The contemporary Internet-era flat Earth believers have gained significant attention in recent years, with various organizations and public figures promoting this idea, including Together for the Netherlands, which organized a demonstration in Amsterdam.

In the United Kingdom, flat Earth societies exist in British universities, such as York, Nottingham Trent, and Cambridge, which has led to criticism from renowned figures like Richard Dawkins.

Some public figures, such as Kyrie Irving, a celebrity athlete, have endorsed flat Earth beliefs, ignoring science and facts, and have been criticized by other public figures for their views.

The flat Earth theory has also spread to the Arab world, often combined with conspiracy theories, and has been promoted by various media channels, including videos and documentaries.

The reasons for the resurgence of flat Earth theory in the modern world are not fully understood, but may be related to the spread of misinformation on social media and the decline of trust in institutions.

The characteristics of people who are most likely to subscribe to flat Earth beliefs include a tendency towards conspiratorial thinking, overconfidence, and cognitive biases, as well as certain personality traits and demographic factors.

Exposure to conspiracy theories, such as the flat Earth belief, can harm critical thinking skills in teenagers, and being friends with someone who holds flat Earth beliefs may hinder this development.

To effectively communicate with their child about the concerns of being friends with someone who holds unconventional or misinformation-based beliefs, parents should initiate conversations with kids about concerns and create a comfortable space for them to ask questions.

Parents should also maintain good communication with their children to overcome social pressures and get to know their child's friends to understand the influences their child is exposed to.

The potential long-term effects of flat Earth beliefs on teenagers' mental health and well-being are likely to be negative, and may include increased stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as a lack of trust in credible sources of information.

Educational institutions and policymakers have a crucial role to play in promoting critical thinking skills and media literacy, and in protecting teenagers from the negative effects of misinformation.

Critical thinking is developed through evaluating information reliability, which is essential in addressing concerns about flat Earth beliefs among teenagers, and teaching critical thinking helps combat misinformation.

Media literacy education can help prevent mental health problems and cyberbullying, and it is being mandated in some states, such as California, for K-12 students.

The National Institute for Astronomical Research confirms that Earth is spherical and warns against publishing conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, and astronomy research supports Earth's spherical shape since ancient times.

However, despite the overwhelming evidence, flat Earth societies exist at British universities like York and Cambridge, and some public figures like Richard Dawkins criticize universities for tolerating flat Earth ideas.

Children start believing unproven conspiracy theories at age 14, and over 80% of middle school students mistake sponsored ads for news, making them vulnerable to misinformation.

The algorithms used by social media platforms like YouTube play a critical role in spreading false information, and collective action is necessary to protect children from misinformation.

Education is important to help children judge true or false information, and critical thinking skills are necessary to combat false information.

Parents and educators can use resources like "The Mediatrician's Guide" to provide evidence-based advice for healthy digital engagement in children and address concerns about flat Earth beliefs among teenagers.

UNICEF recommends regulations to protect children from false information, and media literacy education is essential for youth.

Exposure to hate speech and racism on social media harms youth, and social media-based racism and discrimination worsen mental health.

Adolescent girls and minorities are disproportionately affected, and online harassment and cyberbullying are associated with depression.

Social media companies must improve content moderation, and clinicians can help by reporting concerning content and promoting media literacy.

Regular connection with children is vital for mental health, and open conversations about mental health reduce stigma.

Monitoring online activities is crucial for teenagers' well-being, and recognizing symptoms of mental health issues is essential.

Professional help is necessary for severe mental health concerns, and modeling positive mental health behavior helps children.

Close parent-child relationships act as a buffer in times of stress, and seeking help for own mental health issues is important.

Social media poses risks to young people's mental health, and nearly every teenager in America uses social media.

Clinical depression in teens doubled between 2011 and 2021, and 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan in 2021.

Social media use affects adolescents and causes anxiety, and adolescent girls are more at risk of social media impacts.

Utah established a curfew for teens on social media apps, and lawmakers are pushing for restrictions on teens' social media use.

Overall, the spread of misinformation, including flat Earth beliefs, is a significant concern for teenagers' mental health and well-being, and efforts should be made to promote critical thinking skills and media literacy, and to protect teenagers from the negative effects of misinformation.

The contemporary Internet-era flat Earth believers have gained significant attention in recent years, with various organizations and public figures promoting this idea, including Together for the Netherlands, which organized a demonstration in Amsterdam.

Title:

Content: Conspiracy theorist banned from most European countries
Miscellaneous
Copy Link https: / / en.rt.com / u400
The Dutch government has banned British "conspiracy theorist" David Eckey from entering most of Europe for two years amid fears his planned presence at a weekend demonstration in Amsterdam could lead to unrest.
Dutch Justice Minister Dylan Jelguz Ziguerius told reporters that freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate were fundamental rights "but they are not unlimited".
Ike is one of the leading advocates of the belief that a species of lizard has taken over the land by posing as human leaders.
Ekki was expelled from Twitter after publishing false information about COVID-19, including claims that Jews and 5G cell towers were behind the pandemic.
According to a letter posted on his website, Dutch immigration authorities told Ike that “there are concrete indications that your arrival in the Netherlands poses a threat to public order. ”
Ike described the ban as an "unusual and exaggerated response".
The Dutch order bans Ekki from entering 26 countries in the European passport-free Schengen zone.
Ike was expected to speak at a demonstration on Sunday organised by an anti-power group called Together for the Netherlands.
Law enforcement authorities said the rally was expected to attract counter-protesters, including far-left groups.
Ike was denied entry to Australia, which cancelled his visa ahead of a planned trip.
Source: Associated Press
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In the United Kingdom, flat Earth societies exist in British universities, such as York, Nottingham Trent, and Cambridge, which has led to criticism from renowned figures like Richard Dawkins.

Title:

Content: The Daily Express Original
Express: “indulge conspiracy theorists ” – British universities criticized for supporting anti-scientific ideas
The famous biologist Richard Dawkins attacked the “tolerant ” British universities.
According to the professor, the leadership of educational institutions cares too much about the “feelings ” of students and therefore is in no hurry to debunk the growing popularity of pseudoscientific ideas, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth and the denial of evolution, writes the Daily Express.
The famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins lashed out at the “tolerant ” British universities.
The academician accused their leadership of encouraging the spread of pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth, reports the Daily Express.
Dawkins, 80, was a professor at Oxford University until 2008.
In addition, he has published several best-selling books and made documentaries about the origins of life, the publication explains.
Dawkins urged higher education institutions to "stand up for scientific truth."
In his opinion, they need to educate students, and not “protect ” the feelings of conspiracy theorists.
“University leaders who think that the ‘ offended feelings ’ of flat-earthers and evolutionists matter more than scientific truth need to go back to university to find out what it ’ s for, ” he wrote on Twitter.
“Defend the scientific truth and the clarity of language.
They do not go to university to feel “safe ” and“ protect feelings. ”
They go there to face challenges and learn to cope with difficulties, ” the professor stressed.
Flat Earth societies exist at many British universities, including York, Nottingham Trent and Cambridge.
According to one popular theory, our planet is a disk that surrounds a 46-meter ice wall that does not allow people to fall from the edge, draws the attention of the Daily Express.
The materials of InoTV contain estimates of exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of RT
We publish on Twitter relevant foreign articles selected by the editorial office of InoTV
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Which universities have flat Earth believer societies?

Some public figures, such as Kyrie Irving, a celebrity athlete, have endorsed flat Earth beliefs, ignoring science and facts, and have been criticized by other public figures for their views.

Title:

Content: Candace Buckner hit a three-pointer with nothing but net in her brilliant Oct. 16 Sports essay, “Irving can talk, but we don’t have to hear him.” Remember this is the same Kyrie Irving who is not sure that the Earth is round.

Unfortunately, Mr. Irving and those of his “thinking” demonstrate that ignorance is no longer a lack of information but rather a willful decision to ignore science, historical facts and other truths. I fear we are now living in a post-truth era, a time of “alternative facts.”

Cary C. Schwartzbach, Fairfax

What NBA star claimed that the earth is flat?

The flat Earth theory has also spread to the Arab world, often combined with conspiracy theories, and has been promoted by various media channels, including videos and documentaries.

Title:

Content: How did Muslim scholars refute the flat Earth theory a thousand years ago?
The flat earth is currently one of the most famous scientific myths widespread in the Arab world, and has private groups on social media met by supporters from all over, and in recent days has been controversial because of statements by the Egyptian artist Mohamed Sobhy.
There are two histories to this theory, not one; the first is ancient and the second is modern.
A number of Greek philosophers believed that the earth was flat, and the ancient Scandinavian and German peoples also believed that the earth was flat and surrounded by oceans, and the common belief in ancient China was that the earth was square and flat while the sky was spherical.
But it ’ s really surprising to know that early astronomers assumed its sphericity, and they were from almost every culture: Pythagoras, who lived about 2,500 years ago, proposed the sphericity of the Earth based on his observations of the moon during the eclipse.
Pythagorean's observations are still evidence of a refutation of the flat Earth theory: Pythagorean observed that the shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon during the eclipse is always round.
Regardless of the moon-facing part of the planet, eclipses occur everywhere in the world.
The idea of a lunar eclipse is simple: put a big lamp in the middle of your room and turn off the rest of the lights, stand at a distance of one meter from it, now turn around while you reach your hands in front of you with a tennis ball, when you give your back to the lamp and pass the tennis ball in the shadow extended in front of you because of your body, this is the eclipse.
To Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes, born 276 BC, was the first to measure the circumference of the Earth using a simple method involving the angle of the Sun at different locations.
Eratosthenes was astonished to read that the columns in the ancient Egyptian temples of Aswan on the afternoon of June 21 of each year did not leave a shadow under them, and the mystery of the wonder was that the columns in Alexandria left a shadow under them on the afternoon of the same day.
Eratosthenes came to the conclusion that the earth must be convex and not flat, otherwise the columns in Alexandria would appear shadowless, and then after reflection Eratosthenes came to the clever idea that we could measure the length of the shadow in Aswan which is zero, and its length in Alexandria, and then measure the distance between Alexandria and Aswan, and infer the circumference of the earth.
The story goes that he sent a man to measure the distance, so that with some simple geometry he could measure the circumference of the Earth, which he concluded was about 39,348 kilometers.
Eratosthenes' account was transferred to the Arabs from among the sciences they translated.
According to Carlo Nelino in his book "Astronomy: A History of the Arabs in the Middle Ages", the Caliph al-Ma'mun al-Abbasi (who ruled from 813 to 833 AD) asked two teams of astronomers to test these calculations and come up with the most accurate measurement of the Earth's circumference....
The safe astronomer.
The method adopted by the Arabs is to go out into a perfectly flat desert, and then rely on the inclination of the polar star in the sky.
The ancients realized that the position of stars in the sky is affected by your place on Earth, the further you travel south, the lower the polar star in the sky until it disappears completely after the equator, and the more you travel north, the higher the polar star sky until it became above your head in the North Pole, which means that the Earth is round, otherwise the position of stars in the sky changes with your place on it.
The height of the polar star (and all other stars) is measured in degrees, and it is like to put a protractor in front of your eyes, the horizon is at zero, and then look at the protractor from the side to find at what degree the polar star stands, and this is something you can do exactly as the ancients did, and now astronomical software is easily available.
Al-Ma'mun astronomers measured the height of the polar star, then moved north once and south once, until the amount of inclination of the polar star changes by one degree, and then measured the distance north and south, and this measured distance is one degree from the circumference of the Earth's circle, and it can know the rest of the circumference of the Earth, because the Earth is a ball, and like any ball, rotation around it requires 360 degrees.
The first team of Al-Ma ’ mun astronomers went out to the Sinjar desert, a small city in northwestern Iraq today, and the second team to the Palmyra desert in eastern Syria, and carried out the same experiments in both places. In the Sinjar desert, for example, the height of the polar star was about 35 degrees. south of the wedge site until the measurement dropped by a degree.
According to al-Ma ’ mun ’ s astronomers, the scale of one degree was about 56 parsecs and two-thirds parsecs, which Nalino calculated — according to Edward Kennedy of the American University of Beirut in a paper published in the Encyclopedia of the History of Arab Sciences — to be 111.8 kilometers, a value used by later researchers such as al-Biruni and al-Toussi.
Calculating the circumference of the Earth in this experiment, it turned out to be about 410,248 km, which was close to modern measurements (40075 km) in the most accurate way at the time.
Note that the difference between the two measurements is about 1,100 years, and the reason for the difference is not related to the same method but to the ellipse of the Earth, as the distance between the two latitudes increases slightly as we head north.
Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni
The second attempt was by Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, born in September 973 AD, who used the best and easiest formula to calculate the circumference of the Earth in his time.
The Al-Biruni method is based on triangulation, where the sunset is observed from the top of a high mountain overlooking flat ground to the horizon, the astrolabe measures the angle the sun descends relative to the observer on the top of the mountain, where the line connecting the observer on the top of the mountain and the horizon makes the sunset clock touch the planet Earth.
It is known that the tangent of a circle perpendicular to its diameter, and then we have a right-angled triangle at the horizon, and we can measure the radius of the Earth by knowing the height of the mountain, which is mathematically easy.
Currently, the same calculations can be applied by high school students, for example, in all countries of the Arab world, who have a good amount of trigonometry study.
In a study published in the International Journal of Sciences, an Italian team repeated al-Biruni ’ s experiment and concluded that its results for the radius of the Earth are equal to 3,928.77 English miles, which compares favorably, being 2% different, with the average reference radius at the measurement latitude, which is 3,847.80 miles.
Pakistani physicist Mazhar Mahmood Qureshi, in his book An Introduction to Muslim Contributions to Science and Technology, points out that al-Biruni ’ s experience in what is now Nandana Fort in the mountains of northern Pakistan is a typical example of the use of experimental scientific methods.
The most important book of al-Biruni astronomical is "The Law of Masoudi", in which al-Biruni collected all the astronomical problems of his time, and the way of al-Biruni was to present the origins of the matter and the views of the Indian, Greek and Arab astronomers and then weighted between them.
Modern history of flat earth
But at that point, you might ask yourself: if the sphericity of the Earth was obvious to Muslim scholars and their comrades in other parts of the world in ancient times, why did it come back?
In 1849, the English writer Samuel Rowbotham published a pamphlet entitled "Oil Astronomy" (from the Greek letter zeta, not oil), in which he defended the theory of the flat earth, and followed this with another entitled "The Instability of Modern Astronomy and its opposition to the Bible".
In 1883, Rowbotham founded oil societies in England and New York, shipping thousands of copies of his books to talk about flat earth.
Meanwhile, William Carpenter, a printer and native of Greenwich, England, supported Rowbotham and advocated his theory, learning it from John Jasper and preaching to more people than any cleric of his generation in the southern United States. Once.
From here the myth began to branch again in the United States, and then to Europe, and then to the Arab world and the rest of the world, but in this context it was mixed with conspiracy theories concerning secret groups trying to control the world by deluding people that the earth is round.
The proof of the sphericity of the earth is not new, and has a long history in which Muslim scholars have made an influential contribution, but because the “flat earth ” has been transformed from ignorance of the nature of science into a conspiracy theory it has been imported along with other famous theories into our Arab world.
Source: Al Jazeera + Websites

The reasons for the resurgence of flat Earth theory in the modern world are not fully understood, but may be related to the spread of misinformation on social media and the decline of trust in institutions.

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Who's most likely to be open to conspiracy theories? UNH research points to millennials and Trump supporters

Who are the groups most likely to believe in conspiracy theories? That’s the question a University of New Hampshire researcher recently set out to solve.

Sociology professor Lawrence Hamilton looked into national survey data gauging public beliefs in several conspiracy theories, including: "NASA astronauts did not really land on the Moon" and "The Earth is flat, not round."

After digging into that data, Hamilton found "acceptance or openness to conspiracy beliefs was significantly higher among certain subgroups, including Millennials and supporters of ex-president Trump."

NHPR’s Rick Ganley talked with Hamilton about his findings — and the role social media plays in spreading conspiracy theories. Below is a transcript of their conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

Read more about Hamilton's research here.

Transcript

Rick Ganley: It's worth noting that some of these conspiracy theories are old. Some are more recent. But all of them seemingly were given a boost by social media. And it's not hard to find false information, obviously, about topics online. Did you find it used to be much harder to hear about or be convinced of something like this?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, I've never asked these questions before, so I don't have my own data. There are Gallup polls going back to the late 1990s that seem to find much smaller fractions of people thinking that the moon landings were faked, for example. So there's some kind of indirect evidence. I don't know if anybody tracked it very well. The number of people who've heard about these theories [that's] rising are the people who are drawn into them. And I'm sure that YouTube and social media — people describe it as a rabbit hole, where if you start watching one video [alleging the Earth is flat], they'll recommend another one for you. And pretty soon it seems like the whole world is all about flat Earth.

Rick Ganley: Your research looked into the political leanings of people who responded. What did you find there?

Lawrence Hamilton: We did find a political correlation, and that wasn't a foregone conclusion, because I had specifically chosen conspiracy theories that are not known to have a clear political [connection]. I mean, there's been a lot of research going back really to the 1960s on the paranoid style in American politics that has found conspiracy theories are more popular among conservatives across a range of issues. In the 1950s, it was conspiracies by Communist infiltration in the U.S. government. Now, it may be conspiracies directed at politicians — [alleging without evidence that former President Barack] Obama is a Muslim, or [President Joe] Biden stole the 2020 election — and others that are targeted at scientists, like climate change is a hoax, COVID-19 is a hoax or COVID precautions or vaccines are a hoax. And I chose none of those. I chose things like: ‘The moon landings were fake,’ or ‘Earth is flat,’ ‘Vaccines implant microchips.’ So it was interesting to find that even there, there's a conservative preference.

Rick Ganley: A lot of this does come down to faith in science and academics and what so-called experts have to say. Do you see this as evidence of a decline in faith in institutions?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, I would say there's a decline — and this is something we do have data on — there's a wide decline in trust in scientists, and it's largely partisan. It's not so much happening among people who self-identify as liberal or moderate. But among people who identify as conservative or very conservative, there's definitely a decline in trust in scientists. The COVID pandemic was an interesting case in point, because we were actually tracking this on surveys, and trust in the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] took an enormous nosedive over space about four months, specifically among conservatives. Other groups didn't change. But the conservative trust in the CDC took this huge dive when [former President] Donald Trump's tweeting turned from praising the CDC to attacking it. And with that flip, conservative trust in the CDC flipped as well, and nobody else has changed much.

Rick Ganley: Your research also highlighted a pattern having to do with age. Respondents who classify themselves as millennials, that is those born between 1981 and 1996, were the most likely to agree with some of the conspiracies that you posed. And Gen Zs, I guess, were also more inclined than older respondents. What did you find there?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, some of that corresponded to previous surveys. There's a section at the end of our report where we say, well, how does this compare with what other people have found? Just as a reality check. And that's been reported by a number of other studies as well. So millennials in particular, and Gen Z to a slightly lesser extent, were much less skeptical about the conspiracies compared with boomers or older generations. And one explanation that's been offered for that, well, two explanations: Regarding the moon landings, of course, older generations lived through those and remember the national pride and excitement and so forth, whereas [for] younger generations, it's something in the history books. So maybe they don't have that sense of having been there when it happened. But the other thing is that you could expect younger generations to be more engaged with social media, which for some people could take them down these rabbit holes again.

Rick Ganley: Does your research have any suggestions on how to stop people from believing in conspiracy theories?

Lawrence Hamilton: That's a real hard one because there's this tendency to get into information silos where all you hear are the voices that reinforce your prejudices. And a thing about conspiracies is that they will give you a reason to reject anything that contradicts them. People have been seeing [the science behind] climate change for a long time, [and] you can't go in with fact sheets. That doesn't persuade anybody. They'll just become convinced that you're part of the hoax, too. There aren't any simple answers. The strongest recommendation is that scientists stay engaged in public communication through every channel they have, and that they try to make their conclusions understandable or accessible to people from a lot of different walks of life who obviously are not reading the peer review journals.

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The characteristics of people who are most likely to subscribe to flat Earth beliefs include a tendency towards conspiratorial thinking, overconfidence, and cognitive biases, as well as certain personality traits and demographic factors.

Title:

Content: Why do people buy crackpot conspiracy theories?

HOMEPAGE

When it comes to the spread of cockamamie conspiracy theories, Twitter was a maximum viable product long before Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the keys. But as soon as he took the wheel, Musk removed many of the guardrails Twitter had put in place to keep the craziness in check. Anti-vaxxers used an athlete's collapse during a game to revive claims that COVID-19 vaccines kill people. (They don't.) Freelance journalists spun long threads purporting to show that Twitter secretly supported Democrats in 2020. (It didn't.) Musk himself insinuated that the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband was carried out by a jealous boyfriend. (Nope.) Like a red thread connecting clippings on Twitter's giant whiteboard, conspiratorial ideation spread far and wide.

By some measures more than half of Americans believe at least one tale of a secret cabal influencing events. Some are more plausible than others; a few are even true. But most — from classics like the faked moon landing to new-school stuff like 5G cell towers causing COVID — defy science and logic. And while social-media platforms like Twitter and Meta may help deranged conspiracy theories metastasize, a fundamental question remains: Why does anyone fall for stuff like that?

Social scientists are closing in on some answers. The personality traits known as the "Dark Triad" — that's narcissism, psychopathy, and a tendency to see the world in black-or-white terms — play a part. So do political beliefs, particularly populism and a tolerance for political violence. Cognitive biases, like believing only evidence that confirms what you already think, also make people more vulnerable.

But according to new research, it isn't ignorance that makes people most likely to buy into conspiratorial thinking, or social isolation or mental illness. It's a far more prevalent and pesky personality quirk: overconfidence.

The more you think you're right all the time, a new study suggests, the more likely you are to buy conspiracy theories, regardless of the evidence. That'd be bad enough if it applied only to that one know-it-all cousin you see every Thanksgiving. But given how both politics and business reward a faith in one's own genius, the news is way worse. Some of the same people this hypothesis predicts will be most prone to conspiracy thinking also have the biggest megaphones — like an ex-president who believes he's never wrong, and a CEO who thinks that building expensive cars makes him some sort of visionary. It'd be better, or at least more reassuring, if conspiracy theories were fueled by dumb yahoos rather than self-centered monsters. Because arrogance, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, is a lot harder to stamp out than stupidity.

Have faith in yourself (but not too much)

A decade or so ago, when Gordon Pennycook was in graduate school and wanted to study conspiracist thinking, a small but powerful group of unelected people got together to stop him. It wasn't a conspiracy as such. It was just that back then, the people who approved studies and awarded grants didn't think that "epistemically suspect beliefs" — things science can easily disprove, like astrology or paranormal abilities — were deserving of serious scholarship. "It was always a kind of fringe thing," Pennycook says. He ended up looking into misinformation instead.

Still, the warning signs that conspiracy theories were a serious threat to the body politic go way back. A lot of present-day antisemitism can be traced back to a 19th-century forgery purporting to describe a secret meeting of a Jewish cabal known as the Elders of Zion (a forgery based in part on yet another antisemitic conspiracy theory from England in the 1100s and re-upped by the industrialist Henry Ford in the 1920s). In 1962, the historian Richard Hofstadter warned against what he called the "paranoid style" of America's radical right and its use of conspiracy fears to whip up support. Still, most scientists thought conspiracy theories weren't worth their time, the province of weirdos connecting JFK's death to lizard aliens.

From your blowhard cousin to Marjorie Taylor Greene, every conspiracist shares a single trait: a supreme smugness in their own infallibility.

Then the weirdos started gaining ground. Bill Clinton, they claimed, murdered Vince Foster. George W. Bush had advance knowledge of the September 11 attacks. Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. Belief in baseless theories could lead to actual violence — burning cellphone towers because of that COVID thing, or attacking the Capitol because Hugo Chávez rigged the US election. By the time of the January 6 insurrection, Pennycook had already switched to studying conspiracy.

It still isn't entirely clear whether more people believe conspiracy theories today. Maybe there are just more theories to believe. But researchers pretty much agree that crackpot ideas are playing a far more significant role in politics and culture, and they have a flurry of hypotheses about what's going on. People who believe in conspiracies tend to be more dogmatic, and unable to handle disagreement well. They also rate higher on those Dark Triad personality traits. They're not stark raving mad, just a tick more antisocial.

But at this point, there are just way too many believers in cuckoo theories running around for the explanation to be ignorance or mental illness. "Throughout most of the 1970s, 80% — that's eight zero — believed Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy," says Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist at the University of Miami. "Would we say all of those people were stupid or had a serious psychological problem? Of course not."

Which brings us to the overconfidence thing. Pennycook and his collaborators had been looking at the ways intuition could lead people astray. They hypothesized that conspiratorial thinkers overindex for their own intuitive leaps — that they are, to put it bluntly, lazy. Most don't bother to "do their own research," and those who do believe only things that confirm their original conclusions.

"Open-minded thinking isn't just engaging in effortful thought," Pennycook observes. "It's doing so to evaluate evidence that's directed toward what's true or false — to actually question your intuitions." Pennycook wanted to know why someone wouldn't do that. Maybe it was simple overconfidence in their own judgment.

Sometimes, of course, people are justified in their confidence; after four decades in journalism, for example, I'm right to be confident in my ability to type fast. But then there's what's known as "dispositional" overconfidence — a person's sense that they are just practically perfect in every way. How could Pennycook's team tell the difference?

Their solution was pretty slick. They showed more than 1,000 people a set of six images blurred beyond recognition and then asked the subjects what the pictures were. Baseball player? Chimpanzee? Click the box. The researchers basically forced the subjects to guess. Then they asked them to self-assess how well they did on the test. People who thought they nailed it were the dispositional ones. "Sometimes you're right to be confident," Pennycook says. "In this case, there was no reason for people to be confident."

Sure enough, Pennycook found that overconfidence correlated significantly with belief in conspiracy theories. "This is something that's kind of fundamental," he says. "If you have an actual, underlying, generalized overconfidence, that will impact the way you evaluate things in the world."

The results aren't peer-reviewed yet; the paper is still a preprint. But they sure feel true (confirmation bias aside). From your blowhard cousin to Marjorie Taylor Greene, it seems as if every conspiracist shares one common trait: a supreme smugness in their own infallibility. That's how it sounds every time Donald Trump opens his mouth. And inside accounts of Elon Musk's management at Twitter suggest he may also be suffering from similar delusions.

"That's often what happens with these really wealthy, powerful people who sort of fail upwards," says Joe Vitriol, a psychologist at Lehigh University who has studied the way people overestimate their own expertise. "Musk is not operating in an environment in which he's accountable for the mistakes he makes, or in which others criticize the things he says or does."

An epidemic of overconfidence

Pennycook isn't the first researcher to propose a link between self-regard and epistemically suspect beliefs. Anyone who has attended a corporate meeting has experienced the Dunning-Kruger effect — the way those who know the least tend to assume they know the most. And studies by Vitriol and others have found a correlation between conspiracy thinking and the illusion of explanatory depth — when people who possess only a superficial understanding of how something works overestimate their knowledge of the details.

But what makes Pennycook's finding significant is the way it covers all the different flavors of conspiracists. Maybe some people think their nominal expertise in one domain extends to expertise about everything. Maybe others actually believe the conspiracy theories they spread, or simply can't be bothered to check them out. Maybe they define "truth" legalistically, as anything people can be convinced of, instead of something objectively veridical. Regardless, they trust their intuition, even though they shouldn't. Overconfidence could explain it all.

Pennycook's findings also suggest an explanation for why conspiracy theories have become so widely accepted. Supremely overconfident people are often the ones who get handed piles of money and a microphone. That doesn't just afford them the means to spread their baseless notions about Democrats running an international child sex-trafficking ring out of the basement of a pizza parlor, or Sandy Hook being a hoax. It also connects them to an audience that shares and admires their overweening arrogance. To many Americans, Pennycook suggests, the overconfidence of a Musk or a Trump isn't a bug. It's a feature.

It's not necessarily unreasonable to believe in dangerous conspiracies. The US government really did withhold medical treatment from Black men in the Tuskegee trial. Richard Nixon really did cover up an attempted burglary at The Watergate Hotel. Jeffrey Epstein really did force girls to have sex with his powerful friends. Transnational oil companies really did hide how much they knew about climate change.

So distinguishing between plausible and implausible conspiracies isn't easy. And we might be more likely to fall for the implausible ones if they're being spouted by people we trust. "The same thing is true for you," Pennycook tells me. "If you hear a scientist or a fellow journalist at a respected outlet, you say, 'This is someone I can trust.' And the reason you trust them is that they're at a respected outlet. But the problem is, people are not that discerning. Whether the person says something they agree with becomes the reason they trust them. Then, when the person says something they're not sure about, they tend to trust that, too."

The next step, or course, is to figure out how to fight the spread of conspiratorial nonsense. Pennycook is trying; he spent last year working at Google to curb misinformation; his frequent collaborator David Rand has worked with Facebook. They had some meetings with TikTok, too. That pop-up asking whether you want to read the article before sharing it? That was them.

And what about the bird site? "Twitter? Well, that's another thing altogether," Pennycook says. He and Rand worked on the crowdsource fact-check function called Community Notes. But now? "It's all in flux, thanks to Elon Musk."

But Pennycook's new study suggests that the problem of conspiracy theories runs far deeper — and may prove far more difficult to solve — than simply tweaking a social-media algorithm or two. "How are you going to fix overconfidence? The people who are overconfident don't think there's a problem to be fixed," he says. "I haven't come up with a solution for that yet."

Adam Rogers is a senior correspondent at Insider.

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Conspiracy Theories Twitter Psychology

How do flat Earthers perceive themselves?

They believe they know a lot, though their knowledge is minimal

Exposure to conspiracy theories, such as the flat Earth belief, can harm critical thinking skills in teenagers, and being friends with someone who holds flat Earth beliefs may hinder this development.

Title:

Content: How to convince conspiracy theorists
10 April 2023, 14: 20
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Source:
Scientific American
Once you believe in the conspiracy theory, getting out of this rabbit hole will not be easy.
But you can somehow convince a person who believes in a conspiracy theory?
I want, of course, to use facts, counter-arguments or even appeal to emotions.
But it doesn't work.
First, it is important to answer the question, but why convince anyone at all?
Maybe let them believe what they want.
But the fact is that people who believe in conspiracy theories can harm not only themselves, but also the whole society, for example, anti-vaccinators.
They risk not only themselves, but also can be dangerous to others.
From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Chains: 5 Conspiracy Theories About COVID-19
The Dangers of Conspiracy Theories
This happened during the coronavirus pandemic, when some people refused vaccinations on principle.
Vaccination of the majority forms collective immunity, and some people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons are assigned to collective immunity.
And anti-vaccinators can walk around and spread the disease without even knowing it, and infect everyone around them.
Or you can give an example of parents who refuse vaccinations for their children.
And these children can get seriously ill all their lives or even die.
The ideal solution, how to convince fans of conspiracy theory, scientists have not yet found.
But one thing is clear.
How to convince a conspiracy theorist
First, the authors advise not to appeal to emotions, not to put pressure on empathy or on the contrary to ridicule the opponent because of his conviction.
To refute the conspiracy theory with the help of facts is considered by scientists, unfortunately, also ineffective.
Instead, we need to focus on prevention and education.
That is, it is necessary to teach people to recognize unreliable information and sources themselves before they encounter a conspiracy theory.
And teach them to think critically and analytically.
It is not fast, but it is effective for the rest of your life.
And this was proved by the researchers, who conducted a three-month course for students, where they taught them critical thinking and talked about common mistakes in perception and logic.
After his passing, students began to less believe in conspiracy theories.
There is another interesting method – vaccination.
You can warn a person that he may encounter a certain conspiracy theory and immediately make arguments against him.
It will work well, but there are a few nuances.
First, if the person who spreads the conspiracy says that this vaccine is also part of the conspiracy, that is, uses the vaccine against the vaccine, then it may stop working.

To effectively communicate with their child about the concerns of being friends with someone who holds unconventional or misinformation-based beliefs, parents should initiate conversations with kids about concerns and create a comfortable space for them to ask questions.

Title:

Content: LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Tonight, parents across the country are struggling for the right words to talk with their children about school shootings.

Some are comfortable talking about the events openly, but others aren’t sure where to begin.

The reality for many parents today is, should you talk to your children about yesterday’s tragedy? And if so, what do you say?

Psychologist Dr. Amy Nasamaran says having a conversation around yesterday’s tragedy is vital. “I usually encourage parents to be the one to initiate.”

“Checking in with their kids in terms of what have they heard and know so far and then letting their questions guide the rest of the conversation.”

When talking with your kids, Dr. Nasamaran says you don’t have to tell them everything, and you don’t have to have all the answers.

“Initiating the conversation and creating a space where kids can feel comfortable asking questions or kids can feel comfortable sharing their feelings. I think that’s more important than having all the answers.

“Tell the truth, be concrete. You don’t have to overshare.”

In the meantime Mumby says, she’ll do what she can to give her children the best.

Dr. Nasamaran also says that not having a conversation with your kids could send the wrong message.

Parents should also maintain good communication with their children to overcome social pressures and get to know their child's friends to understand the influences their child is exposed to.

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How can children be protected from social pressures?
Social pressure can be defined as the feeling of being forced to do the same things that your peers do in order to be accepted and liked in a group, and it is common for this situation to occur during adolescence, where young people want to cope with the fear of being rejected or criticized, this may make them more likely to do what others do, even if it is wrong or risky.
According to Bright Side, we collected 10 tips that can help parents guide their children in dealing with social pressures.
1.
Try to maintain good communication with your children.
Maintaining good communication and strengthening your relationship with children is key to overcoming difficult moments as a family, parents are advised to let them know that they always want to listen to them and talk to them about any topic, this way you will create a basis for them to trust you and feel that they can have conversations about uncomfortable situations, such as social pressure.
To achieve good communication, take turns listening to what both of you are saying, at all times avoid being aggressive, cruel, not listening, blaming, and it is advisable to ask questions and share your concerns about something, rather than presumptuous and critical.
2.
A meeting with their friends.
It is important to get to know the friends of your children, it is possible to do this by inviting them to your home, providing them a safe and pleasant space where they can have a good time, with appetizing food and a good sense of humor.
3.
Encourage them to meet new people.
One of the reasons they succumb to social pressures is that they want to have friends, be accepted, and belong to a group that gives them security if parents encourage and support their children to practice different activities where they can meet their new peers, they will have the opportunity to make friends in different environments and avoid the desire to integrate into just one environment.
4.
Teach them to think about the consequences of unsafe behaviors
To help children make safer decisions, as well as teach them wrong or risky behaviors, it is advisable to ask them to think about the consequences of what their actions may cause for themselves and others.
These ideas may help if:
If they break the rules or misbehave at school, tell them they can be fired, lose privileges at home (such as field trips or playtime), and that this may affect their grades.
• If they think that stealing something from a store and it is supported by their friends is a joke, it is important for them to know that this may have legal consequences and that it is not a game.
Before they do something they ’ re not sure about, they might ask themselves: Will this make me feel proud of myself afterwards?
5.
Create the word "safe" in case they need help.
This is a practice that can get kids out of trouble when they feel uncomfortable or afraid in a situation, special symbolic words or phrases will allow them to make a call or send a message to tell their parents to come looking for it, without telling their friends the real reason, because they may be embarrassed or shy.
For example, if a teenager is at a party and feels uncomfortable, they can call their parents or send a message with the phrase they previously agreed upon for those situations, such as, “Mom, I have a severe headache, can you look for me? ”
That way, without asking further questions, the mother will know that she needs your help.
6.
Let them know it's okay to say no sometimes.
Being alone in front of a group and having to say no can be overwhelming for them at times, if they have friends with the same values, maybe they can find some support so that together they can refuse to do the wrong thing without fear of ridicule.
7.
Identify and monitor the time they spend on the Internet
Nowadays, the digital environment is a way in which children and adolescents can be exposed to social pressure, so parents and caregivers are advised to set limits taking into account the age of their children.
Here are some tips that may be helpful:
Determine the time they spend online, and distribute it in balance with other activities such as homework, family time, and extracurricular activities.
Monitor the content they consume: Check the ratings of the TV or streaming programs and the movies and video games they watch, you can also review their online search history and view the apps on their phones.
Parents can make watching movies and series as a family a habit, surf the internet together, this way they can analyze what they are watching and promote family values.
Ask them which celebrities or influencers they like and inquire about the aspects they value about them, to see if there ’ s something specific to explain to them about the difference between what a person shows on their social networks and the other side isn ’ t.
Be on the lookout for issues such as cyberbullying and explain to teenage children practices that can harm them when they are online.

