Happy 54th birthday to this most lovely one!

Ever diligent, fiercely loyal, always organised, low tolerance for fools, overwhelmingly loving - she is the oil and fuel of our family machine and I/we love her thousands and heaps.

Well, that's my mid-semester quiz done for my Web Technologies subject.

I haven't sat a Uni exam in over 30 years.

The nervous energy is shaking out of me right now.

OK, so that former IT professional/former youth worker/future teacher in me can't sit on this any longer.

The social media age limit/ban is fucking stupid.

Celebrities exerting their influence to suggest "it is hurting the young people" is lovely, though misplaced activism. Most cynically it gets them in the media cycle and on telly talking about their thing and that's great for them and pointless for their cause du jour. Also, they engage with this stuff with absolutely no research and limited engagement. Like...come on, guys - if you were serious you'd have engaged experts who would have said the idea is stupid.

Politicians jumping on board and offering legislation are doing so having engaged experts (normally) however not thinking through the actual solution.

Which, in this case, is: if you can't stop people under 18 accessing porn/adult content, how can you stop a 15yo from logging into Insta?

Young people are smart and resourceful and can do birthday math.

The overarching issue is: a total lack of parental engagement. Legislating attempts to absolve them of guilt at not keeping up or communicating with their young person (or, at worst, developing boundaries around their expected behaviour). Celebs doing stuff means parents get to feel relieved that someone understands their problem (they don't) and is doing something about it (they aren't).

ALL THIS before we get to the example of parents who are concerned about the effects of social media on their young person/people who spend hours mindlessly scrolling when in the presence of their young person.

Like, WTAF?!

Show some restraint, set an example, and engage with your young people. It takes a village, sure, however they are YOUR young people. Take some responsibility for raising them and seek help and talk with them and support them and don't lean on fucking celebrity and political kneejerk fabricated action plans. BE THE ADULT in the relationship.

The new season of THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF starts shortly and it will be simultaneously wonderful and deeply sad because it’s Cal Wilson’s final season.

She was wonderful, and rightly everyone that met her loved her. What a ball of joy she was. #GABO