The White Hatter

12/13/2025

Legislation Has Its Place, However, Parenting Still Comes First.

Across Canada and around the world, governments are introducing laws intended to reduce online harm to children and teens. These varied efforts include regulating social media design, strengthening data protection, introducing age-gating measures, and increasing platform accountability. These legislative actions matter! Companies should be held to standards that reduce exploitation, limit harm, and protect user privacy. We definitely believe that the “right” legislation can help to shape safer digital environments. However, regulation should never replace onlife parenting which is the keystone to keeping our youth and teens safer in today’s onlife world.

Legislation can play an important role in reducing systemic risk and holding companies accountable, but it cannot teach young people how to think, pause, or make sound decisions online. Laws do not build judgment, self-regulation, empathy, values, or critical thinking. Those skills are developed over time through guidance, modelling, and real-world experience. When it comes to youth and teens navigating technology, the internet, and social media, these human skills cannot be legislated, they must be learned.

To read our full article on this topic click this link: https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/legislation-has-its-place-however-parenting-still-comes-first

12/12/2025

Protecting Our Kids: Canada’s New “Protecting Victims Act” Bill C-16

The “Protecting Victims Act”, has officially been brought forward by Justice Minister Sean Fraser, which proposes major updates to the Criminal Code. The goal is to intervene earlier in patterns of abuse, respond more effectively when violence occurs, and give children stronger protection from predators in both physical and digital spaces. The legislation also addresses long-standing concerns about court delays that have resulted in some cases being dismissed before victims receive a resolution. We want to concentrate on three areas that we believe will directly hold criminally liable those who target our youth and teens in Canada.

To read more about what this new proposed Bill says, click on this link to read our full article https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/protecting-our-kids-canada-s-new-protecting-victims-act-bill-c-16

**e

12/11/2025

The New Face of Mean-Girl Aggression: AI-Generated Nudes and Digital Harm

Caveat - Most of the deepfake n**e incidents reported in schools and covered by the media involve teen boys targeting teen girls. We recently learned of a case that breaks this pattern, where a teen girl weaponized and distributed AI generated picture of other girls at her school.

Most parents understand that youth and teens can be unkind to one another. Social dynamics have always included cliques, popularity hierarchies, and power plays. Anyone who grew up in school remembers the “queen bee” figure; the socially dominant teen who uses her status to influence, exclude, or target others. This behaviour isn’t new, but the tools teens can now access make the impact far more severe.

This week, we became aware of a case where a teen girl weaponized and distributed AI generated n**es of other girls at her school publicly as a form of digital peer aggression. This kind of behaviour isn’t just cruel, it introduces risks that most families never had to consider even a few years ago.

To read our full article on this topic click this link: https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/the-new-face-of-mean-girl-aggression-ai-generated-n**es-and-digital-harm

12/10/2025

Age-Gating Social Media at 16: Some Thoughts For Parents Caregivers and Legislators in Canada Before We Follow Australia’s Lead

Caveat - We have been watching very closely the development and the implementation of Australia’s legislative Social Media age-gating regulations for over a year, which has now taken effect as of December 10th 2025. We have been asked by several Canadian based news organization about our thoughts on Australia’s legislation, so we thought we would share them with our followers as well!

Australia recently introduced legislation that requires “certain” social media platforms, (facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, X - also known as Twitter, Twitch, Kick, and Instagram Threads) to prevent anyone under the aged of 16 from using their services. The responsibility is placed on the platforms themselves, not on parents, schools, or ISPs. This law has created global conversation, pressure, and curiosity, including here in Canada where some advocacy groups want the government to adopt the same model.

On the surface, it sounds simple. Lets’s restrict access thus keeping teens away from harm. However, once you look under the hood, the picture becomes more complicated. Parents and caregivers need to understand what Australia’s legislative experiment is actually doing, what it isn’t doing, and what lessons Canada should take from it before passing legislation of our own. This article breaks down the key issues we have seen thus far, so families can stay informed and involved in the national conversation.

To read our full article on this extremely important topic, as well as a call to action that we propose at the end of the article click this link https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/age-gating-social-media-at-16-some-thoughts-for-parents-caregivers-and-legislators-in-canada-before

12/10/2025

How to Turn Off Location Services on Your Child’s Phone and Stop Photos/ Video From Storing GPS Data

Most parents and caregivers are learning about why they need to be cautious about the pictures they post of their children, but fewer realize how much hidden information a photo can carry. Modern phones automatically attach Global Positioning Satellite coordinates (GPS) to every picture unless you turn that feature off. These “geotags” can reveal the exact home address, school, favourite park, or a child’s daily routine. The image might look harmless, but the metadata behind it can give away far more than expected.

To read our full step-by-step guide for both iPhone and Android devices that shows how to block location access, remove existing geotags, and disable the camera’s built-in tagging features click this link https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/how-to-turn-off-location-services-on-your-child-s-phone-and-stop-photos-video-from-storing-gps-data

12/09/2025

A New Study Finds For Those Under 12, Cellphones Cause Depression, Obesity, and Sleep Deprivation Issues

When professionals share study results with parents and caregivers in a way that sounds alarming, like the title above, but leaves out the actual context, it’s concerning to us. We should be sharing the best evidence possible with parents and caregivers so that they can make informed decisions. In research, understanding the effect size, often reported as a “Cohen’s d value”, is essential because it helps clarify what the research findings truly mean.

This month, the American Academy of Pediatrics published some new research titled, “Smartphone Ownership, Age of Smartphone Acquisition, and Health Outcomes in Early Adolescence” (1) As a result of this study, some in our field are pointing to it and saying, “aha, here’s the smoking gun that shows for those under the age of 12, smartphones are the cause of depression, obesity and sleep deprivation.” But, is that what the study actually found?