The potential long-term effects of flat Earth beliefs on teenagers' mental health and well-being are likely to be negative, and may include increased stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as a lack of trust in credible sources of information.

Title:

Content: Loss of confidence in others...
The most serious consequences of bullying
The latest study on bullying, published in mid-February 2024 in the journal Nature Mental Health, revealed that loss of trust in others may be one of the most important consequences of bullying ever, and that this early in a child ’ s life becomes the most important factor in developing various mental illnesses later in adulthood.
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The study pointed to the great role played by trust in others in overcoming the problem, and explained that whenever there are supportive people next to the child, he overcomes the negative psychological feelings that affect him psychologically and physically, even if he was bullied.
Bullying and Declining Confidence
The study, conducted by scientists from the University of Glasgow in the UK and the Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research in California in the US, tracked for two decades since the turn of the millennium data on more than 10,000 children and their parents from the UK of different races and cultures (just over half of them female).
The children were asked about being bullied, as well as how often other children had deliberately abused them.
She modeled responses ranging from “most days and times, ” to“ never been bullied, ” and asked children about mistrust between people on a scale of zero to 10, with lower scores indicating higher confidence, and vice versa.
They were then grouped into three main categories: low (less than 3 degrees), medium (4-8), and large (more than 9).
The scientists studied all the other factors that can affect the mental and physical health of adolescents besides the mistrust factor, such as healthy diet (mainly fruit intake), sleep rates (pattern and timing; whether it is evening or napping, or suffering from insomnia), and also rates of physical activity.
They identified other factors, such as gender and race, family socioeconomic status, body mass index (BMI), adolescent environment, mother ’ s mental health, language abilities, mental health history, whether or not the teen had previous mental illnesses, and levels of environmental pollution in the area of residence.
Depression and anxiety
The results showed a direct correlation between bullying and distrust among people as well as mental health problems.
Children who were bullied at age 11 and lost confidence in others at age 14 when they became more aware were nearly three times more likely to experience anxiety and depression by age 17 than those who did not experience a loss of confidence, in addition to changes in sleep and diet.
The association between mistrust and later psychological problems was greater than the impact of bullying itself on the mental health of adolescents, demonstrating the importance of trusting others in overcoming psychological distress.
The scientists noted that male adolescents experienced fewer emotional and psychological problems than their female peers.
The study is the first of its kind to study the relationship between peer bullying and lack of trust between people and its impact on mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, anger, various fears, schizophrenia, and substance addiction, because most of the previous studies focused directly on the impact of bullying on the mental and physical health of the child without addressing his relationships with others later.
The findings come amid growing public health concerns for the community.
Adolescent mental health
Adolescent mental health is currently a major challenge for the global health community.
For example, recent surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States found that about 40 percent of high school students reported experiencing depression for at least two weeks in 2021.
Approximately 10 per cent of students said they had attempted suicide that year, a very large proportion.
It is enough to know that suicide is the second leading cause of adolescent mortality in the United States after accidents.
The researchers explained that the psychological health of adolescents is very important; not only for young people, but to maintain what is called "social safety theory", meaning that the preservation of human and social bonds is critical to human health, where research indicates that social acceptance enhances the capabilities of individuals and their physical and psychological health, and the opposite happens in the case of societal rejection that negatively affects the entire immune system. Both those who bullied him directly and those who abandoned him and did not provide psychological support to him, this leads to isolation, social withdrawal, the inability to create, in addition to physical illness, which is reflected on the whole society later.
In the end, the researchers said that research on bullying in adolescents is not a luxury of the developed world, but a kind of maintaining the integrity of society, not only on the health and psychological levels; but also on the social level, and everyone, individuals and institutions, must resist this phenomenon, do not tolerate it, eliminate it, and spread awareness among teachers, students and club coaches of the seriousness of this behavior that causes loss of trust among community members.)

Educational institutions and policymakers have a crucial role to play in promoting critical thinking skills and media literacy, and in protecting teenagers from the negative effects of misinformation.

Title:

Content: Friday, April 7, 2023

Teenagers who trust information found online believe it to be less stressful

The findings highlight the need for news literacy programs.

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Young people have been exposed to unpleasant information regarding COVID-19 during the pandemic without knowing whether they can trust it. This suggests that it is essential to investigate how social media use affects mental health and well-being. Current research gives conflicting impressions of these impacts.

Hence, a new study investigated whether trust in COVID-19 information on social media mediated the link between exposure to COVID-19 information on social media and well-being.

The study by Cornell University found that teens’ trust in the news they consume on social media – or lack of it – may be key to whether it supports or detracts from their well-being.

The findings support a more complex view of how social media use affects well-being and mental health and highlight the need for news literacy initiatives to assist young people in differentiating fact-based, reliable sources from misinformation and conspiracy theories.

Early in the pandemic, the researchers polled nearly 170 teenagers and young adults from the U.S. and the U.K. They discovered that those who trusted the COVID-19 information they saw on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok were more likely to feel empowered by it, while those who did not were more likely to find it stressful.

Adam Hoffman, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and College of Human Ecology, said, “It’s not just the sheer volume of social media use that’s going to have this positive or negative effect. It’s how you engage with social media news that will be more influential in determining how it impacts you.”

“Prior research on social media’s impact on wellbeing and mental health is somewhat muddled, finding both good and bad influences. For example, some studies have shown it can foster social connection and self-expression, others that it facilitates bullying and feelings of inferiority.”

The names “doom-scrolling” and, for those attempting to avoid stressful media, “news avoidance” became widely used as the pandemic gained root in the early 2020s due to daily exposure to unpleasant headlines on social media. The World Health Organization has dubbed the widespread dissemination of false information about the virus that causes COVID-19 as an “infodemic.”

In this context, the research team questioned 168 students enrolled in a STEM after-school program about their interaction with COVID-19 news on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. These most widely used news-sharing sites have also come under fire for disseminating false information. The ethnically and racially varied participants, whose ages ranged from 14 to 23, with an average of 17, were questioned about their emotional, psychological, and social well-being as well as how frequently they were exposed to COVID-19 information and how much they trusted it.

Interestingly, the average of a few times per week exposures to COVID-19 news either had no impact on happiness or was perceived as slightly favorable. Even though it was challenging or unpleasant, the researchers hypothesized that teens might have felt more knowledgeable about the virus and global events due to exposure to pandemic news.

Greater trust was associated with a more positive sense of social well-being – feeling informed and connected, part of a community – and lower levels, in some situations, the opposite. Yet, trust in the news emerged as a “driving force” in the connection.

Although trust may be beneficial to well-being, “blind” faith in social media news may have a negative effect as well. According to one study, this boosted acceptance of COVID-19 conspiracies and myths. The researchers advise educational institutions to actively teach students the analytical and critical thinking abilities required to recognize reliable information, particularly on social media.

Hoffman said“It’s not just that we need to trust, but that we need to trust credible sources of news that are factually based and have been vetted. That’s how youth can be informed and have a positive sense of wellbeing and sense of self, and that’s the best of both worlds.”

Journal Reference:

  1. Adam J. Hoffman, Luke McGuire, et al. The importance of trust in the relation between COVID-19 information from social media and well-being among adolescents and young adults. PLoS One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282076
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Critical thinking is developed through evaluating information reliability, which is essential in addressing concerns about flat Earth beliefs among teenagers, and teaching critical thinking helps combat misinformation.

Title:

Content: Parents were given advice on how to develop critical thinking in a child
Critical thinking consists of the body of knowledge that a person receives throughout life, including at school and in a higher educational institution.
Nevertheless, the basis of such an attitude lies in the mental sphere of a person, primarily in his attitude to the data obtained.
And these criteria and values are laid down from childhood.
About this "Gazeta.Ru" told the teacher of history of the school "New look", graduate student of HSE Niyaz Galyaviev.
“This is about understanding the criteria for reliability of information.
A person should not perceive the information as knowingly true and truthful.
It must be evaluated by the criteria of reliability of information: is its source reliable, is a professional expert cited certain data? ” he explained.
First of all, as the teacher said, the basic attitudes of the future adult are formed in the family.
Such mentality and approach begin with household issues.
“How much do parents give the child the opportunity to express their own opinion on a particular issue?
Are they ready, and most importantly, do they want to discuss the situation and their point of view with him?
Therefore, initially it is necessary to create an appropriate atmosphere within the family: with the appropriate values, approach and the ability to challenge the child ’ s point of view of the parents, ” the specialist stressed.
Next comes the school.
It is clear that parents cannot influence the school itself much if there is an atmosphere of “non-discussion ” of decisions in it.
However, parents can take this aspect into account when choosing a school for their child.
“It is necessary to pay attention to the teaching staff of the school, to the atmosphere prevailing in it, the style of communication between the leadership and teachers.
All this in general will form an understanding of what attitude prevails in the school to students and whether it is possible to foster critical thinking in children, ” added Galyaviev.
The teacher also gave some advice to parents.
The first of them is to discuss more with your child various situations, yours and his attitude towards them.
Here we are talking both about everyday life events, and about situations and plots in books and films.
“Model situations by taking one side or the other.
Look for arguments with your child to defend different points of view.
Teach the child the culture of argument and tell him how to use facts and arguments in it.
It is also worth paying attention to the social sciences, the processes in which can be understood and discussed.
They can be your helpers in the formation of critical thinking of the child.
It is, first and foremost, history and social science.
Let me give an example of a story - discuss historical events with your child, express your reasoned attitude to them.
And if it comes to recent history, then tell about those historical events that you witnessed to give an alternative or supplement the knowledge gained at school.
In fact, you will be another source of historical information for the child, ” he advised.
In addition, special attention to the development of critical thinking can be paid to additional classes.
“Parents ’ aides can be clubs or debate clubs.
They teach to build a discussion, to look for arguments in favor of a particular point of view.
Children also have the opportunity to defend not only their opinion, but also, participating in simulated situations, the opinion of the opposite side.
And in public speaking courses, as a rule, they inculcate the skill of speaking in front of a large number of people, they are taught to cope with anxiety and experiences.
Such classes give the child self-confidence, which is important, and also inculcate the skill of forming possible questions and preparing answers to them, ” the expert said.
You can also pay attention to the sections, which prepare for future professions, assuming the skill of critical thinking as hard skills.
These are, first of all, circles of young journalists and historians.
This is where they talk about the criteria for reliability of information.
For example, that the data are not true if they are not confirmed from 2-3 sources.
“Of course, a favorable time for the development of critical thinking is the teenage age of the child, when faith in authority begins to be questioned, ” added Galyaviev.
According to the teacher, critical thinking significantly affects the independence of a person, forms his independence from other people's judgments.
He will be able to make his own decisions and thus manage his own life.
An adult with critical thinking cannot be held hostage to other people ’ s opinions, authorities and delusions.
He will form his attitude to the situation, based on an objective attitude to it.
Such adults will not become the object of manipulation of other people, will be able to recognize their hypocrisy and dishonesty, as well as hidden motives, the expert concluded.

Media literacy education can help prevent mental health problems and cyberbullying, and it is being mandated in some states, such as California, for K-12 students.

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Bay Area School Media Classes Teach Students to Distinguish Online Authenticity
According to Mercury News, Bay Area schools are gradually introducing new courses on media literacy.
The course is a preview of a new law.
The law requires schools across the state to teach all students from kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) how to distinguish between truth and falsehood in the online world.
AB 873 directs the California Commission on Teaching Quality to include this content in four core subjects when it next revises the curriculum framework: English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, History, and Social Sciences.
State Representative Marc Berman authored AB 873 after witnessing widespread online misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and election fraud.
The bill was passed with bipartisan support without strong opposition from outside groups and went into effect on January 1.
"A lot of people in the community really believe these lies that spread so quickly and so easily on the Internet," he said.
Research shows that many students struggle to distinguish between facts and fiction online.
In a 2019 Stanford University study, 96% of high school students surveyed judged a climate change website based solely on the description of the website, without considering its supporters, the fossil fuel industry, why it would affect the credibility of the website. Video of the article.
“We gave them tools but didn ’ t give them guidance, who would be hurt? They were all hurt, girls and boys were hurt. ”
It changed their lives, ” said Erin McNeill, CEO of Media Literacy Now, a nonpartisan national group advocating for new laws.
McNeill said that the more online content children are exposed to, the more likely they are to develop mental health problems, experience cyberbullying, and even encounter groups trying to radicalize teenagers.
California is the fourth state after Delaware, New Jersey and Texas to mandate such education for K-12 students, but the pace of expansion will be slow.
However, some school districts have begun to incorporate media literacy courses into their classrooms in advance.
Not all parents agree with the plan.
Lance Christensen, a parent activist and vice president of education policy at the California Policy Center, a conservative public policy think tank, said that without a statewide curriculum or proper implementation, many teachers will not be able to handle difficult conversations, fearing that teachers will let their own biases sway the media literacy curriculum.
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The National Institute for Astronomical Research confirms that Earth is spherical and warns against publishing conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, and astronomy research supports Earth's spherical shape since ancient times.

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Content: Egypt News
Astronomical Research Institute: "Professor Sobhy" The Earth is spherical not flat
Thank you for reading the news about the Institute of Astronomical Research: "Professor Sobhy" The Earth is round, not flat, and now with the details of the news
Cairo - Samia Sayed - Mahmoud Ragheb Books
Tuesday ، 23 July 2024 11: 22 PM
The National Institute for Astronomical Research confirmed that astronomy since the Greeks through the Islamic civilization until the rise of man to space confirmed one fact, which is that the Earth is not flat but spherical like the rest of the planets.
The institute said in a statement: "We ask the media and technical community to be careful not to publish conspiracy theories or pseudoscience that has no research origin."
The statement of the Institute of Astronomy comes in response to the claims of the artist Mohammed Sobhi in his interview last Thursday with the program "Nazra" broadcast on the satellite "Echo of the country", that "research proved that the Earth is not spherical," while he asked a question surprised "imagine what we have been doing?".
Mohammed Sobhi added: "You say that there are inhabited areas that are not the end of the land after the north and south poles," adding: "There is no land that we do not know (we do not know) and we have not been able to reach it."
Sobhi predicted that the coming months will witness a climate risk - he did not name it - and asked about the South Pole, the artist replied: "The subject of the South Pole I will not talk about because it needs rings," as he put it.
In response to the statements of artist Mohamed Sobhi, which sparked controversy on digital platforms in the country, the Observatory called on the media and artistic communities to be careful not to publish what it described as "conspiracy theories."
You can follow the news of Egypt and the world from our website
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However, despite the overwhelming evidence, flat Earth societies exist at British universities like York and Cambridge, and some public figures like Richard Dawkins criticize universities for tolerating flat Earth ideas.

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Content: The Daily Express Original
Express: “indulge conspiracy theorists ” – British universities criticized for supporting anti-scientific ideas
The famous biologist Richard Dawkins attacked the “tolerant ” British universities.
According to the professor, the leadership of educational institutions cares too much about the “feelings ” of students and therefore is in no hurry to debunk the growing popularity of pseudoscientific ideas, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth and the denial of evolution, writes the Daily Express.
The famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins lashed out at the “tolerant ” British universities.
The academician accused their leadership of encouraging the spread of pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth, reports the Daily Express.
Dawkins, 80, was a professor at Oxford University until 2008.
In addition, he has published several best-selling books and made documentaries about the origins of life, the publication explains.
Dawkins urged higher education institutions to "stand up for scientific truth."
In his opinion, they need to educate students, and not “protect ” the feelings of conspiracy theorists.
“University leaders who think that the ‘ offended feelings ’ of flat-earthers and evolutionists matter more than scientific truth need to go back to university to find out what it ’ s for, ” he wrote on Twitter.
“Defend the scientific truth and the clarity of language.
They do not go to university to feel “safe ” and“ protect feelings. ”
They go there to face challenges and learn to cope with difficulties, ” the professor stressed.
Flat Earth societies exist at many British universities, including York, Nottingham Trent and Cambridge.
According to one popular theory, our planet is a disk that surrounds a 46-meter ice wall that does not allow people to fall from the edge, draws the attention of the Daily Express.
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Which universities have flat Earth believer societies?

Children start believing unproven conspiracy theories at age 14, and over 80% of middle school students mistake sponsored ads for news, making them vulnerable to misinformation.

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Content: Taiwan has been the champion of "false information" for nine consecutive years. Children are the main target. Is critical media literacy education the solution?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
What we want you to know is
Research shows that children often start believing unproven conspiracy theories at the age of 14, and more than 80% of middle school students mistake “sponsored ads ” for“ news stories. ”
But what exactly should the media literacy curriculum teach?
At present, there are still divergent views......
Text: Yu-An Lai
According to the 2021 V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) report by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Taiwan has been the champion of “false information ” for nine consecutive years, making it the most frequently attacked country in the world by false information.
The government of Taiwan will invest 11.7 billion yuan in 2023, aiming to enable primary and secondary schools across the country to comprehensively promote digital improvement projects, so as to achieve "class has the Internet, there is a tablet", this policy is aimed at strengthening students' ability to use digital technology, but if children use it inappropriately, it will be counterproductive.
In the pursuit of the popularization of the Internet and the teaching of digital technology, we also have to think about how to teach children to distinguish between trustworthy news information and news when the huge amount of fake information on the Internet is overwhelming.
The younger you are, the more likely you are to be a primary target of false information.
Science magazine Scientific American reports that children are the primary targets of disinformation disseminators.
According to a 2019 study by the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, children usually start believing unproven conspiracy theories at the age of 14, and many contemporary teenagers have difficulty judging the credibility of online messages.
Researchers at Stanford University also found in a 2016 study that more than 80 percent of middle school students misidentified “sponsored ads ” as“ news stories. ”
Fake messages are often delivered to young internet users, directing them to misleading content.
A 2018 Wall Street Journal survey also found that YouTube ’ s algorithms push personalized recommendations for different users, but they tend to recommend videos that are more extreme and far-fetched than what users originally watched.
For example, when researchers search for “eclipse ” as a keyword, they are directed to a video whose main theme is to imply that the Earth is flat.
YouTube is one of the most popular social media sites for young people, and for such extreme algorithms, Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, called it “one of the most powerful radical tools of the 21st century. ”
The influence of false information and false information cannot be ignored.
In response to the spread of false information, UNICEF provides the following 10 insights and recommendations
1.
Misinformation and disinformation on the Internet is an urgent public issue.
The power of fake information must not be underestimated. For children who are now active on the Internet, fake information is an important part of their daily lives.
Fake messages on social media are often more powerful, farther, faster, and deeper than the right messages, especially when the issues involve divisive, highly controversial, and highly emotional topics, such as immigration, gender politics and equality, and vaccination are hot topics.
2.
The impact and consequences of errors and false information on the real world
Misinformation and misinformation have been used to incite violence and crime against ethnic minorities (which can lead to the death and displacement of children), while misinformation and misinformation have reduced vaccination rates for children with Covid-19, undermined trust in news and science, and drowned out marginalized voices.
3.
Algorithms play a more critical role, even though misinformation and misinformation are often transmitted through people
Algorithms deliver personalized messages and news stories through users ’ digital footprints, but sometimes they can also recommend content that is inaccurate, misleading, sensational, and conspiracy theories.
Therefore, we can say that the algorithm may be a key carrier for amplifying the spread of false information.
4.
Children are vulnerable to errors and false information
Because children are in a developing stage, they do not yet have the ability to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information.
Not only will they be harmed by errors and misinformation, they may also continue to pass on the wrong information to their peers.
For younger children who do not use social media, they may also be exposed to false or false information through their parents, caregivers, or classmates.
5.
Still, children can challenge and debunk mistakes and misinformation
Now that they have become the primary targets and targets of misinformation, children can still actively fight them.
Children can contribute to fact-checking and deification efforts, such as the Covid-19 pandemic misinformation for Nepal.
The UNICEF Mission in Montenegro ’ s “Let ’ s decide what we want to watch ” programme provides young people with the opportunity to train in media literacy and journalistic skills to improve the quality of reporting on children ’ s rights.
6.
Education is especially important.
In order to help children to judge whether information is true or false, they should develop the ability to read and think critically from an early age.
Make sure that children have critical thinking skills, not only online, but also offline, in everyday life.
7.
It is necessary to take collective action to protect children.
Politicians, civil society organizations, technology companies, parents, and educators must all work together to avoid the harm that misinformation and misinformation can do to children.
There is no reliable data and research on how to slow down the spread of false and false information.
8.
Policymakers should develop norms of misinformation and misinformation based on children ’ s rights
UNICEF recommends that policy makers develop regulations for children to protect them from the effects of error and false information, while ensuring that they can access content safely.
Regulation should be based on the classification of content and ensure transparency and accountability.
This is a very significant policy challenge between the protection of rights on the Internet and speech.
9.
Tech companies can help combat errors and misinformation
UNICEF recommends that tech companies actually implement their declared policies and invest more in people and technology.
Tech companies should publish how they deal with fake messages on their platforms and prioritize the idea of meaningful connections and children ’ s diversity in digital system design.
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The algorithms used by social media platforms like YouTube play a critical role in spreading false information, and collective action is necessary to protect children from misinformation.

Education is important to help children judge true or false information, and critical thinking skills are necessary to combat false information.

Parents and educators can use resources like "The Mediatrician's Guide" to provide evidence-based advice for healthy digital engagement in children and address concerns about flat Earth beliefs among teenagers.

Title:

Content: Safer Internet Day Marks Release of 'The Mediatrician's Guide' by Dr. Michael Rich

On Safer Internet Day, Dr. Michael Rich, 'the Mediatrician', releases 'The Mediatrician's Guide', a comprehensive resource on digital wellness for children and adolescents.

Sakchi Khandelwal
New Update

Today, as the world observes Safer Internet Day, a new beacon of guidance has emerged for those concerned about the digital wellness of children. The renowned expert in the field, Dr. Michael Rich, also known as 'the Mediatrician', has unveiled his latest work, 'The Mediatrician's Guide'. With over three decades of extensive research on the influence of screen and media on young minds, Dr. Rich's new book delves deep into the intricacies of digital wellness for children.

An Academic Approach to Digital Wellness

Dr. Rich is the founder of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and an Associate Professor at Harvard. His tireless efforts in the field revolve around addressing media-related health issues that afflicts children and adolescents, a subject that has triggered widespread attention following the recent Congressional hearings involving Social Media CEOs and the potential harm the online environment poses to the youth.

'The Mediatrician's Guide': A Comprehensive Resource

With 'The Mediatrician's Guide', Dr. Rich aims to equip caretakers with the knowledge they need to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital sphere. He offers practical, evidence-based advice and strategies to guide children effectively through different developmental stages. The book is structured meticulously into four parts: it commences by detailing the effects of media exposure on children's health, elaborates on specific health concerns, scrutinizes the context of media use, and finally, provides age-specific guidance.

A Timely Aid in the Digital Age

As we step further into the digital age with each passing day, resources like 'The Mediatrician's Guide' become crucial for parents, educators, and healthcare providers. This book not only sheds light on the potential risks associated with excessive screen time and media exposure but also delineates effective strategies to foster healthy digital engagement in children. 'The Mediatrician's Guide' will be available for purchase at major retailers starting February 6th, marking another significant milestone in the journey towards fostering a safer digital environment for our children.

UNICEF recommends regulations to protect children from false information, and media literacy education is essential for youth.

Title:

Content: How the Current Social Media Legislature Landscape Impacts Youth Mental Health

Commentary
Article

Social media content moderation: a brief for clinicians.

Irina Strelnikova/AdobeStock

COMMENTARY

Social media apps hold massive power and influence. Its effects on youth mental health are complex, multiple, and individual-dependent. While it can be a great place for connection and self-expression, it can also be a place where youth encounter harmful content. Questions ranging from who can exert content moderation to who has access to the data of billions of users to whether the apps should be banned altogether have recently surfaced. The Supreme Court case involving Florida and Texas’ attempts to ban content moderation by the platform are highly relevant to child psychiatrists because of the complex relationship between social media use and youth mental health. We will attempt to provide a historical context for this very layered topic.

What Is the Current State of Social Media Content Moderation?

Instagram recently introduced new features where users can change the level of “fact-checking” that occurs for the content they are presented with. For a user who chooses the highest level of “fact-checking,” content which has been deemed “false, partly false, altered or content with missing context” will appear lower in the person’s feed. Similarly, users can decide to control the amount of “sensitive” content they are presented with in their feeds. These new features were recently added on top of Meta’s existing community standards.1 Social media platforms delineate what types of content will be taken down by the platform in their site policies. For Meta, their site policies indicate that threats, “content that promotes, encourages, coordinates, or provides instructions for suicide, self injury or eating disorders,” hate speech, misinformation that leads to violence, harmful health misinformation, and misinformation that interferes with a person’s ability to vote (among other things) violate their community standards and will be taken down. Additionally, in February 2024, Instagram announced “we…don’t want to proactively recommend political content from accounts you don’t follow,” and indicated that they “won’t proactively recommend content about politics on recommendation surfaces across Instagram and Threads”; however, users can opt back to receiving political content if they so choose.2 These changes generated a great deal of public conversation.

How Are These Community Standards Applied and Whose Content Gets Removed?

A 2021 study found that there are 3 groups of social media users who experienced content and account removals most often: politically conservative participants, transgender participants, and Black participants.3 The researchers noted that “conservative content removals in the dataset were more likely to represent true positives: content that violated site policies, and thus was correctly removed” and marginalized social media users are more likely to experience incorrect content removals related to expressing their marginalized identities that did not violate site policies. The harmful phenomenon of social media users flagging content to be removed because it violates their personal, prejudiced norms leads to content removals that privilege majority identities and experiences which worsen systemic inequities.

Social media platforms still have a long way to go in this regard. When it comes to censoring or not censoring information, it is important to learn from the historical presence or absence of entertainment media censorship. This history shows us that whether TV/movies were censored or not has seriously harmed historically, persistently, or systemically marginalized (HPSM) groups. In 1915, the National Board of Censorship approved “Birth of a Nation”; the lack of censorship in this case spread hate and racism. In 1930, the Motion Picture Production Code created 12 categories of censorable subjects which included interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships; the imposition of censorship in this case spread hate and racism.

Content moderation is important, but it must be ethical and just. Social media companies are under pressure from their consumers to create online spaces that are safe. It is paramount to elevate HPSM groups in this regard to make sure that they feel safe and have opportunities in these spaces.

Why Does This Matter for Youth Mental Health?

If suicide promoting, self-harm promoting, eating disorder promoting, racism, and hate speech content is allowed, youth mental health will suffer. Youth themselves expressed concerns about this type of content in a 2022 study.4 When asked about their social media experiences, here are a few examples of what they had to say:

  • “People were being hateful and I could not take it.”
  • “There is a lot of hate and bigotry online and I can only take so much”
  • “I had to delete my Facebook because of bigoted relatives and feeling like I was surrounded by homophobia online”
  • “do not fall into toxic traps! there is so much pro-eating disorder, pro-self-harm content out there”
  • “Listen, I know that parental supervision does not sound cool, but I grew up with zero parental supervision on the internet at a young age and it really messed me up. I saw a lot of things and experienced things that I wish I did not.”

These are all quotes from youth who experienced social media in its present form, with the content moderation in place. Furthermore, there is variability in youth insight about how social media affects them as well their knowledge of potential changes to make. There is also great variability in youth’s ability to discern true information from mis- or disinformation. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Consensus Study Report on Social Media and Adolescent Health5 includes Recommendation 6-1 which states: “Media literacy education currently suffers from scarce funding, uneven content, poorly qualified instructors, and a lack of reference standard. All four of these issues should be addressed in a comprehensive national media literacy education program prioritized for all children in grades K through 12.” Access to media literacy education for a child in 2024 is paramount. Such education could have large impacts on both public mental and physical health and this type of education should be available equally to all youth. Unequal distribution of media literacy education could widen disparities and could lead to a more polarized society.

What Are the Impacts of Social Media-Based Racism and Discrimination on Youth Mental Health?

While many different types of social media content can be harmful to youth mental health, the literature shows specific negative effects of social media-based racism and discrimination. Exposure to individual and vicarious discrimination on social media has been found to exacerbate depressive symptoms and substance use problems in youth, with particular impact on adolescents of color.6 While HPSM adolescents may go online to seek connections with peers, especially when inaccessible in person, they may also encounter negative stereotypes, prejudice, and exposure to potentially traumatizing experiences. In effect, young HPSM individuals may face an additional venue for exposure to racism, discrimination, and bullying.

The harms associated with social media exposure for specific youth groups are highlighted in the 2023 US Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health.7 The report points to the relationship between social media-based cyberbullying and depression among children and adolescents. In particular, adolescent girls, sexual minority, and transgender youth are disproportionately impacted by online harassment, cyberbullying, and abuse, which are associated with negative emotional impacts including sadness, worrying, and anxiety. A study finding significant effects of online hate messaging exposure reveal associations between online behaviors and depression and social anxiety across adolescents.8 Adolescents of color experience online racial discrimination at high rates, associated with depression, anxiety, and trauma-related symptoms.9 A study demonstrated significant mental wellness disparities in sexual minorities, including depressive symptoms, loneliness, and self-harm, as well as significantly more exposure to posts about self-harm in their peers’ posts compared with heterosexual participants.10 Adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of social media use, including sleep disturbance, poor body image, disordered eating, low self-esteem, and depressive symptoms.

Why Does This Matter for Society?

Appropriate, ethical, and just content moderation leads to a safer community.

When conspiracy theories are allowed spiral out of control, the risk of real physical harm is only a post of a home address away. This is what happened to the Benassi’s, who were falsely accused of starting the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020.11 Similarly when dangerous social media challenges12 are not taken down by the platforms, youth who participate in them may incur serious injuries, health problems, or die.

While some incorrect information is accidentally shared online (misinformation) other incorrect information is purposefully spread (disinformation) and some conspiracy theories are intentionally created. As a part of Harvard’s Technology and Social Change Project, “The Media Manipulation Casebook”13 describes the lifecycle of intentionally created conspiracy theories. These conspiracy theories are crafted to gain political power at great cost to the general public, including those who fall victim to believing the lies. The cases published on this website are eye-opening and show the extent of harm generated from conspiracy theories, especially those created in the context of the COVID-19 public health emergency.14

Censorship or lack of censorship can have very real effects for youth and society at large. Social media companies must do better with their own content moderation, but a complete absence of content moderation on these platforms would have very detrimental effects for youth and society.

How Can Social Media Companies Do Better?

As we have tried to demonstrate, the topic of social media content moderation is incredibly layered and complex. The history of entertainment media censorship can serve as a guide in that we do not want to perpetuate the cycle of censoring/not censoring content in a way that disadvantages or harms HPSM groups. Organizations such as the Center for Countering Digital Hate have recommended that social media companies be required to conduct regular risk assessments of their products, policies, and processes paired with greater transparency for the general public.15

What Can We Do as Clinicians?

Sometimes we may become aware of concerning trends, challenges, content, or hashtags when patients or families tell us about them. These types of concerning content likely violate the app’s policies and would be taken down if reported. We can help to prevent future harm by contacting these companies so they can remove the content. Reporting directly to the platform (either through the reporting feature of the app or by emailing the contacts available on the platforms’ websites) might be better than raising awareness about a concerning trend or hashtag via news media because youth themselves are also consuming the same news media and may look up harmful social media content as a result of the media exposure.

For tips related to exploring social media use with patients in the clinical setting, consider reading “Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health: A Guide for Clinicians Based on Youth Voices.”

Dr Harness is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Dr Anam is an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago.

References

1. Facebook Community Standards. Meta. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://transparency.fb.com/policies/community-standards

2. Continuing our approach to political content on Instagram and Threads. Instagram. February 9, 2024. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/continuing-our-approach-to-political-content-on-instagram-and-threads/

3. Haimson OL, Delmonaco D, Nie P, Wegner A. Disproportionate removals and differing content moderation experiences for conservative, transgender, and Black social media users: marginalization and moderation gray areas. Proc ACM Hum-Comput Interact. 2021;5(CSCW2):1-35.

4. Harness J, Fitzgerald K, Sullivan H, Selkie E. Youth insight about social media effects on well/ill-being and self-modulating efforts. J Adolesc Health. 2022;71(3):324-333.

5. Social Media and Adolescent Health Consensus Study Report Highlights. National Academies Sciences Engineering Medicine. 2023. Accessed April 2, 2024. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/27396/Highlights_for_Social_Media_and_Adolescent_Health.pdf

6. Tao X, Fisher CB. Exposure to social media racial discrimination and mental health among adolescents of color. J Youth Adolesc. 2022;51(1):30-44.

7. Social Media and Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. 2023. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/sg-youth-mental-health-social-media-advisory.pdf

8. Hernandez JM, Charmaraman L, Schaefer HS. Conceptualizing the role of racial–ethnic identity in U.S. adolescent social technology use and well-being. Transl Issues Psychol Sci. 2023;9(3):199-215.

9. Tynes BM, Willis HA, Stewart AM, Hamilton MW. Race-related traumatic events online and mental health among adolescents of color. J Adolesc Health. 2019;65(3):371-377.

10. Charmaraman L, Hodes R, Richer AM. Young sexual minority adolescent experiences of self-expression and isolation on social media: cross-sectional survey study. JMIR Ment Health. 2021;8(9):e26207.

11. O’Sullivan D. Exclusive: she’s been falsely accused of starting the pandemic. Her life has been turned upside down. CNN. April 27, 2020. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html

12. Dangerous social media challenges: understanding their appeal to kids. 2023. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Dangerous-Internet-Challenges.aspx

13. Media Manipulation Casebook Methods. Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://mediamanipulation.org/methods

14. Jennifer Nilsen. Distributed amplification: the plandemic documentary. October 7, 2020. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://mediamanipulation.org/case-studies/distributed-amplification-plandemic-documentary

15. Deadly by Design. Center for Countering Digital Hate. 2022. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CCDH-Deadly-by-Design_120922.pdf

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Exposure to hate speech and racism on social media harms youth, and social media-based racism and discrimination worsen mental health.

Adolescent girls and minorities are disproportionately affected, and online harassment and cyberbullying are associated with depression.

Social media companies must improve content moderation, and clinicians can help by reporting concerning content and promoting media literacy.

Regular connection with children is vital for mental health, and open conversations about mental health reduce stigma.

Title:

Content: iAfrica

Be Smart About South Africa

5 Ways To Help Teenagers Protect Their Mental Health

Image: Pexels

Our teens are in crisis. With World Teen Mental Awareness Day falling on 2 March, it’s vital that we highlight the mental health crisis playing out among our children, one that has been exacerbated by the effects of this pandemic.

In October 2021, the American Academy of Paediatrics, together with two other children’s health authorities, issued a statement outlining the soaring rates of mental health challenges being experienced among children and adolescents, with “youth of colour disproportionately being affected.” They have even gone so far as to declare it a National State of Emergency in Children’s Mental Health.

But it’s not a problem unique to the US. Stellenbosch based Educational Psychologist Donna Du Plooy says she is seeing the same situation playing out in South Africa. As the parent of a teen, you may feel unequipped when it comes to guiding your child, especially if you have little experience of mental health issues yourself.

Knowledge is power though, so here’s some advice from expert Donna Du Plooy, as well as some parents of teens, on how to guide your children through this tumultuous time.

  • Provide regular opportunities for connection

It’s easy in the busyness of life to be like ships in the night. But it’s vital to be available to your child, and to listen carefully to what they say, even if it seems trivial to you. Donna says it’s a good idea to create a special time with your child where this can happen naturally, whether it’s each evening when you tuck them into bed, or on a regular Sunday morning walk around the neighbourhood. “Try to start this practice at a young age so they learn to trust that they have the time and space with you,” says Donna.

  • Don’t be afraid of the topic

The stigma can be crippling, so make sure that you talk about mental health often, openly and honestly with your children. Normalise talking about mental health in the same way you would talk about physical health – and don’t wait until they are teenagers, there are many appropriate books out there for all ages. Mother of two teenage girls, Megan Smith*, agrees that open conversations are important. “I’ve had my own mental health issues in the past, so I try to be open about it, so they know that there is no shame,” she says.

