📱 When is "Old Enough" Really?

👋 Welcome! Childhood is unscrollable. In today's post we dive into the world-first social media ban, the real science of maturity, and exactly how to navigate these new digital norms together.

Australia Bans Teen Socials — Australia officially barred under-16s from social media today, forcing giants like Meta to implement rigorous age verification. As the world’s first nationwide ban takes effect, global regulators are watching closely to see if the controversial law can withstand privacy concerns and tech-savvy evasion.

Instagram Unlocks Your Algorithm — IG debuted a new feature that finally reveals exactly what the AI thinks you enjoy. Starting with Reels, users can now manually tune their feed by requesting "more" or "less" of specific topics, giving them active control over their digital diet rather than passively accepting recommendations.

UK Defends Subsea Cables — The UK launched "Atlantic Bastion," a military program deploying autonomous vessels and advanced sensors to protect undersea infrastructure from Russian interference. The initiative accelerates naval surveillance in 2026 to secure the fiber-optic backbones of the global economy.

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China Leads Talent Race — "Chip War" author Chris Miller warned the Senate that the US is losing its "brain power" advantage. With 3.57 million annual STEM graduates—quadruple the US output—Beijing is now producing AI models that rival American technology at just one-tenth of the cost.

Altman Calls AI Equalizer — Sam Altman told Jimmy Fallon that AI acts as a "great equalizer," putting the same powerful tools in the hands of billionaires and everyday workers alike. With ChatGPT now serving 800 million weekly users, Altman argued this democratization of intelligence will reshape careers despite growing pains.

Coupang CEO Quits Over Hack Data Breach Fallout — Coupang CEO Park Dae-jun resigned after a massive hack exposed 34 million user records. With police raiding headquarters and a Chinese national suspected of the leak, the parent company appointed Harold Rogers as interim CEO to stabilize the South Korean retail giant.

Amazon Invests $35 Billion — Amazon pledged $35B to India by 2030, aggressively expanding cloud and AI infrastructure. Surpassing recent rival commitments from Google and MS, the move aims to support 15 million small businesses and 3.8 million jobs, solidifying Amazon as the nation’s top foreign investor.

Rivian Pivots To Software — Rivian hosts its "Autonomy Day" to reframe its investment thesis around AI services rather than manufacturing. With shares down 80% since IPO, the automaker aims to leverage a $5.8B VW joint venture to convince Wall Street that proprietary autonomy stacks can drive future profitability.

J.P. Morgan Backs Mondu Financing B2B Trade — Fintech Mondu secured a €100 million debt facility from J.P. Morgan to tackle Europe's late payment crisis. By joining the banking giant's partner network, Mondu will scale its digital trade finance solutions, offering flexible liquidity to modernize antiquated corporate transactions.

With Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s officially taking effect this week, the global conversation has shifted from "should we regulate?" to "how do we live with this?" While governments are drawing hard legal lines in the sand, the question for us—parents, older siblings, and digital natives—is less about compliance and more about health. We are witnessing a massive cultural course correction, one that moves away from the "access at any age" experiment of the last decade. The whole world is watching this "grand social experiment" not just as a policy test, but as a desperate attempt to reclaim a lost sense of childhood.

The consensus among experts is hardening around the age of sixteen, not arbitrarily, but biologically. The prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for impulse control and emotional regulation—is simply not equipped to handle the dopamine loops of an algorithm during early puberty. While bans are complex, the correlation between social media reliance and rising anxiety is driving even reluctant policymakers to agree that 13 was far too young. The "sweet spot" seems to be delaying entry until a teenager has established a firm identity offline, making them less fragile to the warping effects of online comparison.

However, a number isn't a strategy. Simply blocking access doesn't teach resilience. It turns out that the "right age" is actually a social construct. It is easier to wait until 16 if all your friends are waiting too. A new study launched by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute is currently tracking this exact phenomenon, aiming to prove that collective delay reduces the "fear of missing out" that drives so much teen anxiety. When the norm shifts, the pressure dissolves.

Of course, prohibition has its critics. UNICEF issued a crucial reminder yesterday, warning that age restrictions alone cannot replace digital literacy. The goal isn't to hide the internet from young people forever, but to onboard them slowly. A healthy approach involves a gradual "driver’s ed" for the web—starting with limited, passive access and graduating to full algorithmic exposure only when they have the critical thinking skills to recognize when they are being manipulated.

Ultimately, this shift is incredibly hopeful. We are moving from a defensive crouch to an empowered stance, realizing that we actually have the power to curate our own development. 2025 will likely be remembered not as the year we banned apps, but as the year we decided that childhood was too valuable to be monetized. By collectively raising the bar, we are giving the next generation the greatest luxury of all: the time to figure out who they are, without an audience watching.

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1,300,000,000

people are online in China, meaning there are more active internet users in that single country than there are human beings in North, South, and Central America combined.