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antiporn-activist · 2 months

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I thought y'all should read this

I have a free trial to News+ so I copy-pasted it for you here. I don't think Jonathan Haidt would object to more people having this info.

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End the Phone-Based Childhood Now

The environment in which kids grow up today is hostile to human development.

By Jonathan Haidt

Something went suddenly and horribly wrong for adolescents in the early 2010s. By now you’ve likely seen the statistics: Rates of depression and anxiety in the United States—fairly stable in the 2000s—rose by more than 50 percent in many studies from 2010 to 2019. The suicide rate rose 48 percent for adolescents ages 10 to 19. For girls ages 10 to 14, it rose 131 percent.

The problem was not limited to the U.S.: Similar patterns emerged around the same time in Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, the Nordic countries, and beyond. By a variety of measures and in a variety of countries, the members of Generation Z (born in and after 1996) are suffering from anxiety, depression, self-harm, and related disorders at levels higher than any other generation for which we have data.

The decline in mental health is just one of many signs that something went awry. Loneliness and friendlessness among American teens began to surge around 2012. Academic achievement went down, too. According to “The Nation’s Report Card,” scores in reading and math began to decline for U.S. students after 2012, reversing decades of slow but generally steady increase. PISA, the major international measure of educational trends, shows that declines in math, reading, and science happened globally, also beginning in the early 2010s.

As the oldest members of Gen Z reach their late 20s, their troubles are carrying over into adulthood. Young adults are dating less, having less sex, and showing less interest in ever having children than prior generations. They are more likelyto live with their parents. They were less likely to get jobs as teens, and managers say they are harder to work with. Many of these trends began with earlier generations, but most of them accelerated with Gen Z.

Surveys show that members of Gen Z are shyer and more risk averse than previous generations, too, and risk aversion may make them less ambitious. In an interview last May, OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman and Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison noted that, for the first time since the 1970s, none of Silicon Valley’s preeminent entrepreneurs are under 30. “Something has really gone wrong,” Altman said. In a famously young industry, he was baffled by the sudden absence of great founders in their 20s.

Generations are not monolithic, of course. Many young people are flourishing. Taken as a whole, however, Gen Z is in poor mental health and is lagging behind previous generations on many important metrics. And if a generation is doing poorly––if it is more anxious and depressed and is starting families, careers, and important companies at a substantially lower rate than previous generations––then the sociological and economic consequences will be profound for the entire society.

What happened in the early 2010s that altered adolescent development and worsened mental health? Theories abound, but the fact that similar trends are found in many countries worldwide means that events and trends that are specific to the United States cannot be the main story.

I think the answer can be stated simply, although the underlying psychology is complex: Those were the years when adolescents in rich countries traded in their flip phones for smartphones and moved much more of their social lives online—particularly onto social-media platforms designed for virality and addiction. Once young people began carrying the entire internet in their pockets, available to them day and night, it altered their daily experiences and developmental pathways across the board. Friendship, dating, sexuality, exercise, sleep, academics, politics, family dynamics, identity—all were affected. Life changed rapidly for younger children, too, as they began to get access to their parents’ smartphones and, later, got their own iPads, laptops, and even smartphones during elementary school.

As a social psychologist who has long studied social and moral development, I have been involved in debates about the effects of digital technology for years. Typically, the scientific questions have been framed somewhat narrowly, to make them easier to address with data. For example, do adolescents who consume more social media have higher levels of depression? Does using a smartphone just before bedtime interfere with sleep? The answer to these questions is usually found to be yes, although the size of the relationship is often statistically small, which has led some researchers to conclude that these new technologies are not responsible for the gigantic increases in mental illness that began in the early 2010s.

But before we can evaluate the evidence on any one potential avenue of harm, we need to step back and ask a broader question: What is childhood––including adolescence––and how did it change when smartphones moved to the center of it? If we take a more holistic view of what childhood is and what young children, tweens, and teens need to do to mature into competent adults, the picture becomes much clearer. Smartphone-based life, it turns out, alters or interferes with a great number of developmental processes.

The intrusion of smartphones and social media are not the only changes that have deformed childhood. There’s an important backstory, beginning as long ago as the 1980s, when we started systematically depriving children and adolescents of freedom, unsupervised play, responsibility, and opportunities for risk taking, all of which promote competence, maturity, and mental health. But the change in childhood accelerated in the early 2010s, when an already independence-deprived generation was lured into a new virtual universe that seemed safe to parents but in fact is more dangerous, in many respects, than the physical world.

My claim is that the new phone-based childhood that took shape roughly 12 years ago is making young people sick and blocking their progress to flourishing in adulthood. We need a dramatic cultural correction, and we need it now.

1. The Decline of Play and Independence

Human brains are extraordinarily large compared with those of other primates, and human childhoods are extraordinarily long, too, to give those large brains time to wire up within a particular culture. A child’s brain is already 90 percent of its adult size by about age 6. The next 10 or 15 years are about learning norms and mastering skills—physical, analytical, creative, and social. As children and adolescents seek out experiences and practice a wide variety of behaviors, the synapses and neurons that are used frequently are retained while those that are used less often disappear. Neurons that fire together wire together, as brain researchers say.

Brain development is sometimes said to be “experience-expectant,” because specific parts of the brain show increased plasticity during periods of life when an animal’s brain can “expect” to have certain kinds of experiences. You can see this with baby geese, who will imprint on whatever mother-sized object moves in their vicinity just after they hatch. You can see it with human children, who are able to learn languages quickly and take on the local accent, but only through early puberty; after that, it’s hard to learn a language and sound like a native speaker. There is also some evidence of a sensitive period for cultural learning more generally. Japanese children who spent a few years in California in the 1970s came to feel “American” in their identity and ways of interacting only if they attended American schools for a few years between ages 9 and 15. If they left before age 9, there was no lasting impact. If they didn’t arrive until they were 15, it was too late; they didn’t come to feel American.

Human childhood is an extended cultural apprenticeship with different tasks at different ages all the way through puberty. Once we see it this way, we can identify factors that promote or impede the right kinds of learning at each age. For children of all ages, one of the most powerful drivers of learning is the strong motivation to play. Play is the work of childhood, and all young mammals have the same job: to wire up their brains by playing vigorously and often, practicing the moves and skills they’ll need as adults. Kittens will play-pounce on anything that looks like a mouse tail. Human children will play games such as tag and sharks and minnows, which let them practice both their predator skills and their escaping-from-predator skills. Adolescents will play sports with greater intensity, and will incorporate playfulness into their social interactions—flirting, teasing, and developing inside jokes that bond friends together. Hundreds of studies on young rats, monkeys, and humans show that young mammals want to play, need to play, and end up socially, cognitively, and emotionally impaired when they are deprived of play.

One crucial aspect of play is physical risk taking. Children and adolescents must take risks and fail—often—in environments in which failure is not very costly. This is how they extend their abilities, overcome their fears, learn to estimate risk, and learn to cooperate in order to take on larger challenges later. The ever-present possibility of getting hurt while running around, exploring, play-fighting, or getting into a real conflict with another group adds an element of thrill, and thrilling play appears to be the most effective kind for overcoming childhood anxieties and building social, emotional, and physical competence. The desire for risk and thrill increases in the teen years, when failure might carry more serious consequences. Children of all ages need to choose the risk they are ready for at a given moment. Young people who are deprived of opportunities for risk taking and independent exploration will, on average, develop into more anxious and risk-averse adults.

Human childhood and adolescence evolved outdoors, in a physical world full of dangers and opportunities. Its central activities––play, exploration, and intense socializing––were largely unsupervised by adults, allowing children to make their own choices, resolve their own conflicts, and take care of one another. Shared adventures and shared adversity bound young people together into strong friendship clusters within which they mastered the social dynamics of small groups, which prepared them to master bigger challenges and larger groups later on.

And then we changed childhood.

The changes started slowly in the late 1970s and ’80s, before the arrival of the internet, as many parents in the U.S. grew fearful that their children would be harmed or abducted if left unsupervised. Such crimes have always been extremely rare, but they loomed larger in parents’ minds thanks in part to rising levels of street crime combined with the arrival of cable TV, which enabled round-the-clock coverage of missing-children cases. A general decline in social capital––the degree to which people knew and trusted their neighbors and institutions––exacerbated parental fears. Meanwhile, rising competition for college admissions encouraged more intensive forms of parenting. In the 1990s, American parents began pulling their children indoors or insisting that afternoons be spent in adult-run enrichment activities. Free play, independent exploration, and teen-hangout time declined.

