tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/teens-22776/articlesTeens – The Conversation2024-02-26T00:35:18Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223922024-02-26T00:35:18Z2024-02-26T00:35:18ZFrom viral social media ‘pranks’ to hooning, what makes teens behave so badly?<p>Two teens were arrested in Melbourne last month after horrific <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/calls-for-teens-to-be-locked-up-after-pushing-man-79-off-pier/news-story/1d837321ac8e6a99959251825ac7410f">video footage</a> of them pushing an unsuspecting elderly fisherman off a pier went viral.</p>
<p>The “prank” appeared to have been undertaken and filmed for the purpose of social media content. The man had to be rescued by good samaritans and the teens have been charged. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@9newsmelbourne/video/7324857167754923265"}"></div></p>
<p>Soon after this, a schoolboy made headlines after being filmed on a footbridge pouring a whole <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/milk-prankster-escapes-serious-action-from-police/news-story/533d6a87c84f968455cb20cdd901f7d3">bottle of milk</a> on women enjoying a boat ride on Melbourne’s Yarra River.</p>
<p>It is easy to explain this behaviour away as poor parenting, problem children or with the old rationale that “kids will be kids”. But we can better explain human behaviour by considering biological, psychological and social influences. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-young-children-sometimes-steal-and-what-should-parents-do-about-it-200906">Why do young children sometimes steal? And what should parents do about it?</a>
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<h2>Invisible risks, invisible consequences</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most important factor to consider is the development of a young person’s brain. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499919/#:%7E:text=One%20of%20the%20last%20places,and%20then%20react%20to%20them">The evidence</a> is clear that a person’s brain does not fully mature until they are well into their 20s. </p>
<p>The prefrontal cortex of the brain is the last part to develop fully. The function of the prefrontal cortex is higher-order tasks such as decision-making and emotional regulation. Importantly, this is the part of the brain that considers information that is not immediately obvious.</p>
<p>So when a child rides their bike on a footpath, the adult behind them might tell them to slow down just in case a car reverses from a driveway. But the child doesn’t foresee this risk because there is no car to be seen. The <em>potential</em> risk is clear to the adult but, as it isn’t immediately identifiable, it is <em>invisible</em> to the child. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575239/original/file-20240213-16-q8f5ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">If risks aren’t immediate to children, parents’ warnings about them can fall flat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happiness-mother-son-on-bicycles-funning-288735896">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Humans have a self-preservation instinct: when we understand the risk of death, we avoid it. When a usually sensible young man drives his car too fast, he is not consciously taking a risk. He is simply enjoying the rush of going fast. The risk is not tangible or visible, and therefore not present in his decision-making. </p>
<p>For the teenaged boys in the viral videos, they’re in the same prank-like mindset of an annoying older brother. It is not that they are <em>choosing</em> to ignore potential consequences, it’s just that not all the consequences are visible to them. They might be driven by the immediate attention of laughs or internet notoriety, but harm to others, police charges and potential school expulsion are probably not in their thought process.</p>
<h2>Personalities formed through nature and nurture</h2>
<p>Some people have a larger appetite for risk. One child will dive head-first into an ocean and another won’t get their feet wet. </p>
<p>This is likely due to a combination of environmental and biological factors: some people are more comfortable with the feeling of fear, whereas some may have had parents who were overprotective, or perhaps an early life experience of trouble near water that has left a legacy. </p>
<p>These factors all contribute to a person’s psychology. A person who is risk-averse is more likely to be “scared” of pranks or unsafe behaviour. This is not necessarily because they are cognitively more able to think through the potential outcomes, but because they are acting on their fear of new or unknown environments. A new situation elicits fear and, in turn, cautionary behaviour. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young boy hugs the leg of his dad" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576086/original/file-20240215-16-6wvf33.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Some children have a higher capacity for fear than others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-son-hugging-his-dad-near-307192661">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A young person who is less fearful will be less reluctant in new environments. So it’s not a coincidence that the “good” child who appears not to make “reckless” decisions is often the same child who struggles more with adapting to life changes, such as starting school. Similarly, the “naughty” toddler or the “class clown” might be the most adaptable and open to new environments. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-real-to-them-so-adults-should-listen-what-children-want-you-to-know-to-help-them-feel-safe-113834">'It's real to them, so adults should listen': what children want you to know to help them feel safe</a>
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<h2>The urge to fit in</h2>
<p>Finally, our behaviour is influenced by those around us. When we are in a group we behave differently from when we are alone. We are all driven by a desire to fit in, to be liked, and sometimes we might do things we would not normally to be included. </p>
<p>For young people today, this is amplified through social media. Their audience is not only those right near them, but those who are in their wider digital circle. There is an instant reinforcement of a behaviour when there is a large, online audience.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of teenagers sit outside and use their smartphones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577220/original/file-20240222-22-vthtyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Young people are often driven by a desire to fit in, especially on social media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teens-using-phones-outdoors-concept-youth-2154896429">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Frequently, we see prankster behaviour when young people are on school holidays. They are bored and looking for entertainment. </p>
<p>There are few spaces that are welcoming for groups of teenagers to simply “hang out”, and there are many that are actively hostile to groups of youths. <a href="https://youthlaw.asn.au/learn-about-the-law/orders-to-move-on-and-stay-away/#:%7E:text=or%20stay%20away%3F-,A%20police%20officer%20or%20a%20PSO%20can%20order%20you%20to,likely%20to%20breach%20the%20peace">Move-on laws</a> for example, were designed with the intention of being able to prohibit young people from gathering. </p>
<p>Finally, a crucial factor is the construction of gender, where boys’ larrikinism can be seen as hyper-masculine and cool, making these types of behaviours more likely to be socially endorsed. </p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, not a lot. You cannot expedite the development of a brain and you can’t do much about someone’s psychology. School programs might be understood by some young people but not by others, and are expensive to deliver. Nationwide organisations like <a href="https://www.lifeedvic.org.au/schools/pricing">Life Education</a>, which offers a program of health education to primary school students, and <a href="https://www.elephanted.com.au/">Elephant Ed</a>, which is increasingly used by schools to deliver sex education, are provided at cost to the school.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teenage-brain-matures-with-onset-of-puberty-6210">Teenage brain matures with onset of puberty</a>
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<p>However, social influences can be changed, albeit slowly. </p>
<p>If we can provide young people with social places to be where they are engaged, they will then be less bored. The <a href="https://www.youthaodtoolbox.org.au/adolescent-community-reinforcement-approach">Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach</a> (an intervention developed to reduce “antisocial” behaviours by connecting people to their communities) is based on the premise that behaviour change shouldn’t be focused on stopping a problem behaviour. </p>
<p>Instead, it should provide young people with opportunity for positive “prosocial activity”. So for example, offering more access to free basketball courts for young people interested in basketball gives them a positive way to spend their time. </p>
<p>When we continue to see young people as wild criminals who have no respect, we create a greater divide between young people and ourselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222392/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Daley has received funding from FARE Australia and Melbourne City Mission. She is a member of the Women's Correctional Services Advisory Committee. She was formerly a youth worker at the Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS).</span></em></p>In the wake of a series of viral ‘pranks’, many are wondering why teens do such bad things. It’s not as simple as you think.Kathryn Daley, Senior Lecturer, Youth Work & Youth Studies, Social Equity Research Centre, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219682024-02-22T13:42:36Z2024-02-22T13:42:36ZMothers’ dieting habits and self-talk have profound impact on daughters − 2 psychologists explain how to cultivate healthy behaviors and body image<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576104/original/file-20240216-20-r6kakd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mothers play an outsized role in the formation of their daughters' dietary habits.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/happy-mother-and-daughter-bonding-at-home-royalty-free-image/1429136148?phrase=mothers+and+daughters+in+kitchen&adppopup=true">andresr/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Weight loss is one of the most common health and appearance-related goals.</p>
<p>Women and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db340.htm">teen girls</a> are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db313.htm">especially likely to pursue dieting</a> to achieve weight loss goals even though a great deal of research shows that <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-thin-people-dont-understand-about-dieting-86604">dieting doesn’t work over the long term</a>. </p>
<p>We are a <a href="https://www.duck-lab.com/people">developmental psychologist</a> and a <a href="https://psy.uncg.edu/directory/ashleigh-gallagher/">social psychologist</a> who together wrote a forthcoming book, “Beyond Body Positive: A Mother’s Evidence-Based Guide for Helping Girls Build a Healthy Body Image.”</p>
<p>In the book, we address topics such as the effects of maternal dieting behaviors on daughters’ health and well-being. We provide information on how to build a foundation for healthy body image beginning in girlhood. </p>
<h2>Culturally defined body ideals</h2>
<p>Given the strong influence of social media and other cultural influences on body ideals, it’s understandable that so many people pursue diets aimed at weight loss. <a href="https://communityhealth.mayoclinic.org/featured-stories/tiktok-diets">TikTok</a>, YouTube, Instagram and celebrity websites feature slim influencers and “how-tos” for achieving those same results in no time. </p>
<p>For example, women and teens are engaging in rigid and extreme forms of exercise such as 54D, a program to <a href="https://54d.com/">achieve body transformation in 54 days</a>, or the <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/75-hard-challenge-and-rules">75 Hard Challenge</a>, which is to follow five strict rules for 75 days.</p>
<p>For teens, these pursuits are likely fueled by trendy body preoccupations such as the desire for “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/well/move/tiktok-legging-legs-eating-disorders.html?">legging legs</a>.” </p>
<p>Women and teens have also been been inundated with recent messaging around <a href="https://theconversation.com/drugs-that-melt-away-pounds-still-present-more-questions-than-answers-but-ozempic-wegovy-and-mounjaro-could-be-key-tools-in-reducing-the-obesity-epidemic-205549">quick-fix weight loss drugs</a>, which come with a lot of caveats. </p>
<p>Dieting and weight loss goals are highly individual, and when people are intensely self-focused, it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2000.19.1.70">possible to lose sight of the bigger picture</a>. Although women might wonder what the harm is in trying the latest diet, science shows that dieting behavior doesn’t just affect the dieter. In particular, for women who are mothers or who have other girls in their lives, these behaviors affect girls’ emerging body image and their health and well-being. </p>
<h2>The profound effect of maternal role models</h2>
<p>Research shows that mothers and maternal figures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2017.11.001">have a profound influence on their daughters’ body image</a>. </p>
<p>The opportunity to influence girls’ body image comes far earlier than adolescence. In fact, research shows that these influences on body image <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-toxic-diet-culture-is-passed-from-moms-to-daughters">begin very early in life</a> – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2016.10.006">during the preschool years</a>. </p>
<p>Mothers may feel that they are being discreet about their dieting behavior, but little girls are watching and listening, and they are far more observant of us than many might think. </p>
<p>For example, one study revealed that compared with daughters of nondieting women, 5-year-old girls whose mothers dieted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(00)00339-4">were aware of the connection between dieting and thinness</a>. </p>
<p>Mothers’ eating behavior does not just affect girls’ ideas about dieting, but also their daughters’ eating behavior. The amount of food that mothers eat <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.018">predicts how much their daughters will eat</a>. In addition, daughters whose mothers are dieters are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.018">more likely to become dieters themselves</a> and are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.03.001">more likely to have a negative body image</a>. </p>
<p>Negative body image is <a href="https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-documents-the-harmful-effects-of-social-media-use-on-mental-health-including-body-image-and-development-of-eating-disorders-206170">not a trivial matter</a>. It affects girls’ and women’s mental and physical well-being in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105317710815">host of ways</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2011.06.009">can predict the emergence of eating disorders</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Food choice concept of young girl comparing fast food to natural and organic products." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577135/original/file-20240221-18-wdo3e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">It’s important to avoid labeling foods as good or bad, instead focusing on a balanced diet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rudzhan Nagiev/iStock via Getty Images</span></span>
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<h2>Avoiding ‘fat talk’</h2>
<p>What can moms do, then, to serve their daughters’ and their own health? </p>
<p>They can focus on small steps. And although it is best to begin these efforts early in life – in girlhood – it is never too late to do so. </p>
<p>For example, mothers can consider how they think about and talk about themselves around their daughters. Engaging in “fat talk” may inadvertently send their daughters the message that larger bodies are bad, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.07.004">contributing to weight bias</a> and negative self-image. Mothers’ fat talk also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2021.1908294">predicts later body dissatisfaction in daughters</a>. </p>
<p>And negative self-talk isn’t good for mothers, either; it is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318781943">lower motivation and unhealthful eating</a>. Mothers can instead practice and model self-compassion, which involves treating oneself the way <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.03.003">a loving friend might treat you</a>. </p>
<p>In discussions about food and eating behavior, it is important to avoid moralizing certain kinds of food by labeling them as “good” or “bad,” as girls may extend these labels to their personal worth. For example, a young girl may feel that she is being “bad” if she eats dessert, if that is what she has learned from observing the women around her. In contrast, she may feel that she has to eat a salad to be “good.” </p>
<p>Moms and other female role models can make sure that the dinner plate sends a healthy message to their daughters by showing instead that all foods can fit into a balanced diet when the time is right. Intuitive eating, which emphasizes paying attention to hunger and satiety and allows flexibility in eating behavior, is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-020-00852-4">better physical and mental health in adolescence</a>.</p>
<p>Another way that women and especially moms can buffer girls’ body image is by helping their daughters <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.12.009">to develop media literacy</a> and to think critically about the nature and purpose of media. For example, moms can discuss the misrepresentation and distortion of bodies, such as the use of filters to enhance physical appearance, on social media. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three young girls sitting close together, each holding a smart phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577137/original/file-20240221-18-yucv2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social media filters can lead to distorted body ideals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/group-of-friends-using-their-phones-royalty-free-image/843840202?phrase=social+media+young+girls&adppopup=true">Flashpop/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Focusing on healthful behaviors</h2>
<p>One way to begin to focus on health behaviors rather than dieting behaviors is to develop respect for the body and to <a href="https://theconversation.com/body-neutrality-what-it-is-and-how-it-can-help-lead-to-more-positive-body-image-191799">consider body neutrality</a>. In other words, prize body function rather than appearance and spend less time thinking about your body’s appearance. Accept that there are times when you may not feel great about your body, and that this is OK. </p>
<p>To feel and look their best, mothers can aim to stick to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-diet-for-healthy-sleep-a-nutritional-epidemiologist-explains-what-food-choices-will-help-you-get-more-restful-zs-219955">healthy sleep schedule</a>, manage their stress levels, <a href="https://theconversation.com/fiber-is-your-bodys-natural-guide-to-weight-management-rather-than-cutting-carbs-out-of-your-diet-eat-them-in-their-original-fiber-packaging-instead-205159">eat a varied diet</a> that includes all of the foods that they enjoy, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-runners-high-may-result-from-molecules-called-cannabinoids-the-bodys-own-version-of-thc-and-cbd-170796">move and exercise their bodies regularly</a> as lifelong practices, rather than engaging in quick-fix trends. </p>
<p>Although many of these tips sound familiar, and perhaps even simple, they become effective when we recognize their importance and begin acting on them. Mothers can work toward modeling these behaviors and tailor each of them to their daughter’s developmental level. It’s never too early to start. </p>
<h2>Promoting healthy body image</h2>
<p>Science shows that several personal characteristics are associated with body image concerns among women. </p>
<p>For example, research shows that women who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.001">higher in neuroticism</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/2050-2974-1-2">and perfectionism</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.983534">lower in self-compassion</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.08.001">lower in self-efficacy</a> are all more likely to struggle with negative body image. </p>
<p>Personality is frequently defined as a person’s characteristic pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But if they wish, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/per.1945">mothers can change personality characteristics</a> that they feel aren’t serving them well. </p>
<p>For example, perfectionist tendencies – such as setting unrealistic, inflexible goals – can be examined, challenged and replaced with more rational thoughts and behaviors. A woman who believes she must work out every day can practice being more flexible in her thinking. One who thinks of dessert as “cheating” can practice resisting moral judgments about food. </p>
<p>Changing habitual ways of thinking, feeling and behaving certainly takes effort and time, but it is far more likely than diet trends to bring about sustainable, long-term change. And taking the first steps to modify even a few of these habits can positively affect daughters.</p>
<p>In spite of all the noise from media and other cultural influences, mothers can feel empowered knowing that they have a significant influence on their daughters’ feelings about, and treatment of, their bodies. </p>
<p>In this way, mothers’ modeling of healthier attitudes and behaviors is a sound investment – for both their own body image and that of the girls they love.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Adopting healthy behaviors and thought patterns around food and nutrition takes time and intentional effort. But it will lead to more lasting change and positive outcomes than quick-fix dieting will.Janet J. Boseovski, Professor of Psychology, University of North Carolina – GreensboroAshleigh Gallagher, Senior Lecturer, University of North Carolina – GreensboroLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2220522024-01-31T13:35:16Z2024-01-31T13:35:16ZTeens on social media need both protection and privacy – AI could help get the balance right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572027/original/file-20240129-15-6x4k1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social media can be both dangerous and a lifeline for teens.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-teenage-girl-in-bedroom-using-smart-royalty-free-image/1329859791">The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Meta announced on Jan. 9, 2024, that it will protect teen users by <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/9/24030571/meta-facebook-instagram-child-safety-dsa-online-safety-act">blocking them from viewing content</a> on Instagram and Facebook that the company deems to be harmful, including content related to suicide and eating disorders. The move comes as federal and state governments have <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/29/23849375/kosa-child-safety-free-speech-louisiana-utah-parental-consent">increased pressure</a> on social media companies to provide safety measures for teens. </p>
<p>At the same time, teens <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-online-communities-pose-risks-for-young-people-but-they-are-also-important-sources-of-support-158276">turn to their peers on social media</a> for support that they can’t get elsewhere. Efforts to protect teens could inadvertently make it harder for them to also get help.</p>
<p>Congress <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/protect-children-online-social-media-internet/675825/">has held numerous hearings</a> in recent years about social media and the risks to young people. The CEOs of Meta, X – formerly known as Twitter – TikTok, Snap and Discord are <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/releases/durbin-graham-announce-january-2024-hearing-with-five-big-tech-ceos-on-their-failure-to-protect-children-online">scheduled to testify</a> before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31, 2024, about their efforts to protect minors from sexual exploitation. </p>
<p>The tech companies “finally are being forced to acknowledge their failures when it comes to protecting kids,” according to a statement in advance of the hearing from the committee’s chair and ranking member, Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), respectively.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=sV43f5AAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">researcher who studies online safety</a>. My colleagues and I have been studying teen social media interactions and the effectiveness of platforms’ efforts to protect users. Research shows that while teens do face danger on social media, they also find peer support, particularly via direct messaging. We have identified a set of steps that social media platforms could take to protect users while also protecting their privacy and autonomy online.</p>
<h2>What kids are facing</h2>
<p>The prevalence of risks for teens on social media is well established. These risks range from <a href="https://doi.org/10.25082/IJAH.2020.01.005">harassment</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/">bullying</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.017">poor mental health</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-021-00228-9">sexual exploitation</a>. Investigations have shown that companies such as Meta have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739">known that their platforms exacerbate mental health issues</a>, helping make youth mental health one of the <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/youth-mental-health/index.html">U.S. Surgeon General’s priorities</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gPwgfJafvdI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Teens’ mental health has been deteriorating in the age of social media.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Much of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3078072.3079722">adolescent online safety research</a> is from self-reported data such as surveys. There’s a need for more investigation of young people’s real-world private interactions and their perspectives on online risks. To address this need, my colleagues and I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3491101.3503569">collected a large dataset of young people’s Instagram activity</a>, including more than 7 million direct messages. We asked young people to annotate their own conversations and identify the messages that made them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.</p>
<p>Using this dataset, we found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581233">direct interactions can be crucial for young people</a> seeking support on issues ranging from daily life to mental health concerns. Our finding suggests that these channels were used by young people to discuss their public interactions in more depth. Based on mutual trust in the settings, teens felt safe asking for help.</p>
<p>Research suggests that privacy of online discourse plays an <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8328977">important role in the online safety</a> of young people, and at the same time a considerable amount of harmful interactions on these platforms comes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3579522">in the form of private messages</a>. Unsafe messages flagged by users in our dataset included harassment, sexual messages, sexual solicitation, nudity, pornography, hate speech and sale or promotion of illegal activities.</p>
<p>However, it has become more difficult for platforms to use automated technology to detect and prevent online risks for teens because the platforms have been pressured to protect user privacy. For example, Meta <a href="https://apnews.com/article/meta-messenger-full-encryption-2ab384258750fd83cc3b5d9d8622f0f4">has implemented end-to-end encryption</a> for all messages on its platforms to ensure message content is secure and only accessible by participants in conversations. </p>
<p>Also, the steps Meta has taken to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/9/24030571/meta-facebook-instagram-child-safety-dsa-online-safety-act">block suicide and eating disorder content</a> keep that content from public posts and search even if a teen’s friend has posted it. This means that the teen who shared that content would be left alone without their friends’ and peers’ support. In addition, Meta’s content strategy doesn’t address the unsafe interactions in private conversations teens have online.</p>
<h2>Striking a balance</h2>
<p>The challenge, then, is to protect younger users without invading their privacy. To that end, we conducted a study to find out how we can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3579608">use the minimum data to detect unsafe messages</a>. We wanted to understand how various features or metadata of risky conversations such as length of the conversation, average response time and the relationships of the participants in the conversation can contribute to machine learning programs detecting these risks. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3501969">previous research</a> has shown that risky conversations tend to be short and one-sided, as when strangers make unwanted advances.</p>
<p>We found that our machine learning program was able to identify unsafe conversations 87% of the time using only metadata for the conversations. However, analyzing the text, images and videos of the conversations is the most effective approach to identify the type and severity of the risk.</p>
<p>These results highlight the significance of metadata for distinguishing unsafe conversations and could be used as a guideline for platforms to design artificial intelligence risk identification. The platforms could use high-level features such as metadata to block harmful content without scanning that content and thereby violating users’ privacy. For example, a persistent harasser who a young person wants to avoid would produce metadata – repeated, short, one-sided communications between unconnected users – that an AI system could use to block the harasser.</p>
<p>Ideally, young people and their care givers would be given the option by design to be able to turn on encryption, risk detection or both so they can decide on trade-offs between privacy and safety for themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Afsaneh Razi receives funding from NSF. </span></em></p>Social media companies have come under intense pressure to do more to protect teens, but there’s another concern – they could go too far.Afsaneh Razi, Assistant Professor of Information Science, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2179862024-01-18T17:30:42Z2024-01-18T17:30:42ZExcessive social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated adolescent mental health challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569404/original/file-20240115-19-cpvqvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2695%2C1517&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows a strong link between screen time and mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>How does time spent online, and especially social media, affect the brains and behaviours of children and youth?</p>
<p>Social media platforms are seemingly designed to capture the attention of users and produce habitual checking of apps and notifications. In recent years, our lives have become increasingly dominated by social media, either as a source of information, entertainment, or just a way to connect with others. </p>
<p>In Canada alone, <a href="https://madeinca.ca/social-media-statistics-canada/#:%7E:text=Social%20Media%20Statistics%20for%20Canadians,with%20over%2026%20million%20users.">more than 30 million social media accounts</a> are currently registered, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202100300004-eng">teenagers one of the highest user groups</a>. </p>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people were drastically affected by the sudden shift to a digital world and the explosion of a reliance on screens. School closures, coupled with social isolation, led to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100217">dramatic increases in daily screen time use</a> and exacerbated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01240-0">mental health challenges</a> for many young people. </p>