  • Online versus real life

Remember that your teen has both an online life, as well as an ‘in-person’ life. For parents raised in a completely different generation, you may downplay the importance of their online lives, but for teenagers there is no separation – they live in both, constantly.

Where possible, ensure that you have a good parental filtering app on all devices – something like Bark is an excellent resource. Again, start talking to children about social media, the risks and dangers, from a young age. Monitor your child’s screen time and online activities age appropriately and bear in mind your own online engagements and screen use.

  • Know the symptoms and when you need professional help

If you’re concerned about your child’s mood or notice any unusual changes in their behaviour, don’t ignore the signs. Mother Tammy Coetzee* says that the tricky thing though, is distinguishing between behavioural changes caused by puberty, and more serious signs of mental health issues. “I think there is such value in talking about what is ‘regular hard’ and what is ‘not supposed to be this hard’, so that they recognize the difference and know when to ask for help,” she says.

We don’t have to figure this out alone. Donna encourages parents to reach out if they’re worried about their children – by making contact with a professional psychologist, or your child’s medical practitioner. “If your child asks to see a therapist, never ignore their request. Acknowledge it, affirm your support and seek out a therapist that your child will be comfortable with,” says Donna. Also check what your medical aid offers in terms of mental health, some companies like Fedhealth have compiled resources to help guide you to the most suitable channels of support.

  • Model positive mental health behaviour

A dysregulated adult struggles to regulate a dysregulated child. The healthier we are, the more capable we are to model and take care of our children’s mental health. And if this means asking for help with your own anxiety or depression, then share those steps openly with them, so they can see just how important it is.

Ultimately, the one thing that protects children most is a close, connected, available relationship with parents. That’s not to say that children who experience mental health issues are not close to their parents or guardians – simply that a strong relationship can act as a buffer in times of deep stress. “This relationship offers children a soft landing, a safe landing when they really need it,” ends Donna.

*names have been changed for reasons of privacy

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Monitoring online activities is crucial for teenagers' well-being, and recognizing symptoms of mental health issues is essential.

Professional help is necessary for severe mental health concerns, and modeling positive mental health behavior helps children.

Close parent-child relationships act as a buffer in times of stress, and seeking help for own mental health issues is important.

Social media poses risks to young people's mental health, and nearly every teenager in America uses social media.

Title:

Content: Mental Health

New advisory warns of social media risks

The surgeon general’s latest advisory urges lawmakers and parents to implement protections for kids against the harmful effects of addicting apps.

· less than 3 min read

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.

The kids are not all right, and the US Surgeon General believes social media is to blame.

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a powerful public advisory yesterday warning of the considerable risks that social media poses to young people’s mental health. “Nearly every teenager in America uses social media, and yet we do not have enough evidence to conclude that it is sufficiently safe for them,” Murthy wrote. He argued that kids have “become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment.”

The surgeon general’s report focuses on the impacts of social media on teens and kids—both positive and negative—and the attendant health risks. The report outlines two types of dangers associated with social networks: content-related problems, such as negative self-image or bullying, and use-related problems, such as poor sleep and addiction.

What we know about social media and kids’ mental health

By all accounts, America’s youth are currently experiencing a mental health crisis.

  • The number of teens and young adults with clinical depression doubled between 2011 and 2021, according to San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge.
  • In 2021, the CDC found that nearly 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan.

Many experts have pointed to social media as a potential cause since the deterioration of kids’ mental health has coincided with the rise of social media platforms over the last decade.

Still, the effect of likes, retweets, and TikTok comments on kids’ brains remains more or less a mystery. We know that social media use affects adolescents and that teens show alarming rates of anxiety and depression. But studies that have attempted to determine whether social media is a direct cause of worsening mental health have been inconclusive. Plus, not all kids are impacted by social media similarly: Some—adolescent girls, for instance—appear to be more at risk than others.

Big picture: While researchers search for answers, some lawmakers are pushing ahead with restrictions on teens’ use of social media. In March, Utah became the first state to establish a curfew for teens on social media apps and mandate that parents have access to their children’s accounts. Other states are considering similar measures.—CC

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.

Clinical depression in teens doubled between 2011 and 2021, and 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan in 2021.

Title:

Content: Mental Health

New advisory warns of social media risks

The surgeon general’s latest advisory urges lawmakers and parents to implement protections for kids against the harmful effects of addicting apps.

· less than 3 min read

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.

The kids are not all right, and the US Surgeon General believes social media is to blame.

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a powerful public advisory yesterday warning of the considerable risks that social media poses to young people’s mental health. “Nearly every teenager in America uses social media, and yet we do not have enough evidence to conclude that it is sufficiently safe for them,” Murthy wrote. He argued that kids have “become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment.”

The surgeon general’s report focuses on the impacts of social media on teens and kids—both positive and negative—and the attendant health risks. The report outlines two types of dangers associated with social networks: content-related problems, such as negative self-image or bullying, and use-related problems, such as poor sleep and addiction.

What we know about social media and kids’ mental health

By all accounts, America’s youth are currently experiencing a mental health crisis.

  • The number of teens and young adults with clinical depression doubled between 2011 and 2021, according to San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge.
  • In 2021, the CDC found that nearly 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan.

Many experts have pointed to social media as a potential cause since the deterioration of kids’ mental health has coincided with the rise of social media platforms over the last decade.

Still, the effect of likes, retweets, and TikTok comments on kids’ brains remains more or less a mystery. We know that social media use affects adolescents and that teens show alarming rates of anxiety and depression. But studies that have attempted to determine whether social media is a direct cause of worsening mental health have been inconclusive. Plus, not all kids are impacted by social media similarly: Some—adolescent girls, for instance—appear to be more at risk than others.

Big picture: While researchers search for answers, some lawmakers are pushing ahead with restrictions on teens’ use of social media. In March, Utah became the first state to establish a curfew for teens on social media apps and mandate that parents have access to their children’s accounts. Other states are considering similar measures.—CC

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.

Social media use affects adolescents and causes anxiety, and adolescent girls are more at risk of social media impacts.

Title:

Content: Mental Health

New advisory warns of social media risks

The surgeon general’s latest advisory urges lawmakers and parents to implement protections for kids against the harmful effects of addicting apps.

· less than 3 min read

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.

The kids are not all right, and the US Surgeon General believes social media is to blame.

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a powerful public advisory yesterday warning of the considerable risks that social media poses to young people’s mental health. “Nearly every teenager in America uses social media, and yet we do not have enough evidence to conclude that it is sufficiently safe for them,” Murthy wrote. He argued that kids have “become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment.”

The surgeon general’s report focuses on the impacts of social media on teens and kids—both positive and negative—and the attendant health risks. The report outlines two types of dangers associated with social networks: content-related problems, such as negative self-image or bullying, and use-related problems, such as poor sleep and addiction.

What we know about social media and kids’ mental health

By all accounts, America’s youth are currently experiencing a mental health crisis.

  • The number of teens and young adults with clinical depression doubled between 2011 and 2021, according to San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge.
  • In 2021, the CDC found that nearly 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan.

Many experts have pointed to social media as a potential cause since the deterioration of kids’ mental health has coincided with the rise of social media platforms over the last decade.

Still, the effect of likes, retweets, and TikTok comments on kids’ brains remains more or less a mystery. We know that social media use affects adolescents and that teens show alarming rates of anxiety and depression. But studies that have attempted to determine whether social media is a direct cause of worsening mental health have been inconclusive. Plus, not all kids are impacted by social media similarly: Some—adolescent girls, for instance—appear to be more at risk than others.

Big picture: While researchers search for answers, some lawmakers are pushing ahead with restrictions on teens’ use of social media. In March, Utah became the first state to establish a curfew for teens on social media apps and mandate that parents have access to their children’s accounts. Other states are considering similar measures.—CC

Become smarter in just 5 minutes

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.

Utah established a curfew for teens on social media apps, and lawmakers are pushing for restrictions on teens' social media use.

Title:

Content: Mental Health

New advisory warns of social media risks

The surgeon general’s latest advisory urges lawmakers and parents to implement protections for kids against the harmful effects of addicting apps.

· less than 3 min read

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The kids are not all right, and the US Surgeon General believes social media is to blame.

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a powerful public advisory yesterday warning of the considerable risks that social media poses to young people’s mental health. “Nearly every teenager in America uses social media, and yet we do not have enough evidence to conclude that it is sufficiently safe for them,” Murthy wrote. He argued that kids have “become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment.”

The surgeon general’s report focuses on the impacts of social media on teens and kids—both positive and negative—and the attendant health risks. The report outlines two types of dangers associated with social networks: content-related problems, such as negative self-image or bullying, and use-related problems, such as poor sleep and addiction.

What we know about social media and kids’ mental health

By all accounts, America’s youth are currently experiencing a mental health crisis.

  • The number of teens and young adults with clinical depression doubled between 2011 and 2021, according to San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge.
  • In 2021, the CDC found that nearly 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan.

Many experts have pointed to social media as a potential cause since the deterioration of kids’ mental health has coincided with the rise of social media platforms over the last decade.

Still, the effect of likes, retweets, and TikTok comments on kids’ brains remains more or less a mystery. We know that social media use affects adolescents and that teens show alarming rates of anxiety and depression. But studies that have attempted to determine whether social media is a direct cause of worsening mental health have been inconclusive. Plus, not all kids are impacted by social media similarly: Some—adolescent girls, for instance—appear to be more at risk than others.

Big picture: While researchers search for answers, some lawmakers are pushing ahead with restrictions on teens’ use of social media. In March, Utah became the first state to establish a curfew for teens on social media apps and mandate that parents have access to their children’s accounts. Other states are considering similar measures.—CC

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Overall, the spread of misinformation, including flat Earth beliefs, is a significant concern for teenagers' mental health and well-being, and efforts should be made to promote critical thinking skills and media literacy, and to protect teenagers from the negative effects of misinformation.

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Content: International
International News
Medical Director Warns of Social Media Threatening Teenagers
(Reuters) - U.S. Medical Director Robert Multi on Tuesday issued a stark warning to parents, technology companies and regulators, saying there is growing evidence that social media use can cause serious harm to the mental health of children and adolescents.
The report provides recommendations to help families guide their children ’ s use of social media, and Moulti also called on tech companies to enforce minimum age limits and create default settings for children with high safety and privacy standards.
He also urged the government to set age-appropriate health and safety standards for tech platforms.
In a 19-page “Advisory ” published on Tuesday, Vivek Murthy said that while the impact of social media on adolescent mental health is not yet fully understood and may be beneficial for some users,“ there are numerous indications that social media can also be profoundly harmful to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. ”
“We are in the midst of a national adolescent mental health crisis and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of this crisis and we must address it quickly, ” he said.
Citing a Pew Research Center survey, the report found that 95 percent of teens use some form of social media, and about a third say they use social media “almost continuously. ”
The report also notes that research shows that most teens say social media makes them feel more accepted, more supported when they encounter difficulties, more connected with friends, and more creative.
Increased risk of depression, anxiety, cyberbullying
But those who spend more than three hours a day on these platforms face a “doubling risk of experiencing poor mental health conditions, including symptoms of depression and anxiety, ” the report said, citing the survey.
The report cites a survey that suggests that social media use can cause or exacerbate issues such as body image dissatisfaction, eating disorders, social comparison and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls, while exposing children to cyberbullying at a critical stage of brain development.
Encourage parents to lead by example and set up a technology-free zone
The report makes four recommendations to parents, including (1) setting up a “no-tech zone ” in the home, delineating the boundaries of where or when to use smartphones to facilitate face-to-face communication and ensure sleep is not affected; (2) leading by example to teach children healthy and responsible online behavior; (3) delaying children ’ s first use of social platforms; and (4) letting children turn off their phones before bed.
Calling on technology enterprises to implement minimum age measures
The report calls on tech companies to enforce minimum age limits for users and create default settings for children with high security and privacy standards.
Morty is asking tech companies to more effectively assess potential harms to children and provide data so others can review how these platforms might affect teens.
The report recommends that policy makers tighten safety standards and calls on elected officials to protect children from harmful clips, photographs or texts such as violence, substance abuse or sexual exploitation.
(Roundup)
Related Words: Mental Health Social Media U.S. Medical Director
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Content: Conspiracy theorist banned from most European countries
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The Dutch government has banned British "conspiracy theorist" David Eckey from entering most of Europe for two years amid fears his planned presence at a weekend demonstration in Amsterdam could lead to unrest.
Dutch Justice Minister Dylan Jelguz Ziguerius told reporters that freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate were fundamental rights "but they are not unlimited".
Ike is one of the leading advocates of the belief that a species of lizard has taken over the land by posing as human leaders.
Ekki was expelled from Twitter after publishing false information about COVID-19, including claims that Jews and 5G cell towers were behind the pandemic.
According to a letter posted on his website, Dutch immigration authorities told Ike that “there are concrete indications that your arrival in the Netherlands poses a threat to public order. ”
Ike described the ban as an "unusual and exaggerated response".
The Dutch order bans Ekki from entering 26 countries in the European passport-free Schengen zone.
Ike was expected to speak at a demonstration on Sunday organised by an anti-power group called Together for the Netherlands.
Law enforcement authorities said the rally was expected to attract counter-protesters, including far-left groups.
Ike was denied entry to Australia, which cancelled his visa ahead of a planned trip.
Source: Associated Press
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Content: The Daily Express Original
Express: “indulge conspiracy theorists ” – British universities criticized for supporting anti-scientific ideas
The famous biologist Richard Dawkins attacked the “tolerant ” British universities.
According to the professor, the leadership of educational institutions cares too much about the “feelings ” of students and therefore is in no hurry to debunk the growing popularity of pseudoscientific ideas, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth and the denial of evolution, writes the Daily Express.
The famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins lashed out at the “tolerant ” British universities.
The academician accused their leadership of encouraging the spread of pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth, reports the Daily Express.
Dawkins, 80, was a professor at Oxford University until 2008.
In addition, he has published several best-selling books and made documentaries about the origins of life, the publication explains.
Dawkins urged higher education institutions to "stand up for scientific truth."
In his opinion, they need to educate students, and not “protect ” the feelings of conspiracy theorists.
“University leaders who think that the ‘ offended feelings ’ of flat-earthers and evolutionists matter more than scientific truth need to go back to university to find out what it ’ s for, ” he wrote on Twitter.
“Defend the scientific truth and the clarity of language.
They do not go to university to feel “safe ” and“ protect feelings. ”
They go there to face challenges and learn to cope with difficulties, ” the professor stressed.
Flat Earth societies exist at many British universities, including York, Nottingham Trent and Cambridge.
According to one popular theory, our planet is a disk that surrounds a 46-meter ice wall that does not allow people to fall from the edge, draws the attention of the Daily Express.
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Content: "The Lost Earth Truth 1": The level of the earth seems to be the "gold rush" of our time.
Photo Credit: iStock
What we want you to know is
Through the multi-dimensional advanced high-tech "heterogeneous meta-helmet", scientists learned that the earth is full of four-dimensional entrances, the third dimension of the material plane and the fourth dimension of the etheric plane are originally "twins".
Written by Radu Cinama
Tiping said it was the "gold rush" of this era.
Based on a reference to the House of the Cabal, which hides the door to multidimensional interaction, I found an informative note that I had never seen before, floating among dozens of notes on my desk.
In general, I prefer to work in electronic form or wait for notes or files in digital format, but given my particular interest in the Dimension Portal, I decided to check everything on my desk, including the latest events.
I do not know the reasons and methods, but the information I found was ignored.
After reviewing notes and data summaries, I discovered an event called “Ground Floor – References ”, a“ movement ” that I ’ ve heard has made waves among people, but I never thought it would become a theme for our department.
The illusion of this idea is obvious, especially for those who have good judgment and personal experience of our planet from the perspective of outer space.
I was a bit confused and didn ’ t know if I should read a few pages of summaries about the ground floor.
I went to Lieutenant Nikola and asked him about it.
He told me that the information came from the operations department of another SRI division, an acronym for the Romanian Intelligence Agency, which has the status of a second level notice.
The lieutenant made it clear that the only reason this information reached our department was because it triggered an abnormal "phenomenon" in the world, but in our country, the number of "followers" is relatively small and the proportion is reasonable, and the level seems to be the "gold rush" of our time. It makes you speechless, even in a state of “shock. ”
I can understand that the paranoia and other obscure interests of hundreds of years ago amplify the lack of knowledge, which may occupy the minds of a relatively small number of people, but it is unreasonable to allow it to develop to the level of the international movement of the 21st century.
From a heavenly point of view, I wonder if human stupidity can rise above that level, but I don ’ t quite believe in that prospect.
However, even the most bizarre phenomena must be taken into account, at least taking into account the crowd and their opinions, which is one of the Secret Service's tasks.
I did read the summary, which revealed the main points of the problem very clearly, but did not give any conclusions.
Severe retrogression into the Middle Ages
On the same night, I took advantage of Cesar ’ s free time and shared the ground level problem with him, more as a social case than a research direction.
Cesar laughed loudly, talked about the topic for a while, and then suddenly turned to some very interesting questions.
He told me that three or four years ago, the issue was introduced to him and discussed with other colleagues in the intelligence department because there were signs that the idea was trending toward a consensus.
Out of respect for readers, I don ’ t usually include such a discussion in my series.
It requires only a little wisdom and minimal scientific training to understand, and arguments in support of this theory are tantamount to ignorance and fanaticism.
Beyond this, however, Cesar reveals some psychological cues that seem to be of some importance to general knowledge and social experience.
When discussing topping with Cesar, the first point involves a large number of followers.
“The mechanism for this strange theory of increased follower numbers is related to human isolation, ” says Cesar.
“It ’ s as if the population is divided into two distinct categories, but this separation is actually based on each person ’ s level of consciousness, which is directly related to their vibration frequency. ”
“But, ” I replied,“ I don ’ t know what caused this outbreak, and more and more people are insisting on these ‘ arguments ’ without meaning. ”
It's more like a stupid virus. "
“This major shift in thinking patterns is not at the same wavelength as what is commonly understood in the world today.
In other words, such new ideas have nothing to do with the knowledge of our time.
This is an effective method, because the earth is flat, and the idea is strongly supported by mystical factors, as well as by those who are keen to see things stagnant and not progressing.
This is the best way to control it: take people away from reality, let them dream nonsense, support their fantasies, and encourage them to project.
Therefore, it is controlled by imposing on the masses what they want.
Followers of earth thought, firmly believing in it, will seek to meet others, gather, and even separate themselves from others, because they will see others as fools deceived by lies.
In other words, they will be convinced that they are the ones who “discovered ” the truth. While it is sad to hear the news, unfortunately, the situation is quite real. ”
“Although I have this report under my nose, I can ’ t believe it has reached this point.
I feel like this is an ugly dream, as if some people in the world have voluntarily gone back hundreds of years.
That's how I feel.
Incredibly, people ’ s minds today are still influenced by delusions that defy not only decent intelligence but also scientific reasoning, making everything frenzied.
Look at the results! ”
I showed Cesar ’ s estimated numbers and charts.
"I know.
We've talked to other colleagues, "he said.
“Your surprise is evidenced by the huge difference in conceptualization and vibration frequency that people are beginning to feel.
This is a reality that has become increasingly prominent over time and cannot be ignored.
This is part of the isolation I told you about.
In principle, people interact with those who are evolving and those who prefer to stay in purely physical, crude or involuntary groups.
Those in the first category perfect themselves, recognize the changes that are taking place on Earth, and experience certain emotional states and specific sensations.
That ’ s why it ’ s incredible for some people to think about problems in a medieval way, such as followers of the Earth Theory. ”
Cesar saw the astonishment on my face and hurried to prove what he said again.
“Yes, I ’ m not exaggerating.
This is a return to the Middle Ages, because these people cannot evolve; instead, they return to a more archaic state of consciousness, closer to their true level of consciousness. ”
“Why can ’ t they evolve? ” I asked in surprise.
Of course, I know the answer, but it ’ s always a pleasure to capture Cesar ’ s explanation.
In addition, there is always a new element that can enrich my knowledge.
“Because the current state of things they attract has nothing to do with the higher vibrations of the Earth, this feature is becoming more and more apparent. ”
“For the followers of the Earth Plane, their consolation lies in the frenzy of these primitive ideas, which are maintained as free spirits and ideas are blocked.
The same was true during the Inquisition: a set of foolish and erroneous ideas was raised into law, and any violation of those ideas was enforced. ”
When I think about it all, I hope I ’ m wrong.
“Are we back in the Middle Ages? History has set off a wave of extreme ideas.
Ancient people already knew that the earth was round, but the situation deteriorated in the Middle Ages, when there was a revival of modern science, but was this only to take us back to the Middle Ages now? ” (The author undoubtedly refers to the knowledge shared by Pythagoras and Aristotle, who both asserted that the earth is round, and the argument made by Eratonius in ancient Alexandria.)
Cesar calmly replied, “We don ’ t; but for the part that has degraded, yes. ”
Several factors contributed to this.
Followers of the Earth ’ s theory are indignant at their opinionated views, their refusal to think logically or rationally on the basis of real arguments and evidence, their denial of evidence, and their deceitful defense of their position.
In general, this is a kind of missionary covering up fanaticism.
The psychological factor of the earth level, the mind pulls people's distance
We note that whenever fanaticism prevails, society is confronted with a lack of insight and the limitations of personal freedom.
Cesar gave me an example that better explains how this dilemma can be achieved in the context of a relatively developed civilization.
"This phenomenon is the same as in quantum physics.
If there is enough energy, the electrons can jump into higher orbits.
If there is not enough energy, it can be kept at a slightly higher level and relatively stable; but at some point, the remaining energy will be released in the form of photons, and the electron will return to the orbit where it was originally found, back to where it started.
In quantum physics, this is the basic orbit of electrons.
In other words, electrons with these characteristics will return to the level where they have a safe orbit. ” I interjected, clinging to the subject.
“I know that throughout human history, the idea that the earth is flat has long existed in some religions.
Modern astronomy has developed extensively since then.
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto have only been discovered for about two hundred years.
In this sense, the ground floor is actually not very old, its memory is still fresh.
Perhaps that is why some humans return to the state they once knew. "
“This is another factor, ” Cesar acknowledged,“ in any case, human society is changing from ‘ possessiveness ’ to ‘ feeling ’, that sense of possession, egoism, competition, and violence tends to be gradually replaced by pure and positive emotions and feelings, which are fundamental to love, altruism, and compassion. ”
I have some doubts.
“It ’ s hard to believe, because almost all of us are seeing the spread of these negative manifestations. ”
“At first glance, it might be so.
Remember, however, that most people on Earth are uneducated, and they ‘ resort ’ to this illusion of competition, money, commerce, and lack of spirituality.
A large number of people who are addicted to this dream, tend to oppose those who are guided only by spiritual values and seek a pure life with a clear meaning, and have achieved a balance at this point.
This is what we call isolation. "
In fact, what Cesar wanted to say is that everyone is invited to participate in the great spiritual transformation of humanity and our planet, with the desire and dignity to demand that his life be the germ of light, spirituality and hope that we can enter a bright future.
This is an excellent ideal, but so far too few people have followed this ideal.
Book Introduction
This excerpt is from The Lost Earth Truth 1: The Hidden History of Holographic Time Travel, published by Daxi Culture.
Written by Radu Cinamar
Translated by: Sandra
• momo online bookstore
• Enter TNL83 at Pubu E-Bookstore checkout to enjoy 83% off sitewide (excluding some items, such as physical, adult and designated items, cannot be combined with other offers)
• If you purchase the book through the links above, Key Review Network will receive a score profit from it.
Radu Cinamar became famous after revealing an unprecedented and mysterious collaboration between the US and Romanian militaries.
American and Romanian troops have made an expedition under the Romanian Sphinx in the Bucegi Mountains and discovered the greatest archaeological discovery of all time: a mysterious chamber about 50,000 years old, containing a holographic record of human history of the Earth, biological resonance imaging technology, and three mysterious tunnels that lead to secrets deep in the heart of the earth.
Despite the political intrigue, confusion, and restrictions surrounding this great discovery, the expedition leader allowed Radu Sinamar to visit and explore the artifacts.
Since then, Radu ’ s life has been a labyrinthine adventure, filled with strange events, secret connections, and unusual people and things.
This book delves into ancient history in an unprecedented way, through the interaction of advanced technology ’ s “heterogeneous helmets ” with the author ’ s cerebral cortex and intuition, presenting more than 70 stunning images of the scene, the result of which is holographic projection, explaining and illustrating the DNA changes that took place over thousands of years and how humans evolved into what they are today.
Reveals the mystery of how multiple alien civilizations influenced and guided human DNA to evolve to a higher level.
Some of the hot spots in human history, which in the past either remained unknown or were only considered from a mythological point of view, include: Atlantis, Troy, Shambhala, and Huppelburia.
Disrupting the myths of the past, this book provides rich and accurate communications from the actual scene of holographic technology, combining esoteric knowledge and some scientific factors.
Special emphasis is placed on the "intersection" between the physical dimension and the etheric dimension and on the cracks or entrances between the dimensions.
In addition to revealing the ancient history of mankind, this fascinating work also describes a time out to see the origins of humanity and its hope for the future.
Book Features
Time-lapse decoding! The beginning of important human change
Through the multi-dimensional advanced high-tech "heterogeneous meta-helmet", scientists learned that the earth is full of four-dimensional entrances, the third dimension of the material plane and the fourth dimension of the etheric plane are originally "twins".
And you can see the "cosmic record" in the holographic image!
You can also overlook the cross-section of the earth, covering the deep human genetic technology and high-dimensional cosmic civilization, and no book in its amazing history has been exposed so far!
Editor-in-Chief: Weng Shihang
Editor-in-chief: Bohan Pan
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Content: Tsargrad
5,816 followers
Singer Loza as a supporter of “flat Earth ” rejected the existence of space
Singer Yuri Loza as a supporter of the unproven theory of flat Earth questioned the fact that actress Julia Peresild was in space on the set of the film “Challenge ”.
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Content: Tunisian media ignites social media sites..
“The earth is flat! ”
Palestine Today - Gaza
Time: 08: 38 AM
March 18, 2023
The statements of Tunisian journalist Ashraf al-Kaali sparked a wave of ridicule on social media.
He said, “The earth is flat and not spherical. ”
Al-Kaali said in an intervention on the Tunisian channel "Ninth": "I believe that the earth is flat and not spherical.
I read the Qur ’ an, the Torah, the Bible, and several civilizations, and I came to this conviction. ”
He added: "I have confirmed scientifically and philosophically that the earth is flat, and has no other as with the heavens, and the belief that the earth is round is wrong, I will continue to adhere to the theory of the surface of the earth and I am not ashamed of that."
Tunisian writer and novelist Kamal Riahi criticized al-Kaali ’ s statements, saying: “Yes, we are on a path towards reaction. ”
Al-Riahi added in statements on Facebook: "Canning ignorance is not funny, this is how the destruction of young people occurs when one of the stars of the media appears to say that the earth is flat."
"Children watch such shows with their parents and see them on Facebook, and the danger is not only in believing, but in wasting time in proving the axioms."
Al-Riahi pointed out that Ashraf al-Kaali ’ s belief that the earth is flat “only makes us discover the state and location of a large part of the Tunisian media. ”
Ashraf al-Kaali is one of the most famous media professionals in Tunisia and has been a presenter on state television since 1994.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Kaali presented the weekly musical program "World Rhythms" on channel "21" from 1994 to 2007 and his program was very popular and achieved the largest viewing rates, and then joined the radio "Mosaic" (private).

Title:

Content: Candace Buckner hit a three-pointer with nothing but net in her brilliant Oct. 16 Sports essay, “Irving can talk, but we don’t have to hear him.” Remember this is the same Kyrie Irving who is not sure that the Earth is round.

Unfortunately, Mr. Irving and those of his “thinking” demonstrate that ignorance is no longer a lack of information but rather a willful decision to ignore science, historical facts and other truths. I fear we are now living in a post-truth era, a time of “alternative facts.”

Cary C. Schwartzbach, Fairfax

Title:

Content: “Everyone Gets Hit in the Head”: Travis and Jason Kelce Boldly Claim 20% NFL Players Are Flat-Earthers

Samnur Reza
Published

Eight-time NBA All-Star and Mavericks point guard, Kyrie Irving, has time and time again claimed that the earth is flat. Sadly, this belief is widely held around the globe. When discussing the same and if there are NFL players who also call themselves flat-earthers behind closed doors, Jason Kelce and his brother Travis boldly claimed that a good chunk of the NFL locker room actually believes the earth to be flat.

During a recent episode of the New Heights podcast with comedian Andrew Santino at the discussion table, the younger Kelce said, “We’ve mentioned on the show that conspiracy theories help bring NFL locker rooms together,” before asking the guest, “What are your conspiracy theories?”

Without skipping a beat, Santino posed the question about what percentage of NFL players actually believe in the Flat Earth theory. In response, Travis claimed that at least 10 to 15 athletes in every locker room are flat-earthers. Jason Kelce, however, added that if someone were to conduct an anonymous poll about it, the number of flat-earth believers could potentially jump up to 20%, equating to approximately 11 players out of a 53-man roster.

“Dude, honestly, there are at least 10 to 15 guys in every locker room; I would imagine,” Travis remarked, followed by Jason adding, “If you took an anonymous poll like nobody had to disclose their name or anything like that, you’re over 15% of an NFL locker room… Maybe over 20.”

This revelation baffled the Ricky Stanicky actor, but Travis consoled him by jokingly saying, “Dude, everyone gets hit in the head.” Nevertheless, while the Kelce duo’s numbers may be somewhat exaggerated, there have been some instances when NFL players have openly admitted believing in the earth being flat.

Darius Slay, Sammy Watkins, and Others Are Flat-Earthers

As per Sports Illustrated, free agent wide receiver Sammy Watkins claimed back in 2017 that the earth is flat. But he isn’t the only NFL athlete on that list, as Eagles CB Darius Slay told Tori Petry of DetroitLions.com back in 2018 that the earth is flat.

“I mean, I think it is (flat), we’re walking flat, so how is it round?,” claimed the All-Pro cornerback.

Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen followed suit just last year and claimed the same thing. “PSA,” Queen wrote in a tweet. “Earth is flat. Thank you. Carry on!!”

The list goes on! Former Texas Tech safety, Tyler Owens, apparently told reporters at the Scouting Combine that he doesn’t believe in space or any other planets. Thus, he finds the Flat Earth Theory ‘interesting’ and ‘valid’.

“Nah, I don’t believe in space…. like, you know, I’m religious, so I think like… we’re on our own right now. I don’t think there’s, like, other planets, and stuff like that. I don’t know,” Owens said, as per DailyMail.

Even Seahawks QB Geno Smith has claimed that the whole thing is still up for debate. Moreover, Jason Kelce once revealed that, out of curiosity, he had asked one of his coaches about the Flat Earth Theory and if anyone believed in it. Right there and then, an athlete nearby said, “I mean how you know it isn’t?”

Despite its absurdity, the debate will rage on till the end of time, it seems. However, there are simple experiments that can be conducted in front of a flat-earther to convince them otherwise, as perfectly demonstrated by Wired.

About the author

Samnur Reza

Samnur Reza, or "Rocky," is an NFL editor for the SportsRush. Although his love for football began with Tom Brady, he’s now a devoted fan of Jalen Hurts and is keeping his fingers crossed for the first ring. When asked how he remains loyal to the Eagles, he channels his inner Jim from The Office and responds, 'On a wing and a prayer.' Much like his love for football, Rocky is a dedicated cinephile with an impressive amount of screen time. He’s also fond of cats and has a furry friend named ‘Eva’.

Read more from Samnur Reza

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“Because the Earth is flat ”: Yuri Loza does not believe that the actress Peresild flew into space
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Content: Breaking News
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Kyrie Irving: A look at the controversies surrounding the NBA star following trade to Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly traded Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and draft picks in exchange for the Brooklyn Nets star.

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks made national headlines on Sunday when they reportedly traded Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and several draft picks for Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving.

The 30-year-old eight-time All-Star is expected to be a new weapon and a true NBA star to pair with Luka Doncic, but he also has a less-than-stellar reputation off the court.

In October, Irving tweeted the link to an antisemitic movie that denied the Holocaust and claimed Jewish people oppress Black people, control media outlets and worship Satan.

"I didn't mean to cause any harm. I'm not the one that made the documentary,” Irving said in a press conference at the time. “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.”

Aida Drizin is the co-founder of Intown Chabad, a Dallas synagogue for young professionals, and she’s also the big sports fan in her family’s group text.

"They posted, 'oh my God, Kyrie’s coming to Dallas,' and I was like, 'oh,'" she said.

It’s a notable departure from what has made the team easy to cheer for in her eyes.

“The Mavericks have been such a great organization in that they always bring forth players that it’s very easy to support,” she said.

Irving’s tweet and lack of remorse or recognition for the harm it caused led to an eight-game suspension and Nike ending its sponsorship with Irving before he apologized in a written statement. He said he doesn’t stand for hate speech or antisemitism.

“I’m not a fan of cancelling immediately because someone thinks differently than I do, but there are sometimes when you have thoughts that do have ramifications,” Drizin said. “Everything is just percolating right under the surface and it doesn’t really need a lot to take that match and throw it and cause chaos.”

Irving is known for endorsing conspiracy theories, including at least one with a Dallas connection.

Irving has stated he believes President John F. Kennedy was assassinated because he wanted to "end the bank cartel in the world."

In September of last year, Irving shared an old video of Texas-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was ordered to pay $1.5 billion for falsehoods about the Sandy Hook shooting, where Jones discusses the idea of a "new world order." Irving defended the video stating there were secret societies in America.

He’s repeatedly stated he believes the earth is flat after first sharing the opinion publicly on a podcast in 2017. In the same episode, he stated doubts the 1969 moon landing was real.

Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 kept him banned from Brooklyn Nets home games until late March of 2022 because of the city’s mandate.

“Honestly, I like to keep that stuff private,” Irving said in September 2022. “I just would love to just keep that private and, you know, handle it the right way with my team.”

“Kyrie has made it clear that he has a choice in this matter and it’s ultimately going to be up to him, what he decides,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said at the time “We respect the fact that he has a choice.”

Drizin believes Irving can grow. She points to former first-round pick and Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard who she followed on Instagram after his suspension for using an antisemitic slur while online gaming and streaming on Twitch.

“He is such an incredible example of what turning ignorance into a knowledge and apologizing honestly about what happened,” Drizin said.

She separates ignorance from hate, saying Irving deserves a chance to learn so he can earn fans’ support.

“I truly believe in redemption and giving people second chances,” she said. “I hope that Kyrie becomes a player that I can support.”

On the court and off, Irving is possibly the biggest risk the Mavs have ever taken.

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Content: Terrence Howard shares bizarre conspiracy theories on Joe Rogan Podcast, ‘Everyone is wrong’ - Hindustan Times

Terrence Howard shares bizarre conspiracy theories on Joe Rogan Podcast, ‘Everyone is wrong’

ByArya Vaishnavi
May 22, 2024 10:19 PM IST

Howard kicked off the interview, saying he remembers everything from the time he was in his mother's womb

Terrence Howard is famed for being outspoken about his unconventional beliefs and conspiracy theories. Not afraid of speaking his mind, the Iron Man star spoke at length about gravity being fake and how he had retained the memories of being in his mother's womb on the Joe Rogan Podcast. The 55-year-old actor's bizarre claims seemingly left the podcaster taken aback as Rogan told him, “If you’re right, so many people are wrong.”

‘Everyone is wrong’ according to Terrence Howard

Howard kicked off the interview, saying he remembers everything from the time he was in his mother's womb. “I didn't wake up here, I was inside my mother's womb, I was like 'don't forget, don't forget, don't forget.'” He continued, “I remember being circumcised. I remember the whole nine.”

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Justifying his theories, the Triumph star told Rogan that “everyone is wrong,” adding, “The universe backs me up.” Continuing his streak of conspiracy theories, Howard told Rogan, “Straight lines are an illusion...if you look at it from the side, from its real perspective, you see that it's not.''”

Howard then went on to refute the Pythagoras Theorem and the Periodic Table. The Gully star continued to add that he could “rebuild Saturn without gravity.” “We’re about to kill gravity. We’re about to kill their God, gravity, and they don’t want that,” Howard told Rogan.

“And it has the rings with no animation. It has the rings and the hexagon that’s observed at the very top of it without dark matter, without dark energy, without gravity, showing that it’s an outward, inward, outward force pushing down that creates the planet,” he continued.

In an open challenge to scientists, physicists, and mathematicians, the Cut Throat City star said, “You have all of these physicists saying something different but none of them have 97 patents. None of them have introduced a new form of flight.” Howard explained how he holds the patent for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, which is cited by 31 companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Sony.

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Title:

Content: Right Wing Bonus Tracks: Taking Orders From the Devil Himself

  • Clay Clark excitedly announced that Donald Trump Jr. will be joining Michael Flynn and the cavalcade of COVID-19, election, and QAnon conspiracy theorists at an upcoming “ReAwaken America” event in Virginia.
  • Speaking of QAnon conspiracy theorists, Johnny Enlow is not sure if the Earth is round or flat.
  • The leader of the group “protecting” a Catholic church from pro-choice protesters last weekend appeared on “The Stew Peters Show” Tuesday night, where he claimed that the protesters were following “literal direct orders from the devil himself.” The individual was identified as “Chad McDowell” on the show, but his real name appears to be Max Bernegger.
  • Last weekend, Jaden McNeil and Simon Dickerman, two former associates of white nationalist Nick Fuentes, spent more than 4 hours dishing dirt about Fuentes, who subsequently responded with a nearly 5-hour livestream defending himself and attacking his critics.
  • Finally, a message from white nationalist Vincent James: “We’re going to ban abortion and contraceptives. We’re going to ban gay marriage. We’re going to ban gender studies, and bring JESUS CHRIST back into public schools. You can cry all you want, but there’s literally nothing you can do about it. And you don’t like it, you can move back to the shithole states you destroyed.”

Title:

Content: 4 years later, Millie Bobby Brown turns to her flat Earth theory, stating that she believes in this theory

0

Once a flatlander, Millie Bobby Brown has changed her mind. The actress got a role in the Netflix series “Stranger Things” at the age of thirteen for the role of Eleven. Basically, she grew up in the spotlight. Today, she is well aware of the pros and cons of growing up as a star child, because when she once expressed her opinion about the Flat Earth theory, the trolls did not spare her.

The energetic actress not only knows how to play, but is also confident in her opinion. Perhaps this is what led to her rapid success. She grew up on the path to her success, from participating in a sci-fi show to starring in Enola Holmes. Now she had a great opportunity to prove her changed views on the theory of a flat Earth.

How Millie Bobby Brown Changed Her Mind about the Flat Earth Theory

Millie Bobby Brown proved that she no longer believes in the theory of the flight of the Earth. During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she took a lie detector test. During this, she touched on the topic of how she believed in the flat Earth theory when she was fourteen. Brown was asked if she still believes in the theory of a flat Earth, to which she replied bluntly “no.” A lie detector test decides whether it was true or not.

It was established that she was telling the truth. Perhaps it brought relief to herself and the people around her. But the 18-year-old girl added a comment to her answer. A curious teenager said: “I haven’t seen it yet,” talking about how she searches for the earth curve while on a plane.

Then the actress again gave several answers that could have been lies, and the results showed that she was truthful. At the age of fourteen, she was on Tik-Tok for a live broadcast when a fan asked her about the flat Earth theory. Now the actress has clearly transformed. Host Enola Holmes 2 was interviewed everywhere for her film with Henry Cavill, which was released in theaters on October 27.

Do you think her answer about the flat earth was sincere? Give your thoughts in the comments.

Title:

Content: Egypt News
Astronomical Research Institute: "Professor Sobhy" The Earth is spherical not flat
Thank you for reading the news about the Institute of Astronomical Research: "Professor Sobhy" The Earth is round, not flat, and now with the details of the news
Cairo - Samia Sayed - Mahmoud Ragheb Books
Tuesday ، 23 July 2024 11: 22 PM
The National Institute for Astronomical Research confirmed that astronomy since the Greeks through the Islamic civilization until the rise of man to space confirmed one fact, which is that the Earth is not flat but spherical like the rest of the planets.
The institute said in a statement: "We ask the media and technical community to be careful not to publish conspiracy theories or pseudoscience that has no research origin."
The statement of the Institute of Astronomy comes in response to the claims of the artist Mohammed Sobhi in his interview last Thursday with the program "Nazra" broadcast on the satellite "Echo of the country", that "research proved that the Earth is not spherical," while he asked a question surprised "imagine what we have been doing?".
Mohammed Sobhi added: "You say that there are inhabited areas that are not the end of the land after the north and south poles," adding: "There is no land that we do not know (we do not know) and we have not been able to reach it."
Sobhi predicted that the coming months will witness a climate risk - he did not name it - and asked about the South Pole, the artist replied: "The subject of the South Pole I will not talk about because it needs rings," as he put it.
In response to the statements of artist Mohamed Sobhi, which sparked controversy on digital platforms in the country, the Observatory called on the media and artistic communities to be careful not to publish what it described as "conspiracy theories."
You can follow the news of Egypt and the world from our website
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Title:

Content: Bear corner
37,014 followers
Has Vine gone mad forever, or is it somehow being treated?
Yuri Loza is a convinced flat-earner.
Everyone on the Internet probably knows about this.
However, this time the singer and composer told in detail about his conclusions in the program "Alena, damn!" and managed to intrigue the leading.
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Title:

Content: Kyrie Irving’s Flat Earth Theory Revisited: How Did Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson React to It?

Tonoy Sengupta
|Sun Oct 16 2022

Kyrie Irving has some rather interesting theory on the planet we live on

Kyrie Irving sure is an interesting guy.

Of course, his ability on the basketball is a sight to behold. However, his thoughts and ideologies off it are something the NBA community has had its eye on for a long time too.

Over the years, he has come to be known as the man who is absent from the team for about half the year tending to one cause or another. Though it must be noted that there is a massive amount of exaggeration at play in all the conversations regarding them.

But frankly, his tendency to take holidays off work isn’t exactly weak either.

However, this is Kyrie during his most recent years in the league, a stark contrast to how he was at the start of his career. But it had to have started somewhere, right?

Well, apparently it did. And frankly, fans should’ve known the kind of person they were in for after this little incident was revealed.

Also Read: When Dennis Rodman teared up after his friend North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un met with former US President Donald Trump

Kyrie Irving once believed the Earth is Flat

There are shockingly a whole bunch of Flat Earthers on this planet of ours to this day. And apparently, Kyrie Irving was once a part of that army.

Now admittedly, the original clip of him admitting he believes in the Flat Earth theory can no longer be found. However, there are several clips of him justifying his stance on the matter, one of which is right here, below.

There are also clips of him claiming that he was only joking when he spoke about believing the flat earth theory, so frankly, he may deserve to be cut some slack here. Furthermore, even if he believed it several years ago, there is a strong chance that his beliefs have changed completely.

However, if the man still believes in the theory, that is quite something, isn’t it?

At this point, even most scientists would probably just find themselves chuckling on the matter, rather than be exasperated.

But until Irving announces his current beliefs, one can only speculate.

Neil deGrasse Tyson once shared his thoughts on Kyrie Irving’s backing of the Flat Earth theory

When it comes to scientists, Neil deGrasse Tyson is probably the most well-liked one out there, on the face of this planet.

Whenever he is brought on a show of any kind, he has been asked questions about space, aliens, and even some questions on theoretical physics concepts, such as the Multiverse theory.

But never had he been asked to react to a basketball player in any kind of way. Or at least, that wasn’t the case, until the Kyrie Irving incident.

And here was his reaction.

While he does seem to be speaking facts, and trying to go about this in a logical manner, he does seem a tad bit snarkier than usual.

We can’t imagine Kyrie Irving being the biggest fan of that.

Also Read: Michael Jordan, Who Refused to Back Black Political Candidates, Appreciated ‘Bishop of Brixton’ Jimmy Rogers’ Communal Work

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

I've always been someone surrounded by sports. At 15 though, Basketball was brought to my attention, and I absolutely fell in love with it. At 21 now, I look to share the joy I feel with the world through my articles.

Read more from Tonoy Sengupta

Title:

Content: -- -- -- / -- -- --
Site Management
“Senior scientists. ”
And the rotation of the earth!
Sultan Barakani
• 332
• 0
Every time a discussion about the sphericity of the earth and its rotation comes to the surface, and every time you share written fatwas and audio and visual clips, contemporary scholars insist that saying the sphericity of the earth and its rotation around the sun is contrary to the verses of the Holy Quran, and to the words of Allah, Most High, Who knows what He has created, and none of His servants has testified to the creation of the heavens and the earth. Some of these scientists go far to mislead those who espouse the saying of the spherical earth and its rotation, ignoring the jurisprudence of advanced Muslim scholars who said the spherical earth and some of them said spherical, centuries ago, and indifferent to the embarrassment represented by their fatwas at a time when it was possible to observe galaxies millions of light years away from the earth.
In one of its fatwas, more than three decades ago, the authority of the great scholars of Saudi Arabia said: “The earth is fixed as a continent, and the sun is revolving around it, as Allah Almighty has said: ” The sun is running for its resting place for it, and He has made the earth a decision for you. ” And whoever says," The earth is spinning, and the sun is standing, he is a liar to the Qur'an, and the falsehood of the Qur'an is a greater disbelief, and we ask Allah for wellness and safety. "
It is clear to everyone that this fatwa was issued without consulting the specialists of astronomers who follow the movement of science distinguished between his theories and established facts, and it is clear that they did not take into account the meanings of the Arabic words; the decision in the first verse does not need to be the earth fixed does not move, but the miracle in its silence with its movement, and the counterpart of this saying Allah: He was in the womb of his mother, in the womb of his mother, and in the womb of his mother, in the womb of the womb, in the womb of his mother, in the womb of the womb, and in the womb of his mother.
The second verse, which was inferred by the great scientists, is that the sun revolves around the earth, but indicates that it has its own movement, and this movement is monitored by modern science, represented by the rotation of the sun around the center of the galaxy, and its direction to a point called “Stable: Solar".
This verse is also said about the other verse that was inferred by the body, which is the saying of Allah: “Every person runs for a named term, this verse begins with not only the sun and the moon, but also talks before that about the night and the day, and includes an implicit indication that the night and the day result from the flow of the heavenly bodies. ” Do you not see that Allah swt the night in the daytime and swam the day in the night and harnessed the sun and the moon, each running for a named term, and that Allah is the expert in what you do (Luqman: 29).
The Qur ’ an also mentions that the Qur ’ an has neglected the duty of combining the evidences with other verses that contain implicit references to the creation of the heavens and the earth, such as: “The heavens and the earth are created with truth, and the night is cast upon the day, and the day is cast upon the night, and the night is cast upon the night. ” The sun and the moon all run for a period of time called, is not the Almighty, the Forgiving One, the Forgiving One (Al-Zumar) (Al-Zumar: 5); for example, this verse refers to the sphere of the earth and the flow of the stars, each in its path and its orbit, and each for its own sake.
The established scientists of the nation have decided that true science can never contradict the explicit Koran, so we find the people of science reject the theory of evolution contrary to the explicit Koran, and the natural scientists themselves admit that it is a theory and not a scientific fact, but despite the attempt of some ideological circles to impose this theory, but hundreds of scientists in various scientific circles still crack their rejection and provide bright evidence to falsify..
When it comes to the Earth ’ s sphere and its orbit around the Sun, scientists are unanimous that it is a matter of solid scientific fact.
We do not have an explicit text in the Qur ’ an that denies this fact, but rather that standing on the linguistic connotations of the verses of the Qur ’ an leads to the acknowledgement of this fact and even the proof of the Qur ’ an ’ s precession to its report.
Therefore, it is not useful for some superficial people to use some erroneous theories from which the thieves of science live, to question all the theories and even the facts reached by science, and to twist the necks of some texts to support their doubts.
It is the duty of the Muslim world to adhere to the texts of the two revelations, whenever they are explicit and clear, in the face of any corrupt interpretation intended to follow the whims of people, or to insist on the approval of theories that are still the subject of taking and responding.
But the world must guard against insisting on the phenomena of texts that accept interpretation and tolerate more than understanding, in the face of what have become established scientific facts.
If we are to follow God ’ s commandments, we are to follow God ’ s commandments, and if we are to follow God ’ s commandments, we are to follow God ’ s commandments. We are told that the sun is moving around the earth, so we insist that the sun sets in the eye of a sludge, according to the Qur ’ an.
It does not say sane.
There is no doubt that God ’ s Word will be revealed to them, and that He will be revealed to them, and that He will be revealed to them, and that He will be revealed to them. It is revealed in the Qur ’ an that it is not revealed in the Qur ’ an.
We put mountains stumbling upon the path of the righteous scholars of the West and his hungry minds for the truth, when we insist on adhering to fatwas, the least of which is said to be misplaced and timeless, and it is their right to fold and not narrate, whatever the description of those who issued them as “the great scholars ”!
This description does not make the words described by him the status of revelation home, especially that it is a description did not know the predecessor of the nation and did not know the nation before this time; the nation was counting the consensus of its scientists and the words of their audience, and did not know the term “senior scientists ” This often causes embarrassment to the nation..
I do not know what the position of the wise men of the West is when they are told that the “great scholars ” of the Muslims say in disbelief who espouses the saying of the rotation of the earth and confirm that this statement contradicts the verses of the Qur ’ an with them.
What is the position of the wise men of the West when they see the signs around them screaming that the earth revolves around the sun?!
Thank God that the public scholars of the nation at this time, does not adopt such statements, and it is possible for those who oppose the debate advocates of atheism and secularism, to rely on the words of the public old and modern, to argue about his religion.
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Title:

Content: Virgin Galactic's history-making space launch has left flat Earth conspiracy theorists losing their minds at the surface of the planet.

Fuming conspiracy theorists believe the recent live stream footage of three civilian astronauts heading into space proves they are correct about their claims.

A few comments on the YouTube livestream saw the nutters break through with their wild theories, foaming at the mouth as they pointed out the lack of "oval" in the Earth.

READ MORE: Virgin Galactic's first civilian spaceflight enters space with Olympian onboard

Their comments were drowned out by furious believers in the spherical nature of the planet, telling others not to "feed the flat earth trolls" as they vied for attention.

One mad comment read "THAT DOESNT LOOK LIKE AN OVAL TO ME," while another equally reasonable individual added: "LOOK AT IT??!!! WHERE IS THE CURVE IN THE EARTH?!!"

Their totally sane comments come as the Richard Branson-owned company set off on a history making flight, taking a former Olympian and a mother-daughter duo to the edges of the atmosphere.

The trio' weightless triumph was not all good news though as a small collection of conspiracy-mad individuals believed it was evidence of a flat Earth.

A third tin foil hat wearer added: "This looks like a flat earth to me."

But cooler heads in the comments prevailed, or tried to, as they hit back at those claiming the earth was flat and tried to reason with those responding to the conspiracy nuts.

One person wrote: "Between the flat-Earthies and the anti-woke twits, this chat is a bit of a fail. Congrats to the crew and the passengers and the people who aren't all bottom hurt by other people doing things."

Another added: "Don't feed the flat earth trolls."

But still the conspiracy-mad members of chat pushed on, with some saying "you can literally see the flat edge of earth" while another, quite plainly, wrote: "IT IS FLAT."

For the latest breaking news stories and incredible tales from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

Title:

Content: Support Your Freedom to Speak:
The Moon Is Made Of Plasma (Ancient Mystery Teacher, FEN, VOC, AWR)
20 views
FLATEARTH NATIONS
Published Yesterday |

Thanks to Ancient Mystery Teacher @TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ancientmysteryteacher/

PLASMA MOON And GREATER WORLD MAP
https://www.bitchute.com/video/eIg05MTfbhZ3/
GREATER WORLD MAP And MACROCLIMATE CHANGE
https://www.bitchute.com/video/OFBL8gK0kszq/
Great Conspiracy Behind Great Reset
https://www.bitchute.com/video/RAJphd6FD618/
All The Moon Landings/Missions Were Faked To Hide This Fact
https://www.bitchute.com/video/cm4MJVXnfu6I/

Download the above videos (higher resolution):
PLASMA MOON And GREATER WORLD MAP
https://archive.org/details/plasma-moon
GREATER WORLD MAP And MACROCLIMATE CHANGE
https://archive.org/details/macro-climate-change
Great Conspiracy Behind Great Reset
https://archive.org/details/great-conspiracy
All The Moon Landings/Missions Were Faked To Hide This Fact
https://archive.org/details/moon-mirrors-earth

FLATEARTH NATIONS
WordPress: https://flatearthnations.wordpress.com
BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/flatearth-nations
Brighteon: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/flatearthnations
VIBES OF COSMOS
Mountaindub: https://mountaindub.bandcamp.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VIBESOFCOSMOS
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@VibesOfCosmos:4
AEWAR
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aewaranon

Keywords
hoaxnasaapolloflat earthmoon landingfake spaceplasma moonartermis

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Title:

Content: Support Your Freedom to Speak:
Eclipse Shadow Proves the Moon is NOT a Sphere - Case Closed
America at War
78 Subscribers
121 views
Published 16 hours ago

This guy done a great job demonstrating that shadows PROVE the moon is not a sphere!

And he makes an excellent point that artists have "Eyes trained to SEE" also!

He's a kind of "New Age" guy, so be careful if you watch any of his other videos. I believe my bible! You can keep your "knowledge" of that type!

I'm not trying to knock him though, he's walking his path.
He did an excellent job on this video!

So go by his channel and give the video a "like" and SHARE!
Just always use your discernment and keep to your biblical principles!

original video:
MOON NOT A SPHERE | Shadow is the smoking gun | Flat Earth
https://youtu.be/pYPCJGeihyY

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Live and speak the TRUTH!

Keywords
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Title:

Content: 19 July 2023, Wednesday, 19: 09
This is Charter 97!
Rubrics
Scientists have found out why people believe in conspiracy theories
A meta-analysis of 170 studies was conducted.
After conducting a meta-analysis of 170 studies, scientists came to the conclusion that makes people believe in conspiracy theories.
It turns out that such theories help them feel safe and better understand their environment, reports “Online ”.
If security and understanding needs are not met, people may turn to conspiracy theories to explain their suffering and setbacks.
Financial difficulties and health problems can also be a reason to believe in controversial theories - this scientists explain the number of conspiracy theorists, increased during the pandemic.
Affect susceptibility to conspiracy and personality traits of people.
According to scientists, narcissism and the need to feel unique increase the likelihood of a person believing in conspiracy theories concerning the global structure of the world.
And low analytical thinking and high anxiety had a relatively low correlation with conspiracy thinking.
Download and install the Telegram messenger on your smartphone or computer, subscribe (“Join ” button) to the Charter-97 channel.

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Content: Saturday 22 Rabi II 1443 AH - 27 November 2021 |
Programs
Watch our latest episodes online
New study reveals personality traits of people who believe in horoscopes
Translated by Voice of Beirut International
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People who believe in astrology and horoscopes tend to be more narcissistic and less intelligent, according to a new study.
In an article translated by Voice of Beirut International, psychologists from Lund University surveyed more than 250 people about their astrology beliefs and personality profiles.
They found that those with strong beliefs scored higher in narcissism, but lower in intelligence.
However, they also found that belief in horoscopes was associated with traits of compatibility and extroversion.
Narcissists may be more susceptible to horoscopes because they are more “resistant to facts ” and find positive framing appeals to their greatness, the team said.
The study was conducted by psychologist Petri Cajonius of Lund University, Sweden, and colleagues.
The researchers wrote in their study: "Astrology is becoming increasingly popular, despite the lack of scientific support."
"It is unclear why this ancient practice of studying the positions and movements of celestial bodies is active, with the conviction that it affects human behavior."
Dr. Cajonius and his colleagues wanted to see if belief in astrology was related to any particular personality trait.
They recruited 264 people through social media and had them complete a series of questionnaires.
The first explored how much each participant believed in astronomy and whether he understood that it was supported by scientific research.
Subsequent questions provided a general assessment of personality, according to the “Big Five ” classification, along with specific tests of intelligence levels and narcissistic traits.
"The main finding showed that the higher the narcissism, perhaps surprisingly, the higher the belief in astrology," the researchers wrote.
While further research is needed to explore the reasons behind this association, the team has some hypotheses that may explain their findings.
“Since astrological predictions and horoscopes tend to be positively framed, this enhances feelings of grandeur and may therefore be more endearing to narcissists.
“
Besides, they note: “Narcissistic traits are associated with the belief that astrology is supported by science, leading to speculation that narcissists may generally be more resistant to the truth. ”
After controlling for all the potentially confusing variables, the team also found that “the higher the level of intelligence, the lower the belief in astrology. ”
Similar positive associations have been seen between belief in astrology and higher levels of congruence and extroversion.
Previous research has concluded that people are more likely to believe in astrology in times of personal crisis, as a fact, and the team noted, that could explain why the popularity of pseudoscience seems to be on the rise nowadays.
“We are currently surrounded by pressures such as climate change and, more recently, the COVID19 pandemic, which makes the topic relevant, ” the researchers wrote.
“Although embracing astrology may seem innocent, it can facilitate critical thinking and favor biases. ”
Furthermore, they warned, "belief in astrology is associated with belief in many other pseudosciences as well as belief in conspiracy theories, suggesting that they may not be as harmful as thought."

Title:

Content: ua en ru
A lot of risks.
Komarovsky told how teenagers are affected by social networks
The impact of social media on teenagers (photo: Freepik)
Social media accounts for the lion ’ s share of life today.
This is a convenient way to receive and exchange information, communication, etc. But, as everywhere, there are risks that can pose the greatest danger to children and adolescents.
This is told by RBC-Ukraine (project Styler) with reference to the video on the YouTube channel of Yevgeny Komarovsky.
Risks of using social networks by teenagers
Social media increases anxiety and depression.
The more time a teenager spends on social networks, the more likely he is to develop feelings of anxiety and depression.
However, this is not an axiom.
Depression can be a reason to spend time online.
But parents should still control the amount of time that the child spends on social networks.
The benefit for the child will come when life online can be replaced by real communication and quality pastime.
Another risk is sleep disturbance.
At least, this leads to a bright light from the screen, which reduces the production of melatonin - the sleep hormone.
Notifications also distract the brain from falling asleep.
Sleep disorders lead to many health and developmental problems.
It is always important for teenagers to understand that everything is fine with them and that they are like everyone else.
However, on social media, the content is different and the people there are different.
Therefore, young users of the network may have an atrophied perception of normality, which is why a variety of complexes develop.
Bullying and bullying are also common risks for teens on social media.
More often, adults do not know about this problem, so children are left with troubles one on one.
Real crime is also possible online.
This can be blackmail, and the sale of prohibited substances, and communication with strangers.

Title:

Content: 7 Things Teenagers Need to Know About Social Media
0.
What can we recommend to our children regarding networks and social media?
And what are the biggest risks they could face in this day and age?
False sensations.
The Spanish magazine La Minte is Ma Ravaosa said in a report translated by Watan that there are facts that teenagers should know, as potential users, about social networks.
Since teenagers start communicating with social networks early on, it is necessary to guide them in certain aspects.
And although they may think they have great knowledge, this is not always a rule.
Moreover, it is this false sense of control over the way we use and the vast amount of information that makes them an easy target for some of the dangers of the digital world.
So today we want to talk about 7 things teens should know about social media.
In this context, social networks such as Tiktok, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitch, have increased the number of users in recent years, becoming part of the daily landscape of the network.
So much so that many young people see a personal account as essential on the web as having Wi-Fi is a must.
The Digital World
In fact, the digital world doesn ’ t just help them socialize, prove themselves, or entertain themselves.
It ’ s also a very important way they use to conduct their own small social experiences and shape their identity.
Can we stop them from reaching extremes, which can be dangerous?
Let ’ s at least try using these keys.
It is normal for more than one person to think that this topic is a bit impossible.
But these apps are not harmful in themselves, as the problem lies in how young people use only this set of apps.
A recent study by Qustodio Group and Ipsos, a multinational market research firm, analyzed a new reality they called “hyperconnected families. ”
The research concluded that the hours adolescents aged 12 to 17 spend with their devices are higher than classroom teaching hours.
Read also: Take it one step at a time.
Snapchat surprises its users with a new feature
Another noteworthy aspect that can be noted is that parents often restrict the use of technology on average, before educating and educating their children about its benefits and risks.
As this trend changes little by little, it becomes increasingly necessary (almost prevalent) for parents to have a conversation about those things teens need to know about social media.
1.
You have to be careful when posting certain things.
Privacy is one of the most relevant topics in social networks.
Teenagers should pay close attention to the material they publish, they do not publish everything and there are things that are not allowed.
For example, intimate photos should not be shared even privately.
Third parties can take these photos and maliciously take advantage of them.
The phenomenon of sexual extortion (extortion through new technology), has become common today.
Another recommendation relates to deactivating geolocation in photos that are shared on digital networks.
1.
Not everything that appears on social media is true.
Today, fake news is spreading irresponsibly, and sharing fake data, information, and news is something that kids and teens should consider.
Similarly, apart from fake news, there is the problem of image authoritarianism and advertising, that hidden world of Instagram, where everything appears to us perfect.
We must warn our children that many influencers, they are just media products.
Behind those perfect bodies and faces, there are countless tricks, filters and countless visits to the operating room.
And while teens are unreasonably fond of the world of devices and platforms, that doesn ’ t mean they have enough psychological skills to deal with those image-governed channels.
The dictatorship of advertising and media, such as fake news and cybercriminals or cyberbullies.
They always need our advice and guidance.
1.
You ’ re Worth More Than Just a Like on the Site: Comparative Risks
Another thing teens should know about social media is that they shouldn ’ t form their self-esteem based on what ’ s happening on those sites.
They often upload an image, waiting for the interaction.
Comments can fill your heart with happiness and can cause you pain, insecurity and psychological distress.
In the same vein, envy is another frequent factor in social networks such as Instagram or Tik Tok are the mirror with which you compare yourself to others.
As we all know, what teenagers observe on a daily basis has nothing to do with the truth.
According to an investigation by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, adolescent depression is on the rise and this is associated with a rise in suicidal behavior in recent decades, which is mainly due to the emergence and diversity of social media.
1.
You won ’ t lose anything if you don ’ t connect to the internet for a few hours.
Another thing teens should know about social media is that the importance of life lies off the screen.
As adults, it is advisable to monitor the time of use of your devices.
They should get used to their hobbies and passions that are not exclusively related to technology, as this will affect their quality of life.
In fact, many teens suffer from irritability, bad mood, night discomfort, and lack of sleep due to the complete addiction they already experience to their mobile phones and social networks.
This is something that we as adults must control and prevent.
1.
Say no to challenges.
Challenges pose a real danger to teenagers, and to any immature, impulsive, or irresponsible adult.
For example, the “black-out ” challenge, which consists of blocking the airways until you lose consciousness, has become popular recently.
Many children and adolescents have died trying to meet the challenge.
Also Read: Google launches a new security feature to remove images from search results
1.
Do not engage in harassment initiatives.
Teens should make sure that teens are not allowed to promote bullying online or share harmful content.
This is another thing teens should know about social media, they shouldn ’ t use it to hurt.
Posting private photos or videos or insulting or harassing someone is a crime and practice in which they should in no way participate.
1.
In any unusual situation, you can always turn to an adult
This is probably the most basic and sophisticated advice.
Children and adolescents can seek help from adults when they find themselves in an unusual, uncomfortable or threatening situation that exceeds their limits.
They must feel that they are not alone, and that they can come to us to find solutions.
Similarly, it is also essential that they inform their colleagues about harassment campaigns or any inappropriate situation.
Teaching them these keys early will directly contribute to the correct use of social networks.
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Title:

Content: How to convince conspiracy theorists
10 April 2023, 14: 20
Read news in ukrainian
Source:
Scientific American
Once you believe in the conspiracy theory, getting out of this rabbit hole will not be easy.
But you can somehow convince a person who believes in a conspiracy theory?
I want, of course, to use facts, counter-arguments or even appeal to emotions.
But it doesn't work.
First, it is important to answer the question, but why convince anyone at all?
Maybe let them believe what they want.
But the fact is that people who believe in conspiracy theories can harm not only themselves, but also the whole society, for example, anti-vaccinators.
They risk not only themselves, but also can be dangerous to others.
From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Chains: 5 Conspiracy Theories About COVID-19
The Dangers of Conspiracy Theories
This happened during the coronavirus pandemic, when some people refused vaccinations on principle.
Vaccination of the majority forms collective immunity, and some people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons are assigned to collective immunity.
And anti-vaccinators can walk around and spread the disease without even knowing it, and infect everyone around them.
Or you can give an example of parents who refuse vaccinations for their children.
And these children can get seriously ill all their lives or even die.
The ideal solution, how to convince fans of conspiracy theory, scientists have not yet found.
But one thing is clear.
How to convince a conspiracy theorist
First, the authors advise not to appeal to emotions, not to put pressure on empathy or on the contrary to ridicule the opponent because of his conviction.
To refute the conspiracy theory with the help of facts is considered by scientists, unfortunately, also ineffective.
Instead, we need to focus on prevention and education.
That is, it is necessary to teach people to recognize unreliable information and sources themselves before they encounter a conspiracy theory.
And teach them to think critically and analytically.
It is not fast, but it is effective for the rest of your life.
And this was proved by the researchers, who conducted a three-month course for students, where they taught them critical thinking and talked about common mistakes in perception and logic.
After his passing, students began to less believe in conspiracy theories.
There is another interesting method – vaccination.
You can warn a person that he may encounter a certain conspiracy theory and immediately make arguments against him.
It will work well, but there are a few nuances.
First, if the person who spreads the conspiracy says that this vaccine is also part of the conspiracy, that is, uses the vaccine against the vaccine, then it may stop working.

Title:

Content: Breaking News
More () »

Teaching students about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

How do you teach teenagers something as big as the start of a war? A teacher at Start High School shared how she approached lessons on current events.

TOLEDO, Ohio — The topic of discussion in Ms. Schnerer's class at Start High School is Russia and Ukraine.

"It's a pinpointed moment where we can point to and be like 'oh this is a big, big, big deal,'" Schnerer said.

But how do you teach teenagers something as big as the start of a war? Schnerer said she starts with the basics.

"Don't believe everything you see on social media and also look at verified, real, actual journalists and journalists standards news outlets," Schnerer said.

In class on Monday afternoon, students presented on a more specific topic, like Berlin protests against the invasions, then cited two news sources that they got their details from.

"There's misinformation and disinformation everywhere they look on TikTok, social media and everywhere and it's really hard for them, the young minds that they are...they don't understand what's good and what's bad information," Schnerer said.

The class combed through what's factual and what's not...all while learning to understand what's happening across the globe.

"I'm not trying to be a gatekeeper, I'm not trying to be like, 'well this is the world according to Ms. Schnerer.' No, we use good sources, all kinds of really cool techniques to dissect the news," she added.

Schnerer teaches about many different current events and how to spot misinformation. She says she hopes her students take these skills past their time in school and into their day-to-day life.

Title:

Content: How can you save your children from serious social media challenges?
The dangers of social media outweigh the benefits and fun of engaging in it, especially for children and adolescents, as children often feel compelled to participate in what their friends and peers are doing in all the challenges they see through social media platforms, whether serious or positive, in order to keep up with them or get along with them.
How can parents talk to their children about the serious challenges of social media?
Educational and family specialist Dr. Ayesh Nawaisa believes that the technological revolution has led to a large spread of social networking sites and related applications, giving children the opportunity to participate directly in the content industry and share it with others.
“This shift has been largely reflected in children ’ s behavior, and the relationship with social media has reached the point of daily addiction for many hours.
This was accompanied by difficulties for parents in monitoring the content and what their children watch as a result of economic and social conditions related to the parents' preoccupation with work and the fulfillment of the requirements of life. "
Regulated and targeted use of websites
He added that it is necessary to restore prestige to families and the role of mother and father in raising children and directing them towards the right path through the regulated and directed use of various communication sites and applications, and alert children to the negative health and social effects resulting from excessive use of these sites, and the need to explain the dangers of participating in the challenges popular through social networking sites.
The Jordanian educational expert stresses the need to guide children to the importance of employing these technologies and websites to reflect on the improvement of their learning and new skills, adding that "the challenge is great for parents, and children must participate in addressing the negatives resulting from the use of these sites."
Ideas for dialogue with children about challenges
Hana Al Ramli, an information technology expert and internet culture consultant, offers a range of ideas for a dialogue with children about the challenges that spread across social media:
Before starting the dialogue, identify the topics you would like to discuss, and make sure you understand the potential dangers of common challenges.
Start with open-ended questions to engage your children and encourage them to participate, such as “What sites do you use? ” or“ What do you like about them? ”
Give your children an opportunity to ask questions and discuss continuously.
• Respond to their needs, and make them feel comfortable asking any questions or concerns.
Ask them what they know about these challenges, and whether they have seen or heard of anyone doing them.
• Listen to their opinions and feelings without judging or criticizing them.
Counsellor Hana offers examples of questions:
How do you feel about these challenges?
Why do you think some people are taking on these challenges?
What would you do if someone asked you to do one of these challenges?
How can you help a friend who is or is thinking about doing one of these challenges?
The information technology expert adds:
Listen carefully and respectfully to your child ’ s opinions and ideas, and don ’ t interrupt them.
• Share your fears and expectations.
You can explain to your child why some challenges are not appropriate and what kind of dangers they pose to them.
Ask him what he knows.
You can begin to discover the challenges your child likes, and the challenges he enjoys.
You can also ask him if he has encountered any problems or dangers.
Encourage them to think critically and independently about these challenges, not following participants in this type of game or succumbing to peer pressure.
Help them develop self-esteem so that they don ’ t feel the need to convince others of risky behaviors.
Provide information in an age-appropriate manner, focusing on possible adverse effects.
Communicate with your child after the dialogue to follow up on the discussion and make sure they understand correctly.
Try as much as possible to have regular conversations with your child about their online experiences.
Viral Social Media Challenges
Viral social media challenges are defined as typically involving users who film themselves performing unusual, dramatic, funny, or risky actions, and sharing that content with others who can then perform the same action, thereby accepting to complete the challenge and keep sharing it, Verywellfamily has published.
Dr. Noushin Amin Eldin, president of the Children ’ s Council and the Media at the American Academy of Pediatrics, said: “There ’ s a feeling that if other people are doing this, it might be fun to try to imitate them, even if it ’ s a new idea that they didn ’ t think of before. ”
Some of the challenges of social media are extremely risky, especially when they involve medications or otherwise affect the body.
She explains that some of the challenges come in the form of practices with unknown results, which pose a risk to children ’ s health.
In 2013, the so-called “cinnamon challenge ” spread, with a large number of teenagers around the world daring to eat a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds, without water, resulting in aspiration pneumonia or permanent lung damage.
The challenges of social media are very serious because they involve peer pressure and group thinking, leading vulnerable children to risk their health or lives.
Source: Al Jazeera + Websites

Title:

Content: Breaking News

PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

Whether it’s via TV, radio, or the internet, kids and teens, just like adults, are learning about what’s happening in and around Ukraine, and many are likely

concerned, worried or even scared.

Talking and listening to kids

How parents and other adults respond can have a big impact on how a young person handles the news coming out of Ukraine. We can’t hide the fact that something bad is happening, nor should we deny that we are sad, worried or frightened. But we can also be reassuring and help put the crisis into perspective, helping children feel safer but also enabling them to express their feelings about what is happening, and possibly take some action that might — even in some small way — make them feel more empowered to do something to make a difference.

Retired child and adolescent psychiatrist and current developmental life coach Annie Hempstead advises parents to start by listening, asking open ended questions, and continuing to listen. “There are times when our anxiety is high enough that we just want to fix it. We just want to make it OK and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that desire. But sometimes we skip a step” — asking your kids how they are feeling, what they are hearing and thinking about.” You might also ask if they would like you to help them understand these events.

Dr. Hempstead also said it’s important to be “real and “part of that realness is listening to how scared they might be.” You might want to share your own feelings, “I might be scared at times, as a parent.” She added, “authenticity is a really big part of this.” You can model for them that it’s natural to have feelings, and we are OK, even if we are anxious. It’s also important to remind kids that “good things happen much more often than bad things and most people are good.”

Hempstead said that parents should seek out professional help “if you see your kid withdrawing, if you see appetite changes or that they are unable to enjoy themselves.”

Media consumption and possible misinformation

Ask kids what they know and where they are getting their news. If they’re accessing information online, talk about the source and, together, try to determine whether these are credible sources. Talk with them about what they are seeing on social media and how they can tell if something they see may not be completely true. ConnectSafey’s Quick-Guide to Misinformation & Media Literacy (ConnectSafley.org/misinfo) can help.

Also, be wary of what you see on TV. Credible network news organizations strive to give accurate information, but sometimes they speculate or report breaking news that hasn’t been verified. And there is a difference between the reporters who are reporting the facts and the analysts and guests who may be speculating or simply sharing their opinions.

Kerry Gallagher, a veteran educator who currently serves as assistant principal for teaching and learning at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Mass., and as ConnectSafely’s education director, said that parents of older adolescents should “share information they have checked through lateral reading (which involves consulting several trusted information sources to understand a topic or news event) or other fact checking techniques and comment on information that is inaccurate to redirect the teens to information that is accurate.”

Teens, Gallagher said, “are often getting their news and facts from places like Instagram and TikTok. Some of their sources on those platforms are accurate (many are not), but they should use lateral reading to corroborate.”

Adolescents, she added, “have a very clear sense of right and wrong, fair and unfair. Helping them process this is important.”

Disturbing images and videos

Some of the images on TV and online can be very disturbing. This is a war, which means there will be explosions, fires, burnt out buildings and pictures of people who may be wounded, dead or in desperate conditions. While such images can help build awareness and empathy, they are not suitable for all viewers, especially children.

Online news sources and images shared on social media can be even more explicit than TV news, so talk with your kids about what they are seeing and how they are responding to stories, images and videos.

Even for teens and adults, it’s probably best to limit your consumption of TV news about the war. It may be appropriate to tune in now and then, but a steady diet of bad news can lead to depression and increased anxiety.

You might also want to talk with your teens about what they share online. In addition to making sure they don’t share false information, they should be aware that not everyone may want to view graphic or violent images. They should also be careful before sharing sensitive information such as images of prisoners of war or innocent civilians and be especially careful before sharing any information that could give away a person’s location.

“We are all trying to navigate the information that is coming at us quickly,” Gallagher said. “The situation changes rapidly hour to hour. It is OK to step away for a while and then check in when you are rested and ready, both cognitively and emotionally.”

Hempstead pointed out that it’s appropriate to “limit how much children are visually taking in and they’re audibly taking it as well. In particular, seeing images of war, injury and death, can be a very powerful source of trauma for children.” She recommends being sure TV news channels are turned off when children are within eye or ear range.

What you and your children can do to help in Ukraine

It’s easy to feel helpless during a crisis because there is little if anything you can do directly to stop the Russian attacks against Ukraine. But there are things you can do that not only benefit Ukrainians and others directly affected, but also help give you and your children a sense of empowerment.

Talk with your kids about what they and you can do whether it’s making cards to send to Ukrainian children, raising money online or by having a bake sale, lemonade stand or car wash. Teens can raise funds and awareness on social media and families can attend or even help organize vigils and demonstrations to show their support for the people of Ukraine. Sharing your feelings with others can be therapeutic.

Helping your kids feel they’ll be OK

Hempstead said “the most important factor for children who’ve been traumatized and possibly being re-traumatized, or experiencing trauma for the first time, is knowing that their parents and/or guardians are OK and that they will be OK.”

“Honoring that what they’re feeling is valid, and they have a right to feel that, but the next step is helping them understand that “we’re living in a country where we’re so lucky to be so safe, we’re so lucky to have so many walls of protection” and that, of course, your parents and caretakers are there to take care of you.”

For some children, it may be helpful to point out that Ukraine is far away. You might even want to show them a map or a globe with an ocean between the U.S. and Ukraine. None of this is to diminish the nature of the tragedy, but to reassure children that we live in a safe place that is very far away from war.

Larry Magid is a tech journalist and internet safety activist.

Title:

Content: We need to learn that if it's on the internet, it doesn't have to be true

Children use ChatGPT in school, February 2023 Copyright AP Photo/Euronews
By Yoan Blanc, Co-director, C'est vrai ça?
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

Investing in education and the development of critical thinking is more important than ever, as it will help to limit the risks of disinformation posed by the advent of technologies such as the internet and AI, Yoan Blanc writes.

In its new report on education and technology, published on 26 July 2023, UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Report discusses the risks and opportunities that new technologies hold for the future of education.

The report points out that only around half of 15-year-olds in OECD countries are able to tell facts from opinions.

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), more than ever, educators play a vital role in teaching the critical thinking and autonomy needed to navigate new technologies.

As we have observed in recent years, disinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories have gained ground.

While it is worrying to see the often-morbid impact of fake news, we also need to consider how susceptible people are to these theories, and the lack of education about technology, which leads some people to think that “if it's on the Internet, it must be true”.

Pre-existing issues, a smouldering fire that just needed oxygen

A pre-existing situation has made it easier for people to buy into the idea.

Disinformation campaigns haven't enjoyed the success they have based solely on a particular set of circumstances.

The COVID-19 crisis merely acted as a catalyst, stoking a fire that had been smouldering for quite some time due to a number of factors that slowly came to light.

The media has become polarised in recent years, favouring ideology and punchlines over in-depth debates on social issues.

As the latest RSF report shows, freedom of the press is under threat in many countries, including those that were once regarded as democratic.

Public confidence in the press has rarely been so low, and the work of journalists is often denigrated, even though they are the foundation of a healthy democratic system.

The media has become polarised in recent years, favouring ideology and punchlines over in-depth debates on social issues.

The lack of digital literacy and critical thinking

It's hard to properly account for the surge in fake news. The general public has very little understanding of how social media work and sometimes takes falsely sourced or openly conspiracy-themed publications at face value.

Acquiring easily implemented methodological tools would undoubtedly help to avoid these pitfalls.

The main reason fake news goes viral is a lack of critical thinking. Part of the population doesn't know how to think critically and doesn't analyse the information they are given.

Social media is the favourite channel for spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation.

There is also the question of social media moderation, which is at best inadequate, at worst non-existent, and essentially based on user reports, with the impending risk of a 'militia' effect.

It allows for swift and massive dissemination thanks to its sharing functions and algorithms that highlight the sort of “divisive” content that generates reactions (the more intense the emotion, the more viral the information).

There is also the question of social media moderation, which is at best inadequate, at worst non-existent, and essentially based on user reports, with the impending risk of a "militia" effect.

The reports they make are processed by people who often don't speak French, leading to bizarre situations where overtly racist content can be allowed to remain online.

Worse still, as content deletion is sometimes based on the number of reports received, journalists' or fact-checkers' accounts or publications are regularly deleted or suspended as a result of massive reporting campaigns.

How can we fix this?

Citizens' initiatives that complement the work of the press need to take shape to counter fake news on social media.

Because while disinformation's main weapon is virality, it is still possible to mitigate the viral impact of a publication by reacting quickly to provide simple, accessible, and well-sourced explanations.

C’est vrai, ça?, for instance, has over twenty volunteers working on a citizens' initiative to check LinkedIn posts.

With an average of 10 fact-checking operations a day and 70,000 followers, they help prevent the spread of fake news or at least encourage critical thinking by providing sourced commentary.

This is where education comes in

To stem the tide of disinformation upstream, there is a solution that is both simple on paper and yet terribly difficult to implement in practice: education.

Training teachers to work with and use new technologies so that they can pass on critical thinking methods to their pupils, whether it be social media or content-generating artificial intelligence tools accessible to the general public (ChatGPT, Midjourney, etc.).

Whereas in the past, the challenge for the public was to gain access to the knowledge needed to contradict dogma, today, the challenge is to sort through the mass of information.

Here too, partnerships could be devised between schools and community associations to train students in the use of new technologies, to encourage them to question what they consult and to use the tools at their disposal to reflect rather than just consume.

The Internet and artificial intelligence are formidable instruments, providing access to information that was previously unavailable.

But like any other tool, they need to be properly mastered. Access to knowledge and education has always been a means of empowering people.

Whereas in the past, the challenge for the public was to gain access to the knowledge needed to contradict dogma, today, the challenge is to sort through the mass of information.

We have to invest in knowledge to solve this once and for all

Learning the basic techniques of OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) — how to detect texts or images generated by artificial intelligence or how to analyse a source of information — are all skills that are accessible from a very young age and help protect the human mind against manipulation.

Investing in education and the development of critical thinking is more important than ever, as it will help to limit the risks of disinformation posed by the advent of technologies such as the internet and AI.

To achieve this, we need genuine political commitment and enlightened governance to analyse the risks and work together to develop effective standards that protect us all from fake news.

Yoan Blanc is the co-director of C'est vrai ça?, an independent civic initiative that brings together private citizens who want to fight back against fake news.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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Title:

Content: Missouri legislation aims to help kids practice critical thinking in K-12

Concerns over AI-generated media spur efforts to reinforce Missourian’s scrutiny of information
Published: Dec. 15, 2023 at 6:31 PM CST|Updated: 8 minutes ago

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (WGEM) - A bill pre-filed in the Missouri House of Representatives would create a new pilot program aimed at helping K-through-12 students be more resilient to misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories.

State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis, is filed the bill as concerns grow about the spread of AI-generated media circulating online and with it, huge potential for confusion and chaos.

“Unfortunately, today, children are receiving so much information, and they receive it in so many different ways that we never had to deal with as adults,” Murphy said.

The media environment has dramatically expanded in the last three decades, beginning with the surge of cable TV in the late 1980s, continuing with the rise of the internet in the 1990s, and escalating with the adoption of social media in the 2000s.

“Artificial Intelligence is now going to be the challenge of the of the next generation,” Murphy predicted.

The “Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Act,” if passed, would launch a program in select schools to develop strategies for how to improve student’s ability to think critically and process incoming information whatever the source.

Amy Simons, a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, said each person’s media consumption, if not proactively managed, can become exclusively managed by an algorithm, the top priority of which is usually to retain the user’s attention.

“The media landscape is both saturated, and it’s splintered,” Simons said. “So, we are increasingly, – because of the way that algorithms work and the ways sources of information are fed to us on our social media streams or through ads, – we are becoming more and more insular.”

The idea behind Murphy’s bill is to build a student’s natural, healthy skepticism of what they see and hear and understand their own bias and that of others.

It’s the same process employed by journalists in verifying their information.

“That’s something that really today we need to be training everybody to do,” Simons said. “That’s not just a skill journalists need.”

In October polls shows Americans have the lowest trust and confidence in news media ever.

Murphy said the more consumers understand about how their news sources verify information, the easier it will be for them to know which news sources to trust.

“We’re gonna have to make everybody a journalist in their own way, they have to learn how to how to verify what they’re seeing,” Murphy said.

Copyright 2023 WGEM. All rights reserved.

Title:

Content: Rabbis of LA | Rabbi Scott Westle Prefers the Classroom to the Pulpit

In his classroom, Rabbi Westle stresses truth-telling.
[additional-authors]
January 18, 2024
Rabbi Scott Westle

In an environment of clashing Worldwide opinions, Scott Westle, the rabbi-in-residence at Heschel Day School, has set an ambitious target for his sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

“I want my students to know the history and have the facts,” he told the Journal. “They are confronted daily with information, not all of it true. Their social media apps do not contain bibliographies. I want them to hear the stories, learn the facts, see how they are sourced, what is accurate, what is false.” In his 10th year at Heschel, he realizes “they aren’t able to process what is true and what is not.” The students (age 12-14) “are not yet critical thinkers.” Westle sees it as his responsibility to teach them how.

Entering their teens, students don’t have the context to grasp the connection between anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Jewish sentiment. “Or why people didn’t know much about the geopolitical situation before Oct. 7, and now they are experts. My kids don’t know yet how to process those things.”

In Westle’s youth, growing up in different communities with a father who was education director at Conservative synagogues, he fell in love with Israel and the Jewish people. That’s never waned. “I love the connection between Jewish history and Israel,” he said. “I share that passion with my kids. I don’t apologize for it.”

In his classroom, Rabbi Westle stresses truth-telling. He wants students to have a clear understanding of the Jewish people’s connection to the Land, to the State of Israel, why it matters as a value to Jews, why L.A. Jews should care about Israel and to learn about the phrase “war is hell.”

When his students are confronted with raw numbers and information, they may ask themselves, “how am I meant to feel?”  Does Rabbi Westle want his students to take a certain perspective? Or does he give them a range from which they can choose? Are they mature enough to select?

While some families talk about the war at home, the rabbi has made a habit of encouraging students to check the news. “I will say to them ‘Check MSNBC, check Fox News, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, The L.A. Times. When they all tell the same story, that is called truth.’

“I tell them to check multiple [sources]. I tell them about Israeli sources that I check, and they also are across the spectrum.” Among those sources Westle mentioned are The Times of Israel and Ha’aretz.

As with students elsewhere, those at Heschel have cell phones, internet and social media access. “Unfortunately,” said Rabbi Westle, “there is a large campaign around the world to point out every mistake Israel has made in the history of its existence. This is under a magnifying glass. My students are grappling with the notion of ‘What does it mean that I am so proud of this place, and yet I am seeing all of these other ideas on social media?’”

The child of two Jewish educators, Westle was born in Florida and grew up in Albuquerque, N.M. and Tucson, Ariz.
“Real hotbeds of Jewish culture,” he ironically noted.  “Funny because my parents wanted us to have this Jewish life. It was very hard. In upper elementary and high school, I was very involved with Jewish youth groups and USY, and all my friends were based in Southern California. I was constantly coming to L.A. in high school, which mystified my friends.”

As a teenager, Westle took Jewish youth trips around the country, and also to Poland and Israel.

He remembered spending 10 days in Poland before setting foot in Israel. They visited camps, cemeteries and learned about pre-Holocaust Jewish life that was and Jewish life that was resurgent. He remembers standing inside a gas chamber and singing “HaTikvah.”

“When I went to Israel for the first time,” he said, “I remember thinking this is somehow the greatest thing that ever happened to the Jewish people — without really understanding what it was. From there, my engagement just grew.”

Westle always seemed to be involved in Israel education on campus.  After graduating San Diego State, he returned to Israel “looking for myself.” He learned for a year at the Pardes Institute then, because of Jewish youth group friends, he moved to Los Angeles on a whim.  One of his first jobs was with the Israel organization StandWithUs. “After a few months,” Westle said, “I realized I didn’t want to teach college students to defend Israel. I wanted to teach students to love Israel.”

Still in his mid-20s, he became a USY director in West Hills. The rabbinate was not in sight. “I was thinking,” “I hope someone sees the way I am running a youth program in a synagogue and says, ‘I like what you do, and I want to offer you a job in my business.’”

That never happened. “Instead, what I heard was, ‘You are good at running this Jewish youth program. Maybe you should be a rabbi,”’ Westle said.

He realized he loved being involved with Jewish nonprofits, and “being a rabbi gets you a seat at the table.  “I didn’t see myself as a religious leader, though. But I thought with education, the guidance and wisdom of traditions, they might make me a good candidate for whatever I want to do.” In 2014, he was ordained at American Jewish University, the same year, he said “Heschel took a chance on me.”

For now, Rabbi Westle’s home is in the classroom, and probably long-term. He flashed a smile. “I feel very fulfilled. My biggest complaint is that I am not always challenged by sparring matches with 13-year-olds.”

Fast Takes with Rabbi Westle

Jewish Journal: As an eclectic reader, what is the best book you have read?

Rabbi Westle: “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac, which I read when I was 18 and living in Israel. Also, “Barbarian Days: A Surfing Memoir,” by William Finnegan, even though I don’t surf — but I love the beach.

J.J.: Favorite Jewish food?

Rabbi Westle: Classic latkes.

J.J.: Favorite place you have traveled?

Rabbi Westle: Queenstown, New Zealand, known as one of the extreme sports capitals of the world.

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Title:

Content: Media literacy key to combat misinformation, disinformation

Is media literacy the key to combating misinformation and disinformation?

Well, this was the subject of a conversation hosted by the Caribbean School of Media and Communication (Carimac), University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Jamaica; The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) on November 13.

TT journalist Wesley Gibbings was the main presenter at the conference titled A Conversation on Media Literacy.

In his presentation, he said media and information literacy, intrinsically including a higher level of digital literacy, provided the region with the opportunity to achieve a human-rights-compliant approach to addressing issues of misinformation, disinformation and other mass media dysfunction.

He was one of five panellists, which included director of UWI, Mona’s Western Jamaica Campus Dr Patrick Prendergast; secretary general of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, Barbados Sonia Gill; president of the Media Institute of the Caribbean TT-based Kiran Maharaj and Carimac graduate student Kayla Keane.

Gibbings said the overriding assumption was that equipping consumers of media content with an ability to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from lies had the potential to greatly “diminish the impact of unreliable supply of news, information and other content.”

He added it was an important issue to consider, especially if it was conceded that digital content, in particular, would continue to grow and escape even through “the finest mesh of regulation.”

“More prohibition, as attractive as they appear to Caribbean decision-makers, is thus destined to be futile,” he said.

Through demand-oriented media literacy, both direct and collateral social damage could be avoided or minimised.

“The lower the demand, the greater the hindrance to supply,” he said.

It did not provide a comprehensive shield, so most defenders of rights agreed that the protections afforded to the subjects of social media or all media content, under common law and statute, should continue to apply, he said.

Gibbings said even the founding principles of free speech captured by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights identified duties and responsibilities and, with them, “widely accepted” limitations.

There were debates regarding the applications of these limitations alongside what was to be considered on questions of media and information literacy, he said.

Gibbings said there were nuances to consider when it came to this: issues such as defamation, threats to national security, and incitements to discrimination, hostility or violence.

He added there was also the principle that addressed the infringement of other rights, such as privacy.

“This should clear off the air among those under the misguided assumption that people who advocate for freedom of expression are somehow envisaging a situation of untrammelled liberty,” Gibbings said. Though it was true that more freedom was preferred over less freedom, he said.

Gibbings said media and information literacy addresses these concerns at several levels by actively engaging a wide cross-section of interested partners inclusive of state and non-state partners, with a special look to those involved in mass communication and this was not restricted to traditional media.

He added that media literacy was already part of the curricula in schools in some countries.

This expanded traditional emphasis on critical-thinking components in the school system, he said.

“One indirect impact of this is that the state becomes specifically involved in administering and evaluating progress on this as a national responsibility,” he said.

There was also the possibility of wider youth engagement, through this, in dissecting and influencing digital trends and becoming advocates for responsible media consumption, Gibbings said.

The conversation included discussion on critical thinking and the structure of news in today’s digital world.

The conversation lasted a little over two hours.

More in this section

Title:

Content: ⇓ More from ICTworks

10 Things to Know About Children and Misinformation and Disinformation

By Guest Writer on November 3, 2021

The rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation (mis/ disinformation) online has emerged as a pressing public issue of the 21st century that affects all those accessing online networks, as well as those offline.

As active digital users, mis/disinformation is very much a part of children’s lives. In addition, mis/disinformation among parents, caregivers and educators can have a negative effect on children, even if the children themselves are not directly exposed to it. Children can be targets and objects of mis/disinformation, spreaders or creators of it, and opponents of mis/disinformation in actively seeking to counter falsehoods.

The new rapid analysis report “Digital Misinformation / Disinformation and Children” by the UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy outlines what we know about children and mis/disinformation, and the challenges for policymakers, technology companies, educators, and parents and carers in countering mis/ disinformation.

10 Things to Know: Children and Mis/disinformation

Misinformation is false or misleading information that is unwittingly shared, while disinformation is deliberately created and distributed with an intent to deceive or harm. Together they range from satire and parody, to dangerous conspiracy theories. Here are 10 things you need to know about how they affect children.

1. Mis/disinformation online is a pressing public issue.

The rapid spread of mis/disinformation online affects everyone online and offline. As active digital users, mis/disinformation is very much a part of children’s lives. Mis/disinformation on social media spreads farther, faster, and deeper than truthful information. Hot-button and divisive issues, such as immigration, gender politics and equality, and vaccination are common subjects.

2. There can be real-world consequences.

Mis/disinformation has been used to incite violence and crime targeted at ethnic minorities – which has resulted in deaths and displacement of children, led to lower child COVID vaccination rates, undermined trust in journalism and science, and drowned out marginalized voices.

3. Algorithms are a key to mis/disinformation.

Algorithms drive personalized news feeds and curate search results, content, and friend recommendations by tracking user behaviour. Algorithms sometimes promote misleading, sensationalist and conspiratorial content over factual information and can be key vectors in amplifying the spread of mis/disinformation.

4. Children are vulnerable to the risks.

Because of their evolving capacities, children cannot always distinguish between reliable and unreliable information. As a result, not only can they be harmed by mis/disinformation, but may also spread it among their peers. Even very young children or those without access to social media networks may be exposed to mis/disinformation through their interactions with peers, parents, caregivers and educators.

5. Children can challenge mis/disinformation.

Children can be targets and objects of mis/disinformation, but they can also actively counter its flow. They can contribute to online fact-checking and myth-busting initiatives, such as against COVID misinformation in Nepal. UNICEF Montenegro’s Let’s Choose What We Watch programme has given young people opportunities to practice their media literacy and journalism skills and so improve the quality of reporting child rights.

6. Education is important.

Equipping children with the critical reading and thinking skills can help them determine the veracity of information. Considering how mis/disinformation moves easily between online and offline contexts, it is important to develop critical thinking skills amongst children even in non-digital contexts.

7. Collective action is required to protect children.

Policymakers, civil society organizations, technology companies, and caregivers including parents and educators must work together to protect children from the harms of mis/disinformation. Efforts to slow the spread of mis/disinformation are not coordinated, and there is little reliable data on the scale of the problem.

8. We need child rights-based regulations.

UNICEF recommends that policymakers devise regulation to protect children from harmful mis/disinformation, while enabling children to safely access diverse content.  Regulation should focus on requiring procedures for classifying content and ensuring transparency and accountability. Finding the balance between rights-based online protection and freedom of expression is a very significant policy challenge.

9. Technology companies can help.

Technology companies are key actors in combating mis/disinformation. UNICEF recommends that they actually implement their self-declared policies and invest more in human and technical approaches. Technology companies should be transparent about mis/disinformation on their platforms and how they are combatting it, and prioritize meaningful connections and plurality of ideas for children in the designs of digital systems.

10. Civil society should provide policy guidance.

Civil society, including academia and international organizations, should conduct research on the impact of mis/disinformation on children and the efficacy of counter-measures, so that their findings can inform advocacy and policy responses.

A lightly edited synopsis of the Digital Misinformation / Disinformation and Children report by the UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy and 10 things you need to know by Steve Vosloo.

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Title:

Content: FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — As tensions in the Middle East persist, many parents are grappling with the challenge of discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict with their children.

With information readily accessible through various sources such as peers at school and the internet, children may feel confused and anxious about the situation.

To aid parents in effectively addressing these concerns, KNWA/FOX 24 reached out to counselor Jennifer Gray for guidance on supporting children.

Gray suggests:

  1. Reassuring kids that parents are there for them and are here to support them.
  2. Limiting social media exposure and regulate what they watch on TV.
  3. Providing information based on by telling the truth like who is involved but to remember to keep details simple.
  4. Knowing the signs of anxiety. Kids can internalize their fears and concerns.
  5. If they want to help, let them get involved by donating their time or money to organizations helping in the region.

If parents are still concerned about how to talk to their child, Gray says that seeking help or assistance is always an option.

Title:

Content: Recommendations for parents of dependent adolescents
1.
Teach your child to express emotions constructively and deal with stressful situations.
2.
Do not abuse criticism.
Criticism is dangerous because it alienates, and your goal is to get closer.
Try to do without threats, “separation ”, reproaches.
3.
Try to get to know your child ’ s friends, what they are attracted to, which gives them a sense of belonging to a group.
4.
It is necessary to better understand your role in what is happening, to understand what is required to change in yourself, your attitude to a loved one.
Try to give up the desire to solve all issues with the teenager exclusively in a businesslike way (making strict requirements for behavior, insisting on changing, suggesting how the teenager should treat his friends, finding people who should return or promise to correct the teenager).
As a rule, such business activity can drown out a parent ’ s sense of guilt: “I did everything I could. ”
But without emotional support and the desire not only to change the teenager, but also to begin to change yourself, it is unlikely that something can be done.
5.
Show a sincere interest in the teenager, his hobbies.
6.
Try to help the teenager to activate his other vital interests, needs, desires.
7.
Spend time with your children (special)
attention should be paid not so much to the quantity as to the quality of joint action).
What increases the risk of becoming addicted:
Personal immaturity,
– search for thrills, gambling,
– difficulties in self-expression, – “search for yourself ”,
– the desire to be “dedicated ”, isolated from the philistine crowd,
– mental instability or reduced psychological stability,
Emotional poverty,
– experience of loneliness, insecurity,
Perceiving your life situation as difficult,
the inability of a teenager to tolerate uncomfortable relationships,
- socially unfavorable environment, which does not play the role of protection, but increases the stress effect.

Title:

Content: Saturday 5th November 2022 Abu Dhabi UAE
Prayer times
News Highlights
Today 's Issue
Today 's Issue
United Arab Emirates
7 Strategies to Prevent Drugs in Children
7 Strategies to Prevent Drugs in Children
November 5, 2022 01: 24
Juma Al Nuaimi (Abu Dhabi)
The Abu Dhabi Legal and Community Awareness Center (ADCLAC) at the Judicial Department has identified through its official accounts on the social networking sites Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and YouTube, seven strategies that parents rely on to protect their children aged 11 to 14 years from drugs, as part of the anti-drug awareness campaign. The center has launched it through its social media accounts since last June.
The center explained that the strategies of dealing and talking with children to prevent them from drugs within the "Anti-Drug Campaign" for the age group 11 to 14 years is very important, especially since this stage is the right time, as it is important to guide children, pointing to 7 strategies and methods used to guide children and talk to them: First: Ask children about the activities they enjoy and share their hobbies and identify their goals. Resulting from physical and psychological changes, and at this stage by raising their awareness of this stage and ways to manage stress include: exercising or doing volunteer and community work.
Third: Helping children to choose a good friend and get to know their friends and how the children deal with others.
The fourth strategy is to tell your child that you will always be there to pick them up from trouble spots, and if you are busy, assign someone else.
Fifth, listen to children and ask them some questions about their attitudes and convictions, such as: "In one of the television scenes, there was a person who used alcohol, do you think alcohol is harmful to health.
The sixth strategy is to teach children how to get reliable information from websites.
Seventh, to play some roles of drug rejection skills, to teach children how to respond in case drugs are offered to them. ”
All rights reserved to Al Ittihad Newspaper 2022 ©

Title:

Content:     People Are Sharing Debunked Conspiracy Theories That People Believe Anyway, And I Kind Of Can't Believe Some Of These

    "Not only is the entire conspiracy surrounding it completely implausible, it's also so easily defeated. It's just random garbage with a thousand predictions that haven't come true. Just give it up already. Even most doomsday cults give up after four or five faulty predictions."

    Sometimes you hear someone repeat a conspiracy theory that is obviously total nonsense — and it makes you say to yourself, "People still believe that?"

    Redditor u/Gaza1121 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What conspiracy theory is so easily disproven that you don't understand how it's still going?" At the very least, these answers might help people get a clue about a thing or two:

    1. "Flat earth."

    —u/Vivid_Reading_2159

    "I’ve truly never understood what the big conspiracy is about this — who would benefit from lying about the earth being a globe? I understand most other conspiracies and what the purpose that they would serve, but this one is so moronic it’s just beyond me. Why do they think we would be lied to about gravity?"

    —u/PM_ME_YOUR_SUBURBS

    2. "Elvis faked his death. If he was going to do that, wouldn’t he have chosen a more dignified way to go?"

    —u/jb40018

    3. "Dinosaurs never existed."

    —u/Outrageous_Winner663

    4. "That JFK, Jr. didn’t die and was going to come out of hiding to be Trump’s VP."

    —u/jwt0001

    5. "That the Holocaust was a hoax."

    —u/Left-Star2240

    "Eisenhower demanded they photograph and document it because he knew people would try to deny it happened. 'While I was touring the camp I encountered three men who had been inmates and by one ruse or another had made their escape. I interviewed them through an interpreter. The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty, and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick. In one room, where [there] were piled up 20 or 30 naked men, killed by starvation, George Patton would not even enter. He said he would get sick if he did so. I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda.'"

    —u/bostonwolf

    6. "The moon landing. The entity with the most at stake for the US successfully landing on the moon was the USSR, who also had the ability to track the spacecraft and refute that it landed. They never said a word."

    —u/314159265358979326

    7. "Vaccines cause autism."

    —u/llcucf80

    8. "That the grieving families of children shot in American schools are 'crisis actors.'"

    —u/InverseRatio

    9. "Today I discovered that there's large groups who believe that 9/11 was CGI and there never really were any planes. Hundreds of people in an Instagram post talking about how fake it looks and it's clearly edited. Then I realized anyone under the age of 22 weren't alive for it — and if they're under 25 and they don't remember it, and any teenagers from outside of the tri-state area might not even know anyone who was there."

    —u/Stonewall30nyr

    10. "Obama birtherism. A lot of other bonkers insane conspiracy theories are more insane in a 'supernatural insanity' sense, but they're also so far out there that you can barely apply common sense to them. What would motivate the lizard people? Who knows? They're lizard people! Whereas, let's see, a not-particularly-well-off woman living in Hawaii is pregnant — and the powers that be are somehow aware that her biracial child is someday in the future going to want to run for president."

    —u/Alex_Werner

    11. "Cancer has been cured and big pharma is sitting on it because it is more profitable not to cure cancer. The first problem with this is that there are multiple types of cancer. So there can't be a one size fits all cancer cure. Second is that a cancer cure would be exceedingly profitable for whatever company created it."

    —u/Thick-Worry5028

    12. "QAnon. I mean, they made a fucking documentary series about it and outed its creators. Not only is the entire conspiracy surrounding it completely implausible, it's also so easily defeated. It's just random garbage with a thousand predictions that haven't come true. Just give it up already. Even most doomsday cults give up after four or five faulty predictions."

    —u/Noobeaterz

    13. "Chemtrails."

    —u/you-are-number-6Q

    "I met someone who was into chemtrails — they thought everything was lithium poisoning and that the colors of the sunset was lithium in the atmosphere. They had a good hot dog stand, though."

    —u/SuspiciousStable9649

    14. "Jet fuel is a hoax and airliners run on compressed air."

    —u/Amberskin

    15. "The earth is five thousand years old."

    —u/cblume

    16. "The 2020 election was stolen."

    —u/prodigy1367

    17. "One I see sometimes as a math major, is that 0.999...does not equal 1 in the Real numbers. There are some math quacks out there who adamantly insist, no matter how you prove it to them otherwise, that 0.999...and 1 aren't just two ways of writing the same number."

    —u/bodyknock

    18. "Charles de Gaulle was King Charles's biological father."

    —u/joecoin2

    19. "The Titanic switch. I still have a hard time understanding how there are people that genuinely believe that shit."

    —u/daviepancakes

    And finally...

    20. "The republican party is fiscally conservative and believes in small government."

    —u/Psychogopher

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Commentary

Commentary: Case of parents rejecting ‘vaccinated blood’ for sick baby shows need to level up fight against misinformation

Arguments that run counter to established views aren’t always fake news, but they need to stand up to scrutiny. We must build up our foundation of critical thinking, says SUSS sociologist Omer Ali Saifudeen.

SINGAPORE: We live in an age where everyone seems to claim their own version of “truth” and there is a growing mistrust of experts. The world saw this clearly during the pandemic, particularly around COVID-19 vaccination.

What happens when vaccine misinformation becomes an immediate matter of life and death? On Dec 9, a New Zealand court intervened after the parents of a six-month-old infant refused to allow him to have a life-saving operation unless unvaccinated blood was used.

Temporary custody of Baby W was given to his doctors for urgent surgery to address a congenital heart problem, without which health authorities said he would not have survived.

His parents were reportedly concerned that blood from donors vaccinated against COVID-19 would adversely affect their child, with the couple’s lawyers calling long-term effects of the vaccine “untested”.

The case has become a rallying point for the anti-vaxxer movement. It also underscores the need to continue addressing misinformation.

UNKNOWINGLY SHARING FAKE NEWS

A Dec 2021 study by the Nanyang Technological University's Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet found that nearly half of study participants thought they could identify fake news. But even more of them said they had unknowingly shared fake news.

Since the pandemic, more people are bringing up scientific studies in discussions. But look hard enough and there'll always be something that supports a fringe theory or calls into question some other established fact. It’s part and parcel of scientific research.

But when it comes to issues in our culture wars – on vaccines or even drugs and climate change – should a layperson's views stand up to scientific rigour? How can we tell whether an argument is robust?

Critical thinking is the common answer to distinguish truth from falsehood. However, it isn’t a catch-all solution when many do not even know what this entails. Add to this mix that nearly everyone likes to claim to think critically – even those who fall to misinformation.

There are a set of established principles in critical thinking, such as fact-checking, considering the reliability of the source of information or messenger being introspective of our own biases, and crucially, discerning the agenda of the messenger.

THE AGENDA BEHIND MISINFORMATION

We need to consider where the argument is coming from. What is more evident than facts, at times, is the agenda behind the message and that of the messenger. More often than not, scrutiny reveals a one-sided argument with an ulterior motive.

Ask yourself this: Does it ask us to ostracise a particular person or group, create harm or polarise society in some way? Has the study been peer reviewed or have the views been discredited by the wider scientific community? Are the messengers promoting other business or socio-political agenda-driven views that seem a leap from the study subject?

It all boils down to practising our ability to discern the intention. This is not something we can achieve overnight. It takes time to nurture and perfect.

Nurturing critical thinking in youth for example first requires building a relationship of trust with the youth in question. We are more likely to seriously consider outlandish or vilifying claims that come from a trusted friend of family, when we might have normally dismissed.

OVERCOMING OUR OWN BIASES

We also need to examine ourselves. Have we considered the merits of the alternative argument impartially while becoming cognisant of our own biases and beliefs?

Another trait to nurture that can help with critical thinking is "integrative complexity", or our ability to be willing to consider a polarity of views and integrate them into our decision-making or holistic worldview.

Preconceived negative impressions that trigger hateful emotions hinder the development of integrative complexity. There is dissonance and often pushback when a narrative contradicts or challenges firmly held beliefs.

For example, do we dismiss an argument simply because we automatically assumed it to be government propaganda or if we dislike an otherwise-legitimate source? This is a learnt response based on one's personal experiences and exposure.

Ultimately, we still need to “do our homework” and scrutinise the facts. When an outlandish claim is made, we must make the time to consult credible verified sources that investigate the claim.

Seemingly “scientific” claims used to support misinformation are often based on limited study samples, cherry-picked statistics and facts, disregarding the wider context or facts that run counter to their narrative.

For instance, climate change deniers often cite small fluctuations in the annual temperatures to pronounce that global warming is an exaggeration – or even that it has stopped – without understand such variations are perfectly normal due to environmental events like El Nino or La Nina phenomena, volcanic activity or ocean conditions.

Or they point to flat trendlines over the last few years, ignoring that the years 2015 to 2022 are set to be eight warmest on record according to the World Meterological Organization. It becomes undeniably obvious that the planet is warming if we look at critically evaluated long-term climate data.

ARE CONTRARIAN VIEWS NATURALLY SUSPECT?

Does that mean that someone who says something contrary to established views is naturally suspect? No. It just needs to stand up to the test of scrutiny.

A well-researched study would have considered facts to the contrary and be able to acknowledge limitations of the study and possible alternate views. We should be wary when an argument lays claim to absolute truths.

In a complex world, we sometimes seek quick answers and end up gravitating towards explanations that confirm what we already believe, especially when they come easily with the click of a button. Misinformation can resonate when they hold some kernel of truth or cut through the uncertainty, especially if nuanced expert opinion can be difficult to understand.

The good news is that misinformation is something we can address, if we take the time and effort to check and think. Reading credible sources - such as reputable news platforms that present balanced perspectives, expert studies that have been peer-reviewed and reliable fact-checking resources – can build up our foundation of critical thinking to apply to subsequent claims.

With enough practice, we can become more confident in distinguishing information from misinformation.

Dr Omer Ali Saifudeen is Senior Lecturer, Public Safety and Security Programme at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

Source: CNA/ch
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Content: CHAPTER 3: Birdman and the Reality Revolution

0
18

CHAPTER 3: Birdman and the Reality Revolution
Space Is No Longer the Final Frontier—Reality Is [upcoming release March/2024]

by Linda Goudsmit

Globalism is a replacement ideology that seeks to reorder the world into one singular, planetary Unistate, ruled by the globalist elite themselves. The globalist war on nation-states cannot succeed without collapsing the United States of America. The long-term strategic attack plan moves America incrementally from constitutional republic to socialism to globalism to feudalism. The tactical attack plan uses psychological, informational, asymmetric warfare to destabilize Americans and drive society out of objective reality into the madness of subjective reality. The primary target of the globalist predators is America’s children.

The ability to distinguish between fact and fantasy is an essential survival skill. If a man believes he can fly and jumps off a twenty-story ledge, he falls to his death because gravity is a fact, an objective truth. Birdman’s fantasy, a subjective reality, cannot compete with the objective reality of gravity.

Let’s break down the process of thinking and doing. Thinking is a private matter and human beings are free to think their thoughts at any time in any place. Birdman is free to think he can fly, without consequence to himself or others. It is the moment he steps off the ledge that his subjective reality collides with objective reality.

Adults and children are evaluated differently in society. The fantasies of children are an accepted part of the growth process. In a sane society, adults who are out of touch with reality are deemed insane. In our example, Birdman would be considered insane.

Civil society and the laws that govern it are based on the acceptance of objective reality by its citizens. What would happen if there was a movement that deliberately rejected the teaching of objective reality and taught subjective reality instead? What would be the purpose of driving a society insane?

Remember, the ability to distinguish between fact and fantasy is a survival skill, because thought precedes action. Birdman thought he could fly and jumped to his death. Critical thinking is the objective analysis of facts in order to form a judgment, and is the foundation of rational thought.

Feelings, on the other hand, are the foundation of beliefs. Birdman’s feelingthat he is a bird that can fly cannot compete with the fact that he is a human being who cannot. Critical thinking, based on facts, is necessary in an adult society.

An insistence upon objective reality is what made America great, powerful, and undefeatable in World War II. At the end of the war, America’s enemies did not go quietly into the night. They reconstituted themselves to fight another day, in another way.

America’s enemies simply put down their guns, picked up their books, and concentrated on the future. They studied the human mind and decided to exploit the existence of the unconscious to defeat America psychologically. The strategic goal was to infantilize Americans. Children’s psychological growth would be paralyzed with educational indoctrination that interrupts their developing critical-thinking skills. Adults would be pressured out of the adult world of objective reality and regressed back into the childish world of feelings.

Vladimir Lenin infamously said, “Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”

The leftists have taken a page out of Lenin’s communist playbook and indoctrinated two generations of Americans toward collectivism using public/private education, along with mainstream media including television programming and movies. The radical leftist/Marxist War on America is a sinister effort to shatter objective reality and destroy critical-thinking skills. When critical thinking is destroyed and a society is reduced to childish emotional thinking, that society is easily exploited.

In order to stop the radical leftists/Marxists, we need a Reality Revolution. This Revolution would restore objective reality by dismantling the infrastructure of subjective reality that has been established since the end of World War II.

In objective reality, the striving to become an adult, with all its attendant responsibilities, is rewarded with the freedom of adulthood. Children are not free in any society—they are dependent upon their parents/caretakers or the government. The choice between the collectivism offered by socialism/communism, and the individualism offered by the constitutional republic envisioned by our Founding Fathers, is the choice between childhood dependence and adult independence. It is the difference between servitude and freedom.

What young people in America need to understand is that the promise of socialism is never the reality of socialism. Cradle-to-grave government care exacts an exorbitant price. When you accept the powerless position of childhood for the rest of your life, the government happily appropriates your freedom and liberty. In socialism/communism you become a permanent ward of the state.

Americans who proudly wear Che Guevara T-shirts display their ignorance. Real people living in actual communist countries risk their lives escaping TO the real freedom of America. No one is trying to escape FROM Miami to Havana. The romanticized version of socialism/communism propagandizing American students is subjective reality.

These young people need to consider the reality of collectivism, but they must be in objective reality in order to do so. Otherwise, like Birdman, they will think they can fly. The death of Birdman is the metaphorical death of freedom.

Read the preface and Chapters 1 and 2 here.

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Title:

Content: Enemies of vaccine and conspiracy fantasies?
Scientists Explain the Relationship (Video)
For ages, belief in conspiracy theories has been on the rise, and claims have spread and varied widely.
After chemtrails, the idea that governments release chemicals into the environment via aircraft to control populations, came the perennial conspiracy theories of adding fluoride to public water supplies to create a docile population vulnerable to communist takeover.
In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, the idea that the world is run by devils or aliens or that the coronavirus is spread by 5G technology has become mainstream, as have attempts by some to prove that the virus does not exist at all, and that the vaccine is a way to control or monitor people.
To many people, these claims seem strange and funny, and it is very difficult to understand why anyone believes them, yet recent surveys have shown that a large percentage of people are willing to believe these and other conspiracies.
In a March research by Ipsos, supported by the British Embassy in Montenegro and UNICEF, four in 10 (43%) believed there was a global conspiracy to hide the harm caused by the vaccine so that pharmaceutical companies could continue to make profits around the world.
In this regard, Dr. Ahmed Al Awadhi, from the Royal British College of Psychiatrists and director of the Do Not Grieve Centre in London, revealed a range of factors explaining the cognitive processes of this situation.
Al-Awadi explained to the program with Al-Hakim that “conspiracy theories have always been a way of thinking that people resort to in times of crisis, when things are not clear for self-defense. ”
For example, we can all be prone to seeing imaginary patterns (like a face in the clouds), but for conspiracy theorists this probability rises dramatically, meaning they ’ re likely to see clear connections between disparate events that the rest of us don ’ t notice.
To be sure, many conspiracy theories make claims that are factually incorrect or based on fundamentally flawed logic, but unfortunately, theorists are not only more likely to see illusory connections, they are also less likely to receive the advice or critical thinking skills needed to help them see glaring gaps in their erroneous theories, creating fertile ground for unfounded beliefs.
Al-Awadhi pointed to a strong element of conspiracy theory: a person ’ s sense of being part of a community, which helps meet some people ’ s need to feel special.
The most important question is how does the scientific community deal with conspiracies?
Perhaps the best solution in such situations is to try to help people discover conspiracy theories early on, which is the on-going battle with tech companies to get them to remove conspiratorial content, which YouTube has done since 2018.
The worst strategy for dealing with conspiracy theories is to walk away from rhetoric and mock those who might believe in conspiracies.
Ultimately, the message should be that it is scientists who have the tools to find the truth.
Source: Al Jazeera Direct
About this story
If you feel lonely and have no friends, it is not true, and if you consider it difficult to make new friends, it is also not true, and it is enough to be willing to put in a little effort.
Published On 27 / 11 / 2021
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As I See It: We need to be critical thinkers

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Of all the books I read about education, the book that influenced me the most was “Teaching as a Subversive Activity” by Neil Postman. I wish every educator would read it.

The author wrote that teachers have a primary duty to teach critical thinking skills. Another way to put it is that we should teach students to develop a manure detector. What is the reason that we believe something as fact? How do you know it’s true? What is the motivation of the speaker/writer? Are they trying to sell you something? Why do they want you to accept their “facts” and ignore others?

Unfortunately, schools today focus on remembering facts, not thinking. Students regurgitate the facts on tests and quickly forget the information.

Today we are overwhelmed with information. Much of the information out there is false. Wrong. Not based on fact. Propaganda.

Many are convinced the “lamestream media” is biased. Fox News was created to tell the Republican story. It is biased. Fox ignores or minimizes any bad behavior by Trump or the GOP.

The "steal" is an example. Every claim made by Trump about the 2020 election has been proven false. Even after states recounted the votes, the true believers do not accept this as fact. Even when the U.S. attorney general (appointed by Trump) said that the election was fair, many still disbelieve.

Who is spreading this false information? Trump and his toadies. In 2016 he claimed that if he lost, it was because the election was crooked. He even said the Electoral College should be scrapped. But he won. He lost the popular vote by 5 million. In 2020, he again claimed that if he lost, it was because the election was unfair.

What facts have been presented to provide the election was stolen? None. But true believers ignore the facts and hang onto their leader’s false words. His followers have no critical thinking skills. They accept that every word coming out of Trump’s mouth is true. Every word. Alternative facts.

After the election, Trump invited his followers to Washington to stop the count of the electoral votes. He planned a coup. The Capitol was invaded. The leaders of the GOP House and Senate said it was a riot, and directly blamed Trump. Within a week they changed their tune. Fox News was horrified at first, but has now erased any blame on Trump. GOP leaders follow along. Sheep.

The validity of the pandemic is another event that has been challenged. Every accredited doctor in the health care profession has warned us of the danger. They have suggested how we can stay safe: vaccines and masks. Yet a sizable number of Americans think it is a hoax. The “lamestream media” repeatedly shows citizens who did not get vaccinated and are in hospitals on respirators. They warn others to get the vaccine.

The trouble is, the skeptics don’t trust these sources. Fox tells the truth. The rest lie. Don’t trust anyone but Trump. Yet all the Fox commentators got vaccinated, as did all the GOP members of Congress. And 1 million Americans have died.

There is no alternative truth. Truth is truth. Question your assumptions. Go to various sources. Don’t depend on only one.

If you think you know everything and you are not a work in progress, you are stuck.

“All I want is the truth.” — John Lennon

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Content: LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Tonight, parents across the country are struggling for the right words to talk with their children about school shootings.

Some are comfortable talking about the events openly, but others aren’t sure where to begin.

The reality for many parents today is, should you talk to your children about yesterday’s tragedy? And if so, what do you say?

Psychologist Dr. Amy Nasamaran says having a conversation around yesterday’s tragedy is vital. “I usually encourage parents to be the one to initiate.”

“Checking in with their kids in terms of what have they heard and know so far and then letting their questions guide the rest of the conversation.”

When talking with your kids, Dr. Nasamaran says you don’t have to tell them everything, and you don’t have to have all the answers.

“Initiating the conversation and creating a space where kids can feel comfortable asking questions or kids can feel comfortable sharing their feelings. I think that’s more important than having all the answers.

“Tell the truth, be concrete. You don’t have to overshare.”

In the meantime Mumby says, she’ll do what she can to give her children the best.

Dr. Nasamaran also says that not having a conversation with your kids could send the wrong message.

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I’m a therapist working with LGBTQ kids. Here are 5 common mistakes I see parents make

Show your child you support and accept them by avoiding these common mistakes.
/ Source: TODAY

With 2023 poised to set a new record in anti-LGBTQ legislation, as NBC News reported earlier this year, parents of LGBTQ kids have a lot to navigate right now. Still, mental health experts stress that there are surprisingly simple ways for parents of LGBTQ kids to make their home a safe and affirming environment.

And that starts with accepting your child's identity, Wayne Pearson, a psychotherapist working with adolescents and young adults at Boston-based LGBTQ health care organization Fenway Health, tells TODAY.com.

It can be scary for a child to come out to their parents, he says, "and if they're met with this idea of, 'You're going through a phase, I don't believe you,' I've never seen that really ending up in a positive way."

Research from the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention in LGBTQ youth, shows that LGBTQ kids who grow up in supportive environments in which their identities are respected are significantly less likely to attempt suicide.

Marisol Garcia, a staff therapist who frequently works with queer children and families at the Family Institute at Northwestern University, suggests parents “encourage (their) child to explore their identity in the home by creating a safe space for them to try out some of these changes."

Let your child know you'd be willing to test out a new name or new pronouns at home and that they don't have to be 100% sure yet, Garcia tells TODAY.com. You can say something like, "Right now, we can see how it feels for you. This can be a place where you can explore that," she says.

The experts shared a few other ways parents can support their LGBTQ kids — especially right now.

Be curious, but never disrespect their boundaries.

It's good to be respectfully curious and open up discussions with your child about their identity, Garcia says, which might include asking them very direct questions.

"It's very important to understand, though, that if your child does not want to answer these questions, respecting the boundary is very key," she says. For instance, your child might be open to talking about their personal experiences or how they want to be identified, but not want to educate you on the queer experience or queer relationships in general, Garcia says.

“It’s not (your child’s) responsibility to keep you informed,” Garcia explains. “They can be one source of information for you — and a very important one,” she says, but for some topics, “Google is your friend.”

Resources like those from PFLAG (formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) can be helpful for these questions and can also connect you to other parents and families navigating the same things, Pearson says.

Through this community, you "can see and hear parents' experiences," Pearson says. "This isn't always something that's openly talked about and the challenges that come with it, and knowing that you're not alone always feels really helpful."

If you make a mistake, don't make it about you.

"Affirming their identity by respecting their name and their pronouns is extremely important," Garcia says. "And it's a very easy way to communicate respect and understanding and love to them."

That means not deadnaming them or referring to them with incorrect pronouns. It also means that, if you make a mistake, you should acknowledge it, move on and do better next time rather than over-apologizing, Garcia says.

"Some people tend to be like, 'Oh, no, I'm so, so sorry. I messed up.' And that's kind of making it about you and your mistakes," she explains. That also "puts the burden on the kid" to reassure you that everything's fine, she says. "You have to take responsibility for your actions and what you did and then correct that in the future."

If you feel yourself getting defensive when corrected by your child, recognize that and learn to confront it, Garcia says. "Your kids are just learning how to communicate, so they might not know how to do it effectively," she adds.

But, for parents, it's essential to become "really comfortable with recognizing when you're wrong, learning how to apologize and being very open to their feedback," Garcia says.

“The best thing to do is to let your child know you’re not an expert,” Pearson says, and to recognize that it's normal for parents to learn from their kids. “I taught my parents about Tamogatchis,” he says, and now he hears regularly from his clients that they're teaching their parents about issues of privilege and gender.

"It's really powerful to hear that from your own kids," Pearson says. "It resonates with you on a different level than hearing it on TV."

Be an advocate for your child, but not without talking to them first.

Being an advocate for your child is great, but it's also important to ask them what they want that to look like in practice because each child will be different. And what they want and need from you might change over time.

"Being the best advocate means asking your child what it is that they need," Pearson explains.

"Not every kid is going to want their parents to correct other people when they're not around," Garcia says. If they're in a more private stage of coming out, "don't out them," she says. "Don't go to other people and over-explain or over-share your child's identity if they're not ready for that."

In an effort to show your acceptance of your child, it may be tempting to go big. "Some parents tend to be overly supportive and overly excited," Garcia says. "But by doing that, you're really doing the opposite of normalizing (their identity)."

Affirming their identity doesn't have to mean "celebrating Pride month with a cake and rainbows and everything like that," Pearson says. Rather, it's more important to recognize that "my child may need me in a different capacity, and I want to show up for them in a way that makes them feel most valued and seen," he adds.

Figuring out what kind of support your child wants should be a collaborative conversation. Ask how they want you to show up for them — especially in situations when they're not around, Garcia says.

For instance, "many schools don't provide comprehensive sex education in general, and certainly not queer sex education," Garcia says. If no one is giving them that health information, then you may need to step in.

"This goes along with letting them consume queer media, having a community and having queer friends outside of what you're giving them in the home and what they're receiving at school," Garcia says.

Don't try to hide current events, but discuss them in an age-appropriate way.

Amid recent anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric, it's natural for some kids to feel scared, threatened or anxious. A 2023 Trevor Project survey found that about one in three LGBTQ young people said they have poor mental health “most of the time or always” due to such bills and laws.

"The biggest thing that you can do is to talk very plainly and directly to your child about this," Garcia says. "There's no need to keep them in the dark."

Parents shouldn't shy away from using plain, age-appropriate language to speak to their kids about the headlines they see. But parents should follow that up with a message of support and love, Garcia says: "Let them know that you are there to be their safe space, to be their protector and to be their parents."

Knowing LGBTQ children, teens and adults are disproportionately affected by mental health challenges and that this kind of rhetoric can have an impact on kids' mental health, it's a good idea for parents to be vigilant for signs of depression and anxiety, Garcia says.

Pearson also encourages parents to spread the message that their kids are "not to be feared," he says. "You're just like everyone else here on this planet, wanting to be respected and received."

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One of the children goes to his mother in joy, to talk to her about what happened with him at school, mentioning one of the special situations with his colleagues and some teachers, but the mother ’ s face was faint, and did not get the expected reaction, because she was completely occupied with television, so the son is confused and confused, at that moment, the mother did not understand that his speech was much more important than all that concerns her, and takes her mind, so she closed an important door The doors of positive dialogue with her son turned, in his eyes, from a close friend, who resorts to him and shares with him situations that delight him, to someone who does not care about his interests.
The question arises, do you all master the art of listening and listening with your children?
Listening to children is a basic need for a relationship together, is to listen and interact with them, show attention to their needs, problems and concerns, and allocate them time in the busy daily life, to talk about their important events, relationships with their friends, dreams, problems and concerns.
This will save parents many years of hardship and hardship, as it enables them to get to know more about all their psychological and moral needs.
There is no doubt that good listening and listening to children has a great role in the success of dialogue and effective communication with them, which builds and enhances positive feelings, children ’ s self-confidence, self-affirmation, raises their academic achievement index, and empties repressed feelings, but the absence of good listening and listening leads to misunderstanding, and lack of family friendship, which would increase problems and gap between them.
Always make sure to be open-hearted, and do not underestimate the value of what the children tell you, and try as much as possible not to paste negative sarcasm phrases, and close the doors of dialogue, begins to paint a gloomy picture in his imagination, about the nature of the dialogue of children with parents, and therefore, forced to search for the nearest stranger, who opens his heart, and shares all his successes and failures.
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Is there any way I can correct my daughter's overbearing behavior?
Is there any way I can correct my daughter's overbearing behavior?
After greeting and peace I greet you on this space, through which I was able to express what I feel today with my teenage daughter, who has become a rebel looking for a strange entity that I do not want and I do not accept to build her personality, the way she takes care of herself and the clothes she chooses,
Not to mention the friendships that bind her make me afraid of her fate, especially we do not like to travel and exaggerate a lot, knowing that we live in the same house with my husband ’ s parents, who have always expressed surprise at my leniency as a mother with my daughter.
Is there any way I can correct my daughter's unrelenting upbringing?
I also don ’ t hide from you that I ’ m obsessing about push-pull politics so I don ’ t lose it or get involved in a home run.
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Our friendship with our children, especially at this critical age, is the bridge that will support communication and make them safe, but reducing trust and constantly pointing fingers at them will make rebellion a permanent feature of their character.
Your daughter is trying to figure out the dimensions of her personality, so it is normal to try to radicalize some of her actions to see the end of boundaries.
They are also usually under the influence of comrades.
Establish a system of communication between you and your daughter that is based on honesty between the parties.
Don ’ t try to use the communication method to guide her choices, but just use it to learn more about her and gain her trust.
Nor do you make rules without explaining the reasons or the usefulness of the rule.
For example, do not stay up during school days, but you must make it clear that this does not affect her academic achievement.
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Content: Let’s talk it over… | Conscious Parenting Revolution

In the United States last year, we were just weeks away from a presidential election. The last few weeks, months, and even years have been fraught, politicized, and polarized. With everyone yelling over each other, there’s not a lot of listening going on. As I teach in the Guidance Approach to Parenting, effective communication is […]

The Thrive Global Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.

In the United States last year, we were just weeks away from a presidential election. The last few weeks, months, and even years have been fraught, politicized, and polarized. With everyone yelling over each other, there’s not a lot of listening going on.

As I teach in the Guidance Approach to Parenting, effective communication is crucial to maintaining healthy relationships and creating a physically and emotionally safe environment.

We’re always going to come across people who we disagree with. Getting into a shouting match, battling it out over social media, or pretending people who think differently than you don’t exist aren’t productive ways to handle those disagreements.

Instead, we need to acknowledge our differences, engage with each other as human beings, and encourage open and respectful dialogue.

This video-yes, it’s an ad, but worth the watch-is a great example of what effective, compassionate communication can look like:

“Worlds Apart”

Next time you’re talking to someone with different views than yours (your toddler or your teenage maybe?), don’t judge. Don’t try to convince. Don’t even look for all the things you might have in common. Simply focus on the person sitting across from you. You don’t “win” the conversation by proving that your point of view is the right one. You win by making a genuine connection with another human being.

Really listening can be hard when someone else’s perspective is so different than your own. Staying out of judgment is key. Also seeing beliefs as an attempt to meet needs. Beliefs tie into our values and give us a way to explain and understand our lives. If we see everyone else’s beliefs are doing this for them too, shifting a belief could be a fisk to belongingness with their tribe. A belief could tie directly back to a need for connection or understanding.

Successful dialogue doesn’t always mean you walk away from being on the same side. Goodness knows we don’t always see eye to eye with our kids. It’s about showing up, connecting, and listening to what the other person has to say.

Want more support to transform your family dynamics? Join us for the 5 Day Parenting Reboot

Originally published at https://www.consciousparentingrevolution.com on October 23, 2020.

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Why should we talk to children about the war in Ukraine?
The first months of 2022 included many sad global events from the ongoing coronavirus epidemic to protests against vaccine authorizations and COVID-19 restrictions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
If you are a parent, grandparent, teacher or educator, you can ask yourself: Should I talk to children about these world events?, At these times it can be difficult to know whether we will discuss these issues with our children or not and if we do, how should we do it?
As the world wanders through challenges and crises, we need a blueprint for how to have open and honest discussions with our children so that they can grow up as conscious global citizens.
3 reasons to talk to children about the war in Ukraine:
While it may seem like a good idea to avoid an in-depth discussion of anxiety frustration, evidence suggests that having a supportive discussion about a stressful event can actually reduce distress.
To combat misinformation, in this age of access to news and media everywhere, it is likely that children and adolescents have already been exposed to some kind of information — photos, videos or news about the invasion of Ukraine.
Unfortunately there has been a wave of misinformation shared on social media apps that young people routinely use, such as TikTok and Snapchat, this makes it essential for parents and teachers to keep children informed of the invasion of Ukraine based on reliable information from reliable sources, and provide opportunities for children to ask questions.
To encourage compassionate views toward others, talking to children about the war in Ukraine can serve as a model for a compassionate view toward their fellow human beings, regardless of distance or circumstances.
Taking the time to talk to children about world events is an opportunity to engage in a perspective and emphasize the importance of understanding the emotions and contexts of others in a developmentally appropriate way.
Ask a teen a question like, “What can someone else feel in this situation right now? ”
It can support the growth of an empathetic view of the lives of others.

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Content: How to Talk to Kids About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Gaza (Video)
【 KTSF Wan Ruoquan Report 】
Knowing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is currently taking place in Gaza, while adults may want to avoid talking to their children about the war, experts say it is best to discuss it together to help deal with their emotions.
After seeing images and sounds of violence, kidnapping, and destruction, many children and adolescents may feel fear, worry, and anxiety, and they may also wonder why other children are in the midst of war and whether they are safe.
Experts suggest that parents can start a conversation with their children to help deal with their emotions.
Hilit Kletter, a child and adolescent psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, said: “Knowing what your child sees or hears and adjusting the discussion with your child accordingly, you can start the conversation this way.
What is happening in the world now?
Did someone tell you? What do you know? Then you can open a conversation to further conversations where parents provide information or correct any misunderstandings. ”
For young people, they will inevitably be exposed to a lot of information through the Internet and social media, and parents should pay attention to what their children are watching.
“So from what they ’ re looking at, what websites they ’ re going to, what they ’ re seeing, what it makes them feel, what they think about it, I would even advise parents if your child is on social media, brush with him, so you can monitor what your child is seeing, ” Dr. Kletter said.
Dr. Kletter said that if a child shows no interest in the topic, there is no need for further in-depth discussion; instead, some children are worried about such news.
Dr Kletter said: “If you start noticing a child ’ s mood changes that last at least a week, they may appear more anxious or sad, or they may just be restless and general, you may find that they start to become more isolated and withdrawn, younger children will lose their temper, or have more disruptive behaviours, difficulty sleeping, or changes in appetite, so any similar changes, or if you also don ’ t want to notice that they may not. ” Going to school, or not being fun anymore, is a typical reaction to violence."
Today, with the development of mutual contacts, many young people who are not yet mature in their minds are exposed to a huge amount of heavy information, and in addition to having an open dialogue with their children, they must also give them positive power.
“The message I want to send to people is that even in times like this, it ’ s very important to keep hope, and I think it ’ s a very important part of resilience, for how we get through these times and focus on things that can solve problems, within our control, and what we can do, ” Dr. Kletter said.
(Copyright 2023 KTSF.
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Al-Azhar Observatory offers some tips to help parents protect their children from extremism
Al-Azhar Observatory said that the adoption of violent behavior is a modern phenomenon on our societies that we are not familiar with before, but rather that the speed of its spread requires us to raise the alarm of danger, fearing an unknown future awaits this generation and generations after it.
The reason for the spread of violence among children is no longer limited to the abnormal behaviors of some extremist groups, but extended to local communities, families and families until the danger threatens everyone without exception.
There are many reasons for this phenomenon that require deep research and lengthy study to determine the best ways to confront it.
According to experts, one of the reasons for the spread of violence is the lack of dialogue and communication with parents, so parents must be friends of their children and a safe refuge for them.
Dialogue between parents and children and listening carefully to what they are exposed to in their daily lives is one of the most important educational methods in protecting children from being exposed to the risks of violence or being unconsciously victimized.
But can a child commit violence without being aware of it?
Of course, violence is not just physical behavior, there is moral violence, and its risk may be as serious as that of physical violence or even more serious.
Examples of moral violence include bullying and calibration of others, whether because of their appearance, appearance, religion or otherwise.
This pattern of invisible violence may in turn lead to other physical manifestations of the victim ’ s abuse of the perpetrator, thus bringing children into a never-ending cycle of violence and counter-violence.
Religious education also occupies the second most important factor that prevents the child and protects him from violence, and here some may wonder that prevention is known, but what is meant by protection in this context?
The answer is that the child who grows up in a truly religious family has knowledge of the values and principles of religion that have only improved human life and spread peace on earth. He learns from a young age that violence is the most hateful thing that can be used by man to achieve his goals or spread his ideas. Extremists exploit this to push the child towards violence by brainwashing him, falsely convincing him that what he is doing is complying with God ’ s commands and a way to enter heaven.
We have seen this clearly in ISIS ’ s exploitation of children to carry out some horrific terrorist acts, and its videos of children carrying weapons and killing innocent people under the pretext of carrying out God ’ s commands.
...
The Observatory stresses that both former workers unite and cause children to engage in violence in the absence of parental and religious role models that can correct wrong behaviors and save children from falling into this abyss.
Some may underestimate what we mentioned earlier and say, but my child cannot fall into this trap, I say to him: No, sir, in the open digital world we live in today, there is no longer a barrier, and there is no barrier to protect your child from the clutches of this danger other than your proper care and upbringing.
The Observatory offers some brief tips that help parents protect their children from extremism:
First: Be a friend to your son and a source of safety for him, caring for children does not mean providing them with the means of welfare and protection, but more importantly listen to them and accompany them and learn about aspects of their lives not in order to control them, but to be the first to notice any change in the behavior of their children.
Second: Be careful to educate your son on the teachings of the true religion, its principles of moderation, and its correct thought away from the waves of extremism and exaggeration, religion is the real protector of our children from the danger of behavioral extremism.
We hope that the coming days will witness a social movement towards confronting this dangerous phenomenon so that we can recover our children who have been mentally kidnapped and taken away from the right path, and return them to their nature and their innocent nature.

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Content: Health & Fitness
How do you talk to your children about conflicts and wars?
7 Ways to Support and Make Them Feel Safe
Thank you for reading about how to talk to your children about conflicts and wars.
7 ways to support them and make them feel safe and now with the details of the news
CAIRO – When conflicts and wars make headlines, they usually create different feelings of fear, sadness, anger and anxiety, affecting you wherever you live. Children always look to their parents for a sense of safety and security, and this increases in times of crisis.
Here are some tips on how to have a dialogue with your child to provide support and comfort, according to UNICEF... 1.
To start a good dialogue with your child, ask him what he knows about wars and conflicts and how he feels about them.
Some children may know little about what ’ s going on and don ’ t care to talk about it, but others may have anxiety without saying it, and with younger children, drawing, stories, and various activities can help open a dialogue with them.
It is important to check what children see and hear, they are able to discover the news in different ways, it is a good opportunity to reassure them and perhaps correct any inaccurate information they have come across, whether online, on TV, at school or from friends.
The constant flow of disturbing images and news can lead to the feeling that crisis surrounds us,
Younger children may not distinguish between on-screen images and their own personal reality, and may be tempted to believe that they are in immediate danger, even if the conflict is taking place away from them.
Keep your speech calm in proportion to the child ’ s age.
Children have a right to know what ’ s going on in the world, but adults also have a responsibility to keep them safe from stress. You know your child well, so use age-appropriate language, monitor their reactions, and be attentive to their level of anxiety.
As for you, it is also normal to feel sad or worried about what is happening, but keep in mind that children derive their emotional reaction from adults, so try not to overshare your concerns with your child, talk calmly and be aware of your body language, such as facial expressions, for example, use language appropriate to their age, monitor their reactions, and be aware of their level of anxiety.
Focus on those who help.
It is important for children to know that people help each other with acts of courage and generosity, and look for stories that have a positive impact, such as those who have just heeded the call to help, or young people who call for peace.
Try to find out if your child wants to take part in any positive action, maybe they can draw a poster or write a poem for peace, or maybe you can participate in a fundraiser or sign a petition.
4.
Close your dialogue with your child and he is happy and not worried.
When you ’ re done talking to your child, make sure they ’ re not left in distress, try to assess their anxiety level by monitoring their body language, considering whether they use their usual tone of voice or not, and monitor their breathing as well, reminding them that you care about them and that you ’ re here to listen and support them whenever they ’ re worried.
5.Continue to follow.
As news of the conflict progresses, you should follow your child to find out what he or she is doing and how he or she feels, do they have any new questions or things that have come up that he or she would like to talk to you about?
If your child seems upset or worried about what is happening, watch for any changes in his behavior or emotions, such as stomach pain, headaches, nightmares or sleep difficulties.
Younger children may become more attached to you than usual, while adolescents may show feelings of sadness or extreme anger. Many of these reactions last for a short time and are normal reactions to stressful events. If these reactions persist for a long period of time, your child may need support from a specialist.
You can help your child reduce their stress by doing some movements together, such as applying abdominal breathing:
Take a deep breath 5 times and continue for 5 seconds.
Then for another 5 seconds, take those breaths, take yourself through your nose and take it out of your mouth.
Simplify it by telling your child that breathing is like blowing his stomach like a balloon, and that when he exhales, the air slowly comes out of the balloon again.
Be prepared to talk to your child if he raises these topics, and if he talks to you right before bedtime, conclude with something positive, such as reading his favorite story to help him sleep deeply.
Reduce the flow of news.
Be aware of the amount of news your children are reading, especially those with a lot of disturbing headlines and disturbing images. Try not to follow the news in the presence of younger children. With older children, you can use their watching the news as an opportunity to discuss how much time they spend watching it, what news sources they can trust, and pay attention when talking about conflicts with other adults. Positive activities that engage your children, such as playing a game or going for a walk together.
7.
Take care of yourself.
You will be able to help your children better if you too can cope with this situation, children will notice how you respond to the news, and this will help them to know your ability to calm and self-control.
If you feel anxious or upset, set aside time for yourself and connect with family, friends and trusted people, consider how you handle the news, try to set specific times during the day to follow what is happening instead of always connecting to the Internet, and, as much as possible, take time to do things that help you relax and regain balance.
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Content: Tips For Protecting Kids After Kidnapped 13-Year-Old Girl Found Locked In Shed

DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. – It’s inside this shed, where investigators found the 13-year-old girl, in Davidson County, about 60 miles from Charlotte.

Police say the suspect, Jorge Camacho, met the girl online and enticed her to leave her home in Texas.

“I was very surprised because I didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t tell me nothing,” says property owner Trop Sim.

She says she let Camacho stay on her property because he’s friends with her son.

“I just took him in, help him out because he got no place to stay,” she says.

She says she had no idea about the girl being held captive in the shed.

“Unfortunately, these offenders, they are experts at the grooming process, and so they’re really able to take advantage of children when their activities are secret,” explains Leemie Kahng-Sofer, with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

She says parents should be involved in their children’s online life.

“Ask about what they’re doing. Take some genuine interest. Provide guidance but try not to be judgmental. Ask them about their favorite apps or games, who they interact with, what they’re doing,” Kahng-Sofer says.

She also says make sure you know who can see their account and who they interact with.

“Know their friends, contact and followers, make sure that they’re known and trusted individuals, I think there’s a lot of trust out there and children and juveniles have a tendency to say like, “oh yeah, we can be friends,'” Khang-Sofer says.

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Personal boundaries: What to do so that children “do not sit on your head ”
Do not completely dissolve in your child, push personal interests into the background, forget about your own needs.
It ’ s not that no one will appreciate it.
Just parents who are able to build personal boundaries, their example will teach the child to do this.
And such a useful skill will be very useful to him in life.
Some parents in communication with their own child forget about their own personal boundaries.
As a result, the child may begin to violate them.
In this situation, a lot depends on the age of your child and on your personal settings.
How do you know that your boundaries are being violated?
You can listen to your own feelings.
Feel somewhere inside irritation, annoyance, discontent?
It is a sign that your borders have been invaded.
And we have to do something.
How children break the boundaries of their parents
In order for someone to violate your personal boundaries, you need to let them do it.
Where is the line between reasonable prohibition and permissiveness?
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Here are useful tips for parents so that children “do not sit on your head ”
It is important to weigh your feelings taking into account the age of the child.
What does that mean?
You, for example, went to rest, and the child asks to eat.
You feel a slight annoyance, you do not want now to stomp in the kitchen and set the table.
If the child is three years old, then you can not ask him to light the gas.
But when a teenager asks for lunch, you can answer “no ” with a clear conscience.
Do you feel anger, annoyance, discontent?
It is a sign that borders have been broken.
A child invades the boundaries of the parents when:
• Runs into your bedroom, jumps on the bed, throws things.
Mom and Dad should have their own space, which is not available to others.
How to teach a child to respect parental space?
It is important to demonstrate that you yourself respect its borders, territory.
Do not touch his "treasures", do not clean his things, and (God forbid!) do not throw anything away without permission.
• Makes you play with him in games that are not interesting to you.
Are you bored, distracted?
Find a game that suits both of you.
Try experimenting so that everyone is interested.
• Daily brings to visit an army of friends, they do not allow you to rest.
It is important to decide on which days of the week you can have guests.
For example, on Wednesdays and Fridays from six to eight in the evening.
What to do if the child has already formed a wrong understanding of boundaries
If in the family adults themselves do not know how to build their boundaries, the child forms a wrong understanding of them.
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Sometimes, the situation is running hopelessly - all types of personal boundaries are quite blurred.
If a child witnesses his parents digging through his belongings without permission, he will do the same.
Such flaws, unfortunately, are passed down from generation to generation.
How Mom and Dad Learn to Respect Personal Boundaries
For some reason, children are often treated worse than adults.
It is important to work on your installations:
• Look at your child as if from the side.
Imagine that it is not your child.
And maybe some of his habits will be completely innocent.
It helps to look positively at his space – physical, intellectual, emotional.
• Define your boundaries.
Make a list of each type of border when you feel their violation in your home.
Decide what line you will not let your loved ones (this is quite normal).
For example, “after 20.00 I do not go to the kitchen, do not wash dishes and do not set the table. ”
Ask the child to set their own boundaries.
It is convenient to do this by your example.
• Engage in your personal growth.
New relationships can be difficult for you.
You will be helped by parent-child trainings, video lectures and special literature.
• Release the child and see him as an independent person
Those who are unable to defend their personal boundaries, most likely, do not respect others.
It turns out a kind of paradox: like to refuse is ashamed, and break into someone else ’ s life is the norm.
If you have not already done so, begin to gradually separate yourself from your child.
Every day tell yourself that you are an independent person, and you have your own separate life, and the child is the happiness bestowed on you, but not your property.
And he is also a separate person with his own freedom.
And he will live his own life.
And you can only help and guide him at the right time.
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Photo by Julie Blackmon
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5 Things Every Teen Should Know About Navigating Social Media In 2023

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With up to 95% of all youth between 13 and 17 years old being social media users, it is evident that social media is an integral part of the Gen Z way of life. Additionally, despite the minimum age requirement being 13 on most social media platforms, a whopping 40% of children aged 8 to 12 are social media users.