In recent decades, seeing unchaperoned children outdoors has become so novel that when one is spotted in the wild, some adults feel it is their duty to call the police. In 2015, the Pew Research Center found that parents, on average, believed that children should be at least 10 years old to play unsupervised in front of their house, and that kids should be 14 before being allowed to go unsupervised to a public park. Most of these same parents had enjoyed joyous and unsupervised outdoor play by the age of 7 or 8.

2. The Virtual World Arrives in Two Waves

The internet, which now dominates the lives of young people, arrived in two waves of linked technologies. The first one did little harm to Millennials. The second one swallowed Gen Z whole.

The first wave came ashore in the 1990s with the arrival of dial-up internet access, which made personal computers good for something beyond word processing and basic games. By 2003, 55 percent of American households had a computer with (slow) internet access. Rates of adolescent depression, loneliness, and other measures of poor mental health did not rise in this first wave. If anything, they went down a bit. Millennial teens (born 1981 through 1995), who were the first to go through puberty with access to the internet, were psychologically healthier and happier, on average, than their older siblings or parents in Generation X (born 1965 through 1980).

The second wave began to rise in the 2000s, though its full force didn’t hit until the early 2010s. It began rather innocently with the introduction of social-media platforms that helped people connect with their friends. Posting and sharing content became much easier with sites such as Friendster (launched in 2003), Myspace (2003), and Facebook (2004).

Teens embraced social media soon after it came out, but the time they could spend on these sites was limited in those early years because the sites could only be accessed from a computer, often the family computer in the living room. Young people couldn’t access social media (and the rest of the internet) from the school bus, during class time, or while hanging out with friends outdoors. Many teens in the early-to-mid-2000s had cellphones, but these were basic phones (many of them flip phones) that had no internet access. Typing on them was difficult––they had only number keys. Basic phones were tools that helped Millennials meet up with one another in person or talk with each other one-on-one. I have seen no evidence to suggest that basic cellphones harmed the mental health of Millennials.

It was not until the introduction of the iPhone (2007), the App Store (2008), and high-speed internet (which reached 50 percent of American homes in 2007)—and the corresponding pivot to mobile made by many providers of social media, video games, and porn—that it became possible for adolescents to spend nearly every waking moment online. The extraordinary synergy among these innovations was what powered the second technological wave. In 2011, only 23 percent of teens had a smartphone. By 2015, that number had risen to 73 percent, and a quarter of teens said they were online “almost constantly.” Their younger siblings in elementary school didn’t usually have their own smartphones, but after its release in 2010, the iPad quickly became a staple of young children’s daily lives. It was in this brief period, from 2010 to 2015, that childhood in America (and many other countries) was rewired into a form that was more sedentary, solitary, virtual, and incompatible with healthy human development.

3. Techno-optimism and the Birth of the Phone-Based Childhood

The phone-based childhood created by that second wave—including not just smartphones themselves, but all manner of internet-connected devices, such as tablets, laptops, video-game consoles, and smartwatches—arrived near the end of a period of enormous optimism about digital technology. The internet came into our lives in the mid-1990s, soon after the fall of the Soviet Union. By the end of that decade, it was widely thought that the web would be an ally of democracy and a slayer of tyrants. When people are connected to each other, and to all the information in the world, how could any dictator keep them down?

In the 2000s, Silicon Valley and its world-changing inventions were a source of pride and excitement in America. Smart and ambitious young people around the world wanted to move to the West Coast to be part of the digital revolution. Tech-company founders such as Steve Jobs and Sergey Brin were lauded as gods, or at least as modern Prometheans, bringing humans godlike powers. The Arab Spring bloomed in 2011 with the help of decentralized social platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. When pundits and entrepreneurs talked about the power of social media to transform society, it didn’t sound like a dark prophecy.