Again, the Cohen’s d in research is a measure of “effect size”, so what did this study actually say?

The study reported odds ratios (ORs) for “associations”: for example, owning a smartphone at age 12 was associated with increased odds of depression (OR ≈ 1.31), obesity (OR ≈ 1.40), and insufficient sleep (OR ≈ 1.62).

When you translate the OR into the actual Cohen’s d value we find the following:

- d = 0.15 (depression)

- d = 0.18 (obesity)

- d = 0.27 (sleep)

In developmental research, effects of d < .20 are commonly dismissed as:

- Noise or background variability

- Artefacts of measurement

- Sociodemographic confounds that weren’t fully controlled

- Statistical effects that don’t translate to real-world outcomes

Even for d ≈ .25, researchers typically interpret the effect as weak, inconsistent, and not policy-relevant unless replicated across many high-quality studies and explained by a clear causal mechanism, which this study does not do.

What This Means for Parents

These effect sizes in this research DO NOT support strong claims such as:

- “Getting a phone before age 12 harms mental health.”

- “Phones cause obesity.”

- “Phones meaningfully disrupt sleep compared to kids without them.”

To say so, and pointing to this study as confirmation, is intellectually being dishonest with parents and caregivers.

What the Cohen’s D value shows us is that in a huge sample of over 10,000 participants , children who got phones earlier, “some” showed slightly different average scores, differences so small they are considered statistical noise, which could be overshadowed by other cofounding facts such as:

- Family dynamics

- Sleep routines

- Physical activity

- Socioeconomic factors

- Personality traits

- School context

- Parenting style

However, we agree that this study does justify continued research that looks more carefully at:

- What kids do with phones

- How parents guide use

- other confounding factors like stress, poverty, loneliness, or family conflict

Again, do we believe that those under the age of 16yrs should have a fully functioning iPhone or Android phone - other than in exigent circumstances, “NO”, and something that we have been preaching about for over two decades! That said, this study isn’t a solid reason to support that view. However, It’s being shared online as it it were by some, and in ways that lack context, which makes it great for attention and engagement, but not for accuracy when it comes to policy or family integration of technology that is developmentally appropriate.

Digital Food For Thought

The White Hatter

Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech

Reference:

1/

10.1542/6383520259112Video AbstractPEDS-VA_2025-0729416383520259112OBJECTIVES. Given concerns regarding health implications of adolescent smartphone use, we tested associations of smartphone ownership and age of smartphone acquisition with depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep in early adolesc...

12/09/2025

Consider This Before You Post That Photo Of Your Child Online

We see this all the time, parents and caregivers posting pictures of their child online, but have you really thought about what happens to that picture once you hit the send button?

The moment a child’s image leaves your device, it becomes part of a much larger unseen digital ecosystem. That single photo no longer lives only on your device, or your family’s digital album, it becomes data, analyzable, storable, searchable, and, in some cases, exploitable. Most parents and caregivers never intend harm when they share online, but intention doesn’t change what happens behind the scenes.

To read our full article on this topic click this link: https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/consider-this-before-you-post-that-photo-of-your-child-online

12/09/2025

Here's another 16yr old teen, this time from South Africa, who invented and leveraged technology to address social challenges, to combat human trafficking and gender-based targeting of teen girls and women. This teen created an "Alerting Earpiece," a discreet piece of wearable technology that can send alerts, snap photos of perpetrators, and share the wearer's location in real time. Another GREAT example of a teen using technology to develop tech for good! Tip of our White Hat to this teen.

12/08/2025

AI Companionship Apps: The Next Frontier For Youth Radicalization?

Many of our recent discussions surrounding companionship apps have focused on the emotional, psychological, physical, and social risks that come with teens forming unhealthy attachments to AI companionship apps, especially when it comes to intimacy and healthy relationships. However, we are predicting the same technologies that create these deep connections, could also be used by people who want to radicalize youth, using AI companions as the vehicle for influence.

To read our full article on this topic, click this link https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/ai-companionship-apps-the-next-frontier-for-youth-radicalization

12/07/2025

Meet grade 10 student Adam Brayford from British Columbia who developed an app to detect skin cancer. Another GREAT example of a teen using AI technology to develop a phone app for good! Tip of our White Hat to this teen.

12/07/2025

The 12 Pillars of Safer and Balanced Technology Use - A Roadmap or Guide For Parents and Caregivers

Over the past several years, conversations about kids, teens, and technology have grown louder and more emotional. Many parents and caregivers feel caught between two extremes. One side pushes for bans and hard restrictions. The other pushes for early and unrestricted access, however, reality sits somewhere in between. Youth and teens are growing up in a world where technology shapes relationships, learning, identity, play, and work. The question isn’t whether they will enter that world, but how prepared they will be when they do.

This guide introduces 12 digital pillars to help you bring technology into your child’s life in ways that fit their development, protect mental health, support equity, and build skills in safety, privacy, and AI readiness, without sliding into fear-based extremes. To read the full article, click this link https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/post/the-12-pillars-of-safer-and-balanced-technology-use-a-roadmap-or-guide-for-parents-and-caregivers

12/06/2025

Yesterday, we presented two live virtual presentations on the topics of digital literacy and internet safety, one for the younger grades (gr 5-7) and one for the older grades (gr 8-9) to a school in Calgary Alberta. Such a GREAT school, and the questions from students were AWESOME. Here's some feedback we got from a parent of one of these students

Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech!