NOT BROKEN - EVIDENCE BASE
Research &
Resources
The evidence that underpins Not Broken — key studies, Australian data, and trusted sources for families and professionals who want to go deeper.
Not Broken is built on evidence, not opinion. Every recommendation in our programs and guides is grounded in peer-reviewed research, Australian government data, and the clinical evidence base for behaviour support practice.
This page is for parents who want to understand the research, and for professionals who need to verify the sources. All references are publicly accessible — most are available via Google Scholar, PubMed, or the linked government websites.
THE AUSTRALIAN PICTURE
Current Australian data on children, young people, and technology. These figures are drawn from Australian government sources and updated research.
4.5 hrs +
Average daily screen time at home for Australian children — not including school screen use
ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL NATIONAL CHILD HEALTH POLL.
40%
Of Australian adolescents first encountered pornography accidentally, before the age of 13
eSafety Commissioner, 2024
13
Average age of first exposure to online pornography for Australian children
eSafety Commissioner, 2024
51%
Increased likelihood of attention difficulties with 2+ hours of daily screen time
Liu et al., PubMed, 2023
75%
Of Australian 16–18 year olds have encountered online pornography, with 1 in 3 first exposed before age 13
eSafety Commissioner, 2024
45%
Increase in reports of online child exploitation to the ACCCE in 2023–24 — 58,503 reports, averaging 160 per day
AFP ACCCE, 2024
THE MENTAL HEALTH DECLINE
Adolescent mental health has deteriorated significantly since the mass adoption of smartphones and social media. The Australian data is particularly clear — and particularly recent.
2012
The approximate turning point — when adolescent mental health began its steepest decline across Australia, the US, UK, and Canada, coinciding with mass smartphone and social media became near universal among teens.
HAIDT. J. THE ANXIOUS GENERATION , 2024
26%→39%
The 12-month prevalence of mental disorders among Australians aged 16–24 rose by 50% between 2007 and 2021 — climbing from 26% to 39% of young people
ABS NATIONAL STUDE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING, 2022.
2x
Adolescents spending 3+ hours daily on social media are twice as likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression
US SURGEON GENERAL ADVISORY, 2023
A note on causation: The association between social media adoption and adolescent mental health decline is striking and consistent across multiple countries and datasets. Causation is debated in academic literature — some researchers urge caution about overclaiming direct cause. Not Broken's position is that the precautionary principle applies when the subjects are children and the data is this consistent. We do not wait for perfect evidence before protecting developing brains.
WHAT THIS COSTS PARENTS
The research on children and technology is extensive. The research on what this era costs parents is still catching up. But what is emerging is significant — and it validates what many parents are already living.
55%
Of parents globally ranked online safety as their top concern for their children — above physical health and mental health
ECPAT INTERNATIONAL SURVEY, 2024
79%
Of Australian parents say protecting their child's personal information online is a major concern — yet only 50% feel they can actually do it
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TO PRIVACY SURVEY, 2024
59%
Of Australian students have no restrictions on taking devices to their bedrooms overnight — leaving parents navigating threats they cannot see, in spaces they cannot monitor
CYBER SAFETY PROJECT, TEENS AND SCREENS, 2024
The home is no longer a sanctuary.
A generation ago, the risks children faced were largely outside the home — at the park, at a party, on the street. Parents could, within limits, create a safe space by closing the front door. That changed with the smartphone. The threats parents are now navigating are inside the bedroom, on a device the family purchased, through relationships that are invisible to them. Grooming, exploitation, pornography exposure, radicalisation — these now happen in the dark, behind a screen, in a child's own room.
Emerging research has named this techno-family stress — the psychological strain of managing digital boundaries in a domestic environment where connectivity is constant and threats are covert. The research is still catching up to what parents are already experiencing. Not Broken was built to bridge that gap.
Frontiers in Education, 2026 · Radesky et al., 2020 · Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey, 2023
KEY RESEARCH
The peer-reviewed studies, systematic reviews, and clinical frameworks that directly inform the Not Broken program. All are publicly accessible.
Screen time of 2+ hours per day and ADHD risk: meta-analysis of 81,234 children
Liu, Y., et al. (2023) · PubMed
A large-scale meta-analysis finding a 51% increased likelihood of attention difficulties in children with two or more hours of daily recreational screen time. One of the most cited studies in the current screen time research literature.
SCREEN TIME - ATTENTION - META-ANALYSISAccess via PubMed
Smartphone reduction to under 2 hrs/day and adult wellbeing outcomes: randomised controlled trial
PMC Randomised Controlled Trial (2025) · PMC / PubMed Central
Adults who reduced smartphone use to under two hours per day showed significant improvements in depression, stress, sleep, and overall wellbeing within three weeks — providing causal, not merely correlational, evidence for the impact of screen time reduction.
SCREEN TIME - WELLBEING - RCTAccess via PubMed Central
Parental modelling and child screen behaviour: systematic review of 5 meta-analyses, 87 studies
Morawska, A., et al. (2023) · University of Queensland / Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review
Five separate systematic reviews confirm that parental screen behaviour is directly and consistently associated with child screen behaviour. The most durable intervention targets adults, not just children. Foundational to the Not Broken First Screen philosophy.