<p>Research shows strong links between screen time and mental health concerns, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851">anxiety and depression</a>, although few longitudinal studies have been conducted in the pandemic or post-pandemic eras to determine causal relationships. The stress of lockdowns and the absence of typical support networks left adolescents more vulnerable than ever to the negative effects of social media. </p>
<p>Now, in the years following the pandemic lockdowns, it’s imperative that we study and address the impact excessive screen time can have on brain development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a teen girl wearing a face mask makes a peace sign to her phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569606/original/file-20240116-25-l42kqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">During the pandemic, social media provided distraction and a way to maintain contact with friends.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Reward and punishment</h2>
<p>A key facet of social media is that it engages brain systems involved in reward and punishment, which could place children and adolescents at risk for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4924">adverse brain development</a>. During childhood and adolescence, our brains are still going through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhz279">dramatic periods of development</a>, making them more susceptible to the impact of excessive screen time.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-time-do-kids-spend-on-devices-playing-games-watching-videos-texting-and-using-the-phone-210118">How much time do kids spend on devices – playing games, watching videos, texting and using the phone?</a>
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<p>Children and youth have very active reward systems in the brain. Natural rewards can cause a brief release of “feel good” chemicals in the brain like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.101997">dopamine</a>. Social media can offer constant levels of rewards that are higher than normal and affect brain chemistry, leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40473-023-00261-8">children seeking out more rewards</a>, even to addictive levels. </p>
<p>The part of our brain that monitors risky but rewarding activity — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04554-y">the prefrontal cortex — does not fully mature until we reach our 30s</a>. The fact that this brain area has not fully developed in children and teens might affect their ability to control scrolling behaviours and monitor emotional triggers.</p>
<p>Coupled with changes in brain chemistry, this could lead to excessive screen time use. The timeline of the prefrontal cortex’s development could also explain why adults are less likely to face the same consequences of the negative effects of social media. </p>
<p>Additionally, some studies have reported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03126-x">changes in cortical and subcortical brain activation and structure in children and teenagers</a> that were associated with high screen time use. These studies have reported changes in the brain’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4924">reward and punishment centres</a>. </p>
<p>Another example of this comes from a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101088">longitudinal study that followed children for three years</a>, showing delayed development of regions involved in social connectedness and understanding the thoughts and feelings of others.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jR59s2mv24Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">CBC News looks at the impact of social media on teens.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Different impacts</h2>
<p>However, not all research points to screen time as being associated with changes in brain development. A large-scale imaging study that was designed to examine childhood experiences throughout the United States — including smoking, video games and sleep — in nearly 12,000 children showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2023.09.009">no association between screen time and brain development</a>. </p>
<p>There may be several explanations for the dissonance between the large-scale child development study and smaller studies that were designed to look at screen time. For example, potentially heavy users of screen time chose to participate in smaller, more focused studies. In turn, children who are most at risk for the adverse effects of screen time may represent a smaller fraction of the data in a large cohort. </p>
<p>Given the widespread use of social media, it’s no surprise that not all children and youth are impacted in the same way. Adolescents and young adults who have pre-existing mental health concerns, particularly anxiety, may be most at risk to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.040">harmful effects of social media use on the brain and behaviour</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.06.038">Those who experience anxiety may use social media more frequently</a> to seek validation and reassurance, or as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.06.038">maladaptive coping mechanism to avoid in-person interactions and real-world stressors</a>. </p>
<p>More longitudinal research is needed to better understand mental-health risk factors for adverse outcomes associated with excessive social media use as well as the long-term effects on brain development.</p>
<h2>Adapting to a digital world</h2>
<p>As we move forward and adapt to an increasingly digital world, clear guidelines are needed concerning the amounts, types and content of screen time that are most harmful to children’s development, as well as the associated risk and resilience factors, which are informed by science. </p>
<p>For this reason, it is more important than ever that researchers design studies that allow us to understand what is happening to children’s and adolescents’ brains and their behaviours, and how that is affecting long-term outcomes. </p>
<p>In the meantime, educators and parents should engage in open dialogue to help children and teenagers understand the consequences that excessive screen time might have on brain development and mental health. Teenagers should also be given strategies and learn about setting boundaries to help them manage screen time responsibly. </p>
<p>It is crucial that we encourage healthy relationships with technology to minimize the potential for long-term societal issues and concerns in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Duerden receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs, Brain Canada, and the Children's Health Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michaela Kent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>During the pandemic, many people relied on social media for distraction and social connection. However, excessive social media use can negatively affect mental health, especially for young people.Emma G Duerden, Canada Research Chair, Neuroscience & Learning Disorders, Assistant Professor, Western UniversityMichaela Kent, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2206332024-01-14T12:58:36Z2024-01-14T12:58:36ZCanadian schools need to address digital sexual violence in their curricula and policies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568379/original/file-20240109-25-we196t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=129%2C68%2C5622%2C3164&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology-facilitated sexual violence can have significant consequences on a person's health and well-being.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canadian-schools-need-to-address-digital-sexual-violence-in-their-curricula-and-policies" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) is on the rise among Canadian youth. In an <a href="https://plan-international.org/uploads/2022/02/sotwgr2020-execsummary-en-3.pdf">international study</a> that included Canada, over half of the young women and girls surveyed reported being sexually threatened and/or sexually harassed online. This kind of sexual violence can include online sexual harassment, extortion, receiving unsolicited explicit images and non-consensual distribution of intimate images.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2019.1710636">More than four in five undergraduate students in Canada</a> have reported experiencing online sexual violence, including sexually explicit comments, emails or messages.</p>
<p>Not all youth face the same risks with online harms. People with marginalized races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations are significantly more likely to experience TFSV. A recent report from Statistics Canada found that young women and non-binary youth are <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230221/dq230221c-eng.htm">more likely to be targets of online abuse</a> than young men. Black people, Muslim people and LGBTQ+ people experience <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/report/online-hate-and-harassment-american-experience-2023">higher rates of online harassment</a> than their peers.</p>
<p>Technology-facilitated sexual violence can have significant consequences on a person’s health and well-being. Young people who experience TFSV have reported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-0032-4">increased social isolation</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515584344">fear and psychological distress</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1467891">adverse effects on their mental health</a>.</p>
<p>Given these negative impacts, it is imperative that schools take steps to address and prevent technology-facilitated sexual violence.</p>
<h2>Digital sexual violence in Canada</h2>
<p>Our team at the <a href="https://www.diydigitalsafety.ca/">DIY: Digital Safety</a> research project, along with the <a href="https://www.sieccan.org/">Sex Information and Education Council of Canada</a>, recently released a <a href="https://1332d589-88d9-46fd-b342-d3eba2ef6889.usrfiles.com/ugd/1332d5_40b7850d228a4c0b9e7ed54737fcb30b.pdf">report outlining how secondary schools across Canada can address TFSV</a> in their curricula and policies. We found that TFSV-related concepts are insufficiently addressed in Canadian schools, and that when TFSV is addressed, there are major gaps that need improvement.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="young woman with face in her hands sits in front of a laptop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568381/original/file-20240109-25-houuq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Technology-facilitated sexual violence can have significant consequences on a person’s health and well-being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Within educational curricula, very few provinces and territories recognize that sexual violence can occur online. Many do not include content on TFSV-specific online behaviours or discuss the legal consequences of online behaviour. </p>
<p>Three provinces and one territory — Ontario, British Columbia and Yukon (which uses B.C.’s curriculum) — provide students with the most comprehensive understanding of TFSV. Students there learn about the potential harms related to technology (like cyberbullying, sexual predators and sexting risks) and that people can be targeted because of their gender or sexual orientation. Students also learn about the legal ramifications of cyberbullying and TFSV-related behaviours.</p>
<p>Although Ontario, British Columbia and Yukon are the most thorough in addressing TFSV, educational approaches across the provinces and territories are not comprehensive. We recommend that all Canadian secondary schools teach their students that sexual violence can occur online, inform them about the online and offline impacts of TFSV and educate them about the harms and legal consequences related to TFSV.</p>
<h2>Specific legislation needed</h2>
<p>Twelve provinces and territories (all but Nunavut) have some form of anti-bullying provisions in their educational legislation, which often includes cyber, electronic or written bullying. </p>
<p>Only <a href="https://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/40-4/b038e.php">Manitoba</a>, <a href="https://novascotia.ca/cyberscan/documents/What%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20about%20the%20Intimate%20Images%20and%20Cyber-Protection%20Act.pdf">Nova Scotia</a> and <a href="https://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/i22.htm">Newfoundland and Labrador</a> currently have specific legislative provisions that prohibit TFSV-related behaviours, like sharing or distributing intimate images without consent. These legislative provisions are not directly related to educational policy, but they are tools that young people and schools may choose to engage with.</p>
<p>Provincial non-consensual intimate image laws can help students respond to TFSV. <a href="https://civilresolutionbc.ca/blog/implementation-update-intimate-images-protection-claims-december-2023/">British Columbia is the most recent province</a> to introduce such legislation, as well as criminal laws such as the extortion, child luring and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.</p>
<p>It is necessary to recognize the power of language used in legislation, educational curricula and policies. Using cyberbullying as an umbrella term to refer to TFSV-related behaviours <a href="https://1332d589-88d9-46fd-b342-d3eba2ef6889.usrfiles.com/ugd/1332d5_0b255967851a48c580f8a3c23e786399.pdf">may diminish or dismiss the harms</a> experienced by young people. This may also impact the help that students receive and the resources available to them, such as their ability to access legal or policy supports related to sexual violence.</p>
<p>Our analysis found that TFSV-related behaviours are rarely addressed within the context of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc&ab_channel=NationalAssociationofIndependentSchools%28NAIS%29">intersectionality</a>. Educational curricula in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. recognize how unequal power dynamics and control contribute to violence and abuse, while Ontario considers how power dynamics contribute to discrimination and biases. </p>
<p>However, educational curricula in these provinces do not consider how power dynamics and oppression experienced by people from marginalized groups can contribute to technology-facilitated sexual violence.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young black man looks at a laptop screen with a sad expression" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568382/original/file-20240109-17-nm2gb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People from marginalized races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations are significantly more likely to experience TFSV.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Québec consider intersectionality in supplemental or optional resources, but not in core curricular documents. Considerations of equity and diversity should not be optional in students’ education. An intersectional approach to TFSV is necessary to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of this problem and its impacts on diverse populations.</p>
<h2>How schools can address TFSV</h2>
<p>Secondary schools should include specific references to TFSV in their curricula and policies. It is important that schools empower students and refrain from taking a risk-based approach to technology. A risk-based approach emphasizes potential harms, and it can stigmatize students or make them feel ashamed when they experience TFSV. </p>
<p>We encourage schools to empower students and help them understand what tools and resources are available when they want to seek support or help others respond to TFSV. We also recommend that students learn about their technology-related rights and responsibilities, as well as what resources and supports are available to them when they need help. </p>
<p>Lastly, schools need to include information on how power and intersecting forms of oppression factor into students’ experiences with TFSV. Our research team is <a href="https://1332d589-88d9-46fd-b342-d3eba2ef6889.usrfiles.com/ugd/1332d5_b9f805201c9b4b728328ea1eab816b8f.pdf">developing resources</a> <a href="https://7d39c02a-892f-4f1e-aba6-a7594a2e8b0b.usrfiles.com/ugd/7d39c0_92d1199b8d7d4c4cb751a67211772401.pdf">for</a> <a href="https://www.diydigitalsafety.ca/resources/support-services">youth</a>, translated into <a href="https://www.diydigitalsafety.ca/infographic-nudes-and-the-law">13 languages, including Indigenous languages</a>, to help them learn about TFSV.</p>
<p>With new technologies being developed and the rise of artificial intelligence, there is a growing concern about <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sextortion-conversations-1.7048542">how students in Canada learn about online sexual harms</a> and <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/teen-girls-are-being-victimized-by-deepfake-nudes-one-family-is-pushing-for-more-protections-1.6670589">how youth are protected from such harms</a>. Secondary schools across the country should <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/education-curriculum-sexual-violence-deepfake-1.7073380">update their curricula and enact policies</a> to protect young people and teach them how to respond to TFSV.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Dietzel receives funding from iMPACTS: Collaborations to Address Sexual Violence on Campus; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Grant 895–2016-1026 (Project Director, Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D., James McGill Professor, McGill University).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexa Dodge receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaitlynn Mendes receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nikita Kalwani receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzie Dun receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>It’s time we stop treating young people’s experiences in digital and physical spaces as distinct and mutually exclusive.Christopher Dietzel, Postdoctoral fellow, the DIGS Lab, Concordia UniversityAlexa Dodge, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Saint Mary’s UniversityKaitlynn Mendes, Canada Research Chair in Inequality and Gender, Western UniversityNikita Kalwani, M.A. Student in School and Applied Child Psychology, Western UniversitySuzie Dunn, Assistant Professor, Law, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2174952024-01-10T23:10:59Z2024-01-10T23:10:59ZBreaking the curve: A call for comprehensive scoliosis awareness and care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568748/original/file-20240110-29-9agwvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1417%2C0%2C7257%2C5787&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scoliosis is a prevalent and underappreciated condition across Canada.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/breaking-the-curve-a-call-for-comprehensive-scoliosis-awareness-and-care" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/wait-times-marketplace-1.6620306">Cael</a> was a typical 15-year-old — until the discovery of an already advanced abnormal curvature of his spine. </p>
<p>“I felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Cael told CBC News, recalling the emotionally draining and gruesome two-year wait for spinal surgery during which his curve progressed to a whopping 108 degrees.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(08)60658-3">Scoliosis is an abnormal twisting and curving of the spine that can develop at any age, but mostly occurs during rapid growth spurts in children</a>, and as part of spine aging in adults over the age of 60. </p>
<p>Of all types of scoliosis in children, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most prevalent, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2016.07.013">accounting for as many as nine in 10 cases and impacting up to one in 20 adolescents globally</a>. On the other end of the age spectrum, a staggering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.brs.0000160842.43482.cd">two-thirds of older adults are also affected</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-everything-you-need-to-know-about-scoliosis-28409">Explainer: everything you need to know about scoliosis</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>In clinical care, research and education related to scoliosis, disparities persist worldwide. Despite its widespread prevalence, scoliosis often goes undiagnosed, or has delayed diagnosis as in Cael’s case. It also receives limited attention in clinical and public health education, leading to significant gaps in health care.</p>
<p>This general lack of awareness has serious implications for thousands of people like Cael.</p>
<h2>Gaps in effective care</h2>
<p>In the United States, fewer than half of states legislate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-7161-8-17">school-based scoliosis screening in children</a>. Even worse, Canada discontinued screening back in <a href="https://canadiantaskforce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/1994-red-brick-en.pdf">1979</a> because it was not considered cost-effective. </p>
<p>Pediatricians’ <a href="https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/greig-health-record-technical-report">screening</a> practices vary, and some cases of scoliosis in children are only discovered when an unrelated chest X-ray reveals a curved spine. With about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-011-2074-1">30 per cent of cases being hereditary</a>, parents may not recognize the signs early on.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.srs.org/Files/Patient-Brochures/Patient.Adolescent_Idiopathic_Scoliosis_Handbook_for_Patients.pdf">recommended care</a> in North America involves bracing for mild to moderate curves (25° to 45°) and surgery for curves exceeding 45°. Shockingly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/brs.0b013e318059b5f7">32 per cent of Canadian children</a>, like Cael, face delayed referrals, discovering significant curves when they finally see specialists.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="X-ray images of two human torsos showing signs of scoliosis" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568729/original/file-20240110-27-7zzgup.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Radiologic comparison of adult idiopathic scoliosis (A) and adult degenerative scoliosis (B).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Cho KJ, Kim YT, Shin SH, Suk SI)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite documented success in managing scoliosis through early <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2015.01.019">screening</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2023.07.005">exercise rehabilitation</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa1307337">brace</a> treatment, global health-care education often neglects this condition. </p>
<p>The general lack of global awareness leaves physicians, nurses and other practitioners unaware of effective treatments and referral processes, contributing to the misunderstanding and under-treatment of patients. Consequently, when children with scoliosis eventually reach specialists for care, they may encounter challenges navigating the health-care system as they transition into adulthood.</p>
<h2>Sex disparities</h2>
<p>It is unclear why adolescent idiopathic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2016.07.013">scoliosis affects mainly girls</a>. The more severe the curve, the more likely the patient is female. Due to their specific biology, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2016.07.013">females</a> also face a five-fold higher risk of progressive deformities and are 10 times more likely, compared to males, to require surgery.</p>
<p>Despite generally uncomplicated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-200107010-00015">pregnancies and deliveries</a>, women with scoliosis often face <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/bpo.0000000000002499">difficulties receiving pain control</a> during labour, with higher epidural failure rates. Moreover, they often suffer pregnancy-related back pain, and their spine <a href="https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.46782">curvature may worsen after pregnancy</a>.</p>
<h2>Health-care access barriers</h2>
<p>Health-care access in the U.S. is influenced by a range of factors including race, income and health insurance coverage. </p>
<p>Patients with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/bpo.0000000000002551">better insurance</a> plans tend to seek pediatric orthopedic care at a younger age. Those with public insurance tend to have worse spine curvatures by the time they reach a scoliosis specialist; this is particularly striking among Black patients with public insurance, who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/bpo.0000000000002213">67 per cent less likely</a> to be diagnosed at a stage early enough for effective brace treatment compared to Black patients with private insurance.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iMmQZ6J6WrE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A brief overview on recognizing idiopathic scoliosis produced by Veritas Health.</span></figcaption>
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<p>While Canada’s health-care system covers spinal fusion for severe scoliosis, the lack of a national insurance program in the U.S. leads to varying out-of-pocket expenses for patients. </p>
<p>Those without insurance often cannot afford surgery at all. </p>
<p>But even with Canada’s universal coverage, patients typically wait <a href="http://waittimes.alberta.ca/WaitTimeTrends.jsp?rcatID=56&rhaID=All_34_&doSearch=true&urgencyCode=9&facilityID=-9_&checkedRegionNo=0&oldCheckedRegionNo=0&oldCheckedFacilityNo=0&ifDisplayFacility=false&ifDisplayPhysician=false&command=goToAccessGoals&chartType=access_goal&subChartType=90_75_50_25_AVERAGE_&disabledChartType=trend&status=processAjax&ifHavingFPTMeasurement=true#WaitTimeInfo">an entire year</a> for surgery due to a shortage of providers. Because of regional variability in resources such as access to spinal surgeons, funding and specialized facilities, some kids, like Cael, wait even longer, experiencing physical, emotional and psychological burdens, while their curves get progressively worse. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-healthy-is-the-canadian-health-care-system-82674">How healthy is the Canadian health-care system?</a>
</strong>
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<p>Delayed surgery in Canada cost the health-care system <a href="https://www.childrenshealthcarecanada.ca/en/child-health-advocacy/no-child-elects-wait_october2023.pdf">$44.6 million</a> due to more complex surgeries, extended hospital stays, readmission and re-operation rates.</p>
<h2>Workforce and research disparities</h2>
<p>Ongoing gender disparities in the health-care workforce and lack of research funding for this female-predominant condition continue to hamper effective action.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2018.09.152">Fewer than five per cent of spinal surgeons</a> identify as women. <a href="https://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/toc/2011/04000">Glass-ceiling</a> effects surround women surgeons in this male-dominated culture, perpetuating gendered training environments, being held to higher standards and earning lower wages. The dearth of senior women role models and mentors is a further barrier for career advancement and retention.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-health-care-crisis-is-gendered-how-the-burden-of-care-falls-to-women-215751">Canada’s health-care crisis is gendered: How the burden of care falls to women</a>
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<p>Furthermore, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01472-5">research funding</a> for diseases, such as scoliosis, that mainly affect females has historically lagged far behind funding for male-predominant diseases. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119374855.ch26">Improving workforce diversity</a> is an important facet of addressing health disparities and shaping research agendas.</p>
<p>Inequities abound in scoliosis care and research. The impact of lack of awareness and delayed care extends beyond physical challenges. The patient and their family suffer emotionally, incurring significant financial burden while fearing the future. </p>
<p>The message is clear, we must do better for this underserved population.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scoliosis is a treatable condition, but only if detected early. Greater awareness of the condition and its dynamics will greatly aid in patient care moving forward.Sanja Schreiber, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine - Physical Therapy, University of AlbertaEmily Somers, Professor of Internal Medicine, Environmental Health Sciences, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194742024-01-07T12:34:38Z2024-01-07T12:34:38ZNeighbourhood amenities may have helped youth mental health and stress early in the pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567975/original/file-20240105-25-yskfll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=245%2C1003%2C3621%2C1984&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers investigated how the availability of neighbourhood amenities may have contributed to changes in youth mental health and stress levels during the first six months of the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Paul Hanaoka)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/neighbourhood-amenities-may-have-helped-youth-mental-health-and-stress-early-in-the-pandemic" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, youth as a population group <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210201/dq210201b-eng.htm">reported some of the largest declines in their mental health</a> compared to other age groups in Canada. </p>
<p>Research on youth mental health during the pandemic has focused on <a href="https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/full/10.1139/facets-2021-0096">poor academic engagement</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0080">loss of peer networks</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7">missed milestone events</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-023-00653-4">challenging summer employment experiences</a>. Yet little is known about how the places where young people lived played a role in changes to their mental health during the pandemic.</p>
<p>From walking in a park to ordering takeout food, there was not much to do out in public during the early months of the pandemic. Youth were attending school remotely and no longer participating in organized sports and indoor recreation. </p>
<p>For many, that meant their daily activities outside the home often consisted of what could be reached within walking distance of where they lived. Parks and food-related retail became the main places for physically distanced social interactions. They became a break in the routines of remote school, activities and virtual social networks available at home.</p>
<h2>Neighbourhood amenities</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2023.2282850">Our study</a> included Canadian youth between the ages of 13 and 19 in London, Ont. We investigated how the availability of neighbourhood amenities may have contributed to positive or negative changes in mental health — interpreted as their own perception of their mood and outlook on life — and stress levels during the first six months of the pandemic.</p>
<p>Amenities included parks, food outlets and convenience stores in close proximity to home.</p>
<p>We investigated whether these amenities could have protected against declines in mental health and increases in stress levels, and also if youth living in suburban neighbourhoods had different perceptions of mental health and stress levels than those living in urban ones.</p>
<h2>The missing role of parks</h2>
<p>Surprisingly, the availability of parks near the home had no significant impact on mental health and stress levels of youth. This finding runs counter to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13148-2">evidence that suggests these places were crucial to supporting well-being</a> during the pandemic. </p>
<p>Given the pre-pandemic challenges of <a href="https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.40.4.02">engaging young people in using their local parks</a>, these places may have not played as substantial a role in supporting better mental health and lowering stress levels for youth compared to other neighbourhood amenities.</p>
<h2>Youth experiences in urban neighbourhoods</h2>
<p>For youth in urban neighbourhoods, having more fast-food outlets available near young people’s homes resulted in lower levels of stress, but worse declines in mental health. When coupled with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2023.2282850">observed decline in eating habits</a>, urban youth were almost seven times more likely to report worse mental health. </p>
<p>While the places near young people’s homes can make a difference to their mental health, we found that the impact is greater on their stress levels. </p>
<p>It may be that food-based amenities in urban neighbourhoods provided places for young people to relieve their stress and try to cope with declines in their mental health by eating fast-food and convenience-store snacks and socializing.</p>
<h2>Youth experiences in suburban neighbourhoods</h2>
<p>Youth in suburban neighbourhoods were more likely to report changes (both improvements and declines) to their mental health and stress levels. They also had a greater availability of food outlets near them compared to urban youth. In particular, having more convenience stores near the home was associated with more drastic changes to mental health and higher stress levels. </p>
<p>In addition, youth residing in suburban neighbourhoods who reported a decline in their physical activity levels were also at nearly three times the risk of having worsened mental health than their peers who reported their physical activity levels had not changed since the pandemic. </p>
<p>Overall, boys were substantially less likely than girls to have improved mental health during the study period, and this was especially true for those residing in suburban areas.</p>
<p>One possible reason for this trend could be that boys are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.03.015">more likely to play organized sports</a> than girls, which are often delivered by schools as extracurricular activities. In addition, boys tend to have less <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2021.2011189">extensive social networks</a> on digital platforms outside of their school than girls. </p>
<p>The loss of opportunities for physical activity and transition away from in-person social networks at schools may have created feelings of isolation and loneliness for boys.</p>
<h2>The role of neighbourhood amenities</h2>
<p>The first six months of the pandemic revealed the importance of neighbourhood amenities in protecting against declines in mental health and reducing stress levels. </p>
<p>Parks may have been a helpful feature for other population groups, but we found their role was limited for youth in terms of mental health and stress. Planners and landscape architects can reflect on how these places could be changed to be more attractive to youth, thereby ensuring they receive the same benefits from them as younger and older groups. </p>
<p>In addition, it is important to consider that the experiences of youth living in suburban and urban neighbourhoods may differ. This highlights the need to include youth perspectives in the planning of public spaces that contribute to healthy and thriving communities. </p>
<p>The pandemic exposed long-standing issues in how youth can access amenities in their community, and how to best meet their needs in Canadian communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219474/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Wray receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Sport Canada. He is President of the Town and Gown Association of Ontario. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Nelson Ferguson was provided with funding through a trainee award from the Children’s Health
Research Institute, funded by the Children’s Health Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gina Martin, Jamie Seabrook, Jason Gilliland, and Stephanie Coen do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Neighbourhood features may have helped youth cope with the mental health impact of pandemic restrictions. Parks didn’t play much of a role but food amenities and the suburbs did.Alexander Wray, PhD Candidate in Geography, Western UniversityGina Martin, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca UniversityJamie Seabrook, Chair and Professor, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, Adjunct Research Professor, Paediatrics, Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Western UniversityJason Gilliland, Professor, Director, Urban Development Program, Western UniversityKendra Nelson Ferguson, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Faculty of Social Sciences, Western UniversityStephanie Coen, Associate professor, School of Geography, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171842023-12-21T21:09:43Z2023-12-21T21:09:43Z‘The Whale’: Viewers need to examine how teens are represented in the Oscar-winning film<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-whale-viewers-need-to-examine-how-teens-are-represented-in-the-oscar-winning-film" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><strong>This story contains spoilers about <em>The Whale</em>.</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/"><em>The Whale</em></a>, which <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/adrien-morot-oscar-win-makeup-the-whale-1.6779968">claimed Oscar wins in 2023</a> including for Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actress, is now on Amazon Prime in Canada. Those who are catching up on award winners from this year could consider it for holiday viewing. </p>
<p>When the film was released, much popular commentary focused on treatment of the main protagonist in the film, Charlie (Brendan Fraser), and how the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/10/opinion/the-whale-film.html">framing of his fatness</a> is likely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/10/lindy-west-on-the-whale">to harm fat people</a> and seems one-dimensional, <a href="https://screenrant.com/whale-movie-fatphobia-controversy-brendan-fraser/">rendering him a symbol in a way that dehumanizes him</a>. </p>
<p>Feminist philosopher Kate Manne also took issue with how the film depicts Charlie’s daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink), arguing, “<a href="https://katemanne.substack.com/p/the-whales-point-of-view">the film never advances her perspective more than a millimetre</a>.” </p>
<p>The film, which is set in <a href="https://theasc.com/articles/the-whale">the confined space</a> of one apartment, and which sees Charlie long for <a href="https://playbill.com/article/how-samuel-d-hunters-own-battle-with-self-loathing-inspired-the-whale">a hopeful outcome for his daughter even while he expresses self-hatred</a>, powerfully <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-whale-brendan-fraser-review_n_6392526ee4b019c6962069e8">and uncomfortably</a> asks viewers to consider the world from Charlie’s eyes. </p>
<p>I watched this film as a former secondary English teacher who has researched <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003131434">representations of adolescents in literature</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2020.1786428">popular media</a>, and who is concerned with how literary and media representations shape teens’ and adults’ sense of adolescent lives — and how teens’ stories are reflected in media. </p>
<p>Here’s my breakdown of what I hope viewers might think about when watching <em>The Whale</em>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nWiQodhMvz4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for ‘The Whale.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The silenced students</h2>
<p>As an instructor, Charlie’s passionate insistence on the importance of truth in writing demonstrates that he cares about how his students express their authentic selves on the page. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, his approach to teaching is concerning. First, there is the complicated background knowledge that Charlie’s late romantic partner, Alan, was a former student. While teaching his current class, he sends <a href="https://collider.com/the-whale-ending-explained/">an inflammatory</a> and emotional email to everyone that includes the line “Fuck these ridiculous essays,” which leads to his firing. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-whale-brendan-frasers-comeback-offers-rare-representation-of-the-fat-queer-male-body-on-screen-198943">The Whale: Brendan Fraser's comeback offers rare representation of the fat queer male body on screen</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Before he is replaced, Charlie at last turns his online camera on after pretending it was broken. The students quietly appear to be a mixture of struck, amused and even voyeuristic; one appears to start recording. Charlie flings his laptop to the floor while still in session. </p>
<p>I hoped the film would return to students after this moment, wondering how this intense experience might impact their relationship to education. However, viewers don’t see them again. </p>
<h2>The mistreated missionary</h2>
<p>Then there is Thomas (Ty Simpkins), <a href="https://screenrant.com/whale-2022-cast-character-guide/">a church missionary</a> who seems to be a teenage runaway. Thomas repeatedly visits Charlie and tries to connect with him, but is put in difficult positions when Charlie has medical episodes but refuses professional help. </p>
<p>Instead, Charlie requests confusing <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-emotional-labour-and-how-do-we-get-it-wrong-185773">emotional labour</a> and care work such as reading Charlie’s daughter’s middle school <em>Moby Dick</em> essay aloud instead of calling 911. </p>
<p>Charlie’s friend and caretaker, Liz (Hong Chau), is also tough on Thomas in different ways. She critiques his church and vacillates between treating him like a pest and something of a punching bag while demanding he help Charlie around the apartment. Thomas seems an earnest and naive young person, constantly returning to Charlie’s apartment despite mistreatment. </p>
<h2>‘Evil’ Ellie</h2>
<p>Finally, there is Charlie’s teenage daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink). Viewers get a sense of Ellie’s character through a handful of intense, reluctant visits to her Dad’s apartment; she is angry with him for abandoning her years ago when he fell in love with Alan. </p>
<p>Ellie calls her father disgusting and drugs him. She posts disturbing images of dead dogs and Charlie on social media. </p>
<p>Maybe what most bothered me as a researcher who has examined sexist rape culture myths in texts representing teens, and how <a href="https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1157&context=atj;%20https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=feministpedagogy">teachers respond to youth trauma stories</a>, is how Ellie also threatens an in-recovery Thomas with a rape accusation unless he does drugs. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hollywood-letters-of-support-for-danny-masterson-demonstrate-the-pervasiveness-of-myths-about-rape-culture-213508">Hollywood letters of support for Danny Masterson demonstrate the pervasiveness of myths about rape culture</a>
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</em>
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<p>Although he seems to understand her threat as a twisted joke, he obeys. She then photographs the drug use and as his concern grows, she says she is “just fucking” with him. </p>
<p>All the while, Ellie glares, screams, stomps and slams doors. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BdKIY8oMI_c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Clip from ‘The Whale.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At one point, <a href="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/The-Whale-Read-The-Screenplay.pdf">Ellie’s mother even calls her “evil.”</a> Ellie seems to be the cruel foil to Charlie’s kind demeanour, despite his failures as a parent. </p>
<h2>Incurably bad girls?</h2>
<p>In all these cases, viewers are left with partial stories of youth and young adults, alongside a focus on more apparently important adult characters. </p>
<p>Ellie calls to mind feminist scholar <a href="https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/48638-jessica-ringrose">Jessica Ringrose’s</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353506068747">arguments</a> about the rise of interest in the universalized figure of the aggressive “mean girl” in popular discourse. Such aggressive young girls seem to be a normalized mainstay. </p>
<p>Although Ellie is perhaps not depicted as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/jeu.2019.0025">sociopathic like the teen schoolgirls</a> that education and literary scholars like <a href="https://lled.educ.ubc.ca/caroline-hamilton/">Caroline Hamilton</a>,
<a href="https://www.sfu.ca/education/faculty-profiles/emarshall.html">Elizabeth Marshall</a> and <a href="https://lled.educ.ubc.ca/theresa-rogers/">Theresa Rogers</a> examine, the portrayal of her suggests she could be “incurably bad.” </p>
<h2>Don’t see nuanced youth perspective</h2>
<p>Actor <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5584750/">Sadie Sink</a> has said that despite Ellie’s negative character traits and actions in the film, <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/awards/sadie-sink-the-whale-stranger-things-taylor-swift-brendan-fraser-1235462556/">Ellie is not a “dirtbag” teenager</a> especially if events are imagined from her perspective. </p>
<p>Yet viewers are repeatedly faced with <a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://fugitives.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-Whale-Ending-Explained-2022-Drama-Film.jpg&tbnid=G6zKyJCfvh7-5M&vet=1&imgrefurl=https://fugitives.com/the-whale-ending-explained-2022-drama-film-darren-aronofsky-brendan-fraser/&docid=R4mGrPURgPy1yM&w=1200&h=674&itg=1&hl=en&source=sh/x/im/m1/1">Charlie’s wounded expression</a> that arguably feeds an understanding of Ellie as wretched. </p>
<p>Critic Lindy West took a direct and humourous perspective on the representation of adolescence by asking: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/10/lindy-west-on-the-whale">“More importantly, who reads Moby Dick in eighth grade!?”</a> </p>
<h2>What was missing?</h2>
<p>This past year, Ellie struck me as one of the more alarming recent portrayals of adolescent girlhood in popular media. </p>
<p>In an interview on CBC’s <em>Q</em> with Tom Power, <em>The Whale’s</em> director, Darren Aronofsky, said when he saw the original play the film is based upon he was struck by the draw of a complex character. He also noted <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/friday-dec-16-2022-darren-aronofsky-alfre-woodard-and-more-1.6685518/darren-aronofsky-on-the-whale-casting-brendan-fraser-and-fat-suit-criticism-1.6685521">film has the ability to immerse viewers into another character’s perspective</a>, to learn something about ourselves. </p>
<p><em>The Whale</em> makes a big ask of viewers if we are to extend our imaginations into adolescents’ perspectives with limited clues. </p>
<p>I hope viewers wonder what more should be understood about youth that is not shown on the screen, and how perhaps especially educators might interrogate assumptions about adolescent experiences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Moore has previously received funding from the Banting Postdoctoral Program, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), The Killam Trusts, and The University of British Columbia. </span></em></p>Adult actors in ‘The Whale’ won Oscars for best lead and supporting acting in 2023, but if you catch up with awarded movies this holiday, the film’s depiction of teens warrants scrutiny.Amber Moore, Assistant Professor of Teaching in Language & Literacy Education , University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188832023-12-01T01:38:55Z2023-12-01T01:38:55ZProtecting kids online: A guide for parents on conversations about ‘sextortion’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562832/original/file-20231130-21-cfn0tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=162%2C63%2C5664%2C3944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sexual extortion occurs when an individual is coerced, deceived or pressured into having their sexual or nude photos or videos released online unless they provide money or additional sexual images.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/protecting-kids-online-a-guide-for-parents-on-conversations-about-sextortion" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Sadly, a 12-year old child in British Columbia <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/police-link-suicide-of-12-year-old-prince-george-b-c-boy-to-online-sexual-extortion-1.7041185">died by suicide following a case of online sextortion</a>. The child’s grieving parents are passionately urging families to talk to their children about the dangers of online predators in the hopes that other children can be safeguarded against online risks.</p>
<p>Sexual extortion, or “<a href="https://www.cybertip.ca/en/online-harms/sextortion/">sextortion</a>,” occurs when an individual is coerced into providing money or sexual images by threatening to release sexual or nude photos or videos of them online.</p>
<p>Many sextortion cases occur within existing relationships with peers, romantic partners or adults. However, in some cases, predators unknown to the child groom them into sharing intimate pictures or videos, later weaponizing them for blackmail. </p>
<p>As clinical psychologists, we recognize and empathize with the challenge parents face in being fully appraised of their children’s online activities and navigating difficult topics. Below we offer information and practical advice for parents about <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16026548-how-talk-kids-online-sexual-extortion">initiating and having conversations about sex, sextortion and healthy device habits</a>.</p>
<h2>1 in 20 adolescents experience sextortion</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy sitting on stairs with his head in his hand, looking at a phone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562833/original/file-20231130-15-3xwdcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An estimated 91 per cent of victims in reported sextortion cases are boys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063218800469">a study of over 5,500 adolescents</a> aged 12 to 17 in the United States, five per cent reported they had been victims of sextortion. Harm associated with sextortion included repeated online contact, harassment and having fake online profiles created of them. </p>
<p>About one-quarter of youth who reported being sextorted also reported being threatened with having their pictures publicly posted or sent to others without their consent.</p>
<p>When children and adolescents are targets of sextortion, they may experience intense fear and/or shame in speaking with their parents and caregivers about what has happened, and may be less aware of resources or supports they can turn to for help.</p>
<h2>Boys are more likely to experience sextortion</h2>
<p>While girls are more likely to experience sexual assault and have their images shared without their consent, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063218800469">boys are more likely to experience sextortion</a>. It is estimated that victims in <a href="https://cybertip.ca/en/online-harms/sextortion/">91 per cent of reported sextortion</a> cases are boys. According to <a href="https://annualreport2022.iwf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IWF-Annual-Report-2022_FINAL.pdf">a report</a> by the Internet Watch Foundation, boys often mistakenly believe they are engaged in a mutual exchange of sexual images, which then results in sexual extortion for financial gain. </p>
<p>In addition to being victimized in sextortion cases, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063218800469">boys are less likely than girls to disclose victimization to a parent or authority figure</a>. This may stem from feeling persistent shame and stigma in being victims of sexual abuse. Societal expectations of boys are often to demonstrate strength and courage, which can create challenges in openly acknowledging and/or sharing when they are vulnerable or in distress. </p>
<p>Cognitively, adolescent males are more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2011.06.007">susceptible to impulsivity and risky behaviour</a> than girls, and are therefore more likely to risk sharing photos that are later used as blackmail.</p>
<h2>Talking to children about sexual health and digital safety</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man with his arm around a teen, outdoors" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562834/original/file-20231130-29-c4v473.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Approach the conversation in different ways, like going for a walk with your child.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Educating children about online safety involves fostering their understanding of <a href="https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/topic/privacy-and-security">digital risks</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship">digital citizenship</a> — how to be safe, legal and ethical online. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Have conversations with your children about sex, consent and online activities and safety, early and often. You can vary the content based on the child’s age and developmental stage. For example, with younger children you may start having conversations about consent, sex, and online risks in general terms, and then when they enter the tween years, these conversations can be elaborated to include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5314">sexting</a>, sextortion and other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.03.012">online risks</a>. When conversations start early in children’s development, they are often less awkward during adolescence because it’s familiar for you and your child to be talking about these topics. </p></li>
<li><p>Approach your child with openness and a willingness to understand. It is developmentally normal for adolescents to be curious about sexuality, and among older adolescents, to engage in sexual relationships. It is also a function of an adolescent’s developing brain that decisions are not always made with long-term consequences in mind. As such, it is important to approach conversations about sex and online behaviours without judgement, blame or overreaction. Responses such as “What were you thinking?” or “How could you do something like this?” could increase shame and reduce the likelihood they will come to you in the future.</p></li>
<li><p>Find out what they know already. Conversations about online risks such as sextortion are understandably difficult topics to broach with your child. You can start by asking your child questions about what they know. “Have you heard of sexting or sextortion?” “Tell me what you think it is?” Alter the conversation based on their response. During these conversations, reinforce the idea that not everyone is who they say they are online. Suggest that the only friends they should have online are the ones they know in real life.</p></li>
<li><p>Generate “what if” scenarios. Spend some time with your child discussing how to deal with difficult situations online, which they are very likely to encounter at some point in their youth. We recommend generating “what if” scenarios with them. “What if I send this picture and the person I send it to threatens to share it with others? Who could I turn to for help?” Also, before posting or sending any photo or video clip online, teach children to ask themselves, “Is it illegal, harmful or hurtful, or does this put my personal information at risk?”</p></li>
<li><p>Stay involved in your child’s internet and smartphone use, which includes knowing who their friends are on and offline and what social media apps and websites they’re using. Set boundaries with your children about what websites they can visit, what social media apps they can use and what they can safely share online. If they are struggling to follow through on these limits, you can use content blockers to restrict access to mature content and set boundaries for internet and device use. This resource provides a helpful guide for <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/parents-ultimate-guide-to-parental-controls">implementing parent controls</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Try different strategies. If your child squirms and disengages every time you bring up sex, sextortion or online risks, don’t be discouraged; these conversations are hard for everyone! You can try approaching the conversation in different ways. For example, you can go out for a walk with your child and initiate this conversation. Some children feel more at ease talking about difficult topics when they aren’t sitting face-to-face with an adult. Another strategy is to try humour to get the conversation started. A public health campaign called “<a href="https://dontgetsextorted.ca/">Don’t Get Sextorted</a>” has an educational video targeted to adolescent boys. Parents could play this lighthearted video, laugh with their child and use it as a catalyst to further conversations.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HHYubxZlTe0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Don’t Get Sextorted uses a humorous approach to educating boys about online threats.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Guidance that children receive from parents or a trusted adult about online risks is crucial for shaping their online — and offline — behaviours and decision-making. Let’s get talking to our kids about their digital safety! </p>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<p>Resources for parents who want to learn more about keeping their kids safe online include <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/">Common Sense Media</a> and <a href="https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en">Get Cyber Safe</a>.</p>
<p>Parents or teens concerned about videos and images being distributed without their consent, or who are experiencing sextortion, should report their concerns immediately to local police. In Canada, they can also consult <a href="https://needhelpnow.ca/app/en/">needhelpnow.ca</a> and send a report to <a href="https://www.cybertip.ca/app/en/report">cybertip.ca</a>. In the U.S., they can consult <a href="https://www.stopbullying.gov/">stopbullying.org</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218883/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Camille Mori received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and currently receives funding through the University of Calgary graduate awards. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheri Madigan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, an anonymous donor, and the Canada Research Chairs program.</span></em></p>The tragic case of a 12-year-old boy who experienced sextortion highlights the importance of practical advice for parents on having conversations about sex, sextortion and healthy device habits.Camille Mori, PhD student in Clinical Psychology, University of CalgarySheri Madigan, Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2132112023-11-27T13:40:22Z2023-11-27T13:40:22ZWhy are bullies so mean? A youth psychology expert explains what’s behind their harmful behavior<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555404/original/file-20231023-19-fns0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C6781%2C3574&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Spreading rumors about others is one form of bullying.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-sad-teenage-girl-feeling-lonely-and-excluded-royalty-free-image/1413738081?phrase=bullying+school&adppopup=true">LumiNola/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why are bullies so mean? – Daisy, age 9, Lake Oswego, Oregon</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Being bullied can make your life miserable, and decades of research prove it: Bullied children and teens <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2016.1148988">are at risk</a> for anxiety, depression, dropping out of school, peer rejection, social isolation and self-harm.</p>
<p>Adults can be bullied too, often at a job, and they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101508">may suffer just as much</a> as kids do. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iFlrCuSyhvU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">You can help stop bullying in your school or workplace.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.cehd.udel.edu/faculty-bio/sara-goldstein/">I’m a professor</a> who studies child and adolescent development. That includes learning how people become bullies – and how they can be stopped. </p>
<p>First, let’s <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2015-20405-003.pdf">define what bullying is</a>: It’s mean-spirited, harmful behavior by someone with more power or status – like a popular kid at school or a supervisor at work – who repeatedly picks on, harasses, irritates or injures a person with less power or status. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13134-9_3">Bullying can take many forms</a> – physical, like pushing, shoving and hitting; relational, such as spreading rumors, keeping somebody out of a friend group or just rude remarks; or sexual harassment and stalking behavior. </p>
<p>Sometimes, bullies target someone because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or appearance. People from the LGBTQ+ community, or who are overweight, or with a physical or developmental disability are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2018.02.001">more likely to be bullied</a>. As a result, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13134-9_3">may develop mental health problems</a>, including depression, anxiety and self-harming behavior.</p>
<h2>So why do bullies do it?</h2>
<p>People learn how to bully others early on through what psychologists call modeling and social learning. This means bullies see other people bullying and they essentially model, or copy, this aggressive behavior. </p>
<p>Media is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0166">a big culprit here</a>. When mean or violent conduct is glamorized and gamified in music, video games, TV and movies, bullies will imitate what they see and hear, especially if it seems cool or if it’s rewarded. </p>
<p>Family <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e31819cb017">is also an influence</a>. If children grow up in a home without kindness and closeness, but with plenty of physical punishment and heavy conflict – including parents fighting with each other – then children view this behavior as acceptable. They can go on to treat their peers this way. </p>
<p>A similar thing happens when a kid falls into a group of friends who are bullies; they become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457941900083X">more likely to bully others themselves</a>. To say it another way, they bully because they think it makes them look cool in front of their friends.</p>
<p>And bullies bully for <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bullying#:%7E">lots of other reasons</a>. Some do it because it makes them feel better about themselves when they put other people down. Other bullies discovered that force and intimidation worked for them in the past, so it’s a go-to strategy to get what they want. Still others simply have difficulty controlling themselves and can’t calm down when they’re angry. </p>
<p>And with some bullies, it’s just a way to get ahead. For instance, an adult bully in the workplace <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Bullying-and-Harassment-in-the-Workplace-Theory-Research-and-Practice/Einarsen-Hoel-Zapf-Cooper/p/book/9781138615991">may spread an embarrassing rumor</a> about a co-worker to keep a rival from being promoted. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Dealing with cyberbullies.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to handle bullies</h2>
<p>Fortunately, there are lots of ways to stop a bully.</p>
<p>If you’re a child or teenager, talk about what has happened with a trusted adult – a parent, teacher, principal or counselor. They will help you figure out your next move. Schools are familiar with this sort of problem; they have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13134-9_3">policies in place</a> to protect victims of bullying. </p>
<p>If you’re an adult who has been bullied in the workplace, talk to your human resources department or a neutral supervisor who can advise you on next steps. You are also legally protected – employment laws <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment">prohibit harassment and discriminatory behavior</a>. </p>
<p>Whatever your age, it’s a good idea to talk to friends or family members who may not be involved in the incident but who will offer support. Engaging in coping activities – like exercising, or relaxing with a walk – <a href="https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2019-4-2">may also help</a>. </p>
<p>You can also use the <a href="https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/bullying/#bullying-and-suicide-8">Crisis Text Line</a>, available 24/7, by texting 741741. Or call the <a href="https://www.cybersmile.org/advice-help/category/who-to-call">Stop Bullying Now Hotline</a> at 1-800-273-8255; the link also provides international numbers. Or call 988 to reach the national <a href="https://988lifeline.org/">Suicide & Crisis Lifeline</a>.</p>
<p>And a final word: Bullying is not acceptable. It’s not just “kids being kids,” or that you’re “too sensitive.” If a bully is bothering you, don’t try to handle it alone – getting help is the way to get through.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213211/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Goldstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>No matter your age, if you’re being bullied − there’s help out there.Sara Goldstein, Professor of Human Development, University of DelawareLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2150742023-11-02T19:13:32Z2023-11-02T19:13:32ZI was a geriatrician on Old People’s Home for Teenagers. Here’s why I joined this TV experiment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555958/original/file-20231025-23-112he5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6884%2C4565&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EndemolShine Australia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people will have heard about “intergenerational practice” via the TV.</p>
<p>This is the purposeful <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11254">bringing together</a> of different generations, aiming to benefit all involved. It’s the idea central to ABC TV’s <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-teenagers">Old People’s Home for Teenagers</a>, and its predecessor <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-4-year-olds">Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds</a>. Both show the positive aspects of mixing age groups, for the older people featured, as well as the teenagers or preschoolers.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://anzsgm.org/publicinformation/">geriatrician</a>, a doctor who specialises in the medical care of older people, one of two geriatricians who took part in this TV experiment. Here’s why I got involved.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-people-get-old-190142">Curious Kids: why do people get old?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The benefits of mixing it up</h2>
<p>The positive aspects of mixing age groups may seem intuitive. Just think of how special it can be when grandparents spend time with their grandchildren. When older and younger people are together, each <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajag.12761">can share</a> their experiences and perspectives. Meaningful connections can develop.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Addison talking with Annalise during filming" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555960/original/file-20231025-19-dsc0zw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meaningful connections can develop, such as between teenager Addison and Annalise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EndemolShine Australia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But in Australia today, many older people have no such opportunities. Multi-generational households are the exception, not the norm. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australians/contents/housing-and-living-arrangements">One quarter</a> of people aged 65 and over living in private homes live alone. <a href="https://www.propertycouncil.com.au/media-releases/retirement-villages-approaching-capacity-where-will-our-seniors-live-2">Nearly 200,000</a> live in retirement villages and <a href="https://www.gen-agedcaredata.gov.au/www_aihwgen/media/2021-22-GEN-Topic-Updates/People%20using%20aged%20care/People-using-aged-care-fact-sheet_2022.pdf">around the same number</a> live in residential aged care. Both of the latter, by definition, accommodate only a single generation. </p>
<p>Intergenerational programs overcome these barriers by creating a <a href="https://shop.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/product/rip2101/">structured and supported</a> forum in which two age groups can regularly connect. </p>
<p>These programs can involve <a href="https://www.metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/news/grandfriends-reduces-loneliness-isolation">different populations</a>: from toddlers through to university students, from independent, active retirees through to aged care residents and hospital patients.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-project-shows-combining-childcare-and-aged-care-has-social-and-economic-benefits-99837">A new project shows combining childcare and aged care has social and economic benefits</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Programs can take several forms, for example:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>playgroups are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1476718X211059662">conducted in</a> aged care facilities</p></li>
<li><p>childcare and aged care facilities are <a href="https://agedcarenews.com.au/2022/06/21/the-herd-proudly-blazing-a-trail-for-the-future-of-intergenerational-care-and-learning/">in the same location</a></p></li>
<li><p>older volunteers in the community take part in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-03/ophft-making-connections-in-your-community/102908402">formal mentorship programs</a> for young adults.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33567363/">common aim</a> is to improve wellbeing, restore purpose, and bring joy to older participants, while helping to develop social skills, confidence and empathy in young people. These programs can potentially also address <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/ageism#tab=tab_1">ageism</a>, by creating understanding and empathy for each generation and by challenging negative stereotypes. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-dressing-up-as-older-people-is-harmless-fun-right-no-its-ageist-whatever-bluey-says-212607">Kids dressing up as older people is harmless fun, right? No, it's ageist, whatever Bluey says</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>There are challenges ahead</h2>
<p>There are wide-ranging challenges ageing may throw at us – an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21925398/">increased burden</a> of chronic disease and frailty, a decline in physical and cognitive abilities, or changes in hearing, vision and balance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Maz with walker, taking a puppy for a walk, Ayden holds out hand to puppy" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555961/original/file-20231025-15-xonqpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The program encouraged both young people, such as Ayden, and older people, such as Maz, to be more active.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EndemolShine Australia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/steep-physical-decline-with-age-is-not-inevitable-heres-how-strength-training-can-change-the-trajectory-213131">Steep physical decline with age is not inevitable – here's how strength training can change the trajectory</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Changes in occupational and social roles often also occur as we get older, for instance, as older people retire from paid work or care for a sick partner. Conversely, older people may lose their role as caregivers, after grandchildren grow up, or after the loss of a loved one. </p>
<p>All these ageing-related changes can lead to a loss of social connection and <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-tell-everyone-i-love-being-on-my-own-but-i-hate-it-what-older-australians-want-you-to-know-about-loneliness-166109">loneliness</a>. Loneliness itself is bad for health. Loneliness <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41572-022-00355-9">increases risks</a> for depression, cardiovascular disease, dementia and may even lead to a shorter life span. Reducing loneliness in older adults remains a challenge.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-tell-everyone-i-love-being-on-my-own-but-i-hate-it-what-older-australians-want-you-to-know-about-loneliness-166109">'I tell everyone I love being on my own, but I hate it': what older Australians want you to know about loneliness</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How I got involved</h2>
<p>So when a chance to become involved in Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, I eagerly jumped on board. This featured an experimental intergenerational preschool. Young and old took part in a series of structured and supported activities such as playing dress-ups, going on walks and having a sports carnival.</p>
<p>At the time, intergenerational programs were far from mainstream, especially in Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Annelise and Alix walking outside on grass, trees in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555962/original/file-20231025-29-yvrjxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Annelise said she was lonely at the start of the series, but formed a bond with teenager Amelie.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EndemolShine Australia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I joined the TV program with a panel of experts including a physiotherapist and psychologist. </p>
<p>We screened the older adults at the start of the experiment for issues such as <a href="https://dementiaresearch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/geriatric_depression_scale_short.pdf">depression</a>, and assessed signs of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/56/3/M146/545770?login=false">physical frailty</a> including speed of walking, muscle strength and activity levels. We then assessed them again after six weeks.</p>
<p>While we were cautiously hopeful, the overall improvements were better than anticipated, and some of the individual transformations were extraordinary. </p>
<p>For instance, three of four participants who originally screened positive for depression had scores in the normal range by the end of the program. For one woman in her 80s her score improved by eight points on a 15-point scale. Improvements in fitness levels across the group were impressive too.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Dale and Abi outside, standing on grass, trees in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555963/original/file-20231025-15-d2fqb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dale was concerned about how her visual impairment affected her day-to-day life, but soon connected with Abi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EndemolShine Australia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since then, the series has evolved to involve differing populations: from residents of aged care facilities and retirement villages, to older adults living in the community, and from preschoolers to teenagers.</p>
<p>Each program has been adapted to the needs of each group involved. At times, we have focused on a particular issue, such as loneliness, depression, concerns about memory, physical frailty and falls.</p>
<p>But in each we have continued to see benefits for both age groups, in line with what a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163721001471">growing evidence base</a> is telling us about the potential benefits of such programs. </p>
<p>This is perhaps even more so in the Old People’s Home for Teenagers series, with the second season currently on air. The teenage participants are articulate in describing how truly valuable it is for younger people to spend enriched time with older mentors. Their confidence increases, they take on new challenges, and new meaningful connections develop, many of which continue to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-01/old-peoples-home-for-teens-ongoing-intergenerational-friendships/102885166">enrich lives</a> long after the cameras stop rolling.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-think-my-teen-is-depressed-how-can-i-get-them-help-and-what-are-the-treatment-options-206702">I think my teen is depressed. How can I get them help and what are the treatment options?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>No-one is pretending such intergenerational programs are going to end loneliness for all older people, or can remove all the challenges they may face later in life. And equally, people do not need to be lonely, frail or isolated to participate.</p>
<p>Alongside the TV programs, there has been an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/backstory/2023-10-03/old-peoples-home-4-year-olds-impact-and-success/102868168">upswing</a> in community interest in intergenerational practice, from researchers to educators to aged care providers, to hospitals/health services and schools. </p>
<p>We need continued investment into workforce training, support for such programs to develop, and robust evaluation of each program to ensure they meet the goals of all the stakeholders involved – especially those of the participants themselves. </p>
<p>The “Old People’s Home” model did not invent the concept of intergenerational programs. Nor are the models of practice used in each series the only way intergenerational programs must run. But they do demonstrate what intergenerational programs could achieve. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Learn more about <a href="https://aiip.net.au/resources/">intergenerational programs</a> in Australia and find one <a href="https://aiip.net.au/about-us/intergenerational-programs-in-australia">near you</a>. If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215074/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Ward has received some financial compensation for her time spent involved in the Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds/ Teenagers series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission and EndemolShine Australia. She has previously been a recipient of a research training stipend for a PhD on sleep apnoea and dementia risk. She is a chief investigator on several studies that have received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Medical Research Future Fund. Stephanie Ward is also a geriatrician at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney.</span></em></p>Could teenagers get on with older people and vice versa? Turned out, they could. And both flourished.Stephanie Ward, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2101182023-10-23T12:24:57Z2023-10-23T12:24:57ZHow much time do kids spend on devices – playing games, watching videos, texting and using the phone?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544091/original/file-20230822-5267-868e99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C10%2C6699%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Today, nearly all U.S. teens have a smartphone.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-boy-using-smartphone-at-home-royalty-free-image/1218225082?phrase=teen+on+social+media+looking+unhappy&adppopup=true">MoMo Productions/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How many hours does the average American spend on devices each year? – Maxwell P., age 10</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Think about your favorite devices – your smartphone, laptop, tablet, computer or console – the things you use to play cool games, watch hilarious videos and connect and chat with friends. </p>
<p>Many young people spend a lot of free time looking at them. Turns out that teens spend an average of <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-2021">8½ hours on screens per day</a>, and tweens – that’s ages 8 to 12 – are not far behind, at 5½ hours daily.</p>
<p>Keep in mind those numbers are for only social media, gaming and texting. They do not include the time that kids <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/cover-kids-screens">used screens for schoolwork or homework</a>.</p>
<p>What’s more, much of the time taken up by social media and texting is apparently not even enjoyable, much less productive. A 2017 study of teens ages 13 to 18 suggests they spend most of those hours on the phone <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/">in their bedroom, alone and distressed</a>. </p>
<p>These lonely feelings correlate with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407519836170">rise in the use of digital media</a>. In 2022, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/">95% of teens had smartphones</a> compared with only 23% in 2011. And 46% of today’s teens say they use the internet almost constantly, compared with 24% of teenagers who said the same in 2014 and 2015. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.med.wayne.edu/profile/aa3409">Our team of psychiatrists</a> who treat young people with digital addiction have many patients who spend over 40 hours per week on screens – and some, up to 80 hours. </p>
<p>Think about it: If you spend “just” an average of 50 hours per week on devices from ages 13 to 18 – the total time you will spend on screens equates to more than 12 years of school!</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wl-TJyPKu_s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. surgeon general says too much screen time can increase anxiety and depression in teens and tweens.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Find the right balance</h2>
<p>All this is not to say that everything about devices is bad. In this digital age, people embark on exciting journeys through the screens of their devices. Sometimes, screens are the windows to a magical adventure. </p>
<p>But too much screen time can lead to problems. As human beings, we function best when we’re in a state of balance. That happens when we eat well, exercise regularly and get enough sleep.</p>
<p>But spending too much time using digital devices can cause changes in the way you think and behave. Many teens and tweens developed the “fear of missing out” – <a href="https://saferkidsonline.eset.com/sg/article/5-tips-for-combating-fomo">known as FOMO</a>. And one study shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020580">some people develop nomophobia</a>, which is the fear of being without your phone, or feeling anxious when you can’t use it. </p>
<p>Moreover, digital addiction in high school may predict serious <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/children10010086">depression, anxiety and sleep disruption</a> in college. </p>
<p>Rates of depression and anxiety <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.11.015">are skyrocketing among college students</a>. The fear of missing out is pervasive, resulting in sleep disruption; too many college students <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159693">sleep with smartphones turned on</a> and near their bed – and wake up to respond to texts and notifications during the night. Sleep disruption itself is a core symptom of <a href="https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2008.10.3/dnutt">both depression and anxiety</a>. </p>
<h2>How to avoid device addiction</h2>
<p>A 2016 poll indicated that half of teens felt they were <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/new-report-finds-teens-feel-addicted-to-their-phones-causing-tension-at-home">addicted to their mobile devices</a>. </p>
<p>Getting hooked on screens means missing out on healthy activities. To achieve a better balance, <a href="https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-Watching-TV-054.aspx">some experts recommend the following</a>: Turn off all screens during family meals and outings. Don’t complain when your parents use parental controls. And turn off all the screens in your bedroom 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime – this step will improve sleep. </p>
<p>You may be a “<a href="https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/are-video-games-and-screens-another-addiction#:%7E">screen addict</a>” if you: </p>
<ul>
<li>Feel uneasy or grumpy when you can’t use your device.</li>
<li>Don’t take breaks while spending hours on your device.</li>
<li>Ignore other fun activities you enjoy, like going outside or reading a book.</li>
<li>Have trouble sleeping, or falling asleep, because your screen time is too close to bedtime.</li>
<li>Experience eye, lower back and neck strain.</li>
<li>Struggle with weight gain or obesity because you’re inactive.</li>
<li>Have difficulty with real-life, face-to-face social interactions.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you notice these signs, do not dismiss them. But also realize you’re not alone and help is out there. You can find balance again.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e1ezeq3C9c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A kid breaks his addiction to gaming and social media.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A healthy approach</h2>
<p>Exercise – riding a bike, playing sports, lifting weights or going for a jog or walk – <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-exercise-pill-how-exercise-keeps-your-brain-healthy-%20and-protects-it-against-depression-and-anxiety-155848">keeps your brain healthy</a> and protects it against depression and anxiety, as well as limiting your screen time.</p>
<p>Another way to be happier and healthier is to spend time with people – face to face, not via a screen. Seeing people live and in person is the <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/">best way to bond with others</a>, and it may be even better for life span than exercise. </p>
<p>Creative hobbies are good, too. Cooking, playing an instrument, dancing, any arts and crafts, and thousands of other fun things make people happier and more creative. What’s more, hobbies make you well rounded <a href="https://fordhamram.com/2023/04/19/learn-how-to-meet-people-with-social-hobbies#:%7E">and more attractive to others</a> – which leads to more face-to-face interactions. </p>
<p>It’s also critical for parents to practice healthy screen habits. But about one-third of adults <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/03/26/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-say-they-are-almost-constantly-online/">say they use screens “constantly</a>.” This is not exactly a great example for kids; when adults take responsibility to minimize their own screen time, the whole family gets better.</p>
<p>Our research team used magnetic resonance imaging, <a href="https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/mri.html#:%7E">also known as MRI</a>, to scan the brains of teens who had digital addiction. We found impairment in the brain’s decision-making, processing and reward centers. But after a digital fast – meaning the addicted teens unplugged for two weeks – those brain abnormalities reversed, and the damage was undone. </p>
<p>Our findings also showed that kids with a desire to overcome digital addiction did better with a digital fast than those who were less willing or who denied their addiction. </p>
<p>A balanced lifestyle in the digital age is all about finding joy in screenless activities – being active, connecting with others and exploring your offline interests.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210118/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rosenberg receives funding from the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation, Detroit, MI, and a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH59299). This work was also supported in part by the State of Michigan Lycaki Young Fund and the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalia Szura does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Up to 50% of US teens feel they are addicted to their devices. But help is out there.David Rosenberg, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wayne State UniversityNatalia Szura, Research Assistant in Psychiatry, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125372023-10-23T01:08:42Z2023-10-23T01:08:42ZKids escaping family violence can be vulnerable to intimate partner abuse. We must break the vicious cycle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553939/original/file-20231016-27-fl2v6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=25%2C19%2C4255%2C2824&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-covering-her-face-fear-domestic-563105572">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Warning: this article includes graphic descriptions of violence.</em></p>
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<p>Nearly <a href="https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Ending_unaccompanied_child_homelessness_in_Australia/23306117">13,000 Australian children aged 10 to 17</a> sought help alone from specialist homeless services last year. Many of these young people will have <a href="https://www.mcm.org.au/-/media/mcm/content-repository-files/amplify_turning-up-the-volume-on-young-people-and-family-violence.pdf">escaped family violence</a> and then been <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">endangered by abusive partners</a>. </p>
<p>Our respective research tackles this emotionally tough terrain head on, speaking with <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">teens experiencing intimate partner violence</a> and children under 18 who experience <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/unaccompanied-homeless-children-in-tasmania/">homelessness</a> and are not accompanied by a parent or guardian.</p>
<p>Children and young people have told us about having nowhere safe to live, feeling invisible to government and being harmed. Their stories show Australia’s adolescent service system is frighteningly out of step with their needs.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-child-protection-system-is-clearly-broken-is-it-time-to-abolish-it-for-a-better-model-200716">Our child protection system is clearly broken. Is it time to abolish it for a better model?</a>
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<h2>The reality of vulnerable teens’ lives</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.acms.au/">Australian Child Maltreatment Study</a> reported it findings this year from surveying 8,500 Australians aged 16 and over. It <a href="https://theconversation.com/major-study-reveals-two-thirds-of-people-who-suffer-childhood-maltreatment-suffer-more-than-one-kind-202033">found</a> 28.5% had experienced sexual abuse, 30.9% emotional abuse, 32.0% physical abuse and 39.6% exposure to domestic violence.</p>
<p>For unaccompanied homeless children and young people <a href="https://blogs.qut.edu.au/crime-and-justice-research-centre/files/2022/08/Briefing-Paper-FINAL-online-version.pdf">exposure to domestic violence</a> is even greater. <a href="https://www.csi.edu.au/research/the-cost-of-youth-homelessness-in-australia/">Australian research</a> shows 90% of homeless children and young people witness family violence at home, more than half leave home to escape parental or guardian domestic violence. Some 15% leave home more than 10 times due to violence. </p>
<p>Escaping family violence is a frequent precursor to unaccompanied child homelessness. </p>
<p>As part of research into unaccompanied child homelessness and mental ill-health in Tasmania, Viviana, aged 17, told <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/better-bigger-stronger/">a common story</a>. She escaped family violence only to experience violent and abusive relationships and cycles of homelessness:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mum kicked me out of home over a pair of school shoes […] she was being very violent, very aggressive […] her partner […] he ended up being quite aggressive and violent […] So I moved in with [my boyfriend’s] family and then things happened with me and that bloke a year later […] And so that’s when I ended up being homeless for a bit.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Homeless children and young people who do not have a reliable parent or guardian are highly vulnerable. The severity of violence in subsequent relationships they may come to rely on is extreme. Elise was 13 when she met David, who was three years older. During their nine-year relationship, her life was endangered repeatedly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He rammed me into the wall, grabbed me by the throat, choked me […] I remember he picked up the couch and smashed it up through the wall […] Smashed up the whole place, carried on, told me, ‘You want to fucking leave because I’m going to come back, I’m going to fucking shoot you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lilly was 14 when she met Jase, who was three years older. Being homeless and sleeping rough meant she couldn’t escape his violence and abuse: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can’t even remember how many black eyes I had from him […] I’ve got a scar there […] where he’s cut my arm open with a knife, trying to kill me. And there was nothing I could do. I was homeless, so I couldn’t get away from him, because he just knew where I’d be.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Children and young people who <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/unaccompanied-homeless-children-in-tasmania/">experience homelessness</a> and repeated <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger">cyles of violence</a> talk about persistent <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/422436">suicidality</a>, mental illness, abortion, miscarriage and substance use as common features of their lives. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="young person stands in underpass with graffiti on wall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553941/original/file-20231016-20-my1l6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young people fleeing family violence can get trapped in a cycle of abuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/loneliness-262222313">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/major-study-reveals-two-thirds-of-people-who-suffer-childhood-maltreatment-suffer-more-than-one-kind-202033">Major study reveals two-thirds of people who suffer childhood maltreatment suffer more than one kind</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Mismatched responses</h2>
<p>A lack of supported accommodation options for teens <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30075-X/fulltext">places girls in particular</a> in highly vulnerable positions. Unable to access safe spaces, <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">they become trapped</a> in violent and abusive relationships. </p>
<p>They are being failed by systems that do not adequately recognise and engage with child and youth specific domestic violence and homelessness. Children and young people describe accessing support services that dangerously misread the risks they encounter. </p>
<p>Katie described systemic failure she faced at age 15. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I tried to get Centrelink [benefits] and they refused me and I told them my situation. I said, 'Well, like, I have no family, I have no money. I’m at risk of homelessness’ and all they gave me was a Kids’ Helpline number […] The system failed me, actually, and the only thing that they could do for me to get money is get Tom [her abusive partner] to claim Family Tax Benefits. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Viviana – who had escaped sexual abuse at home – described how she felt her ongoing risks were missed in counselling and therapy targeted to children in both school and state child and adolescent mental health services. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>They weren’t actually giving us like, I guess, adult solutions for the adult problems we did actually have, even though we shouldn’t have had them, we were only kids. And we sat down watching Lego videos on how to deal with depression and stuff like that. And I was like, this ain’t going to do shit for me.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Meeting them where they are</h2>
<p>The mismatch between the reality of children’s lives and the availability of systems and services to support them is stark. Children’s efforts to remove themselves from harm may be characterised by overstretched systems as <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/research/too-hard/">proof of their “independence”</a>. </p>
<p>What they need are standalone responses that address the extremities of their need. Yet neither national <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing/developing-the-national-housing-and-homelessness-plan">homelessness</a> or <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">domestic violence</a> policies are yet to acknowledge the relationship of domestic violence and homelessness in the lives of children and young people. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-we-see-you-why-a-national-plan-for-homelessness-must-make-thousands-of-children-on-their-own-a-priority-200918">Yes, we see you. Why a national plan for homelessness must make thousands of children on their own a priority</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>State and federal governments can begin to fix the cracks in the system by ensuring all agencies are held accountable for upholding the rights of children outlined by the <a href="https://www.unicef.org.au/united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child">United Nations convention</a> – especially of those without family they can rely on.</p>
<p>There are positive advances underway in <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-cabinet-keep-delivering-victorians">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/site_resources_2015/additional_releases/department_structures_to_strengthen_tasmanian_outcomes">Tasmania</a> to break the silo of child protection and re-build child and adolescent service systems with prevention and early intervention at their core. </p>
<p>A collaborative, integrated response that recognises the complexity and reality of children and young people’s lives including their independent housing, health, and safety needs is critical. This will only happen when we grow up and acknowledge children have adult problems too.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>For information and advice about family and intimate partner violence contact <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/">1800 RESPECT</a> (1800 737 732). If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact 000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmel Hobbs is affiliated with the Youth Network of Tasmania (YNOT) as Secretary of the Board.
This article includes reference to research funded by Anglicare Tasmania and conducted by Carmel in her role as a social researcher for Anglicare Tasmania's Social Action and Research Centre. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Robinson receives funding from Australian Research Council and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Catherine is a non-executive board director of Homelessness Australia and the Youth Network of Tasmania. This article includes reference to research funded by Anglicare Tasmania and conducted by Catherine in her role as a social researcher for Anglicare Tasmania's Social Action and Research Centre.</span></em></p>Some children and young people escape family violence, only to find themselves alone, homeless and in violent relationships. How can we support and protect these vulnerable adolescents?Carmel Hobbs, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of TasmaniaCatherine Robinson, Associate Professor in Housing and Communities, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044502023-09-22T12:29:40Z2023-09-22T12:29:40Z4 reasons teens take part in social media challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541835/original/file-20230809-15-old50p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young people often participate in a challenge to feel included among peers who have already done it.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/twin-sisters-using-mobile-phone-on-bedroom-at-home-royalty-free-image/1487171490">Frazao Studio Latino/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/4-razones-por-las-que-los-adolescentes-participan-en-retos-en-las-redes-sociales-216882"><em>Leer en español.</em></a> </p>
<p>Social media challenges are wide-ranging – both in the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/09/14-year-old-dies-after-trying-the-paqui-one-chip-challenge/?sh=7755dc1e4a87">stunts they involve</a> and the <a href="https://www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als">reasons why people do them</a>. </p>
<p>But why do young people take up challenges that pose a threat to health, well-being and, occasionally, their very lives?</p>
<p>We are an engineering professor who specializes in understanding <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OhgYMhYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">how humans interact with computers</a> and a psychology professor with expertise in mental health, specifically <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vnd69CIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">traumatic stress and suicide</a>.</p>
<p>Together with our research team, we conducted a series of studies to try to understand what motivates teens and young adults to participate in different challenges.</p>
<p>For these studies, from January 2019 to January 2020, we interviewed dozens of high school and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100014">college students</a> in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">the United States</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100005">south India</a> who had participated in social media challenges. We also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3392831">analyzed 150 news reports</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/15973">60 public YouTube videos</a>, over a thousand comments on those YouTube videos, and 150 Twitter posts – all of which were specifically about the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-46505722">blue whale challenge</a>. This challenge, popularized in 2015 and 2016, was reported to involve progressively risky acts of self-harm that culminate in suicide.</p>
<p>We identified four key factors that motivate young people to participate in a challenge: social pressure, the desire for attention, entertainment value and a phenomenon called the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202250670">contagion effect</a>. </p>
<h2>1. Social pressure</h2>
<p>Social pressure typically comes when a friend encourages another friend to do something, and the person believes they will achieve acceptance within a particular social group if they do it. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">We found that participation</a> in challenges that promote a good cause, such as the ice bucket challenge, often resulted from direct encouragement. Ice bucket challenge participants, for example, would complete the challenge and then publicly nominate others to do the same.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, young adults who engaged in riskier challenges primarily wanted to feel included in a group that had already participated in such a challenge. This was true for the <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/d75enx/this-woman-is-trying-to-end-the-cinnamon-challenge-after-her-sons-death">cinnamon challenge</a>, where participants rapidly consumed cinnamon and sometimes experienced lung damage and infection. For example, 38% of research participants who engaged in the cinnamon challenge acknowledged that they were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">seeking peer acceptance</a>, rather than being directly encouraged to participate. </p>
<p>“I think I did it because everyone I was going to school with did it at the time,” said one student who saw the challenge as popular among their peers. “And I figured there has to be something about it if everyone was doing it.” </p>
<h2>2. Seeking attention</h2>
<p>A form of attention-seeking behavior exclusive to participants of the ice bucket challenge was a wish to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">recognized for supporting a commendable cause</a>.</p>
<p>However, the attention-seeking behavior we observed among teens and young adults often led to participants innovating a more hazardous version of a challenge. This included enduring the associated risks longer than others. </p>
<p>For example, one participant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">in the cinnamon challenge</a> swallowed powdered cinnamon for a period longer than their peers. “It was definitely peers, and like I said, you know, the attention,” they said. “Seeing other friends posting videos and who could do the challenge longer.”</p>
<h2>3. Entertainment</h2>
<p>Many young adults participated in these challenges for amusement and curiosity. Some were intrigued by the potential reactions from people who witnessed their performance.</p>
<p>“It seemed like fun, and I personally liked the artist who sings the song,” said one participant about the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/31/arrests-fines-and-injuries-the-in-my-feelings-challenge-has-gone-global-with-dangerous-results/">Kiki challenge</a>. The challenge involves dancing next to a moving car after stepping out of it to Drake’s song “In My Feelings.”</p>
<p>Others were interested in experiencing the sensations associated with executing the challenge. They wondered if their responses would mirror the other individuals they had observed doing it.</p>
<p>One participant said it was “mostly curiosity” that motivated them to do the cinnamon challenge: “Just because, seeing other people’s reactions, I kind of wanted to see if I would have the same reaction.”</p>
<h2>4. Contagion effect</h2>
<p>Challenges, even those that are seemingly benign, can spread quickly across social media. This is due to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202250670">contagion effect</a>, where behaviors, attitudes and ideas spread from person to person. How content creators depict these challenges on digital media platforms also contributes to the contagion effect by encouraging others to participate. </p>
<p>After analyzing digital media content <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/15973">related to the blue whale challenge</a>, we found YouTube videos about this challenge often violated the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s nine <a href="https://reportingonsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/ROS-One-PagerUpdated2022.pdf">messaging guidelines</a>. This means the posts exhibited risk factors for promoting contagion of harmful behaviors.</p>
<p>Specifically, of the 60 YouTube videos we analyzed regarding the blue whale challenge, 37% adhered to fewer than three guidelines, categorizing them as primarily unsafe. The most commonly violated guidelines involved failure to avoid detailed or glorified portrayals of suicide and its victims, to describe help-seeking resources, and to emphasize effective mental health treatments.</p>
<p>Our research also explored how participants viewed challenges after doing them. Half of those who engaged in a risky challenge indicated that if they had understood the physical danger or potential risk to their social image, they might have opted not to do the challenge.</p>
<p>“I would not have done the cinnamon challenge if [I had known that] someone ended up in a hospital performing it,” one respondent told us.</p>
<p>Based on our research, we believe that if more information about the potential risks of social media challenges was offered to students in schools, communicated to parents and shared on social media, it could help teens and young adults reflect and make informed decisions – and deter them from participating.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204450/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kapil Chalil Madathil receives funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Zinzow receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.</span></em></p>Peer pressure, amusement and the desire for attention help explain why young people participate in risky social media challenges.Kapil Chalil Madathil, Wilfred P. Tiencken Professor of Industrial and Civil Engineering, Clemson UniversityHeidi Zinzow, Professor of Psychology, Clemson UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125362023-09-10T20:05:52Z2023-09-10T20:05:52Z7 red flags your teen might be in an abusive relationship – and 6 signs it’s escalating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547111/original/file-20230908-17-c5ry5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C34%2C5716%2C3733&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/back-silhouette-couple-walking-holding-hands-256187347">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian teens need adults to help them recognise red flags for potentially abusive relationships.</p>
<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-australia-2019/contents/summary">estimates</a> 2.2 million adults have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence from a partner since the age of 15. Almost <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">one in three Australian teens</a> aged 18–19 report experiences of intimate partner violence in the previous year. </p>
<p>But physical, sexual, or psychological abuse in teen intimate relationships remains an invisible issue. The <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/ending-violence">First National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children</a> fails to mention it at all and
<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08861099221108381">Australia lacks</a> youth-specific domestic violence support services. </p>
<p>We know teens are experiencing intimate partner violence that is putting their lives in danger. But they are dependent on <a href="http://rcfv.archive.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/">informal networks</a> for assistance. Abuse can impact all parts of their lives and their age and stage of development make them even more vulnerable to its effects. </p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.anglicare-tas.org.au/young-in-love-and-in-danger/">interviewed</a> 17 young people about their experiences of teen intimate partner violence from when they were under 18. They wanted support and insight from the adults around them.</p>
<h2>‘I hadn’t experienced a proper relationship before’</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(19)30815-8/fulltext">Limited relationship experience</a> can prevent young people identifying red flags for intimate partner violence. Interviewee Elise said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a young teen, I hadn’t experienced a proper relationship before; I just kind of thought this is how it is.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While physical and sexual violence cross clear lines, <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/it-depends-on-what-the-definition-of-domestic-violence-is-how-young-people-conceptualise-domestic-violence-and-abuse/">Australian teens</a> report difficulty recognising more subtle forms of violence and control, such as emotional and technology-facilitated abuse. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-has-released-its-action-plans-to-end-violence-against-women-and-children-will-they-be-enough-211606">The government has released its action plans to end violence against women and children. Will they be enough?</a>
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<h2>7 red flags that can happen early</h2>
<p>Young people identified red flags in their past intimate relationships and described how difficult it was to see them in the moment. On their own these behaviours and actions may not be problematic. For example, spending lots of time together is a relatively normal part of a new intimate relationship.</p>
<p>But concern should arise when these behaviours become part of a pattern. They can become integrated into everyday life, making them difficult to recognise – and they can escalate over time. Here are some examples of red flags for teen intimate relationships that can begin a pattern of violence and abuse:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>being together all the time, using technology to monitor location when not together and a sense of always “being on call”</p></li>
<li><p>sharing passwords to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563219304315">social media accounts</a> or devices (or setting up shared profiles)</p></li>
<li><p>turning up unannounced or “as a surprise”</p></li>
<li><p>saying “I love you” very early in the relationship, talking about living together or having children. This is sometimes called “<a href="https://www.thehotline.org/resources/signs-of-love-bombing/">love bombing</a>”</p></li>
<li><p>showering with gifts and grand gestures</p></li>
<li><p>contacting someone’s friends or family to find out where they are</p></li>
<li><p>framing controlling behaviours as “care” or “concern”.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Young person Gina said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We had a joint Facebook [account], because I wasn’t allowed to really talk to people without him seeing it […] He had to have the password.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ingrid’s partner framed control as care:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He’d just perpetually check where I am, and then sometimes he’d just turn up […] He’d be like, ‘I’m just checking that you’re safe.’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If a teen begins to feel like their autonomy and freedom to make choices are being restricted, it is a clear cause for concern. Jamie said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I didn’t have contribution into simple things like what movie to watch.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sam felt like they had to spend time with their partner, even if they didn’t want to: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d spend hours […] just watching them play video games, because I didn’t feel like I could go and do something else […] And I hate video games.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-you-might-be-dating-a-vulnerable-narcissist-look-out-for-these-red-flags-205565">Think you might be dating a 'vulnerable narcissist'? Look out for these red flags</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>6 red flags that suggest escalation</h2>
<p>Increasingly problematic (but still difficult to see) behaviours include: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>framing the relationship as unique or fated, such as saying the partner is the only person who truly understands them and nobody else could ever “love you like I do” </p></li>
<li><p>isolating a partner by making it difficult for them to spend time with others </p></li>
<li><p>assuming sexual activity will happen because “they are in a relationship”</p></li>
<li><p>framing feelings of jealousy as evidence of love</p></li>
<li><p>“suggesting” how they should dress or look or encouraging exercise or diet changes </p></li>
<li><p>insults passed off as “just a joke”.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="teen couple sits together on pier near water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547112/original/file-20230908-17-gz8i1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wanting to spend lots of time together is normal in a loving relationship. But patterns of control are not.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/holidays-vacation-love-people-concept-happy-572926015">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-couldnt-escape-i-wasnt-entirely-sure-i-wanted-to-confusing-messages-about-consent-in-young-adult-fantasy-fiction-156961">'I couldn’t escape. I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to': confusing messages about consent in young adult fantasy fiction</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How can you help?</h2>
<p><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/2mIMCL7rNltR83rxJc5_OOF?domain=academic.oup.com">Research shows</a> parents are in a unique position to support teens to foster healthy relationships. Interviewee Addison was among those asking for guidance:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Anybody that can see the relationship [has] red flags. Anybody that is worried for me, I want them to tell me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Safe and reliable adults can act as role models, ensure safety, involve professionals and empower teens to build safe and healthy relationships.</p>
<p>We can do this by building trusting, open relationships with the teens in our lives, giving them a chance to talk and listening without judgement. If your teenager does not want to talk to you, help them find another person to talk to instead. It’s important to remember they may not respond the way we hope, but providing support and talking about relationships <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/C6LCCMwv0mfqmJ1KQUNkx6d?domain=journals.sagepub.com">can decrease the risk</a> of them ending up in an abusive relationship.</p>
<p>And we need a national plan to prevent and respond to teen intimate partner violence. It is not the responsibility of teens or their families to solve this issue. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you suspect your teen is in an abusive relationship, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) for advice and information. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact 000.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stuck-in-a-talking-stage-or-situationship-how-young-people-can-get-more-out-of-modern-love-200914">Stuck in a 'talking stage' or 'situationship'? How young people can get more out of modern love</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anglicare Tasmania funded the original research project where data for this article was collected.</span></em></p>Teenagers are experiencing intimate partner violence and abuse that is putting their lives in danger. And they want help from others to spot the early warning signs.Carmel Hobbs, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2074762023-08-16T12:28:50Z2023-08-16T12:28:50ZAs the mental health crisis in children and teens worsens, the dire shortage of mental health providers is preventing young people from getting the help they need<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534699/original/file-20230628-23-9wa1lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5584%2C3731&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Anxiety, depression and suicide among U.S. teens continue to increase. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-girl-in-trouble-feeling-sad-and-depressed-royalty-free-image/1135281941?phrase=distressed+teenager&adppopup=true">Paolo Cordoni/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The hospital where I practice recently admitted a 14-year-old girl with <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder#">post-traumatic stress disorder</a>, or PTSD, to our outpatient program. She was referred to us six months earlier, in October 2022, but at the time we were at capacity. Although we tried to refer her to several other hospitals, they too were full. During that six-month wait, she attempted suicide. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common story for young people with mental health issues. A 2021 survey of 88 children’s hospitals reported that they <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db471.htm">admit, on average, four teens per day</a> to inpatient programs. At many of these hospitals, more children await help, but there are simply not enough services or psychiatric beds for them. </p>
<p>So these children languish, sometimes for days or even a week, in hospital emergency departments. This is not a good place for a young person coping with grave mental health issues and perhaps considering suicide. Waiting at home is not a good option either – the family is often unable or unwilling to deal with a child who is distraught or violent. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://som.cuanschutz.edu/Profiles/Faculty/Profile/28534">professor of psychiatry and pediatrics</a> at the University of Colorado, where I founded and direct the <a href="https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/psychiatry/PatientCare/STARTcenter">Stress, Trauma, Adversity Research and Treatment Center</a>. For 30 years, my practice has focused on youth stress and trauma. </p>
<p>Over those years, I have noticed that these young patients have become more aggressive and suicidal. They are sicker when compared to years past. And the <a href="https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2023/06/15/7396/#">data backs up my observation</a>: From 2007 through 2021, suicide rates among young people ages 10 to 24 increased by 62%. From 2014 to 2021, homicide rates rose by 60%. The situation is so grim that in October 2021, health care professionals <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental-development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration-of-a-national-emergency-in-child-and-adolescent-mental-health/">declared a national emergency</a> in child mental health. </p>
<p>Since then, the crisis has not abated; it’s only gotten worse.
But there are <a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2023/may/understanding-us-behavioral-health-workforce-shortage#">not enough mental health professionals</a> to meet the need. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tuCuFddCaqM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How school bullying led to tragedy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The numbers behind the suffering</h2>
<p>The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reported in May 2023 that there is a <a href="https://www.aacap.org/aacap/zLatest_News/Severe_Shortage_Child_Adolescent_Psychiatrists_Illustrated_AACAP_Workforce_Maps.aspx">drastic shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists</a> across the U.S. </p>
<p>For every 100,000 children in the U.S. – with 1 in 5 of those children having a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder in a given year – there are only 14 child and adolescent psychiatrists available to treat them, <a href="https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Advocacy/Federal_and_State_Initiatives/Workforce_Maps/Home.aspx">according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry</a>. At least three times as many are needed. </p>
<p>There is also a significant shortage of child therapists – social workers, psychologists, licensed professional counselors – as well. This is particularly the case in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5399">rural areas across the country</a>. </p>
<p>Studies show that young people in the U.S. are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/">increasingly stressed and traumatized</a>. The <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437#">constant barrage of information</a> via social media and the demand to participate in it is complex, and interactions can be harmful to a child’s mental health. </p>
<p>Young people deal with <a href="https://cyberbullying.org/cyberbullying-statistics-age-gender-sexual-orientation-race">cyberbullying</a> and endless exposure to social media content <a href="https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-documents-the-harmful-effects-of-social-media-use-on-mental-health-including-body-image-and-development-of-eating-disorders-206170">focused on body image</a>.</p>
<p>But what children and adolescents see online is not the only problem. Much of life still happens offline, and a lot of it is not good. Millions of young people deal every day with <a href="https://ncsacw.acf.hhs.gov/research/child-welfare-and-treatment-statistics.aspx#">alcoholic, drug-abusing or neglectful parents</a>; peers who <a href="https://drugabusestatistics.org/teen-drug-use/">drink, vape and use drugs</a>; violence at <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/communityviolence/index.html">their schools or in their streets</a>; and overwhelmed caregivers – whether parents or others – preoccupied with financial or other personal problems. </p>
<p>For an adolescent already struggling to make sense of the world, any one of these issues can be overwhelming. </p>
<h2>Not enough time or money</h2>
<p>The U.S. health care system does very little to support these children or their families. This pattern begins at the moment of birth, and it is baked into the system. </p>
<p>Ideally, prospective parents or those who are pregnant would receive parenting classes that continue through the child’s developmental phases. That generally <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/ed-magazine/19/08/parent-approved">does not happen</a>. Then, many new parents do not have <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/universal-home-visiting-models-can-support-newborns-families/">nursing and maternal care visits</a> or <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/">paid parental leave</a>. And for those families struggling financially, there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02322-0">not an adequate safety net</a>. </p>
<p>Nor can some families afford mental health treatment to support their children’s needs. <a href="https://www.nami.org/Support-Education/Publications-Reports/Public-Policy-Reports/The-Doctor-is-Out/DoctorIsOut">Many mental health providers don’t take insurance</a> and instead opt for out-of-pocket payments from patients. This is due to the low reimbursement rates from most insurers, which makes it very difficult to sustain a practice. Depending on the service, the cost could be anywhere from US$100 to $600 per session. </p>
<p>To see providers that do take insurance, there are usually co-pays – typically between $20 to $50 a week. But it can often be challenging for the insured to find a suitable in-network provider to meet a child’s needs.</p>
<p>The payments add up, particularly when mental health treatment takes many months, and sometimes years, to have an effect. There is a reason why it takes so long. Unlike medical doctors, mental health professionals do not simply make a diagnosis and provide medication or surgery. Instead, for treatments to work and to change the outcome for young people who are struggling, an ongoing – and lengthy – <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/11/ce-corner-relationships">relationship between the therapist and the patient is needed</a>. </p>
<p>Treating a child is significantly more difficult than treating an adult. That is, in part, because children are constantly developing and changing. But perhaps the most formidable challenges are the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-021-00094-6">multiple entities</a> a child therapist may have to work with: caregivers, the school system, the courts and child welfare agencies. What’s more, getting a diagnosis, treatment or both often involves working with multiple providers, such as a primary care doctor, individual therapist, family-focused therapist and psychiatrist. </p>
<p>In the institute where I work, the psychiatry department loses money on almost every patient we treat. If it weren’t for fundraising and fostering relationships with donors, the department could only provide care to a select few. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EHCeodippgo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Emotional abuse by parents includes threats, bullying, humiliation and insults.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Possible solutions</h2>
<p>Struggling children and teens in the U.S. need earlier interventions. Although schools are ideal places to teach social skills, they still do not offer enough activities to help young people <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/resilience-how-to-build-it-in-children-3-8-years">develop resilience to cope with adversity</a>. </p>
<p>Sometimes, young patients see primary care doctors who don’t have enough training in this area. Telephone hotline programs, which offer these doctors free consultations from mental health professionals to help assess problems in young patients, should be available throughout the U.S. But right now, <a href="https://www.rand.org/news/press/2019/07/15.html">only 19 states have such programs</a>. One bright spot: The <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-suicides-rise-in-the-us-the-988-hotline-offers-hope-but-most-americans-arent-aware-of-it-210356">988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline</a>, which launched in July 2022, is available 24/7. </p>
<p>When a young person needs treatment, parents should prioritize finding a mental health provider right away. Asking the child’s primary doctor and school counselors for a reference is a good start. If the child is already on a waiting list, a parent or guardian should call the provider weekly to check in and make sure the child is not forgotten. </p>
<p>The process can be discouraging and daunting, but in our current environment, which provides limited support, that’s the way it is. And without a heavy lift from parents, the child remains at great risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Berkowitz is affiliated with Sensye, inc. I am a consultant to Senseye, Inc. a startup developing a device to make objective psychiatric diagnoses</span></em></p>Millions of young people in the US are suffering, whether from abuse at home, pressure from social media or exposure to violence. But navigating the mental health care system can be disheartening.Steven Berkowitz, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082702023-07-10T18:07:26Z2023-07-10T18:07:26ZSex or social media? The sacrifices we’re willing to make to stay online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535668/original/file-20230704-20-uh6ied.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C22%2C4970%2C2784&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some adolescents even describe feeling a sense of stress and poor emotional well-being when not online.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/sex-or-social-media-the-sacrifices-were-willing-to-make-to-stay-online" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Your alarm clock goes off, it’s time to start your day. What’s the first thing you do? What about right before you go to bed? If your answer is scrolling social media, <a href="https://www.reviews.org/mobile/cell-phone-addiction/">you’re not alone</a>. People are spending increasing amounts of time on social media, with reports from 2023 suggesting an average worldwide usage of <a href="https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-global-overview-report">two and a half hours</a> a day.</p>
<p>With more social media apps and websites coming online, that amount of time is likely to increase. U.S. tech company Meta recently launched <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66112648">Threads</a>, the newest social media platform vying for our time. The app is meant to rival Elon Musk’s Twitter.</p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/">4.8 billion</a> social media users worldwide as of 2023, social media has become a mainstay in everyday life, particularly among younger generations. Some adolescents even describe feeling a sense of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106364">stress and poor emotional well-being</a> when not online. So much so that terms like FOMO (fear of missing out) and <a href="https://doi.org/10.4103%2Fjfmpc.jfmpc_71_19">Nomophobia (No Mobile Phone Phobia)</a> have been popularized to explain the feelings and thoughts some people experience when disconnected from their smartphone or their social media.</p>
<h2>Social media use</h2>
<p>As we become increasingly dependent on social media for entertainment and information, it can be challenging to create space between ourselves and our social media profiles. So much so that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/ejis.2012.1">too much enjoyment from and time spent</a> on social media can result in strong usage habits, and in more extreme cases, addiction. </p>
<p>As researchers who study societal relationships with these technologies, we began to wonder the lengths young adults might go to maintain their connection to social media. To answer this question, <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/article/a-social-media-give-and-take/324106">we conducted a study</a> of 750 Canadians, aged 16-30 years old, who regularly use social media. We asked them about their social media usage patterns, their relationship with social media and the sacrifices they would be willing to make to remain on social media.</p>
<p>Our findings showed that smartphones were the most used method for accessing social media and approximately 95 per cent of participants had access to at least two social media accounts, with Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube among the most popular.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pair of hands typing on a keyboard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536133/original/file-20230706-16210-hcw4hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As we become increasingly dependent on social media for entertainment and information, it can be challenging to create space between ourselves and our social media profiles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Additionally, nearly half reported checking social media nine or more times a day, whereas only about one in every 10 people checked social media twice a day or less. The most popular times of day that people accessed their phone were in the morning and evening. However, access during the afternoon, at night and on the weekend was still frequent. </p>
<p>Interestingly, despite an average age just over 24 years old, nearly half of the young adults surveyed indicated they have had a social media account for close to or more than a decade, suggesting prolonged usage and interest from an early age. </p>
<h2>What trade-offs are young adults willing to make?</h2>
<p>Respondents were asked to consider what they would be willing to sacrifice to maintain their social media presence. Trade-offs fell into the following categories: food/drink, hobbies, possessions, career, appearance, relationships, health and life. </p>
<p>Approximately 40 per cent of respondents were willing to give up caffeine, alcohol and video games. Another 30 per cent or so were willing to give up playing sports, watching TV and eating at their favourite restaurant for an entire year. </p>
<p>When asked to make appearance or possession-related trade-offs, another 10 to 15 per cent said they would rather gain 15 pounds, shave their head, give up their driver’s licence, never travel again and live without air conditioning. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People using laptops and smartphones sitting on the ground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536134/original/file-20230706-29-m1fn6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With 4.8 billion social media users worldwide as of 2023, social media has become a mainstay in everyday life, particularly among younger generations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked to make more serious trade-offs relating to their relationships, health, or life, fewer were willing to make the sacrifice. For example, fewer than five per cent of participants said they would be willing to contract a sexually transmitted infection, or be diagnosed with a life-threatening illness like cancer rather than give up social media.</p>
<p>However, nearly 10 out of every 100 participants did say they would accept being unable to have children, give up sex or give up one year of their life to maintain their social media connections. When asked to give up more years of life, almost five out of every 100 and three out of every 100 participants said they would give up five or 10 years of their life, respectively.</p>
<p>Some young adults are willing to give up a considerable amount to maintain their access to social media. Notably, participants were far more likely to make food, drink and hobby-related sacrifices, followed by possessions and appearance-related trade-offs, compared to more serious concessions. However, knowing that even a small proportion of participants were willing to make health and life-related sacrifices is, quite honestly, scary. </p>
<p>We are not the kind of researchers who want to rid the world of social media. Quite the opposite, we use it ourselves. Rather, like most things in this world, we see the benefits and consequences and want to encourage conversations, reflection and thinking about how and why we use social media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paige Coyne receives funding from SSHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Woodruff receives funding from SSHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bailey Csabai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media has become a mainstay in everyday life, particularly among younger generations. And some are even willing to make trade-offs to stay online.Paige Coyne, PhD Candidate, Department of Kinesiology, University of WindsorBailey Csabai, Research and Graduate Assistant, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of WindsorSarah Woodruff, Professor, Director of the Community Health, Environment, and Wellness Lab, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2075712023-06-28T20:47:28Z2023-06-28T20:47:28ZAdolescent drinking rates remain high in China despite ban<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533573/original/file-20230622-15-lpw9jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C616%2C6237%2C3529&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Improved efforts are needed to prevent underage drinking and challenge lenient attitudes toward alcohol. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are plenty of health concerns for teens to worry about these days: the effects of <a href="https://theconversation.com/vaping-is-an-urgent-threat-to-public-health-112131">e-cigarette</a> and <a href="https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders">cannabis use</a>, and how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m4691">drinking could harm</a> their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fwps.20786">developing brains</a>. </p>
<p>Although relatively more is known about youth drinking in the West, there is a significant knowledge gap when it comes to China, home to the world’s second-largest <a href="https://www.undp.org/china/youth">youth population</a>. </p>
<p>To learn more about how Chinese teens engage with alcohol, we conducted a systematic review of studies on teen drinking behaviours in China over a 30-year period from 1988 to 2018.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107558">In our recently published study</a>, we found high levels of drinking among Chinese adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old. Around half of Chinese teens reported having consumed alcohol at some point. One in four reported drinking in the past month and one in 10 reported binge drinking. </p>
<p>These drinking rates, while significant, are in fact lower than those reported by <a href="https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/joint-publications/espad-report-2019_en">European</a>, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611736.pdf">American</a> and <a href="https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/fichier/enquete-quebecoise-tabac-alcool-drogue-jeu-eleves-secondaire-2019.pdf">Canadian</a> teens.</p>
<p>A second key finding is that teen drinking has not declined since <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-01/06/content_510002.htm">China set the legal drinking age at 18 years old</a> in 2006. This suggests that efforts to reduce underage drinking have not been as effective as intended.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People clinking beer glasses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534697/original/file-20230628-21-8vvi61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teen drinking has not declined since China set the legal drinking age at 18 years old in 2006.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Underage drinking</h2>
<p>People who start drinking younger are much more likely to develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00806.x">alcohol-related</a> problems later in life. This means delaying the start of alcohol use should be a high priority for authorities. Drinking during adolescence, especially heavy drinking, can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0689-y">functional and structural</a> brain changes that have long-term consequences for a person’s <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK37610/">health and well-being</a>. Our analysis shows there is an urgent need for effective preventive measures to reduce underage drinking in China.</p>
<p>To examine drinking rates among Chinese teens, we reviewed all studies on teen drinking behaviours published in English and Chinese over the past three decades. We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107558">identified</a> 186 relevant studies. Nine different measures of drinking were examined, such as lifetime drinking, past month drinking, past year drinking and binge drinking.</p>
<p>We found that around 25 per cent of Chinese teens reported drinking in the past month. This is close to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fwps.20786">worldwide average</a> for teens aged 15–19 years. However, it is lower than rates for European teens aged 15–16 years (48 per cent), American adolescents in grade 12 (29 per cent), and Québecois adolescents in grades 7 to 11 (32 per cent).</p>
<p>Another interesting finding was that Chinese male teens consistently reported higher rates of drinking than female teens. This pattern contrasts with trends observed in Europe and North America, where the gender gap in drinking behaviours has <a href="https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/joint-publications/espad-report-2019_en">been narrowing</a>.</p>
<h2>Chinese teens still drinking</h2>
<p>We found no evidence that rates of teen drinking declined following China’s implementation of the ban on underage drinking. This contrasts with trends across 30 European countries, where the frequency of drinking among most teens has <a href="https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/joint-publications/espad-report-2019_en">declined</a> over the past 25 years, though not when it comes to binge drinking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man's hand refusing to take a glass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534694/original/file-20230628-21-ycyzl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tackling attitudes toward alcohol can help reduce drinking among teens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similar patterns have been observed in <a href="https://doi.org/10.9778%2Fcmajo.20150124">Canada</a>, where rates of binge drinking increased from 1996 to 2013, although no increase was observed for low-risk drinking behaviours. In the United States, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED615087.pdf">drinking</a> among eighth to 12th grade students, including binge drinking, has <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611736.pdf">declined</a> over the past three decades.</p>
<p>One important question is why the Chinese government’s approach has not succeeded when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103606">similar policies in other countries have</a>. One possibility is weak or inconsistent enforcement of the underage drinking ban. This may have to do with cultural norms, which are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03514.x">more</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agg111">permissive</a> towards alcohol.</p>
<h2>Reducing teen drinking</h2>
<p>Prevention strategies that have proven effective in other countries should be adapted to the Chinese context. These could include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.05.031%22%22">family-</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-2243E">school-based</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.021">programs</a>, along with public education campaigns.</p>
<p>Although rates of drinking are lower among Chinese adolescents than in some western countries, they do not show the same downward trend. Further efforts to reduce teen drinking are therefore needed.</p>
<p>Stricter policy enforcement should come with additional measures to reduce easy <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.amepre.2009.11.005">access to alcohol</a>. Reshaping lenient cultural norms and attitudes towards underage alcohol as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2013.788545">risk perception</a> towards alcohol is also important.</p>
<p>Drinking can offer some benefits and is often a basis for social <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-new-drinking-guidelines-dont-consider-the-social-benefits-of-alcohol-but-should-they-198379">connection</a>. Getting teens to delay drinking is arguably a more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4603(02)00294-0">realistic</a> goal than advocating complete abstinence.</p>
<p>China has a large youth population and even small shifts in social policy and substance use norms could deliver large benefits for the health of individuals and society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207571/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Teen drinking has not declined in the years since China banned underage drinking. Better enforcement and changes in attitudes to alcohol are needed.Francis Vergunst, Associate Professor, Psychosocial Difficulties, University of OsloYao Zheng, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2018712023-06-27T02:14:36Z2023-06-27T02:14:36ZHow do I insert a tampon?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532313/original/file-20230616-19-ay9uyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C3320%2C1705&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">pexels sora shimazaki</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve just decided to start using tampons and you’re finding it tricky, you’re not alone! Lots of young teens and first-time tampon users have told me they experience “tampon trauma” – meaning it hurts, won’t go in or gets stuck coming out. But with a little bit of practice, it’s super easy.</p>
<p>Tampons are safe and convenient, especially if you’re going to the beach, swimming or doing something physically active. You can’t feel a tampon once it’s inserted properly, which is why some people prefer tampons to pads or period undies. Tampons are used by <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/how-tampons-pads-became-unsustainable-story-of-plastic#:%7E:text=Did%20You%20Know%3F,-Usage&text=Recycling-,5.8%20billion%20tampons%20were%20sold%20in%20the%20U.S.%20in%202018,ocean%20when%20sewer%20systems%20fail.">millions of people</a> around the world. They’re made from natural cotton, rayon fibre or both, and absorb fluid, including menstrual blood. </p>
<p>In Australia, tampons are classified as “medical devices” which means they have to meet certain safety standards. So even though there’s a confusing array of brands available in Australia it’s good to know they all pass the safety test.</p>
<p>Just like pads and period undies, tampons come with different absorbencies, such as “mini” or “light”, “regular” and “super”. As you get to know your own periods and cycle, you’ll also get to know which tampons suit you best over the course of your period. It’s common for the first couple of days of a period to be heavier, meaning you might need a tampon with higher absorbency.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/menstrual-cups-vs-tampons-heres-how-they-compare-120499">Menstrual cups vs tampons – here's how they compare</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>How to insert</h2>
<p>A tampon is designed to sit inside the vagina, right up high against the cervix. The vagina is a stretchy muscular tube and has plenty of room to accommodate a tampon. </p>
<p>The vagina slopes upward and backward, towards the spine. A common difficulty first-time tampon users encounter is pushing the tampon straight up rather than slightly backwards, so it hits the front wall of the vagina and feels like it can’t go up any further. The same can happen in reverse when pulling a tampon out – it needs to be pulled slightly forward, not straight down, or it could hit the back wall of the vagina and feel stuck.</p>
<p>If you want to, you can practise using a tampon between your periods, or when your flow is light. Wash your hands first, then get a mini-sized tampon and make it slippery by putting some water-based lubricant on it. Some people might dab a tiny bit of Vaseline on the tip of the tampon instead. Vaseline shouldn’t be put on tampons during a period, as it reduces absorbency. </p>
<p>Pull the string so it reaches its full length before you insert it. Stand in front of a mirror and have a look at where the opening of your vagina is by pulling the vaginal lips apart. Then either squat, or put one leg up on a stool, shelf, or side of the bath, which gets you in a comfortable position to practise. </p>
<p>Gently put the tip of the tampon into the opening and then push it up and back with your finger. You can put your fingers inside your vagina first, to get a feel of the way your vagina slopes. (If you have long nails, take care not to scratch yourself!)</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-879" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/879/daa47e958c4391e8fa586f1fc90bb0554872c2d7/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Some tampons come with an “applicator”. This is made of two cardboard or plastic tubes, one inside the other. The larger tube has the tampon inside it, and the smaller one sits just below the tampon. When inserting, you hold the smaller part and push the applicator inside your vagina rather than putting your fingers inside. When the applicator has gone all the way in, you push the tampon out by “plunging” the smaller tube up, pushing the tampon out. </p>
<p>It’s virtually impossible to put a tampon into the wrong hole! There are three holes in that part of the body – the vagina, the urethra (where wee comes out) and the anus, or bum hole, where poo comes out. Most people are familiar with where the bum hole is, because (hopefully) they wipe their bums a lot! </p>
<p>The urethra is very small, and you wouldn’t be able to fit a tampon into it. It sits high up towards the top of the vulva – where your inner vaginal lips meet in the middle, and just below the tip of the clitoris.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram showing a vulva" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533054/original/file-20230621-20-ocbi2q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vulva diagram.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tampons can be left in for up to six hours. If your period is heavier than anticipated and the tampon has become “soaked”, you might have to change it earlier. You’ll know when that happens because some menstrual fluid will leak onto your undies. </p>
<p>Don’t panic though – it’s something you’ll be able to feel and deal with before anyone else notices! If you know you have heavy flow days and want to take extra precautions, you can wear a light pad on your undies (or period undies) as well as using a tampon. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heavy-periods-are-common-what-can-you-do-and-when-should-you-seek-help-191511">Heavy periods are common. What can you do, and when should you seek help?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Toxic shock syndrome</h2>
<p>You might have heard about something called Toxic Shock Syndrome. This is caused by a bacterial infection that releases toxins into the blood and is a serious condition. </p>
<p>It can happen anywhere in the body but is known to be associated with the use of ultra super absorbency tampons. There are now guidelines and regulations worldwide for tampon manufacturing to reduce the risk of infections. </p>
<p>These days toxic shock syndrome is extremely rare (about <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15437-toxic-shock-syndrome#:%7E:text=Toxic%20shock%20syndrome%20affects%201,absorbent%20tampons%20during%20their%20period.">0.001%</a> of people), and still only occurs if tampons are left in for several hours, allowing the bacteria to multiply. </p>
<p>Symptoms are high fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle aches, headaches and a rash.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-sharp-butt-pains-to-period-poos-5-lesser-known-menstrual-cycle-symptoms-191352">From sharp butt pains to period poos: 5 lesser-known menstrual cycle symptoms</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Environmentally friendly options</h2>