“We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis — one that we must urgently address,” said U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, in a recent interview.

Addressing the mounting concerns about the impact of social media use on mental health, especially among young children and teens, the advisory on social media and youth mental health offers crucial insights and actionable recommendations to safeguard the well-being of today’s digitally connected generation.

Here are five valuable tips from the advisory that a teenager can follow to navigate social media while avoiding potential mental health challenges.

#1. Be mindful of the possibility of mental health crises, both for yourself and your friends.

A recent 3-year study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that adolescents who check their social media at least 15 times a day were at a high risk of becoming hypersensitive to social feedback. This hypersensitivity, according to the study, was related to developmental changes in the adolescent brain, which can cause lasting (and harmful) effects to the mental health of the individual.

Encourage open communication and understanding among your peers, emphasize the importance of seeking help when needed, and recognize warning signs of mental distress. Encourage your friends to seek assistance from trusted adults or mental health professionals when they feel it is necessary.

#2. Establish boundaries between your online and offline selves.

Social media is an add-on to your social life, not a substitute or a replacement. It is crucial that you work screen-free time into your day, especially around the dinner table or an hour or two before you turn in for the night.

Doing so will give you the ability to separate who you are in your real life from who you portray yourself to be online. Fostering real, human relationships goes a long way in combating social-media-based distress, which is often a vicious cycle.

“Intensive use of social media sites has been associated with increased body image concerns, self-objectification, social comparison, envy, as well as the likelihood of suffering from and engaging in cyberbullying,” says psychologist Maria Carmen Herrera, who recently led a study on how social media likes and feedback affects the mental health of adolescents.

#3. Develop healthy practices around privacy, fact-checking, and screen time.

According to one study published in 2021, early teenagers’ privacy beliefs are complex and multifaceted owing to the trade-off they must make between privacy protection and social connectedness.

Understand that you have the power to restrict how much of your information other people and corporations have access to. Remind yourself of the risk you take whenever you choose to share your data with a corporation or individual.

Try to learn as much as you can about the privacy policy of your favorite social media platforms. If required, reach out to an older, trusted adult who can explain to you what the different terms and conditions mean.

Similarly, recognize that not everything you consume on social media is based on facts. Ultimately, try not to be swayed by other peoples’ opinions and always try to fact-check and develop your own viewpoints, while being respectful toward those of others. This will allow you to think critically and maturely, which are valuable traits to develop.

#4. Be mindful of what you share, who you share it with, and how you share it.

Oversharing on social media poses significant risks for adolescents, including online shaming, cyberbullying, and identity theft.

A 2022 study in Psychological Reports with 352 Iranian adolescent social media users revealed that boys tend to overshare more than girls. Anxiety, attention-seeking behavior, and social media addiction were associated with higher levels of oversharing. By being mindful of what and how they share online, adolescents can protect their privacy and avoid potential negative consequences.

The study's findings underscore the importance of caution and thoughtfulness in online self-disclosure, urging young people to consider the potential psychological and security implications of oversharing.

#5. Always call out cyberbullying and never hesitate to get a trusted adult involved.

There is nothing shameful about being cyberbullied, and it is crucial to take action against it. Cyberbullying can cause immense emotional distress and have long-lasting effects on mental health. If you or someone you know is experiencing cyberbullying, remember that you are not alone. Speak up and call out the behavior, whether it's directed at you or others.

Don't hesitate to seek help from a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher, or counselor. They can provide guidance, support, and intervene effectively to address the situation. Also, don’t propagate hurtful content about people, and report offensive content to the social media platform you found it in.

Remember, everyone deserves to feel safe and respected online.

Conclusion

One of the most empowering ways for young individuals to combat the mental health issues stemming from social media is by taking steps to protect themselves. It is essential to foster a culture where adolescents are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to make informed decisions, seek support when needed, and prioritize their mental health in the digital age.

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Asian youth suffer from anxiety, depression, serious suicide
The 20-month coronavirus epidemic has had a huge negative impact on young people ’ s mental health, with anxiety rising by more than 20% in the United States over the past year and depression surging by 25%, raising alarm bells for American society and parents and schools.
The California Department of Public Health and the Minority Media Center jointly held a panel discussion on the 10th, inviting five experts to explain the impact of the epidemic on young people ’ s mental health, as well as mitigation and solutions.
Some experts pointed out that Asians are the most problematic and resource-deficient ethnic group, because language barriers and Asian culture are ashamed to talk about and open adolescent psychological and mental problems, making it difficult for Asian youth with mental illness to receive effective help, resulting in a significant increase in self-harm and suicide.
Michelle Doty Cabrera, a representative of the California Federation of County and Territory Behavioral Health Directors, said many teens have experienced a lot of big changes over the past 20 months, especially on a psychological and spiritual level.
Her organization ’ s research has found that the number of teens experiencing depression and anxiety during the pandemic has doubled, and the number of teens and children in California experiencing psychological and psychiatric crises has increased by two to three times, with children as young as eight being hospitalized for serious suicidal tendencies.
She said that, on the one hand, adolescents and children have been at home for a long time during the epidemic, some people have suffered psychological and mental crises due to long-term solitude or neglect or domestic violence, but they have not received help, and on the other hand, they have returned to school in the post-epidemic period, and they have suffered psychological and mental difficulties because of the long-term frustrations in school.
In particular, marriage and family therapist Ulash Thakore-Dunlap pointed out that the parents of many Asian American teenagers have experienced racial discrimination, their mental health has deteriorated, and the anxiety and tension of Asian American parents has also directly affected Asian American teenagers.
For more than a year, there has been hatred against Asians in the community. A sample survey found that 70% of Asian-Pacific children and parents expressed concern about this in the past year.
Suicide accounts for the highest proportion of deaths among Asian Pacific adolescents aged 15 and 24. At the same time, the aid resources for Asian Pacific adolescents are seriously insufficient. On the one hand, the language barrier does not know how to find resources, on the other hand, the reluctance of Asian families to talk about and publicize their children ’ s mental health problems, resulting in some Asian adolescents unable to release their stress and finally choose self-harm and suicide.
According to Dr. Lori Turk-Bicakci, director of the Children ’ s Data Division of the Federal Office of Population Research, the mental health problems of American adolescents before the epidemic have become more acute during the epidemic. From April to October 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, the number of children aged 12 to 17 in the United States who have serious psychological and mental problems increased by 31%, and children aged 5 to 11 increased by 24%.
During the same period, cases among Asian adolescents rose from 9% to 23%, among African Americans from 12% to 21%, among Latinos from 13% to 37%, and among whites from 11% to 27%.
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Medical Director Warns of Social Media Threatening Teenagers
(Reuters) - U.S. Medical Director Robert Multi on Tuesday issued a stark warning to parents, technology companies and regulators, saying there is growing evidence that social media use can cause serious harm to the mental health of children and adolescents.
The report provides recommendations to help families guide their children ’ s use of social media, and Moulti also called on tech companies to enforce minimum age limits and create default settings for children with high safety and privacy standards.
He also urged the government to set age-appropriate health and safety standards for tech platforms.
In a 19-page “Advisory ” published on Tuesday, Vivek Murthy said that while the impact of social media on adolescent mental health is not yet fully understood and may be beneficial for some users,“ there are numerous indications that social media can also be profoundly harmful to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. ”
“We are in the midst of a national adolescent mental health crisis and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of this crisis and we must address it quickly, ” he said.
Citing a Pew Research Center survey, the report found that 95 percent of teens use some form of social media, and about a third say they use social media “almost continuously. ”
The report also notes that research shows that most teens say social media makes them feel more accepted, more supported when they encounter difficulties, more connected with friends, and more creative.
Increased risk of depression, anxiety, cyberbullying
But those who spend more than three hours a day on these platforms face a “doubling risk of experiencing poor mental health conditions, including symptoms of depression and anxiety, ” the report said, citing the survey.
The report cites a survey that suggests that social media use can cause or exacerbate issues such as body image dissatisfaction, eating disorders, social comparison and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls, while exposing children to cyberbullying at a critical stage of brain development.
Encourage parents to lead by example and set up a technology-free zone
The report makes four recommendations to parents, including (1) setting up a “no-tech zone ” in the home, delineating the boundaries of where or when to use smartphones to facilitate face-to-face communication and ensure sleep is not affected; (2) leading by example to teach children healthy and responsible online behavior; (3) delaying children ’ s first use of social platforms; and (4) letting children turn off their phones before bed.
Calling on technology enterprises to implement minimum age measures
The report calls on tech companies to enforce minimum age limits for users and create default settings for children with high security and privacy standards.
Morty is asking tech companies to more effectively assess potential harms to children and provide data so others can review how these platforms might affect teens.
The report recommends that policy makers tighten safety standards and calls on elected officials to protect children from harmful clips, photographs or texts such as violence, substance abuse or sexual exploitation.
(Roundup)
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Content: Social Media..
When it affects security and trust in social relationships
From one platform to another, the individual spends the day moving through the digital world diving into different and varied contents, which may affect him and change his way of thinking and view of life.
Today, social media has become an essential, if not the most important, part of people ’ s lives, influencing attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs.
The content is spread within "real, sayings, phrases, experiences" and others, and is characterized in large part by the theme of "now", and reduce the confidence of man in others and the cultivation of ideas of doubt in those around him, which drives him towards isolation.
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Despite the advantages that social networks offer, their overuse can generate feelings of insecurity and loss of trust in others.
The question remains: “Have these methods contributed to the feeling of insecurity towards the other? ”
Sawsan, 22, admits that she is very cautious in her relationships and does not go deep into the personality of the other and only trusts herself, believing that this is the right thing to avoid disappointment, from her point of view.
It turns out that she realized this by seeing many short clips of some people ’ s experiences with bad relationships, along with phrases that talk about the lack of belief in one ’ s self, through browsing social media platforms, and this has affected her.
“Being cautious is much better than experiencing feelings of disappointment from someone, ” Sawsan says, stressing that thanks to her caution she has not had a bad experience with anyone.
But at the same time, she admits that she does not have a friend close to her heart, and that she sometimes feels lonely.
Hassan, 24, believes that life is experiments, and that a person will not learn if he does not try and fail.
He points out that relying on the experiences of others is a failure in itself, saying: "Every human being is different from the other with his ideas and beliefs, and the biggest mistake is relying on the experiences of others and projecting them on oneself."
Hassan explains that he sees many passages and short phrases that warn a person against trusting someone, and question friendship, love and social relations in their various forms, using flowery and influential words, these phrases lead many to consider them true.
Hassan believes that social media has led many to isolation, distancing them from social relations and instilling fear of experimentation because of their impact on what they see and hear on these platforms, and the reason behind this is the lack of awareness and lack of self-knowledge.
From the psychological side, the specialist Moussa Baterneh explains that the means of communication has become an important tool and its presence is strong in all circles, and its impact is severe on man and on the formation of his concepts and ideas.
Through it, social and psychological concepts, ideas and models are captured.
Matarneh explains that this leads to the question of the awareness of individuals who browse social media.
“Is the individual conscious and capable of distinguishing, classifying and sorting things out among each other? ” he says, emphasizing that the greatest impact is on people who do not have sufficient awareness, where they pick up messages as they are without having a clear idea of them, making them believe that what they see is the truth.
Hence, social media ’ s impact on human beings, psychological security and psychological feeling begins, according to the archbishops, exposing them to frightening aspects of life, such as “mistrust of people, treachery and betrayal, ” which sometimes makes them feel that the world and society are like a forest in which to live.
Accordingly, the individual becomes a state of inner fear and a sense of insecurity, which leads to a defect in his personality and behaviors, related to personal disorders and their impact on success and the future, his social interaction, his ability to build relationships, positive thinking, and a constant sense of fear, anxiety and stress.
According to the archbishops, the “I ” theme, which is found in most of the content published, directs or encourages distrust only of oneself, and action and success only of the individual himself.
She also advocates seeing people through a personal perspective, while cautioning that others are disloyal and disillusioned.
Sometimes, negative energy is released from these contents, which contributes to the exacerbation of problems.
He believes that there are many sensitive issues that have a great psychological impact on people, especially the issues of abuse, emotional dehydration and violence, all of these issues constitute a negative and frustrating environment that causes a state of severe psychological impact on people and hinder their lives and cause them to have trouble with others, whether friends or family.
He points out that the failure of one ’ s relationships in social interaction, and the failure to build new ones, leads to a state of psychological instability and loss of sense of security, which threatens the meanings of beautiful relationships.
This is reflected in society as a whole, with the spread of negative emotions, anxiety, stress and fear.

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Content: Sunday, 16 Rajab 1445, 28 January 2024
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Saudi Health Ministry: Social media sites negatively affect the absorption of adolescents with this condition
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The Saudi Health Council stressed that the negative use of social media affects the absorptive abilities of adolescents.
3 hours on social media affect the intelligence of teenagersAdd an ad
The council said on its official page that using social media more than three hours a day makes teenagers more at risk of developing mental health problems in general.
He pointed out that the harm of negative use of media transcends mental health problems, and affects absorption capacity in particular.
Results of a study on middle and high school students
Most studies on the phenomenon of social media have focused mainly on its negative impact on adolescents, despite its undeniable positive impact, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The researchers studied 7,643 middle and high school students between the ages of 11 and 13, as well as 15 and 18.
Excessive use of media
Based on the survey results related to social media monitoring, they were divided into three main groups: the least followed and dependent on these means, the second group moderate use, and the third group excessive use and dependence.
The results showed that teens who rely heavily on social media, spend more time following it, have trouble sleeping, and have problems communicating with others.
Incompatibility with family and friends and violence
The results also showed that they suffer from incompatibility with family and friends, are more likely to engage in violent behaviors, and most have poor relationships with teachers at school, preferring to spend time with friends online rather than real meetings.
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Content: Monday, 24 Rabi I 1445, 09 October 2023
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How can you help your teenager make friends?
10 tips not to miss
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The parents are afraid of their children, and they are afraid of their parents, and they are afraid of their children.
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While some may struggle to choose the right friend for them, which can affect them and make them prefer isolation, there are steps that can be taken to help give them the boost they need to socialize with their peers.
Importance of friendship
Healthy relationships are important for people of all ages and stages of life.
Friendship is especially important for teenagers.
Promoting healthy friendships can help build self-esteem and resilience, giving them the confidence to help avoid bullying.
At an age when the endocrine system is dysfunctional, a teenager can struggle for independence, and friendships help him feel valued and cared for by his peers.
Healthy friendships not only improve your son ’ s mood, they can also help keep him safe.
10 Tips to Help Your Teenager Make Friends?
If your teen is having trouble making friends, here are 10 tips you can follow to help encourage them to socialize, according to talkitoutnc.org:
Be supportive of him.
One of the most important things a parent can do to help their teen make friends is to have a strong supportive relationship to meet their emotional needs.
Talk to him.
If you notice that your teen spends a lot of time alone in his room, sit down with him and talk to him.
They may complain but understanding why they are unhappy or anxious may help them get out of their hibernation state.
Boosting confidence
As your teen grasps more new responsibilities, your discussions with him or her can send your teen ’ s decisions in the opposite direction.
Help him build on his decision to focus on his inner thoughts.
Insistence on school participation
Joining a school club or sports team can help your child feel a sense of belonging, increase his self-confidence, and give him the courage to seek social interaction and find friends.
Controlling negative emotions
If your teen has difficulty controlling negative emotions, his friends may exclude him from the group.
Help him learn the tools of flexibility.
Take time to talk to them about their feelings and give them strategies to deal with negative emotions, such as deep breathing, focus points, and exercise.
Different points of view
Your teen absorbs a great deal of newly learned information.
Encouraging them to understand different perspectives can help them open up to new and healthy friendships.
Avoiding worry
Anxiety is the body ’ s natural response to stress.
Some children may find it difficult to make friends because they have been exposed to stressful situations in the past while doing so.
If you think building relationships is something your teen is worried about, there are ways available to help calm him down.
Practicing identities and activities
Encourage your teen to promote his hobbies and enroll him in extracurricular activities he enjoys in finding people with common interests.
Be a good role model for your son.
Show your child the value of healthy friendships by showing them the important roles friends play in your own life.
Get advice from a specialist.
If your child finds it difficult to make friends, a professional counselor can teach them social skills development techniques to help them succeed.
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Content: Seeing the past in a romantic way seems natural and common to all human beings, perhaps as a way of protesting the present.
But it is just a romantic idea and must remain within that framework, and the mere fact of counting it and believing in it transforms it from acceptable romanticism to pathological nostalgia.
The truth is that our reality is dozens of times better than the past on almost every level, and in this article I will talk specifically about the scientific, moral and intellectual level.
On a scientific level, all inventions today were unknown just 400 years ago; no one knows what DNA is or how things started in the universe.
They do not know what is the secret of diseases or how to treat them, so they have killed diseases that can now be treated with a pill from the nearest pharmacy.
The plague of the 14th century, called the Black Plague, killed a third of the population of the European continent and infected one day to be buried a week later, but is now unknown.
Scurvy killed millions of sailors and is now cured of a vitamin C effervescent tablet.
Their children die before their eyes and do not know how to save them.
They expect the Earth to be flat and are afraid to go to the edges so as not to fall and not know something called “gravity, ” and if they saw the GPS now they would count it as a form of magic and sorcery.
They did not know why the moon was broken and split, so some priests took advantage of their ignorance and promised them that the moon would return to normal if they offered them offerings, money and beautiful women.
In short, life and everything in it was for them a mystery and a black box and they are creatures that wander the face of the earth with low IQ not because of them, but because of a severe lack of knowledge.
If a person over 40 in our world decided to go back to the past, he would probably be dead by now, because the life expectancy at that time was 35 because of the spread of wars, epidemics and crimes.
Scientific statistics on the causes of death in ancient times revealed that 15% of the deaths were caused by skulls crushed as a result of being violently beaten.
Most of us live long lives and die in our beds.
On the moral level, values and ethics have evolved dramatically in recent decades, and words such as human rights have emerged that if one of us went back to the past and mentioned them in front of them, they would be puzzled and perhaps ask, “What human rights are you talking about?! ”
The idea of man as a moral concept and an independent entity was not known until later.
The idea of slaves, therefore, was not repugnant in the popular imagination, but acceptable and did not cause any conscientiousness.
This is the opposite of today, the idea of slaves is not only morally disgraceful, but also legally criminalized. Why?
Because we have evolved morally and psychologically.
The same applies to the marriage of minors, which was accepted in the past and rejected and prohibited now, because it clashes with the conscience of the era, which has evolved with the times until it reached its best stage in our time despite all the problems.
The ethnic idea that humans stratify and measure blood purity rates has been accepted in the past.
Even in the universities and in the 1930s it was a recognized specialty, and Hitler relied on his Nazi theory, which led him to throw in the furnaces of the physically disabled and spray them with gas to death because they are a burden and black spots running in the blood of the Aryan race, so it must be cleansed and cleaned.
The women were subordinate and second-class and were not allowed to vote, but became heads of state.
The advancement of women from servants to leaders reflects the idea of moral evolution over the centuries.
The idea of captivity is flawed, disgraceful, and a terrible violation of human value in our time, but it has been accepted in the past.
If a person obsessed with the past thought about the possibility of being a slave to be bought and sold, he would abandon the whole idea.
At the intellectual level, humanity has developed over the past centuries due to the flourishing of education and decreasing rates of illiteracy.
In the nearby Middle Ages it was the priest who knew how to read, and the rest were plunged into darkness.
The further we go in history, the higher the illiteracy rates, and so on.
There are no schools, no universities, no majors, all new ideas that have arisen in the modern era.
Because of all this, bitter religious, sectarian, and clan wars broke out that killed millions, and fanaticism and fanatics were defeated only by intellectuals and philosophers who destroyed their ideas and took humanity to a different stage (12 million victims of the Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648).
In today ’ s world, despite all the sectarian and religious problems in certain countries, the world in general has transcended the war of identities, and global airports and transcontinental corporations are the greatest witnesses to the unprecedented human intermingling in history.
In the past the scene is completely different, it is not far away to be persecuted and killed because you are different religiously or sectarian and ethnically...
A long intellectual labor has led humanity to a new stage beyond all the old conceptions of life in which humanity has been trapped for centuries.
This idea may be outside the context of everyday conversations, but it is important because it defines how people, especially new generations, view themselves and the world around them.
It helps to understand how humanity has evolved over many centuries and to understand the movement of history that does not go back to the past.
This idea is also important for harmony with reality, modernity and the city that has changed our world for the better, believing in its values and not defiling them, but full integration and participation in its prosperity and not diminishing by virtue of the fact that it is the work of the West, and thus feeling guilt and alienation and wishing the return of the beautiful past even if it is just a romantic lie unverifiable.

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Atmospheric river fronts move eastward in 8 Midwestern states "Blizzard Alert"
Bay Area School Media Classes Teach Students to Distinguish Online Authenticity
According to Mercury News, Bay Area schools are gradually introducing new courses on media literacy.
The course is a preview of a new law.
The law requires schools across the state to teach all students from kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) how to distinguish between truth and falsehood in the online world.
AB 873 directs the California Commission on Teaching Quality to include this content in four core subjects when it next revises the curriculum framework: English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, History, and Social Sciences.
State Representative Marc Berman authored AB 873 after witnessing widespread online misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and election fraud.
The bill was passed with bipartisan support without strong opposition from outside groups and went into effect on January 1.
"A lot of people in the community really believe these lies that spread so quickly and so easily on the Internet," he said.
Research shows that many students struggle to distinguish between facts and fiction online.
In a 2019 Stanford University study, 96% of high school students surveyed judged a climate change website based solely on the description of the website, without considering its supporters, the fossil fuel industry, why it would affect the credibility of the website. Video of the article.
“We gave them tools but didn ’ t give them guidance, who would be hurt? They were all hurt, girls and boys were hurt. ”
It changed their lives, ” said Erin McNeill, CEO of Media Literacy Now, a nonpartisan national group advocating for new laws.
McNeill said that the more online content children are exposed to, the more likely they are to develop mental health problems, experience cyberbullying, and even encounter groups trying to radicalize teenagers.
California is the fourth state after Delaware, New Jersey and Texas to mandate such education for K-12 students, but the pace of expansion will be slow.
However, some school districts have begun to incorporate media literacy courses into their classrooms in advance.
Not all parents agree with the plan.
Lance Christensen, a parent activist and vice president of education policy at the California Policy Center, a conservative public policy think tank, said that without a statewide curriculum or proper implementation, many teachers will not be able to handle difficult conversations, fearing that teachers will let their own biases sway the media literacy curriculum.
Stanford University, New Jersey, California
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Jinshan language / AI hardware three giants are from Taiwan
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Content: Rapid Digitalization Comes With Many Issues, Including Lightning-Fast Spread Of Disinformation – OpEd

By and

The era of rapid technological advancement and digitalization has interconnected the world, enabling the swift dissemination of information across borders. However, this digital revolution has brought about the widespread proliferation of disinformation, the deliberate spread of false or misleading information to deceive or manipulate the public. Social media platforms, algorithmic amplification, lack of media literacy, and malicious actors contribute to this phenomenon.

Disinformation impacts politics, society, and the economy, eroding trust, fueling polarization, and causing financial losses. Solutions include enhancing media literacy education, promoting independent fact-checking, regulating digital platforms, launching digital literacy campaigns, and prioritizing ethical AI development. To effectively combat disinformation, a collaborative effort between government, tech companies, and individuals is necessary. The challenge lies in striking a balance between harnessing the benefits of digitalization and countering the risks posed by rampant misinformation.

In an era defined by unprecedented technological advancement and rapid digitalization, the world is more interconnected than ever before. Information flows freely across borders and oceans, shaping public opinion, influencing political landscapes, and molding societal narratives. However, as every light casts a shadow, alongside the many benefits of this so called “digital revolution”, various disadvantages have also emerged, the most prominent of which, serving as the dark ‘underbelly’ of modern digital age, is the lightning-fast spreading of disinformation.

The ubiquity of social media, the rise of algorithm-driven content distribution, and the lack of effective regulatory measures have paved the way for the rampant dissemination of false and misleading information throughout the world, but what exactly is disinformation? Before discussing the causes and impact of disinformation, we must first establish what disinformation is itself. Disinformation, often used interchangeably with misinformation, refers to the deliberate spread of false or misleading information with the intent to deceive or manipulate an audience or the general public.

While disinformation is not a new concept, the digital age has exponentially amplified its reach and impact. Historically, disinformation campaigns required significant resources and effort to disseminate through traditional media channels. Much of the disinformation used to be shot down or ‘fact-checked’ before it would take off. In contrast, the modern day communication technology (such as the Internet) provides fertile ground for malicious actors to spread falsehoods with unprecedented speed and efficiency to a significantly wider audience (internationally) with little or no fact-checking and verification being carried out.

There are many causes contributing to the unfiltered spread of misinformation, the most prominent being social media platforms. Social media platforms, once hailed as tools for global connectivity and communication, have become breeding grounds for disinformation. The rapid proliferation of content, coupled with algorithm-driven feeds designed to maximize user engagement, has created an ecosystem where sensational and false information often outperforms accurate news. The echo chambers formed on these platforms further exacerbate the problem, as users are exposed primarily to content that aligns with their existing beliefs (no matter how outlandish or distorted), reinforcing divisive narratives and further propagating their inaccurate beliefs, locking the users in a cycle of confirmation bias.

The most common victims of misinformation through social media are usually the elderly and aged people, who often take the information on these social media websites at face value and lack the means (or education) to be able to verify the authenticity of the information circulating on these websites. Another major culprit of reinforcing misinformation is algorithmic amplification. The algorithms employed by social media platforms and search engines play a pivotal role in shaping the information landscape. These algorithms, designed to prioritize content based on user preferences, inadvertently promote sensationalism and emotionally charged content.

As a result, misinformation and ‘click-bait’ content often garner more attention and engagement than well-researched, nuanced reporting. This algorithmic amplification contributes to the viral spread of disinformation, drowning out legitimate sources and undermining the public’s trust in credible information. A person is more likely to watch a 5 minute video with accentuating visual and audio content rather than read a 5 page research report on the same topic. These algorithms further make excellent (although equally malicious) use of cognitive bias among people (by providing them with content supporting the same topic/lies over and over again), as well as take advantage of the inherent confirmation bias.

Another major cause is the lack of adequate education regarding the internet and modern day digital technology, causing a crippling low rate of media literacy among the population. The digital age has ushered in an era of information abundance, but it has not necessarily equipped individuals with the critical thinking skills needed to navigate this deluge of data (A library is useless to a person who doesn’t know what to read and when). Media literacy, the ability to assess the credibility of sources and discern between accurate and false information, is crucial for combating disinformation.

Unfortunately, many individuals lack the necessary skills to evaluate information critically, making them susceptible to manipulation by malicious actors. The most common culprits of spreading misinformation (through times immemorial) are political andideological groups (who may or may not be state-sponsored), who intentionally spread misinformation to advance their agendas, sow discord, and/or manipulate public opinion through extensive use of propaganda, bias, and outright lies. In some cases, this misinformation aligns with preexisting beliefs of the target audience and victims, making it more likely to be accepted and shared by them. This may be done by political parties to garner public support (and get more votes), or may be done by external states to sow discord and unrest in the target country and create instability.

This escalation of misinformation and propaganda has various outreaching impacts on various aspects of our lives, socially, politically and economically. Politically, disinformation can be used to sway elections by making false accusations and allegations on opposing parties, accusing them of unethical or illegal activities (such as corruption) and throwing dirt on the general characters of political individuals so that the people will not give them their votes, giving rise to political strife and turmoil. Misinformation can also be used to erode trust in democratic institutions, and it can be used to fuel social unrest domestically by external actors to create an opportunity for exploitation. Socially, it can contribute to the polarization of society anddeepen divisions among groups of people based on ethnicity, race, caste or creed, and incite violence among the different groups of people, fueling instability and social unrest.

Economically, false information can lead to financial losses, impact stock markets, alter consumer behavior, and damage the reputation of businesses. Furthermore, public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted the life-threatening consequences of the spread of medical disinformation.

Dealing with the disease of misinformation can be a daunting task, but it is not impossible. The pandemic of misinformation can be controlled and minimized (although it may be impossible to eradicate it) through a collective and coordinated effort from the government, tech companies, media organizations and individuals. The first and foremost action should be to enhance media literacy education, increasing both its quality and quantity, and incorporating it in basic education systems.

Promoting media literacy from an early age will equip individuals with the skills needed to critically evaluate information sources and discern credible information from falsehoods, as well as enable the individuals to assist others in discerning fact from fallacy. Secondly, independent fact-checking and verification (by individuals, organizations, or both) should be implemented and promoted on social media platforms that serve as the breeding ground for misinformation. Independent fact-checking third parties can play a crucial role in debunking false information and providing accurate context. A perfect example of this can be seen on the social media platform Twitter, where average users are able to provideverifiable context to information posted by other users.

Thirdly, the government should regulate the usage and flow of data and information on the internet and digital platforms. Governments can establish clear regulations for social media platforms and other online spaces, ensuring accountability for the spread of disinformation and imposing penalties on malicious actors. Tech companies could be forced to enhance transparency in their algorithms and take responsibility for the content they amplify, prioritizing accuracy over sensationalism.

Additionally, digital literacy campaigns should be launched, describing the dangers and risks of misinformation to average individuals. Governments, NGOs, and tech companies can collaborate to develop digital literacy campaigns that educate users about the risks of disinformation and provide tools for responsible online engagement. Lastly, with the most recent advancement in digital and technological world, and the widespread availability of artificial intelligence (AI), tech companies could prioritize the ethical development of artificial intelligence algorithms, focusing on minimizing bias, promoting diverse perspectives, and reducing the amplification of false information.

As the world hurtles forward in the age of rapid digitalization, the lightning-fast spread of disinformation stands as a significant challenge to the integrity of information ecosystems. To safeguard our society and country from misinformation and propaganda, both domestic and foreign, and to maintain and promote social and political stability, we need to be able to adequately handle and minimize the affliction of rampant misinformation. However, this cannot be achieved by individuals alone, instead it would require the government, the tech companies, and the individuals, working hand in hand towards eradication of misinformation through enhanced and accessible media literacy education, government regulations of social media platforms and increased accountability, and independent fact-checking and verification conducted readily on dubious and suspicious information. Only then can we strive to harness the benefits of digitalization in earnest while mitigating the risks posed by the unchecked spread of misinformation.

  •  Ali Abbas, Alumni, Department of Public Administration, FMS, BUITEMS
  • Mir Hassan, Lecturer, Department of Public Administration, FMS, BUITEMS

Ali Abbas

Ali Abbas, Student, BSPA (6th semester, Department of Public Administration, FMS, BUITEMS

Title:

Content: MIL Heroes and Villains guidebook | Mapping Out Guides | DW | 26.02.2024
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Mapping Out Guides

MIL Heroes and Villains guidebook

This guide provides Media and Information Literacy educators with effective strategies to use the power of storytelling to make concepts memorable and relevant.

In this guidebook, we explore the adventures of five Heroes as they tackle common challenges young people face in both social media and the wider media landscape. These challenges include: cyberbullying, fake news, hate speech, propaganda, misinformation and disinformation. This “How-To” guide provides MIL (Media and Information Literacy) educators with effective strategies to incorporate the MIL Heroes and Villains concept into their training curricula, using the power of storytelling to make the concepts memorable and relevant.

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Title:

Content: Survey Shows Australian Children and Teens are Interested in News, but Lack Media Literacy Skills

News TikTok YouTube

A recent survey conducted in Australia reveals that the majority of children and teenagers have a significant interest in the news. However, this interest has decreased since a similar survey conducted in 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also found that young people are increasingly getting their news from social media, but many do not understand how algorithms determine the news they see. This highlights the need for more focus on media literacy education in schools.

The survey involved 1,064 children and teenagers aged eight to 16 from various regions in Australia. When asked about the news they accessed the previous day, 83% of young people said they received news from at least one source, and one third of them used three or more sources. Comparing the results to the 2020 survey, there has been a decline in news engagement among young people. In 2020, 88% of young people consumed news from at least one source, with family, friends, teachers, and television being the main sources. This decline mirrors a similar trend in adult news consumption during major national events.

Family and friends were found to be the top sources of news for young people, with high levels of trust reported in these sources. However, social media has become increasingly important as a source of news, surpassing television for teenagers. Around 37% of children and 63% of teens reported often or sometimes getting news from social media. Interestingly, only a small proportion of young people intentionally use social media to find or get news, but they often encounter news while using these platforms for other purposes. YouTube was most preferred both children and teenagers as a source of news on social media.

The survey also revealed a lack of knowledge about algorithms among young people. Only 40% of those aged 12-16 were familiar with the term “algorithm” in relation to news. Algorithms are used technology companies like Google and TikTok to select news based on users’ preferences, potentially influencing the news people consume. While some viewed algorithms as helpful for enhancing the relevance of news, only 27% trusted algorithms to curate balanced and accurate news.

The lack of awareness about algorithms suggests that children are not receiving sufficient media literacy education in school. Only 24% of young people reported having a lesson in the past year to help them determine the truthfulness and trustworthiness of news stories. Additionally, less than one third of respondents reported being taught how to create their own news stories.

The study found that young people with a higher level of engagement with news were more likely to ask critical questions about the news they consume. This emphasizes the importance of media literacy education in promoting critical thinking and empowering young people to analyze and interpret news stories effectively.

Overall, the survey highlights the need for increased media literacy education in schools to help children and teenagers navigate the online news landscape and understand the role of algorithms in shaping the news they encounter.

Sources:
– News and Young Australians in 2023., CC BY-NC-SA

Title:

Content: Defend Truth

ONLINE HARMS OP-ED

Time to get CRITICAL — here are the skills you need to fight mis- and disinformation

The significance of upskilling South Africans and integrating them into digital literacy initiatives has become increasingly vital, the authors write. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Harish Tyagi)

In this piece we look beyond the online harms to actions the public can take, and specifically the issue of media literacy.

Media and information literacy has been a staple programme of Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) for 26 years, but it has tended to focus on children being equipped with critical media and digital literacy skills (read more about it here and here).

In recent years, the significance of upskilling South Africans and integrating them into digital literacy initiatives has become increasingly vital. Rather than employing conventional methods, we’ve focused on fostering a movement that empowers every citizen to champion combating mis- and disinformation. Understanding the dynamics of disinformation dissemination and its amplification through engagements has been pivotal in shaping our approach.

American journalist Linda Ellerbee said: “Media literacy is not just important, it’s absolutely critical. It’s going to make the difference between whether kids are a tool of the mass media or whether the mass media is a tool for kids to use.”

Switching out the words “kids” for “adults” in the quote shows how media and information literacy can and should be seen as increasingly important to adults, not just to ensure they can operate as effective digital citizens but also as a core means of combating mis- and disinformation.

Writing for the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Kristin Lord and Katya Vogt argue: “If the world is going to stop deliberate or unintentional misinformation and its insidious effects, we need to radically expand and accelerate our counterattacks, particularly human-centred solutions focused on improving people’s media and information literacy.”

On many levels it’s obvious, if readers, audiences and social media platform users have high levels of digital media literacy they are less likely to fall for and/or share mis and disinformation. But, like having regular power, things are often easier said than done.

