode.

*The background photo is a detail from a wall in the Oslo City Hall.

Show notes

New Zealand paper: Ladan Hashemi, Maryam Ghasemi, Deborah Schlichting, Maryam Pirouzi, Cameron Grant and Boyd Swinburn, 'Prospective relationship between family screen time rules, obesogenic behaviours, and childhood obesity' (2024) European Journal of Public Health https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae169

Zooming Out details: Professor Andrew Stewart; Episode 42

Find us on:

OR search your favourite listening platform (let me know if it’s not there! – outsidethescreenpod[at]gmail.com)

Children and Media Australia (CMA)

You can find the Children and Media Australia Know Before You Go service via this link.

Then, depending what you’re looking for, you can sort the list or search by title alphabetically, by age suitability, by classification or by date added. All of the reviews are prepared by people with training in child development, and they cover every G and PG title released in Australian cinemas since 2002, as well as selected M-rated movies and some pre-2002 ones that are available on streaming services.

Or at this link, you can access Know Before You Load – reviews of game style apps and apps that may appeal to young children. These cover some extra things that are relevant to games, like data collection and gambling-like content.

You might also like to sign up for our KBYG Weekly newsletter about the latest reviews, and join the CMA facebook community.

Get full access to Outside the Screen Podcast at outsidethescreen.substack.com/subscribe