<p>It’s important to NEVER flush a tampon down the toilet. If you’re in a public toilet, there should be bins inside toilet cubicles for all disposable period products. At home, you could wrap it in tissue and put it in a rubbish bin. You might also be aware people are now looking at environmentally friendly alternatives to disposable pads and tampons. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman throwing a used tampon into a bin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532314/original/file-20230616-21-1p38kv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Never flush a tampon down the toilet, put it in a bin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels/Karolina Grabowska</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reusable pads and period undies were designed to help reduce waste from disposable pads. There’s now also an alternative to tampons, which is the modern “menstrual cup”. These are made of medical grade silicone that you fold over, push up inside your vagina using two fingers, and then pop! It springs open inside the vagina and catches any menstrual fluid. </p>
<p>Unlike a tampon, they sit a little lower down in the vagina, and just like tampons, they can take practice getting used to. These can be used for up to 12 hours which makes them super convenient. You can try a menstrual cup anytime – and some people might switch between tampons and a cup or pads or period undies, depending on what feels right on the day.</p>
<p>Managing periods is something almost half the population deals with. It can feel scary, but it might help to know that just about everyone who has periods goes through the same process of figuring it out! The more you arm yourself with information and know how much choice is out there, the more confident you’ll feel. And don’t forget there are always adults out there who are willing and able to give you advice and help. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-queues-for-womens-toilets-are-longer-than-mens-99763">Why queues for women's toilets are longer than men's</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201871/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa Kang has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Councill, Australian Research Council and Medical Research Futures Fund. She is affiliated with the Australian Association for Adolescent Health and the International Association for Adolescent Health. She has co-authored Welcome to Your Period, Welcome to Consent, Welcome to Your Boobs and Welcome to Sex.</span></em></p>Lots of young teens and first-time tampon users are intimidated by tampons. But they’re easy once you get the hang of it.Melissa Kang, Associate Professor, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051752023-06-26T12:22:06Z2023-06-26T12:22:06ZStates are weakening their child labor restrictions nearly 8 decades after the US government took kids out of the workforce<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533204/original/file-20230621-29-s1rh34.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C421%2C3946%2C2175&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law in 2023 that lets children under 16 work without official permission from their parents.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Child%20Labor%20State%20Laws/94b480d8d5154f86bbe79e135835f989?Query=sarah%20huckabee%20sanders&mediaType=photo,video,graphic,audio&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1172&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A movement to weaken American child labor protections at the state level began in 2022. By June 2023, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/some-lawmakers-propose-loosening-child-labor-laws-to-fill-worker-shortage">Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey and New Hampshire</a> had enacted this kind of legislation, and lawmakers in at least another eight states had introduced similar measures. </p>
<p>The laws generally make it easier for kids from 14 to 17 years old to work longer and later – and in occupations that were previously off-limits for minors.</p>
<p>When Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/26/politics/iowa-child-labor-law-kim-reynolds/index.html">signed her state’s new, more permissive child labor law</a> on May 26, 2023, the Republican leader said the measure would “allow young adults to develop their skills in the workforce.” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.k-state.edu/polsci/about/faculty-staff/fliter-john.html">As scholars</a> of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q7nIrq8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">child labor</a>, we find the arguments Reynolds and other like-minded politicians are using today to justify undoing child labor protections echo older justifications made decades ago.</p>
<p>Many conservatives and business leaders have long argued, based on a combination of ideological and economic grounds, that federal child labor rules aren’t necessary. Some object to the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2023/5/3/23702464/child-labor-laws-youth-migrants-work-shortage">government determining who can’t work</a>. Cultural conservatives say <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p085345">working has moral value for young people</a> and that <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/4/23436470/education-crt-parents-schools-midterms-desantis">parents should make decisions for their children</a>. Many conservatives also say that teens, fewer of whom <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/06/21/after-dropping-in-2020-teen-summer-employment-may-be-poised-to-continue-its-slow-comeback/">are in the workforce today than in past decades</a>, could help fill empty jobs in tight labor markets.</p>
<p>Opponents of child labor observe that when kids under 18 work long hours or do strenuous jobs, it can disrupt childhood development, interfere with their schooling and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need-156819">deprive them of the sleep they need</a>. Expanding child labor can encourage kids to drop out of school and <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20220729">jeopardize young people’s health through injuries</a> and work-related illnesses. </p>
<h2>Long-brewing battle</h2>
<p>Child labor protections, such as making many kinds of employment for children under 14 illegal and restricting the hours that teens under 18 can spend working, are guaranteed by the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa">Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938</a>. U.S. law also does not treat 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. The federal government deems many occupations to be too hazardous for anyone under 18.</p>
<p>Until that law took effect, the lack of a federal standard always <a href="https://theconversation.com/abolishing-child-labor-took-the-specter-of-white-slavery-and-the-job-markets-near-collapse-during-the-great-depression-144454">obstructed progress in the states</a> toward keeping kids in school and out of mines, factories and other sometimes hazardous workplaces.</p>
<p>Three years after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld it in the <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/312us100">U.S. v. Darby Lumber</a> ruling, which toppled a <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/247us251">related precedent</a>.</p>
<h2>Challenges began during the Reagan administration</h2>
<p>There were no <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv7h0t22">significant efforts to challenge</a> child labor laws for the next four decades. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan sought to ease federal protections to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer hours in fast-food and retail establishments and to pay young workers less than the minimum wage. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/08/04/white-house-retreats-on-teen-hours/cd4cd765-a416-41ac-96c4-3edb51b0f296/">A coalition</a> of Democrats, labor unions, teachers, parents and child development groups blocked the proposed changes.</p>
<p>By the late 1980s, <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700626311/">child labor violations were on the rise</a>. Some industry groups tried to loosen restrictions in the 1990s, but <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700626311/">legal changes were minimal</a>.</p>
<p>A more ambitious attempt to roll back child labor laws in the early 2000s, led by a homeschooling group, <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700626311/">ultimately failed</a>, but conservatives continued to call for similar changes.</p>
<p>When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was vying to become a 2012 Republican presidential nominee, he made headlines by calling <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/gingrich-calls-child-labor-laws-truly-stupid/2011/11/21/gIQAFYKHiN_blog.html">child labor laws</a> “truly stupid.” He suggested kids could work as janitors in schools.</p>
<p>Today, the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank, is drafting state legislation to strip child labor protections, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/23/child-labor-lobbying-fga/">The Washington Post has reported</a>. Its lobbying arm, the Opportunity Solutions Project, has been helping push these bills through state legislatures, including in Arkansas and Missouri. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young child at work in a field in an old black and white photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533240/original/file-20230621-10556-mhyd5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This 9-year-old boy worked as a picker at the American Sumatra Tobacco Company in 1917, before the U.S. government restricted child labor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/portrait-of-a-nine-year-old-boy-seated-among-plants-taller-news-photo/1498300352?adppopup=true">Hine/Library of Congress/Interim Archives/Getty Image</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Iowa and Arkansas</h2>
<p>In our view, Iowa has the most radical new law designed to roll back child labor protections. It allows children as young as 14 to work in meat coolers and industrial laundries, and teens 15 and older can work on <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-child-labor-bill-iowa-may-violate-federal-law-rcna85321">assembly lines around dangerous machinery</a>.</p>
<p>Teens as young as 16 can now serve alcohol in Iowa restaurants, as long as two adults are present. </p>
<p>U.S. <a href="https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/us-dept-of-labor-review-finds-iowas-child-labor-bill-violates-federal-law">Labor Department officials</a> argue that several provisions of Iowa’s new law violate national child labor standards. However, the department <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/dol-hamstrung-in-response-to-state-child-labor-law-rollbacks">has not disclosed a clear strategy</a> for combating such violations.</p>
<p>Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed her state’s <a href="https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=HB1410&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R">Youth Hiring Act of 2023</a> in March. It eliminated work permits for 14- and 15-year-olds.</p>
<p>Previously, employers had to keep a work certificate on file that required proof of age, a description of the work and schedule – and the written consent of a parent or guardian.</p>
<p>Arkansas has scrapped those safeguards against child labor exploitation. We find it puzzling that supporters touted the bill as enhancing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/10/1162531885/arkansas-child-labor-law-under-16-years-old-sarah-huckabee-sanders">parental rights</a> because the law removes any formal role for parents in balancing their kids’ education and employment.</p>
<h2>Federal vs. state laws</h2>
<p>You may wonder how states can undermine federal child labor laws. Doesn’t federal law preempt state laws?</p>
<p>Both <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor">federal and state laws</a> govern the employment of minors, and all states have <a href="https://www.ecs.org/50-state-comparison-free-and-compulsory-school-age-requirements/">compulsory school attendance laws</a>. Federal laws set a floor of regulations in youth employment that cover maximum hours, minimum ages, wages and protections from hazardous jobs.</p>
<p>If states pass tougher laws, as many have, the stricter standards govern workplace practices. School attendance requirements vary by state, but once someone turns 18, they’re no longer covered by the <a href="https://www.oshaeducationcenter.com/articles/child-labor-laws/">Fair Labor Standards Act’s restrictions</a>.</p>
<p>Federal law, for example, does not require minors to obtain work permits or employment certificates, but <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/work-permits-for-minors-what-you-need-to-know.html">most states mandate such documentation</a>.</p>
<p>With the <a href="https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/A4222/bill-text?f=A4500&n=4222_R1">exception of New Jersey</a>, these efforts to weaken child labor laws are being led by Republicans.</p>
<p>To be sure, some states are still attempting to strengthen child labor protections. </p>
<p>Democrats in <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB23-1196">Colorado introduced a bill</a> that would allow injured children to sue employers for child labor violations. <a href="https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2023a_1196_signed.pdf">Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law</a> on June 7, 2023. </p>
<p>Having child labor laws on the books at both the federal and state levels is only half the battle. <a href="https://www.foxrothschild.com/publications/conflicting-trends-in-child-labor-laws-send-mixed-messages-to-employers">Enforcement</a> is another matter. Many violations in recent years have involved <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/advocates-hhs-questions-unaccompanied-migrants-child-labor-rcna87326">children who immigrated to the United States</a> without their parents, only to wind up working long hours, sometimes in dangerous jobs, at young ages.</p>
<h2>Construction sites?</h2>
<p>Other states are trying to weaken protections. <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/open/2023/05/ohio-could-soon-loosen-its-child-labor-laws.html">Ohio state lawmakers</a> want to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. during the school year with their parents’ permission, even though federal regulations don’t allow teens that age to work past 7 p.m. </p>
<p>Some states are considering legislation that directly conflicts with federal child <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/child-labor-laws-under-attack/">labor standards on hazardous occupations</a>. For example, a bill Republican Minnesota state Sen. Rich Draheim introduced would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF0375&session=ls93&version=latest&session_number=0&session_year=2023&keyword_type=all&keyword=construction">in or around construction sites</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2023/04/27/child-labor-laws-protections">Strong opposition</a> from politicians, child advocacy groups, education associations, labor unions and the public has defeated some of these efforts.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/64613">Georgia Republicans introduced a bill</a> that would have eliminated work permits for minors, but they withdrew it without a vote. And Republican <a href="https://legiscan.com/SD/drafts/HB1180/2023">lawmakers in South Dakota sponsored a bill</a> to extend working hours for children 14 and under from 7 p.m. to 9 pm. It was withdrawn as well.</p>
<p>In Wisconsin, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-wisconsin-labor-unions-afl-cio-33980985bd1dc13d2fb132026c743d23">Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a bill</a> in 2022 that would have let teens work longer and later. In 2023, some Wisconsin lawmakers are trying again. They want to let <a href="https://www.wisn.com/article/proposed-bill-would-allow-14-years-olds-wisconsin-serve-alcohol/43762440">14-year-olds serve alcohol</a>.</p>
<h2>Taking aim at federal rules</h2>
<p>There are some national efforts to weaken – or strengthen – child labor rules as well.</p>
<p>Rep. <a href="https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-introduces-teens-act-increase-youth-workforce-participation">Dusty Johnson</a>, a South Dakota Republican, seeks to revise federal regulations to permit 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 p.m. on school nights and up to 24 hours per week during the school year. We don’t expect his bill to pass in today’s divided Congress.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nhpr.org/business-and-economy/2023-04-11/kids-at-work-in-new-hampshire-and-other-states-officials-try-to-ease-child-labor-laws-at-behest-of-industry">There’s also a push</a> in the House and the Senate to <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/671/text?s=1&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22future+logging+careers+act%22%5D%7D">let 16- and 17-year-olds</a> <a href="https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=FD6D88E4-AEB4-4DFF-BEF9-FB90C7D9E2A3">work in logging operations</a> with parental supervision.</p>
<p>And yet there’s also support in Congress to increase penalties for child labor violations. Currently, the maximum such fine is $15,138 per child. <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2388/cosponsors?s=10&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Justice%22%2C%22for%22%2C%22Exploited%22%2C%22Children%22%5D%7D">Pending bills in the House</a> and <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/637/text?s=1&r=52">Senate</a> would increase the penalty to nearly 10 times that amount if enacted.</p>
<p>And several <a href="https://dankildee.house.gov/media/press-releases/kildee-leads-new-bill-crack-down-child-labor-america">Democrats have introduced</a> measures to strengthen <a href="https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/on-world-day-against-child-labor-durbin-delauro-introduce-bill-to-ban-child-labor-on-tobacco-farms">federal child labor restrictions</a>, <a href="https://ruiz.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/dr-ruiz-introduces-legislation-raise-labor-standards-and-protections">especially in agriculture</a>.</p>
<p>With so many states seeking weaker child labor protections, we believe a federal-state showdown over the question of whether young people in the United States belong in the workforce is inevitable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span> </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Betsy Wood's research has been supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation.</span></em></p>Some of the biggest changes to child labor laws are in Iowa and Arkansas.John A. Fliter, Associate Professor of Political Science, Kansas State UniversityBetsy Wood, Assistant Professor of American History, Bard CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073932023-06-25T13:34:56Z2023-06-25T13:34:56ZWhat to do if your child is struggling: Steps caregivers can take to help kids and teens with their mental health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533781/original/file-20230623-21-poqbou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C175%2C5345%2C3723&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Caregivers are encouraged to have conversations about mental health early and often, whether their child or teen is struggling or not.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Emerging research suggests that child and adolescent mental health problems are on the rise. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2482">one in four children</a> report that they have experienced clinically elevated rates of depression, and rates of emergency department visits for attempted suicide have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00036-6">increased by 22 per cent</a> in the past few years.</p>
<p>As clinicians and researchers, we have interacted with thousands of caregivers, many of whom have asked us how they can better understand and support their children’s mental health. </p>
<p>Below we offer a step-by-step guide for recognizing the signs of mental distress and responding with support and resources to help foster recovery and resilience in children and adolescents.</p>
<h2>Recognize signs of distress</h2>
<p>Children and adolescents have varying reactions to experiences and events, and signs of mental distress can look different across young people (and can look different compared to adults too).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman with her arm around a teen, sitting on the edge of a bed, seen from behind" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533787/original/file-20230623-15-ob8w6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Talking about mental health helps to normalize the conversation and supports children and adolescents in knowing they can go to you when they are struggling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Changes are normal in children and adolescents, but <a href="https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/child-and-youth-mental-health-signs-and-symptoms/">dramatic and sustained changes are not</a>. Typically, caregivers should be on the lookout for a combination of: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Increased distress, such as more <a href="https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/children-youth-and-depression/">sadness</a>, irritability, <a href="https://www.anxietycanada.com/articles/abcs-of-anxiety/">worry</a>, or <a href="https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/guides-and-publications/what-parents-teen-risk-taking-en.pdf">risk-taking</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Changes in daily functioning, such as changes in sleep, eating, physical activity, energy levels and/or interests, which may be subsequently impacting their peer or family relationships, extracurriculars or academic performance.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Talk to your children about mental health</h2>
<p>We encourage caregivers to have conversations about mental health early and often, whether their child or teen is struggling or not. This helps to normalize the conversation and supports children and adolescents in knowing they can go to you when they are struggling.</p>
<p>Conversations are especially important when children or adolescents <a href="https://health.sunnybrook.ca/mental-health/talk-about-mental-illness-conversation-parents/">appear to be struggling</a>. You can start by letting them know you care, and then pointing out what you have observed in terms of changes in their distress and daily functioning, such as “I’ve noticed that you’ve been sleeping a lot more than usual. Have you noticed these changes too?” Then ask if you can talk about this further together to deepen the conversation.</p>
<p>If you feel that strategy won’t work for your child, or if you often get answers of “fine” to “how are you feeling?”, try the third person strategy, which can <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2016.01715">reduce distress</a> during tense conversations. </p>
<p>In this scenario, make a statement about children’s mental health generally, such as “I hear there’s a lot of kids and teens struggling with their mental health right now” and then ask open-ended questions, such as: “what do you think about that?” or “what have you noticed about your own mental health lately”? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and a teen outside, having a conversation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533782/original/file-20230623-31-7rmk4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If your child finds it hard to have face-to-face conversations about their mental health, ask them to go for a walk and start the conversation then.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When you have conversations about mental health with your child or adolescent, try to minimize any potential discomfort. It’s best to find a time that works well for your child. For example, when they are rested, fed, and relaxed. </p>
<p>Also, some children find it hard to have face-to-face conversations about their mental health. If this is the case with your child or adolescent, you could ask them to go for a walk and start the conversation then or when you are doing something else, like loading the dishwasher or driving to an extracurricular activity. This can take the pressure off what might be perceived as stressful face-to-face conversations.</p>
<p>When children and adolescents do open up, express empathy for what they are going through, using phrases such as “that sounds really difficult” and/or “I understand how painful that can be.” Often as caregivers, we want to jump into problem-solving mode, but the most effective approach to supporting children and adolescents is often to listen and validate their feelings and/or distress. </p>
<p>Communicating and connecting with children and adolescents, and confirming they have our support, can foster resilience in times of adversity. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KZBTYViDPlQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Express empathy for what children and adolescents are going through. This video discusses empathy and sympathy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Talk with their teacher</h2>
<p>If you remain concerned about your child, and want to gather additional information, you could speak with their teacher or guidance counsellor. Up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1440">80 per cent of children</a> get their knowledge about mental health from schools. Guidance counsellors are specifically trained to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2010.531384">address mental health concerns</a> and other school staff are used to having conversations about mental health with students. They typically welcome these conversations with caregivers.</p>
<p>Teachers can also provide a valuable perspective on how a child’s mental health may have changed, and what might be precipitating these changes. For example, children may be experiencing learning struggles or bullying, which they haven’t yet disclosed to you, but is causing them some distress. Guidance counsellors and teachers can also help brainstorm ideas for building up children’s coping strategies and supporting their success at school.</p>
<p>If possible, have your child join these conversations, so they feel involved in discussions about their own mental health and develop agency in addressing it.</p>
<h2>Talk with your health-care provider</h2>
<p>Health-care providers are trained in evaluating mental and physical health problems alike. They can formally <a href="https://cps.ca/en/mental-health-screening-tools">screen and assess for mental health problems</a> by asking the caregiver and child questions about changes in mood, behaviour and functioning and matching symptoms of distress and impairment with “diagnostic criteria” for various mental health disorders. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman with a child on her lap talking to a doctor" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533785/original/file-20230623-23-35uieg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Health-care providers can offer strategies and resources to support children and caregivers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With this knowledge, health-care providers can offer strategies and resources to support children and caregivers. They will work with caregivers and children directly to decide on the best approaches to addressing the child’s mental health struggles.</p>
<p>It is also important to let children and adolescents know of other services they can access for support, such as <a href="https://kidshelpphone.ca/">Kids Help Phone</a>, which is available via text or phone 24/7.</p>
<h2>Immediately address urgent mental health problems</h2>
<p>The strategies above can occur when children and adolescents are not in immediate danger. But when your child shows warning signs of suicide, or is engaging in self-harm behaviour, <a href="https://www.camh.ca/en/professionals/treating-conditions-and-disorders/suicide-risk/suicide---detecting-and-assessing-suicidality">get them help as soon as possible</a>, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Taking them to the nearest acute care hospital.</p></li>
<li><p>If your child will not go to the hospital or you’re unsure if this is the right thing to do, get help from a health-care provider as quickly as possible. You can call the health-care team or a crisis line.</p></li>
<li><p>If your child is attempting or about to attempt suicide, do not leave them alone, and call 911 immediately.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Although supportive in nature, taking care of our children’s mental health can also be taxing and/or triggering for many caregivers. To best support children and adolescents, we also need to take care of ourselves. We encourage caregivers to prioritize their own mental health, so that they can feel energized and empowered to attend to their children’s mental health.</p>
<p>If caregivers have concerns about their own mental health, we recommend the following resources:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wellnesstogether.ca/en-CA">Wellness Together Canada</a> is a free and confidential service available to Canadian residents. They can give you information on mental health, offer free confidential sessions with health professionals, and provide peer support services.</li>
<li>Speak to your health-care provider.</li>
<li>If you are in crisis, contact <a href="https://talksuicide.ca/">Talk Suicide Canada</a>.</li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheri Madigan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, an anonymous donor, and the Canada Research Chairs program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracy Vaillancourt receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Canada First Research Excellence Fund. </span></em></p>With child and adolescent mental health problems on the rise, here is a step-by-step guide for caregivers for recognizing signs of mental distress and responding with support and resources.Sheri Madigan, Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of CalgaryTracy Vaillancourt, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in School-Based Mental Health and Violence Prevention, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051772023-05-22T11:34:49Z2023-05-22T11:34:49ZGirls are in crisis — and their mental health needs to be taken seriously<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526896/original/file-20230517-19889-9mh2pf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C52%2C8688%2C5722&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If we want to see improvements in the lives of girls in Canada and beyond, we need to first think critically about why we tend to dismiss and invalidate their concerns.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An article in the <em>Washington Post</em> recently declared “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/17/teen-girls-mental-health-crisis/">a crisis in American girlhood</a>.” Girls in the United States are experiencing alarmingly higher rates of sexual assault, mental health issues and suicidality than ever before.</p>
<p>Data collected in 2021 by the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBS_Data-Summary-Trends_Report2023_508.pdf">Centers for Disease Control</a> (CDC) demonstrates how dire the circumstances of American girlhood are. Fourteen per cent of teenage girls in the United States shared that they had been forced to have sex, and 60 per cent had experienced <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/13/teen-girls-violence-trauma-pandemic-cdc/">extreme feelings of sadness or hopelessness</a>. Nearly a quarter of girls had considered and planned suicide.</p>
<p>While these findings are based on U.S. data, the story is consistent with what girls in Canada have been saying for the past decade. In Canada, <a href="https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/half-of-female-students-in-ontario-experience-psychological-distress-camh-study-shows">over 50 per cent of female students in Ontario have reported</a> moderate to severe psychological distress. <a href="https://assaultcare.ca/services/sexual-assault-statistics/">One in four girls</a> has been sexually abused by the time they turn 18.</p>
