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Wednesday, July 24, 2024
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3000 RIDERS TO STOP OVER IN WANGARATTA
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MODEL OUTCOME WANGARATTA Artists Society member Wendy Stephens organised a life drawing workshop in Wangaratta on Saturday. It’s success will see it become a monthly event. ■ STORY PAGE 5
SAFETY CALLS Sport
WANGARATTA’S Grit and Resilience Consortium is backing calls for more measures to help improve the safety of social media platforms for young people, including verification of mental health information and limiting infinite scroll features. It has thrown its support behind leading mental health organisations ReachOut, Beyond Blue
LLocall iinitiatives ii i are on b board d to make k social i l media di a safe f space p BY JORDAN DUURSMA jduursma@ nemedia.com.au
and Black Dog Institute, who have made a joint submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, seeking policies that compel social
media platforms to work according to safetyby-design principles, transparency and user control when it comes to algorithms, verification of health content on platforms and funding for more research into the links between social media and mental health. Co-chair of the Grit and
Resilience Consortium, Tegan Allen, said she is pleased to see leading mental health organisations collaborating to address the complex issues surrounding social media and mental health for young people. “Their evidence-based recommendations focus on the lived experiences of
young people are crucial steps in understanding and mitigating the risks associated with social media use,” she said. “We believe that social media platforms have a significant role to play in ensuring the mental health and wellbeing of their users. “We are eager to see
the positive changes that can come from these collaborative efforts.” These calls for change align with local initiatives facilitated by the Grit and Resilience Program aimed at supporting young people online and in-person throughout the Rural City of Wangaratta. ■ Continued page 2
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