PARENTAL MODELLING - SCREEN TIME - SYSTEMATIC REVIEW - AUSTRALIANClinical Child and Family Psychology Review
ICD-11: Gaming Disorder (6C51)
World Health Organisation (2019) · WHO
The WHO's recognition of Gaming Disorder as a clinical diagnosis — defined as impaired control over gaming that overrides other interests and activities despite negative consequences. Estimates suggest 3–8% of gaming children and adolescents meet diagnostic criteria.
GAMING - CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS - WHOAccess via WHO
Interpersonal Neurobiology framework
Siegel, D. (2012–present) · Mindsight Institute
Dan Siegel's foundational framework showing that children develop their capacity for regulation, connection, and emotional intelligence through attuned relationship with the adults in their lives. The theoretical basis for the Not Broken First Screen philosophy.
NEUROBIOLOGY - ATTACHMENT - REGULATION
Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2025
Australian Government (2025) · Federal Parliament
Australia's legislation banning social media for children under 16, passed December 2025. A landmark recognition at policy level that the current digital environment poses genuine developmental risk to young people.
SOCIAL MEDIA - AUSTRALIAN LAW - POLICYAustralian Legislation Register
Youth mental health decline in Australia: 24-year HILDA Survey analysis
Alexeev, S. & Glozier, N. (2026) · UNSW Sydney / University of Sydney Analysis of 24 years of Australian household data found adolescents experienced the steepest mental health decline between 2019 and 2021, with only partial recovery by 2024. Teenagers aged 15–18 have recovered only about one third of what they lost. The lead researcher notes the mid-2010s onset coincided closely with mass smartphone and social media adoption among adolescents — "the leading candidate explanation in the international literature."
MENTAL HEALTH - AUSTRALIAN - LONGITUDINAL - SOCIAL MEDIAUNSW Newsroom
The rise of social media and the fall in mental wellbeing among young Australians
Leigh, A., et al. (2025) · Australian Economic Review
Using multiple data sources — surveys, self-harm hospitalisations, and suicide deaths — this study documents a substantial worsening in the mental wellbeing of Australians aged 15–24 years coinciding with the rise of social media. One of the first peer-reviewed Australian studies to draw directly on hospitalisation and mortality data alongside survey measures.
MENTAL HEALTH - AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL MEDIA - SELF_HARMAustralian Economic ReviewTechno-family stress: parental self-compassion in the digital age
Frontiers in Education (2026)
Introduces and examines "techno-family stress" — the psychological strain arising from managing digital boundaries, screen-time disputes, and constant connectivity that erodes the domestic sphere. Identifies self-compassion and reduced rumination as key protective factors for parents navigating digital parenting demands. Directly relevant to the Not Broken parent-first framework.
PARENTAL STRESS - TECHNO FAMILY STRESS - DIGITAL PARENTINGFrontiers in Education
IINTERNATIONAL RESOURCES
AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES
Key international voices and organisations whose work informs the Not Broken framework.
JONATHAN HAIDT - SUBSTACK
After Babel
Jonathan Haidt’s Substack publication covering the global research on social media, adolescence and mental health. Current, free and widely read by practitioners and policy makers.
afterbabel.comDR JARED COONEY HORVATH
I.ME GLOBAL
Dr Jared Cooney Horvath’s research and education platform. Brain science applied to learning for educators, schools and families who want to understand how technology affects how we think and learn.
Imeglobal.netINDEPENDANT - USA
Child Mind Institute
Independent US organisation producing accessible, evidence based resources on gaming, screens, anxiety and child mental health. Useful for families and practitioners seeking plain-language summaries of the research.
childmind.orgGovernment and independent Australian organisations providing current, reliable information for families and professionals.
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTeSafety Commissioner
Australia’s national online safety regulator. Reporting tools, research and practical resources for families on online safety, cyberbullying, image-based abuse and more.
esafety.gov.auAUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTAustralian Communications Media Authority
Research on Australian children’s media use, screen time data, and digital communication regulation.
acma.gov.auAUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE-BASEDRaising Children Network
Australia’s trusted parenting website, developed with the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. Practical, evidence based guidance for families across all ages and stages.
raisingchidren.net.auAUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTAustralian Institute of Health and Welfare
Screen time guidelines, childern’s mental health data, and population-level health and welfare statistics for Australia.
aihw.gov.auAUSTRALIAN FEDRAL POLICEACCCE - Report Online Child Exploitation
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. Report child sexual abuse material or online grooming here. Mandatory reporting resource for families and professionals.
cybertip.afp.gov.auINDEPENDENT RESEARCHThe Reward Foundation
Peer reviewed research on pornography, the adolescent brain and behavior. Particularly relevant for families navigating pornography exposure in young people.
rewardfoundation.orgDAN SIEGEL - FRAMEWORK
Mindsight Institute
Dan Siegel’s interpersonal Neurobiology framework - the theoretical foundation for the Not Broken First Screen philosophy. Resources for practitioners and families on regulation, attachment and the developing brain.
mindsightinstitute.comWORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
WHO — Mental Health
International clinical guidelines including the ICD-11 classification of Gaming Disorder, and the global data on child and adolescent mental health.
who.intTRISTIAN HARRIS - USA
Center for Humane Technology
Founded by the former Google Design Ethicist Tristian Harris, featured in the Emmy-Award winning Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. The CHT works to align technology with humanity’s best interests, exposing how platforms are designed to exploit human psychology. Their podcast Your Undivided Attention is essential listening for anyone working in this space.
humanetech.comLooking for book recommendations?
We've curated a short, carefully chosen reading list — with editorial notes on what each book is good for, and where the evidence is stronger or more debated.