<p>Suicide is the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1310039401">fourth leading cause of death</a> for girls up to 14 years old, an annual statistic that has remained relatively consistent since 2016.</p>
<p>The gendered wage gap in Canada has been found to <a href="https://www.girlguides.ca/WEB/Documents/GGC/media/thought-leadership/girlsonjob/GirlsOnTheJobRealitiesInCanada.pdf">start as early as 12 years old</a>. The situation is worse for girls who are <a href="https://www.girlsactionfoundation.ca/_files/ugd/0512fe_ccc6638a5e3844c8b3dcf4a0e536a9c2.pdf">racialized, living in poverty</a>, <a href="https://dawncanada.net/media/uploads/page_data/page-64/girls_without_barriers.pdf">disabled</a>, or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28111592/">LGBTQ+</a>.</p>
<p>The dire state of girlhood has historically been attributed to the usual suspects: <a href="https://www.girlguides.ca/WEB/GGC/Parents/Thought_Leadership/IDG_Nationwide_Survey/GGC/Media/Thought_Leadership/IDG_Nationwide_Survey.aspx">unrealistic beauty standards</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/instagram-girls-body-image-1.6200969">pressures of social media</a>, <a href="https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/girlhood-studies/14/1/ghs140104.xml">living in a rape culture</a>, and more recently, the <a href="https://www.girlguides.ca/WEB/Documents/GGC/Girl_Research/Life_During_COVID19_Report.pdf">COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>In interviews conducted by the <em>Washington Post</em> with girls themselves, however, they point to another, perhaps unsuspected culprit: that when girls do speak up, they aren’t listened to or taken seriously.</p>
<h2>Why don’t we listen to or take girls seriously?</h2>
<p>I am a former community social worker with experience working directly with girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years old. My current doctoral research focuses on girls between the ages of eight and 12 years old who engage in activism, exploring ways that adults can better listen and support them when they tell us what they want for their lives and their worlds. I have heard countless stories from girls themselves about when they had felt dismissed by adults.</p>
<p>This dismissal was often directly tied to their identities as girls, attributed to claims that girls were just going through a phase, not accurately sharing what had happened or that they were being dramatic.</p>
<p>Put simply, when girls tell us what is happening in their lives, we have a tendency not to believe them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="close up image of two pairs of hands holding each other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526901/original/file-20230517-11818-a2ke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adults tend to doubt girls’ credibility as speakers because of prejudices about girls and girlhood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dismissing the credibility of an entire group of people because of prejudices that we may have about their identities is what philosopher Miranda Fricker has described as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237907.001.0001">epistemic injustice</a>.</p>
<p>In this type of epistemic injustice, a speaker’s credibility is dismissed because of prejudices that others have based on the speaker’s identity. This means that the speaker’s testimony is not listened to or taken seriously because of who they are. </p>
<p>Adults tend to doubt girls’ credibility as speakers because of prejudices about girls and girlhood. These prejudices against girls are rooted in the construction of girlhood as a time of frivolity, fun and emotionality.</p>
<h2>Do girls just want to have fun?</h2>
<p>For a long time, girlhood — and specifically <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814787083/racial-innocence/">white, middle- and upper-class, able-bodied girlhood</a> — has been seen as a time of inherent innocence, <a href="https://www.peterlang.com/document/1109532">frivolity</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540518806954">fun</a>.</p>
<p>Constructions of girlhood are linked to expectations we have about girls as children and as gendered subjects. As children, we expect girls to have a sort of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568218811484">wide-eyed wonderment</a> about the world around them. As gendered subjects, girls are additionally stereotyped in ways typically associated with womanhood, such as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0016821">emotionality</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman comforts a teenage girl sitting on a bed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526897/original/file-20230517-25100-wn41e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When girls tell us what is happening in their lives, adults must listen and not dismiss them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a world that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.274">dichotomizes rationality and emotionality</a>, with rationality being considered more credible than emotionality, girls are dismissed because of the way girlhood is viewed.</p>
<p>When girls tell us what is happening in their lives, such as when they’ve experienced sexual assault or are feeling suicidal, these views become especially harmful.</p>
<p>If we want to see improvements in the lives of girls in Canada and beyond, we need to first think critically about why we tend to dismiss and invalidate their concerns. Challenging our own prejudices about the credibility of girls is a vital first step in this process.</p>
<p>When considering the crisis in girlhood, girls have been clear about the way forward. In my own community practice work, girls shared that they feel most supported by adults while “<a href="https://www.womenscentrecalgary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Girls-Lead-YYC-1.pdf">being listened to and feeling like I am being heard</a>.” In the <em>Washington Post</em> article, girls called for adults to “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/17/teen-girls-mental-health-crisis/">stop dismissing their concerns as drama</a>.”</p>
<p>Girls have never just wanted to have fun. They want — and need to be — listened to and taken seriously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexe Bernier receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for her doctoral research. </span></em></p>In Canada, over 50 per cent of female students in Ontario have reported moderate to severe psychological distress. One in four girls has been sexually abused by the time they turn 18.Alexe Bernier, PhD Candidate, Department of Social Work, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2046862023-05-18T12:41:39Z2023-05-18T12:41:39ZTeenage brains are drawn to popular social media challenges – here’s how parents can get their kids to think twice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526556/original/file-20230516-34281-bribzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C190%2C6351%2C3218&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The milk crate challenge went viral in the summer of 2021. ER doctors weren't amused. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/man-walks-up-a-pyramid-of-milk-crates-while-he-participates-news-photo/1234866474">Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Viral social media trends started innocently enough. </p>
<p>In the early 2010s there was <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304906004576371770200241238">planking</a>, the “<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy74kz/harlem-shake-origin-story">Harlem Shake” dance</a> and lip syncing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s summer anthem “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPIA7mpm1wU">Call Me Maybe</a>.”</p>
<p>Then came the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/03/ice-bucket-challenge-5-things-you-should-know/448006001/">ice bucket challenge</a>, which raised <a href="https://www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als">an estimated US$115 million</a> for ALS research. </p>
<p>In recent years, social media challenges have grown more popular – and more dangerous, leading to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/24/milk-crate-challenge/">serious injuries</a> and even <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/laundry-cleaning/liquid-laundry-detergent-pods-pose-lethal-risk/">deaths</a>. It’s not hard to see why. The <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2021/08/what-is-the-milk-crate-challenge-heres-what-to-know-about-the-dangerous-viral-craze.html">milk crate challenge</a> dares people to walk or run across a loosely stacked pyramid of milk crates, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/20/us/tide-pod-challenge.html">Tide pod challenge</a> involves eating laundry detergent pods, and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/18/us/benadryl-tiktok-challenge-teen-death-wellness/index.html">Benadryl challenge</a> encourages taking six or more doses of over-the-counter allergy medication all at once.</p>
<p>As clinical psychology researchers, we study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zyCKELoAAAAJ&hl=en">why social media challenges</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=sN15ck8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">are so appealing to teens</a> despite the dangers they pose, and steps parents can take to protect their kids. </p>
<h2>Appeal of viral stunts</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/">Almost all American teens</a> today have access to a smartphone and actively use multiple social media platforms – with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat being <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/">the most popular</a> among this age group. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the teenage years are linked to an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002">increase in risk-taking</a>. The human brain isn’t fully developed until <a href="https://karger.com/dne/article/36/3-4/147/107931/The-Developmental-Mismatch-in-Structural-Brain">a person reaches their mid-20s</a>, and the parts of the brain that relate to reward and doing what feels good develop more quickly than areas linked to decision-making. As a result, teens are more likely to act impulsively and risk physical injury to gain popularity. </p>
<p>Teens are also particularly vulnerable to social pressure.</p>
<p>A 2016 study found that teens were <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1177/0956797616645673">more likely to “like” a photo</a> – even when it showed drug or alcohol use – if the photo had more “likes” from peers. The same study also showed that activity increased in the reward centers of teenage brains when viewing posts with more “likes.” Simply put, teens pay closer attention to social media content with a high number of “likes” and views. </p>
<p>In best-case scenarios, this vulnerability to social pressure may result in, say, buying a certain brand of sneakers. Yet in worst-case scenarios, this can lead teens to do dangerous stunts to impress or amuse their friends.</p>
<p>In our work, we found that celebrities, musicians, athletes and influencers can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13620">increase risky teen behaviors</a>, such as alcohol and drug use, especially because they earn many “likes” and attract huge followings on social media. </p>
<p>Teens today may find it more difficult to resist social pressure. They not only have unlimited access to their peers and other influencers, but online social networks are also much larger, with teens following hundreds – sometimes thousands – of online users. </p>
<h2>What parents can do</h2>
<p>Below are five ways <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/social-media-parent-tips">parents can help their teen</a> resist social pressure and avoid risks linked to social media trends.</p>
<p><strong>1. Listen to your teen</strong></p>
<p>Parents can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054">learn more about social media</a> by asking their teen open-ended questions about their experiences, such as, “Has anything you’ve seen on Instagram upset you lately?”</p>
<p>Share your own concerns about social media while listening to your teen’s thoughts and perspectives. This kind of open communication can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mph.2019.200160">improve kids’ mental health and social skills</a>. </p>
<p>Research also shows that watching media content with your teens – and discussing issues that come up during and after media use – helps with children’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809481-5.00003-1">brain development</a> and critical thinking. It can also help to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01593-6">resolve questions or clear up misinformation</a>.</p>
<p><strong>2. Talk about what is rewarding</strong></p>
<p>Teens don’t always know why they engage in certain behaviors or are curious about dangerous activities. <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/social-media-literacy-teens">Having a conversation</a> with them about what feels good about “likes” and comments online could help them identify similar rewarding experiences offline – such as joining a school sports team or extracurricular club. Research shows that <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/143/6/e20190997/37135/Organized-Sports-for-Children-Preadolescents-and">sports participation</a> is a helpful way to build one’s social identity, self-esteem and meaningful connections with others.</p>
<p><strong>3. Talk about what is risky</strong></p>
<p>Social media posts often <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3444961">glamorize risky behaviors</a>. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.10.004">alcohol use posts</a> focus on the fun aspects and avoid depictions of blackouts or injury. Similarly, teens see “likes” and views from social media challenges, but not hospitalizations and deaths.</p>
<p>Parents can talk to teens about this gap. Since teens are often more knowledgeable about the latest social media challenges, ask them about the topic and help them think through possible risks. </p>
<p><strong>4. Get informed</strong></p>
<p>One of the best ways to connect with teens is to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv12fw92r">learn about topics that interest them</a>. If they enjoy Instagram, consider creating your own account and ask them to show you the ropes on the platform, as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2019.1675851">teaching others can be rewarding</a> for teens. Also, take the time to explore on your own and keep up to date on social media features, challenges and risky trends. </p>
<p><strong>5. Make a plan</strong></p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/fmp/Pages/MediaPlan.aspx">family media plan</a> can help you and your teen agree on screen-free times, media curfews and ways to choose good media habits. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/41352/chapter/352515466">Social media can also help teens</a> form friendships, stay connected with distant friends and family members, reduce stress and access medical providers, help lines or other tools that support physical and mental health.</p>
<p>Come up with a plan that all family members can follow to enjoy the benefits of social media. Your family can always revise the media plan as your child gets older.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisa M Trucco receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. . </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Cristello receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>Adolescent brains are especially vulnerable to risk-taking and social pressure. But there are steps parents can take to steer their teen away from dangerous social media stunts.Elisa M. Trucco, Associate Professor of Psychology, Florida International UniversityJulie Cristello, Doctoral candidate in Clinical Science, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2036532023-05-12T12:21:51Z2023-05-12T12:21:51ZWhat’s a Luddite? An expert on technology and society explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525491/original/file-20230510-25-btjznr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=349%2C298%2C1982%2C1453&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some Luddites simply want to press 'pause' on the uninhibited march of technological progress.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/digital-rain-2-royalty-free-illustration/1326774318?phrase=luddites&adppopup=true">Stan Eales/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “Luddite” emerged in <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/">early 1800s England</a>. At the time there was a thriving textile industry that depended on manual knitting frames and a skilled workforce to create cloth and garments out of cotton and wool. But as <a href="https://www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/the-industrial-revolution">the Industrial Revolution</a> gathered momentum, steam-powered mills threatened the livelihood of thousands of artisanal textile workers.</p>
<p>Faced with an industrialized future that threatened their jobs and their professional identity, a growing number of textile workers turned to direct action. Galvanized by their leader, Ned Ludd, they began to smash the machines that they saw as robbing them of their source of income.</p>
<p>It’s not clear whether <a href="https://www.history.com/news/who-were-the-luddites">Ned Ludd was a real person</a>, or simply a figment of folklore invented during a period of upheaval. But his name became synonymous with rejecting disruptive new technologies – an association that lasts to this day. </p>
<h2>Questioning doesn’t mean rejecting</h2>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/im-a-luddite-you-should-be-one-too-163172">original Luddites were not anti-technology</a>, nor were they <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/">technologically incompetent</a>. Rather, they were skilled adopters and users of the artisanal textile technologies of the time. Their argument was not with technology, per se, but with the ways that wealthy industrialists were robbing them of their way of life.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Engraving of a mob of men breaking into a factory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525490/original/file-20230510-25-vvlwmh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wood engraving from 1844 depicts Luddites destroying power looms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/austro-hungaria-social-history-bohemian-weaver-mutiny-news-photo/549548257?adppopup=true">Archiv Gerstenberg/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, this distinction is sometimes lost.</p>
<p>Being called a Luddite often indicates technological incompetence – as in, “I can’t figure out how to send emojis; I’m such a Luddite.” Or it describes an ignorant rejection of technology: “He’s such a Luddite for refusing to use Venmo.”</p>
<p>In December 2015, Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates were jointly nominated for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-elon-musk-is-a-luddite-count-me-in-52630">“Luddite Award”</a>. Their sin? Raising concerns over the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. </p>
<p>The irony of three prominent scientists and entrepreneurs being labeled as Luddites underlines the disconnect between the term’s original meaning and its more modern use as an epithet for anyone who doesn’t wholeheartedly and unquestioningly embrace technological progress. </p>
<p>Yet technologists like Musk and Gates aren’t rejecting technology or innovation. Instead, they’re rejecting a worldview that all technological advances are ultimately good for society. This worldview optimistically assumes that the faster humans innovate, the better the future will be.</p>
<p>This “<a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/move-fast-and-break-things">move fast and break things</a>” approach toward technological innovation has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years – especially with growing awareness that <a href="https://theconversation.com/sci-fi-movies-are-the-secret-weapon-that-could-help-silicon-valley-grow-up-105714">unfettered innovation can lead to deeply harmful consequences</a> that a degree of responsibility and forethought could help avoid.</p>
<h2>Why Luddism matters</h2>
<p>In an age of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/chatgpt-pause-ai-experiments-open-letter/">ChatGPT</a>, gene editing and other transformative technologies, perhaps we all need to channel the spirit of Ned Ludd as we grapple with how to ensure that future technologies do more good than harm.</p>
<p>In fact, “<a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/kirkpatrick-sale-crow-s-nest-distribution-neo-luddites-and-lessons-from-the-luddites">Neo-Luddites</a>” or “New Luddites” is a term that emerged at the end of the 20th century.</p>
<p>In 1990, the psychologist Chellis Glendinning published an essay titled “<a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/chellis-glendinning-notes-toward-a-neo-luddite-manifesto">Notes toward a Neo-Luddite Manifesto</a>.” </p>
<p>In it, she recognized the nature of the early Luddite movement and related it to a growing disconnect between societal values and technological innovation in the late 20th century. As Glendinning writes, “Like the early Luddites, we too are a desperate people seeking to protect the livelihoods, communities, and families we love, which lie on the verge of destruction.”</p>
<p>On one hand, entrepreneurs and others who advocate for a more measured approach to technology innovation lest we stumble into avoidable – and potentially catastrophic risks – are frequently labeled “Neo-Luddites.” </p>
<p>These individuals represent experts who believe in the power of technology to positively change the future, but are also aware of the societal, environmental and economic dangers of blinkered innovation.</p>
<p>Then there are the Neo-Luddites who actively reject modern technologies, fearing that they are damaging to society. New York City’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html">Luddite Club</a> falls into this camp. Formed by a group of tech-disillusioned Gen-Zers, the club advocates the use of flip phones, crafting, hanging out in parks and reading hardcover or paperback books. Screens are an anathema to the group, which sees them as a drain on mental health.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how many of today’s Neo-Luddites – whether they’re thoughtful technologists, technology-rejecting teens or simply people who are uneasy about technological disruption – have read Glendinning’s manifesto. And to be sure, parts of it are rather contentious. Yet there is a common thread here: the idea that technology can lead to personal and societal harm if it is not developed responsibly. </p>
<p>And maybe that approach isn’t such a bad thing.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUir04L3aS/?utm_source=ig_embed\u0026utm_campaign=loading","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203653/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Maynard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite the association of ‘Luddite’ with a naïve rejection of technology, the term and its origins are far richer and more complex than you might think.Andrew Maynard, Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2018412023-04-20T12:41:50Z2023-04-20T12:41:50ZAs digital activists, teens of color turn to social media to fight for a more just world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521711/original/file-20230418-2610-d6yi11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C45%2C780%2C518&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Self-expression and storytelling are among the primary objectives that young aspiring activists seek to achieve online.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/friends-taking-selfies-or-filming-on-the-mobile-royalty-free-image/1387529364?phrase=black%20teens%20online&adppopup=true">FG Trade via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to social media use among young people, very often the concern is about potential harm.</p>
<p>Parents, policymakers and others worry that online platforms like Instagram and TikTok may <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/influencers-parents-posting-kids-online-privacy-security-concerns-rcna55318">compromise children’s privacy, threaten their safety</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851">undermine their mental health</a> and make them susceptible to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23727810.2020.1835420">social media addiction and cyberbullying</a>, among other problems.</p>
<p>Then there are the seemingly never-ending series of <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Dangerous-Internet-Challenges.aspx">dangerous and deadly internet “challenges</a>” – such as the “<a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a38603617/blackout-challenge-tiktok-2021/">blackout challenge</a>” and the “<a href="https://time.com/5189584/choking-game-pass-out-challenge/">choking game</a>” – that encourage kids and teens to record themselves performing perilous acts online.</p>
<p>While concerns about the potential pitfalls of social media platforms are valid and should be taken seriously, they can also overshadow some of the more positive ways that young people in general – and young people of color in particular – are using social media. As I found in my dissertation – “<a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/af75dbf19e4903207be29025afacce5f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y">#OnlineLiteraciesMatter</a>” – some young people are using social media to develop their identities as activists and to push for a more just society. In short, they are using social media platforms to engage in what I refer to as “digitized activism,” taking on issues such as systemic racism and seeking racial justice.</p>
<p>My study adds to a growing body of research that has found young people of color can bring about change when they <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26492573">learn to use digital tools to explore social issues</a> and use those tools to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.474">stand up for their beliefs</a>.</p>
<h2>Fighting online for social justice</h2>
<p>For my study, I followed six young activists between the ages of 14 and 18 across the United States. I picked them through online recruitment efforts. I searched for various hashtags to find them, sent direct messages, or left comments on their posts to engage with them online.</p>
<p>Four of the teens identified as Black and two identified as Latina. I looked at their activism on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. All of the young activists used at least one of those social media platforms for various lengths of time – from one to six years.</p>
<p>Each young person in my research represented a case study. I interviewed each one. I also created my own social media accounts to observe their social media posts and engage with them in the same online spaces. I examined their social media posts over a period of three months.</p>
<p>They often reacted to what was going on at the time of the study, which I conducted in 2021 after the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html">takeoff of the Black Lives Matter movement</a> in 2020. As a result, they were concerned with social justice, civil unrest, police brutality and a global pandemic. They were also concerned with increased hardships experienced by culturally and linguistically diverse communities, which often are disproportionately affected by these issues.</p>
<p>The young people in my study addressed a variety of subjects. Some of the subjects they took on could be seen through the hashtags they used, such as #systemicracism, #climatejustice and #mentalhealth.</p>
<h2>New narratives</h2>
<p>They also used social media to educate others through self-expression and to challenge what they saw as society’s negative views of young people. They placed a major emphasis on storytelling, as evidenced in hashtags such as #blackstoriesmatter, #teenwriter and #blackwriter. An overarching theme was a push for change. Their identities were reflected in hashtags such as #blackyouthvisionaries and #changemakers. They made clear that they see social media as a way to represent their values. </p>
<p>“Everything I do online is a reflection of the person I am, and I always want that image to be true to myself,” 18-year-old Laura told me in an interview. I used pseudonyms for all of the young people in my study. “Anyone who has been in a classroom or organization with me knows that I am outspoken and I always need to offer perspectives that I think are crucial to a discussion relating to social justice and I do the same online. Everything I post is a show of my values.”</p>
<p>Higher education appeared regularly in the young people’s self-expression and activism.</p>
<p>For instance, Samirah X., age 14, told me how she was inspired by the protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd to write a script for a movie called “You Change.”</p>
<p>“I take acting very seriously and enrolled in classes at a local community college – Introduction to Filmmaking, where I studied directors, and Screenwriting, where I learned basic screenwriting skills like formatting, developing characters, and their motives,” Samirah told me.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young African American girl looks toward the camera as she sits at a laptop wearing a pair of blue headphones and a green headband." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521935/original/file-20230419-22-wsh7h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Teens often turn to social media for creativity and self-expression.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/afro-american-girls-using-laptop-to-connect-with-royalty-free-image/1220557346?phrase=black%20girls%20social%20media&adppopup=true">marieclaudelemay via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Laura, the 18-year-old, tweeted about how her posts about her college classes “are pretty insightful and really push my classmates to challenge their current ways of thinking and I’m really proud of myself for that.”</p>
<p>As young people of color, they stressed the need to infuse their concerns into broader causes that don’t always take communities of color into account.</p>
<p>“The climate justice movement cannot just be advocating for preservation of parks and saving endangered species. It must be Intersectional,” Laura wrote in an Instagram post. “We have to recognize that Black and brown communities worldwide are being disproportionately disadvantaged because of air and water pollution, food insecurity, and more.”</p>
<h2>What matters most</h2>
<p>Sometimes, they used simple statements to call attention to the issues they see as being of paramount concern.</p>
<p>One of the teens in my study wrote simply:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My mental health matters</p>
<p>My representation matters</p>
<p>My music matters</p>
<p>My joy matters</p>
<p>My art matters</p>
<p>My future matters.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The teens made clear that they believe in the urgency of taking action now.</p>
<p>“With this generation, we are not going to wait, if we are tired, we are going to work for it, if we want something to happen we will work on it,” 16-year-old Dakari wrote in a post on YouTube and Instagram. “Stubborn, we don’t want to wait until we are older to do stuff.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201841/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique Skye McDaniel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For some teens on social media, TikTok and Twitter aren’t all about selfies or the latest craze in online “challenges.” Some teens are using social media to advocate for social justice.Dominique Skye McDaniel, Assistant Professor of English Education, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.