Naomi Barnes

ABSTRACT We developed this special section partly to showcase the cutting edge social/media work being conducted by education academics around the globe, but also in response to Ball’s (2021) challenge to readers of Critical Studies in Education to consider the irrational in critical policy sociology.

Hundreds of schools are closed. We’re in lock down again. This time it’s not COVID, it’s climate. Waiting for (now Ex-)Tropical Cyclone Alfred to cross the Southeast Queensland coast, there was an uncanny calm. Just as in the pandemic, we saw the predicted effects of the disaster on the news, and the continuous commentary and advice on local ABC radio. But while writing this post, we have not yet fully comprehended the impact. We’re not supposed to get cyclones in this area of the world.

South Australia last week began consultations on a proposed social media ban for children under the age of 14. The federal government quickly announced its intention to follow suit with a national social media ban for children (age to be determined) by the end of 2024. This announcement comes hard on the heels of an increased attention to the harms of social media. Specifically, a lot of that attention has been related to reporting of sexism and misogyny in schools.