Mis- and disinformation wants us not to think, not to pause, not to be critical. (Photo: Unsplash)

It is why we have launched our CRITICAL campaign. The name itself is a set of practical tips to help people engage in a more considered, critical manner.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Africa the target of a surging disinformation tsunami, mainly generated by Russia

Mis- and disinformation often gains traction because it has a grain of truth, it seeks to seemingly add another perspective or elements, and it does it usually by driving at an emotional response – content that seeks to outrage, anger, instil fear and/or heighten anxiety.

Mis- and disinformation wants us not to think, not to pause, not to be critical. The moment we do pause before we publish, comment and like, the moment we do think carefully about what we are seeing, is when we are likely to realise the content is misleading.

Here’s a taster of what will be covered:

  • Spotting a deepfake can be challenging, but with CRITICAL you can become adept at identifying these manipulated videos;
  • Look for inconsistencies in facial expressions, such as unnatural movements or lack of synchronise between lips and speech;
  • Pay attention to anomalies in lighting and shadows, as well as any inconsistencies in audio quality; and
  • Verify the source of the video and cross-reference it with other trusted sources to confirm its authenticity.

Being CRITICAL requires a set of skills, and through the campaign we will be focusing on skills each week to encourage those who want to join the movement by signing up or following to test themselves.

We have worked with local experts in developing the content and we made sure it is accessible and fun. Those who are keen can sign up and spot content they think is mis- or disinformation. The focus for us will be to work with media partners and others in civil society to ensure it isn’t a one-off campaign, but is ongoing so that we can ensure that as techniques and technologies change the CRITICAL content will be adapted to meet emerging needs. As a partnership CRITICAL will be led by MMA and the supporters of CRITICAL.

Read more in Daily Maverick: 2024 elections

There is no doubt that mis- and disinformation pose a real threat to our elections. There are a range of initiatives aimed at mitigating this, from the Real411 platform run with the IEC, to fact checking with Africa Check. In addition, there are a host of experts from the University of Pretoria, the CSIR, DFR Labs, Murmur, CABC and the LRC all set and ready to analyse and investigate network behaviour and dangerous narratives. These are undoubtedly the most-watched South African elections from a social media perspective. In this series we address current and emerging issues relating to online harms. DM

William Bird is the director of Media Monitoring Africa (MMA). Nomshado Nkosinkulu is communications manager at MMA.

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Title:

Content: Health & Fitness
Reasons for Decline in Realistic Social Communication Skills in Children and Adolescents
The sight of a group of teenagers walking down the street looks funny.
Although they are one group, none of them talk to each other, but all of them are busy with their mobile phones, as if they are aliens and no one is looking at the other or aware of what is going on around them.
This scene has become prevalent wherever we go, in the cafe, at home or at school.
It ’ s the social media networks that have engulfed a large part of contemporary life, especially among teenagers who have come to devote most of their time, if they don ’ t have homework, to communicating via social media apps: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
They share pictures, exchange conversations and opinions, meet childhood friends and return to strengthen the relationship between them, or establish new friendship relations, based on information put by the owner in his personal file, may be correct and may not be, but attract those who read it, and ask for the friendship of the owner.
So teens spend more time communicating on digital social media than any other physical activity.
So according to many adolescent psychologists, social networking has negative effects on social skills and direct communication between adolescents.
What are the negative effects of social networking sites?
Is it true that they are the cause of the decline in realistic social communication skills in children and adolescents?
What is the difference between them and the real world?
These and other questions are answered by education specialist Dr. Najwa Gridini.
Is it true that digital social media weakens real-world communication skills?
One of the most noticeable negative effects of social networking in real society is the decline in social communication skills among adolescents.
It is understood that social skills and direct interaction are traits that people need to succeed in life.
It can be hard to touch, but from childhood, children build these skills as they grow and interact with other children.
When a child plays with peers face to face, fighting, reconciling and planning, what he does is a tangible and realistic personal test that he experiences to develop his skills and talents, succeeds and fails hundreds of times through many interactions, and this is what the contemporary child or the digital child lacks.
It is also noticeable that social media networks severely limit body language interaction among children, during a crucial period in their lives.
They may do all the above through it, but it remains in the realm of the virtual world, through which the child and adolescent will not be able to perceive the real signs that are drawn on the person they are talking to, and interact with them on the basis of, for example, whether they are sad, happy or angry, and act according to the situation of the person standing in front of them.
Communication behind computer screens and cell phones reduces social cues and weakens body language, and converts in the virtual world may often content themselves with symbols that may express their feelings or may not be enough to express them fully, accurately or honestly.
For example, the symbol of the face may put the name where it is unhappy or vice versa.
The ability to read communication signals and body language is a key component of real social communication.
It is feared that this essential skill for personality development will be lost if adolescents do not reduce their use of social media.
Does this mean it weakens the queen of social intelligence in teenagers?
It is indisputable that it weakens the queen of social intelligence by one hundred percent.
Although social media can negatively affect the social skills of adolescents, it has a positive effect on the peer-to-peer relationship.
It is well known that adolescence is often difficult for many.
It is a stage of stress, learning, and confusion.
The use of social media keeps them in touch with friends, which can positively affect relationships between them. Through social media, teens are able to build strong relationships with peers who contribute to reducing stress.
Building new friendships through social media has been problematic, especially cyber bullying.
In all cases, the disadvantages of virtual social networking sites can be identified as follows:
At the level of physical health
Weight gain: Sitting to the computer causes an increase in weight, the teenager sits a long time eating his meals without thinking, and therefore does not do any physical movement or sports exercises, leading to obesity, which according to medical studies caused by sitting long to the computer.
Hurt the eyes: Many ophthalmologists assert that constant exposure to a computer or other digital machine harms the eyes.
So teenagers should go out and spend some time in outdoor physical activities instead of sticking to a computer screen.
Psychological and Social Intelligence:
Promotes isolation: The child or adolescent who prefers isolation is the most likely to stick to the electronic screen, spends his time chatting through virtual social media sites, and prefers not to leave home and meet with peers.
Real social communication means direct interaction with others, and this is the basis of personality development.
A shy child or adolescent may prefer to communicate online rather than with others, which promotes isolation.
Symptoms of Psychological and Emotional Difficulties: Browsing Facebook is likely to increase symptoms of psychological difficulties among many teens such as depression, excessive aggression, abnormal anxiety or even normal anxiety.
It is true that most teenagers have emotional problems and are very conscious of their self-image, body and appearance, but if they are social, feel severely lacking or insecure, they avoid real social interaction, and thus prefer to spend their time sitting down typing on their Facebook page rather than directly conversing with their peers.
This leads to poor verbal communication among many adolescents, which is one way to enhance social intelligence.
Communicating with strangers on Facebook: Communicating on Facebook is likely to end up building relationships with strangers, who can be criminals.
Adolescents are vulnerable to external influences.
Their lifestyles are changing and they want to build relationships with people who seem special.
In the process, they try to communicate with strangers who may cause them great harm.
Lack of direct emotional communication: There is a lack of emotional communication when the two friends do not actually meet.
It is often noticed that Facebook friends when they meet do not talk, and perhaps the sight of the group sitting in the cafe is the best evidence, everyone is busy with his phone, and if they talk, it is what they read on their own pages.
In addition, some people are used to expressing their feelings on Facebook, and therefore find it difficult to share their thoughts and feelings with others face to face.
So today, there is a lack of direct communication between adolescents and even adults.
Encourage laziness: Sitting in front of a computer and browsing Facebook can lead to laziness.
People who sit on Facebook tend not to do physical activity.
It causes distraction: Browsing Facebook distracts the mind from the many things that revolve around the teenager.
He can participate in other constructive activities that keep him focused.
In the face of the negative effects of social media...
It has a positive effect.
Mood improvement: When a teenager is able to communicate with a friend who lives away from him, he feels in a good mood.
Communication via social media is very fast, either in writing or via audio-visual communication such as Skype or video communication.
Also, communicate with family members in difficult times to support, encourage and support each other, especially if they live in an expatriate country.
Contribute to the expansion of the circle of social relations and provide opportunities to exchange experiences, share ideas and opinions, see the events around them, and obtain a large amount of information.
But these relationships may crystallize when communicating directly or remain within the framework of a virtual network.
To sum up, it is very important to know the potential effects of social media on young people, and to remain vigilant for behaviors resulting from prolonged sitting, to reduce the risk of problems caused by improper use.
You may also be interested in:
Causes and Treatment of Low Self-Confidence in Adolescents
Study confirms that the brains of adolescents who smoke may be different from those of their peers who do not smoke
These were the details of the news of the reasons for the decline of social communication skills realistic in children and adolescents for today we hope that we have succeeded by giving you the details and full information and to follow all our news you can subscribe to the system of alerts or in one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available on Lifestyle has been confirmed by the editorial team in Gulf 365 and may have been modified and may have been transferred in full or quoted and you can read and follow up on this news from its main source.
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Content: Seminar: How to Deal with Dating Mistakes and Communication Frustration
2024 Monday, 1 July 13: 42
(Illustration: unsplash @ Shunsuke Ono)
In June, the Family Ministry of Skyway Gospel Center held an online seminar to help young people understand the misunderstanding of friendship building, and gave parents five suggestions to learn about Jesus ’ ways of communication to help children build healthy relationships.
Teenagers grow up, their moods change.
Life River Church Youth Evangelist David Huang mentioned in the lecture that typical characteristics of young people include: the desire for independence, identity exploration, the sense of belonging, the experience of complex feelings in response to changes, they are experiencing changes in physiology, thinking, feeling, psychology, and mood.
Thirteen-year-olds are often a critical time when they start to think about the life they want, want to get out of the situation, seek acceptance, and have to deal with many changes.
These changes are novel to them, so they may encounter difficulties in dating relationships.
In high school, many friendships change for a variety of reasons, and sometimes the best friends are inevitably alienated.
Even at school or online, your first friends may become distant.
Communication frustrations turn to the virtual world
There may be misjudgments in growing up, such as unrealistic expectations, skipping trust building, self-protection, ignoring emotional triggers, and unexpected communication.
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Sometimes teenagers have unrealistic expectations of their friends, hoping that they can achieve perfection without giving enough knowledge and understanding.
This can easily lead to disappointment and conflict.
When building a new friendship, the desire to share what you hear or see with each other, but sometimes sharing too much and worrying about being taken out by friends to share with others, often hurts.
Some teenagers hide their feelings and troubles and are reluctant to share them, such as what happened at school, don ’ t want to talk to their parents, or keep things at home hidden, which can lead to isolation and lack of support.
There is also the neglect of emotional triggers, adolescents in the face of stress and emotional distress, sometimes ignore the impact of these emotions, and do not take the initiative to deal with it, which may let the emotions gradually accumulate and eventually explode.
In communication, after many setbacks, many teenagers do not want to communicate in the real world and find other places to replace them, which may lead them to find other ways to express themselves, such as through technology and the virtual world.
5 Tips for Parents to Learn Jesus' Way of Communicating
The speaker gave parents five suggestions, such as: free time to talk, build a "village" for their children, set an example of good friendship behavior, find resources for self-study, and give children the opportunity to acquire skills.
The family gets along, the child is watching, because the family is the child's place, he may put the headset on, but in the parents communication mode to learn.
The way Jesus communicates provides a good model with an emphasis on inclusion, communication and understanding.
Parents play a key role in this process, and they have a huge responsibility to spend time with their children, providing them with the appropriate tools and guidance to help them build healthy relationships and acquire the appropriate skills to navigate this critical stage of growth.
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Ireland's 13-year-olds have fewer friends but better familial relationships than a decade ago

The findings were made as part of the latest ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ report.

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLDS have better relationships with their parents, but fewer friends than they did a decade ago, according to a report released by the ESRI this morning.

The report, titled ‘The Changing Social Worlds of 13-year-olds’, examines how the lives of 13-year-olds have changed over the last decade in terms of their relationships with family and friends, day-to-day activities, and their school experiences.

The report draws on data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, and compares 13-year-olds from 2011 to 2012 to those in 2021 and 22.

The report found that 53% of young people surveyed have three close friends or fewer, compared to 41% ten years previously.

There was a 5% increase in the number of young people who had a weekly involvement in organised sports, from 65% to 70%, but reading levels are low.

Less than half (48%) of boys from working class or jobless households said that they read less than once a week, or never.

There was a shift away from traditional media, such as TV, towards screen time on a phone or another device.

Junior cycle reform is reported to have been taken well, as improved levels of interest in English, maths, and science were noted. Only 24% of girls surveyed said that they liked school, down from 35% in the previous survey.

Author of the report, Dr Emer Smyth, said the findings of improved quality of relationships between young people and their parents were “encouraging”, but financial pressures continue to be a source of friction within families.

“Young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to take part in the kinds of out-of-school activities (like hard exercise and cultural engagement) that enhance their development, highlighting the need for subsidised activities in communities and supports for schools to provide access to a range of extracurricular options.”

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman said that he welcomed the report.

“I hope that this report will inform policy making across government on areas such as highlighting the importance of physical exercise in young people, the effects of the pandemic restrictions as well as the impact of screen time on their psycho-social development,” he said.

Relationships with family and friends

The report found that a decline in mother-child conflict was greater than could have been expected given the changing of young people’s profile. Father-child conflict levels were even lower.

The report also reveals that levels of conflict were higher in lone-parent families, as well as those living in rented accommodation and urban areas.

Conflict was reportedly lower in the case of families in which the young person had three or more siblings. Financial strain is associated with much higher levels of conflict between the child and their parents.

In discussing their behaviour, parents are more likely to explain what the young person has done wrong (63% compared with 49% always doing so) and much less likely to use punitive approaches like grounding (69% compared with 59% never doing so) or shouting at the young person (41% compared with 28% never doing so).

In terms of friendships, there was a significant drop in those who have large friend groups – defined as groups of six or more – going from 55% to 38%. Overall, girls have smaller peer groups than boys.

Mothers are more likely to report that 13-year-olds have problems interacting with their peers, the survey found.

Day-to-day activities

The findings showed a reduction in the number of 13-year-olds who have very low levels of engagement in exercise, and an increase in weekly involvement in organised sports.

Cultural activities, such as drama and dance, retained their level of engagement.

Over a third of young people are said to be involved in these activities. Media forms such as TV were recorded less, while screen time on phones was preferred.

The report found that high levels of screen time is generally associated with less involvement in sport and cultural activities.

In school, there were improved levels of interest across English, maths, and science. Interest in English went from 44% to 51%, maths from 32% to 42%, and science from 60% to 68%.

The report notes this change as a reflection of the reformed junior cycle, as well as a change in approaches to teaching and learning at both primary and secondary school.

The findings of the report show that gendered attitudes to school subjects are evident.

Girls were found to be more positive about language-based subjects while boys were more positive about maths and science.

The findings regarding financial strain affecting parent-child relationships reinforces “the need to target adequate levels of income support towards families with children to reduce the need to target levels of income support towards families with children to reduce conflict and improve wellbeing”, the ESRI stated.

It also noted that as young people from disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to take part in out-of-school activities, including sport, hard exercise, cultural engagement and reading, this was likely to contribute to an “ongoing social gap in cognitive and physical outcomes among adolescents”.

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Kids Today Are In Crisis: Academics, Anxiety And How You Can Help

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New data on kids and their school performance, states of mind and skills is sobering. Youth are losing ground with academics, and they are bullied, anxious and lack coping skills.

Statistically, most people are parents and most parents work, so concern about kids translates into broad numbers of people (think: employees and co-workers) who may be distracted or worried—for good reason. But even if you’re not a parent, you’ll want to take note—because in addition to being today’s sources of energy, spirit and hope, kids are also tomorrow’s adults—and critical members of society.

New reports prove the hype about kids’ struggles is legitimate, but there are also reasons for hope—in terms of the experience of youth, and also the potential responses from concerned adults.

Big Concerns

Kids are facing significant headwinds and they have a lot to worry about.

Stress and Coping

Youth are anxious and stressed. According to a study of over 100,000 young people ages 9-18 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 71% say when something goes wrong in their life, they can’t stop worrying about it, and 67% report they try to keep others from finding out about it.

On the positive side, 90% say they recognize the emotions they are feeling and understand how their feelings influence their actions. But despite this awareness, 70% of youth rate their ability to cope with challenges as medium to very low.

Working with Others

Another concern for kids is their lack of skills in working with others. Only 36% feel confident talking about an issue with a peer they’re having problems with, and 46% say their skills in resolving conflicts need improvement. In addition, almost a third of respondents felt they needed to improve their teamwork skills.

Perhaps part of kids’ concerns about relationships are based on the bullying they’re experiencing. Fully 37% reported they were bullied on school property and 18% had been electronically bullied over the last year. In addition, youth are 16% less likely to tell an adult when they are electronically bullied versus when the bullying occurs in person.

But there is a bit of good news about relationships: 94% of respondents reported they could work effectively with others who were different from them.

Academics

Also alarming, are new stats related to academics. According to the National Center for Education and Statistics, students have experienced plummeting academic abilities—reflected in a 5 point drop in reading scores—the largest drop in 32 years, and a 7-point drop in math scores—the biggest drop ever. The most significant decreases in scores were among the lowest performing children and among those who attend suburban schools compared with those who attend city schools.

And despite 93% of kids in the Boys & Girls Club study saying they expect to graduate from high school and 82% saying they’re curious to learn more about science, computers and technology, graduation rates are dropping. In fact, according to research by Chalkbeat, in the last two years, rates of graduation were lower in 20 out of 26 states analyzed.

Career Readiness

Perhaps the most optimistic news was based on the Boys & Girls Club study participants who said they felt ready for work. Specifically, 95% said they have the skills necessary to be successful in a job and 93% of 11th and 12th graders said they know what education or training they need for the careers they want.

Reasons for Hope

Kids need help, and adults can step in and have positive impact, so there may be reasons for hope in where we go from here.

Adults make a significant difference in the lives of youth. A study sponsored by Casey Family Programs found children were more likely to demonstrate resilience when their parents could discuss things with them, when parents participated in their child’s activities and knew their friends, and when parents managed their own stress.

But it’s not just parents who can make an impact. A new study from the University of Michigan found children’s coping skills were improved when they had positive involvement from neighbors and other adults. This reinforces research published in JAMA Pediatrics which found having at least two adults outside the family who were attentive and caring, resulted in positive outcomes for kids.

And more good news is adults are motivated to get involved. Studies by The Harris Poll which included more than 114,000 respondents, found 38% of people said community was increasingly important to them compared to their feelings pre-pandemic. In addition, 67% of people were feeling more compassionate and taking time to check in with people in their community and those around them.

Benefits for Adults

Of course when adults help, it’s good for kids, but it’s also positive for the adults themselves. Expressing your gifts and talents is correlated with happiness—and providing for others is also highly related to feeling greater fulfillment. A study by The Ascent found when people were more generous (in terms of giving money or time), 81% felt a greater sense of meaning in their life and 74% felt greater satisfaction with life.

In addition, kids make adults better. In a study by the University of Bath, when adults were around children, they were more likely to demonstrate compassion and donate to charity. This was regardless of gender, age, attitudes or previous contact with kids.

Adults can also boost career success by volunteering. A study published in Social Science Research found that those who volunteer tend to see a bump in their salary. And research by the Center for Economic and Policy Research also found positive correlations between volunteering and higher wages and between volunteering and the likelihood of employment. These benefits were based on learning new skills, demonstrating motivation and the network of connections adults created through their activities.

How to Help

The bottom line: You can get involved and help kids for the benefit of kids, but also for yourself.

There are plenty of ways adults can help kids—from working with children’s advocacy groups or clubs to getting involved with schools who seek volunteers to tutor children or participate in after-school coaching or mentoring. You can help as an individual, or you can get involved in conjunction with your colleagues—doing a read-a-thon between adults and kids or organizing a adult-kids sports tournament with an area youth organization.

As the saying goes, “Children spell ‘love,’ t-i-m-e,” and adult involvement and caring can come in many forms. Most important are the empathy, presence and attention adults contribute—no matter what activity they’re doing with kids.

In Sum

There is significant cause for concern. But adults can help. When they do, the impact is meaningful for both on kids and communities—and for the adults who reach out, help, guide, mentor and invest their time and attention.

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A new report reveals that school shutdowns in 2020 may cost the United States economy up to $188 billion per year.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company states that the decision to close schools due to the arrival of COVID-19 in the United States will severely limit the ability of students — who, on average, lost five months of math education and four months of reading education — to participate in the economy.

As the report explains:

The fallout from the pandemic threatens to depress this generation’s prospects and constrict their opportunities far into adulthood. The ripple effects may undermine their chances of attending college and ultimately finding a fulfilling job that enables them to support a family. Our analysis suggests that, unless steps are taken to address unfinished learning, today’s students may earn $49,000 to $61,000 less over their lifetime owing to the impact of the pandemic on their schooling.

Once the cohort of affected students enters the workforce, American economic performance may diminish by as much as $128 billion to $188 billion every year.

Their report also explains that the shutdowns were particularly harmful to disadvantaged students:

In math, students in majority Black schools ended the year with six months of unfinished learning, students in low-income schools with seven. High schoolers have become more likely to drop out of school, and high school seniors, especially those from low-income families, are less likely to go on to postsecondary education.

Students in majority-Black schools ended the school year six months behind in both math and reading, while students in majority-white schools ended up just four months behind in math and three months behind in reading.

The report noted an alarming uptick in mental health problems among young people:

McKinsey surveyed more than 16,000 parents across all 50 states. At least 35 percent said they were “very” or “extremely” concerned about their children’s mental health. Nearly 80 percent indicated some level of concern. Meanwhile, parents reported a 6 percent increase in clinical-level anxiety and a 5 percent increase in clinical-level depression among their children. They also reported increased social withdrawal, self-isolation, lethargy, and irrational fear.

For months prior to the comprehensive McKinsey report, various findings of the ominous implications of school shutdowns on economic performance, educational outcomes, and mental health for young people have emerged.

A study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School forecasted that American economic productivity will be reduced by 3.6% over the next three decades as a result of school closures. Funding an extra month of schooling added to the upcoming school year would offer a sixteen-to-one return for the United States economy.

Meanwhile, four in ten public high school students in Baltimore earned a 1.0 GPA during the past school year. Only 21% of students earned above a “B” average.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention likewise revealed that the number of emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts rose by 51% among teenage girls during 2020. Although the number of incidents fell between spring 2019 and spring 2020, the rates drastically increased at the onset of government lockdowns.

The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.

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She also stressed the need to provide services that meet the psychological needs of students and support them socially and morally by qualified teachers.
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Content: Safer Internet Day Marks Release of 'The Mediatrician's Guide' by Dr. Michael Rich

On Safer Internet Day, Dr. Michael Rich, 'the Mediatrician', releases 'The Mediatrician's Guide', a comprehensive resource on digital wellness for children and adolescents.

Sakchi Khandelwal
New Update

Today, as the world observes Safer Internet Day, a new beacon of guidance has emerged for those concerned about the digital wellness of children. The renowned expert in the field, Dr. Michael Rich, also known as 'the Mediatrician', has unveiled his latest work, 'The Mediatrician's Guide'. With over three decades of extensive research on the influence of screen and media on young minds, Dr. Rich's new book delves deep into the intricacies of digital wellness for children.

An Academic Approach to Digital Wellness

Dr. Rich is the founder of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and an Associate Professor at Harvard. His tireless efforts in the field revolve around addressing media-related health issues that afflicts children and adolescents, a subject that has triggered widespread attention following the recent Congressional hearings involving Social Media CEOs and the potential harm the online environment poses to the youth.

'The Mediatrician's Guide': A Comprehensive Resource

With 'The Mediatrician's Guide', Dr. Rich aims to equip caretakers with the knowledge they need to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital sphere. He offers practical, evidence-based advice and strategies to guide children effectively through different developmental stages. The book is structured meticulously into four parts: it commences by detailing the effects of media exposure on children's health, elaborates on specific health concerns, scrutinizes the context of media use, and finally, provides age-specific guidance.

A Timely Aid in the Digital Age

As we step further into the digital age with each passing day, resources like 'The Mediatrician's Guide' become crucial for parents, educators, and healthcare providers. This book not only sheds light on the potential risks associated with excessive screen time and media exposure but also delineates effective strategies to foster healthy digital engagement in children. 'The Mediatrician's Guide' will be available for purchase at major retailers starting February 6th, marking another significant milestone in the journey towards fostering a safer digital environment for our children.

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Content: Mental Health America, Walgreens launch back-to-school campaign and toolkit, with focus on social media and online communities

Campaign to provide tools and resources to help address the biggest contributors to youth mental health issues, which peak during school season

Alexandria, Virginia, UNITED STATES

Alexandria, VA, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Back-to-school is always a time met with mixed emotions, especially for the growing numbers of today’s youth who struggle with feelings of anxiety or depression. To help support parents, teachers, students, caregivers, and others, Mental Health America (MHA), in partnership with Walgreens, today launched a campaign and toolkit promoting mentally healthy practices for teens and adolescents, as well as a range of other resources.

The campaign comes in conjunction with the back-to-school season and to fill a gap in mental health awareness and resources in the school setting, as MHA Screening data shows youth (11-17) were more likely to take an anxiety screen and score more severely during the school year than in the summer months.

To help everyone better understand some of the key drivers of mental health concerns, including some of the negative impacts of social media, MHA released a new toolkit – Selfies, Social, & Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces for Youth. The toolkit includes resources, fact sheets, and information regarding how online activity and virtual environments can impact mental health – such as customizing feeds or recognizing heavily edited pictures – and much more.

“Our youth are facing a world that many of us adults do not fully understand, and the increased pressures and anxieties that come from social media and being online can and will continue to have profound effects on the mental health of our youth,” said Schroeder Stribling, president and CEO of Mental Health America. “We don’t hand a bike to a child and expect them to know how to ride it. Why would we hand a child a phone without any guidance on how to be safe? This campaign, thanks to Walgreens, and ongoing work by Mental Health America aims to provide preventive tools to make sure our youth stay mentally healthy.”

There are growing concerns about the effects of social media on youth mental health. In fact, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory cited research that found that adolescents who spent more than three hours a day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes including symptoms of depression and anxiety. The advisory linked social media “direct pushes, unwanted content exchanges, and algorithmic designs” in addition to content that perpetuates “body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem” as examples of harms driving mental health concerns. Additionally, preliminary research from an MHA cyberbullying survey shows that over a quarter of youth reported that they are most negatively impacted by spending too much time being online or on their phones.

“At Walgreens, we’re focused on and committed to doing our part to help address the most pressing needs in health care today,” said Holly May, EVP and global chief human resources officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance. “We are proud to support MHA as a longstanding partner on this critically important work. And it’s our hope that by providing more tools and resources for teachers, administrators, parents, and others who play such an integral role during these pivotal years, it will be another step toward ensuring the health and well-being of our nation’s youth and the communities we serve.”

This campaign expands on MHA’s work to help youth and young adults navigate their mental health journey. Earlier this year, MHA released a new book, "Where to Start," which provides easy-to-follow explanations of mental health concerns, tips on how to find help and care for yourself, and humorous illustrations by celebrated cartoonist Gemma Correll.

Walgreens has also made the resources of this campaign available to its network of 800+ schools through its Expressions by Walgreens program, which aims to educate, empower, and equip young people and their communities with insights and resources on issues impacting teens.

During the campaign, MHA will host webinars and release blogs on youth mental health in virtual spaces. Download the toolkit and find more about the campaign here.

###

About Mental Health America

Mental Health America is the nation’s leading community-driven nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health and well-being, resilience, recovery, and closing the mental health equity gap. Mental Health America’s work is driven by its commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of whole-person health, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; and integrated care, services and supports for those who need them. Learn more at MHAnational.org.

About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is included in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader with a 170-year heritage of caring for communities. WBA’s purpose is to create more joyful lives through better health. Operating nearly 9,000 retail locations across America, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Walgreens is proud to be a neighborhood health destination serving nearly 10 million customers each day. Walgreens pharmacists play a critical role in the U.S. healthcare system by providing a wide range of pharmacy and healthcare services, including those that drive equitable access to care for the nation’s medically underserved populations. To best meet the needs of customers and patients, Walgreens offers a true omnichannel experience, with fully integrated physical and digital platforms supported by the latest technology to deliver high-quality products and services in communities nationwide.

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Surgeon General warns social media companies to “take immediate action” to protect kids from negative mental health impacts

May 23, 2023, 2:41 PM UTC
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has issued a warning about kids and social media.
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While social media use by teens is near ubiquitous, the U.S. Surgeon General is warning that the mental health impacts are still not fully known—and has called on tech companies to “take immediate action to mitigate unintended negative effects”

Dr. Vivek Murthy noted that while children under 13 are technically banned from signing up for services like Tik Tok, Snapchat and more, children have been easily able to join and bypass limitations. Up to 95% of kids between the ages of 13 and 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to a new report from the Surgeon General.

Acknowledging that more research is necessary and that there could be some benefits for adolescents, Murthy warned “there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. At this time, we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.”

The report hinted at a call for more government oversight of social media companies. The U.S., it said, has a history of regulating things that impact children, ranging from toys to medications.

“Given the mounting evidence for the risk of harm to some children and adolescents from social media use, a safety-first approach should be applied in the context of social media products,” it read.

Of particular concern is the effect of social media on brain development. Adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19, it says, are in a period where risk-taking behaviors reach their highest levels and when depression and other mental health issues often emerge. That age is also where children’s sense of self worth begins to manifest. Social media can severely affect that development.

“Frequent social media use may be associated with distinct changes in the developing brain in the amygdala (important for emotional learning and behavior) and the prefrontal cortex (important for impulse control, emotional regulation, and moderating social behavior), and could increase sensitivity to social rewards and punishments,” Murthy warned. “As such, adolescents may experience heightened emotional sensitivity to the communicative and interactive nature of social media.”

While it’s easy to dismiss the problem of children on social media as a parenting issue, Murthy’s report said that’s oversimplifying things.

“Parents face significant challenges in managing children and adolescents’ use of social media applications, and youth are using social media at increasingly earlier ages,” it reads. “While nearly all parents believe they have a responsibility to protect their children from inappropriate content online, the entire burden of mitigating the risk of harm of social media cannot be placed on the shoulders of children and parents.”

Subscribe to Well Adjusted, our newsletter full of simple strategies to work smarter and live better, from the Fortune Well team. Sign up today.

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Insurance agents warned against discrimination by Chinese landlords: do not easily refuse questions from interested parties
Teenagers are more likely to develop anxiety disorders if they rely on social media
Mayor Eric Adams released a report on the impact of social media, focusing for the first time on the relationship between social media use and family mental health, which found that children, teens and parents who use social media reported higher rates of anxiety and increased rates of mental health problems with social media use, and called on technology companies to consider more of the mental health impact of the younger generation and work with the government to implement stricter regulatory measures.
The report, entitled “Special Report on Social Media and Mental Health, ” was completed by the City Health Department (DOHMH) to“ explore the factors of social media use and its impact on users ’ mental health, ” and is the first systematic study from a public health agency in the country.
The survey was conducted by 22,484 parents, guardians or other caregivers of children ages 5 to 17 in the city.
Eric Adams said the report aims to explore the social media habits and mental health of caregivers and their children, finding that social media platforms create harmful environments that adversely affect young people, and he wants technology companies operating different platforms to take action to adopt more responsible design and policies to reduce the negative impact on young users.
The report found that the majority of children, teens and adults use social media, but more than 40% of parents surveyed believe their children are “overused, ” and 78% believe that the government should limit the type of media access technology companies offer to teens.
At the same time, adolescents who use social media are more likely to be observed as anxious or depressed by their parents, accounting for 27% and 14% respectively.
The survey results show that the frequency of mental health problems increases with social media use.
Among adolescents who use social media on a daily basis, 90% report general anxiety and 56% report at least partial depressive symptoms.
Among the respondents, the majority of teenagers said that they use social media for entertainment, learning new things or for boredom. Among them, teenagers who are the main cause of boredom are more likely to experience anxiety.
In addition, usage rates and their impact vary depending on the level of poverty in the community and the type of school attended.
According to the report, adolescents living in very poor areas use social media more frequently than their peers living in affluent communities, the gap between the two is nearly 10%, and children in public or charter schools use social media more than children in private schools.
The city recommends expanding educational resources to raise awareness of healthy habits, implement social media safety and digital literacy programs to help teens use social media scientifically and rationally, and continue to study the impact of social media on young people ’ s mental health.
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Positive attitude and the absence of cyber-hatred: how to prevent the danger of social networks for adolescents
In response to growing concerns about the impact of social media on adolescent mental health, experts have offered practical and science-based advice.
The American Psychological Association (APA) has released a number of recommendations that will help teenagers to get the most out of using social networks, except for dance challenges in TikTok and video with cats, writes NBC News.
In Focus.Technology appeared its own Telegram-channel.
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According to the recommendations, teenagers should be taught media literacy to help them recognize fake news and propaganda on the Internet.
The APA also recommends that teens limit the time spent in front of a screen so they can sleep and exercise.
The recommendations are aimed not only at young people, but also at their parents, teachers and even technology companies developing applications for social networks.
APA Science Director Mitch Prinstein explains that the organization wants to provide a science-based and balanced view of social media.
Since teens will be using them, despite all the team wants to offer practical advice on how to minimize the potential risks associated with overuse.
One of the key recommendations is that parents and educators adapt the use of social media to the development opportunities of young people.
The APA also suggests screening problematic social media use and limiting teens ’ use of social media to compare themselves to others.
The researchers also recommend minimizing the impact of cyber-hatred and promoting a positive digital attitude.
Prinstein compares the use of social media to driving a car, saying that team-building efforts are required to ensure the safety of teenagers.
Politicians, parents, and tech companies need to work together to ensure that young people get the most out of social media while avoiding potential damage.
While some of these recommendations may be difficult to put into practice, scientists hope they will be useful for parents and educators interacting with adolescents on a daily basis.
Psychologist Emma Woodward suggests using the instructions as the beginning of a conversation with children.
Social media alone is neither beneficial nor harmful to young people.
With moderate use and development of offline communities, they can be a positive force.
However, young people struggling with mental health issues may be more vulnerable to the harms of social media, such as content that promotes self-destruction.
Overall, APA hopes that its recommendations will contribute to joint efforts to make social media use safer and more positive for young people.
According to Princeton, social media will stay with us, so we need to teach kids how to get the best out of it and avoid the worst.
Earlier, Focus wrote about a few simple steps that could save millions of newborns: scientists explained how.
Important!
This article is based on the latest scientific and medical research and does not contradict them.
The text is for informational purposes only and does not contain medical advice.
To establish a diagnosis, be sure to consult a doctor.

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Content: Mental Health

New advisory warns of social media risks

The surgeon general’s latest advisory urges lawmakers and parents to implement protections for kids against the harmful effects of addicting apps.

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The kids are not all right, and the US Surgeon General believes social media is to blame.

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy issued a powerful public advisory yesterday warning of the considerable risks that social media poses to young people’s mental health. “Nearly every teenager in America uses social media, and yet we do not have enough evidence to conclude that it is sufficiently safe for them,” Murthy wrote. He argued that kids have “become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment.”

The surgeon general’s report focuses on the impacts of social media on teens and kids—both positive and negative—and the attendant health risks. The report outlines two types of dangers associated with social networks: content-related problems, such as negative self-image or bullying, and use-related problems, such as poor sleep and addiction.

What we know about social media and kids’ mental health

By all accounts, America’s youth are currently experiencing a mental health crisis.

  • The number of teens and young adults with clinical depression doubled between 2011 and 2021, according to San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge.
  • In 2021, the CDC found that nearly 25% of teenage girls had made a suicide plan.

Many experts have pointed to social media as a potential cause since the deterioration of kids’ mental health has coincided with the rise of social media platforms over the last decade.

Still, the effect of likes, retweets, and TikTok comments on kids’ brains remains more or less a mystery. We know that social media use affects adolescents and that teens show alarming rates of anxiety and depression. But studies that have attempted to determine whether social media is a direct cause of worsening mental health have been inconclusive. Plus, not all kids are impacted by social media similarly: Some—adolescent girls, for instance—appear to be more at risk than others.

Big picture: While researchers search for answers, some lawmakers are pushing ahead with restrictions on teens’ use of social media. In March, Utah became the first state to establish a curfew for teens on social media apps and mandate that parents have access to their children’s accounts. Other states are considering similar measures.—CC

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