You have to put yourself back in this heady time to understand why adults acquiesced so readily to the rapid transformation of childhood. Many parents had concerns, even then, about what their children were doing online, especially because of the internet’s ability to put children in contact with strangers. But there was also a lot of excitement about the upsides of this new digital world. If computers and the internet were the vanguards of progress, and if young people––widely referred to as “digital natives”––were going to live their lives entwined with these technologies, then why not give them a head start? I remember how exciting it was to see my 2-year-old son master the touch-and-swipe interface of my first iPhone in 2008. I thought I could see his neurons being woven together faster as a result of the stimulation it brought to his brain, compared to the passivity of watching television or the slowness of building a block tower. I thought I could see his future job prospects improving.

Touchscreen devices were also a godsend for harried parents. Many of us discovered that we could have peace at a restaurant, on a long car trip, or at home while making dinner or replying to emails if we just gave our children what they most wanted: our smartphones and tablets. We saw that everyone else was doing it and figured it must be okay.

It was the same for older children, desperate to join their friends on social-media platforms, where the minimum age to open an account was set by law to 13, even though no research had been done to establish the safety of these products for minors. Because the platforms did nothing (and still do nothing) to verify the stated age of new-account applicants, any 10-year-old could open multiple accounts without parental permission or knowledge, and many did. Facebook and later Instagram became places where many sixth and seventh graders were hanging out and socializing. If parents did find out about these accounts, it was too late. Nobody wanted their child to be isolated and alone, so parents rarely forced their children to shut down their accounts.

We had no idea what we were doing.

4. The High Cost of a Phone-Based Childhood

In Walden, his 1854 reflection on simple living, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The cost of a thing is the amount of … life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” It’s an elegant formulation of what economists would later call the opportunity cost of any choice—all of the things you can no longer do with your money and time once you’ve committed them to something else. So it’s important that we grasp just how much of a young person’s day is now taken up by their devices.

The numbers are hard to believe. The most recent Gallup data show that American teens spend about five hours a day just on social-media platforms (including watching videos on TikTok and YouTube). Add in all the other phone- and screen-based activities, and the number rises to somewhere between seven and nine hours a day, on average. The numbers are even higher in single-parent and low-income families, and among Black, Hispanic, and Native American families.

In Thoreau’s terms, how much of life is exchanged for all this screen time? Arguably, most of it. Everything else in an adolescent’s day must get squeezed down or eliminated entirely to make room for the vast amount of content that is consumed, and for the hundreds of “friends,” “followers,” and other network connections that must be serviced with texts, posts, comments, likes, snaps, and direct messages. I recently surveyed my students at NYU, and most of them reported that the very first thing they do when they open their eyes in the morning is check their texts, direct messages, and social-media feeds. It’s also the last thing they do before they close their eyes at night. And it’s a lot of what they do in between.

The amount of time that adolescents spend sleeping declined in the early 2010s, and many studies tie sleep loss directly to the use of devices around bedtime, particularly when they’re used to scroll through social media. Exercise declined, too, which is unfortunate because exercise, like sleep, improves both mental and physical health. Book reading has been declining for decades, pushed aside by digital alternatives, but the decline, like so much else, sped up in the early 2010s. With passive entertainment always available, adolescent minds likely wander less than they used to; contemplation and imagination might be placed on the list of things winnowed down or crowded out.

But perhaps the most devastating cost of the new phone-based childhood was the collapse of time spent interacting with other people face-to-face. A study of how Americans spend their time found that, before 2010, young people (ages 15 to 24) reported spending far more time with their friends (about two hours a day, on average, not counting time together at school) than did older people (who spent just 30 to 60 minutes with friends). Time with friends began decreasing for young people in the 2000s, but the drop accelerated in the 2010s, while it barely changed for older people. By 2019, young people’s time with friends had dropped to just 67 minutes a day. It turns out that Gen Z had been socially distancing for many years and had mostly completed the project by the time COVID-19 struck.

You might question the importance of this decline. After all, isn’t much of this online time spent interacting with friends through texting, social media, and multiplayer video games? Isn’t that just as good?

Some of it surely is, and virtual interactions offer unique benefits too, especially for young people who are geographically or socially isolated. But in general, the virtual world lacks many of the features that make human interactions in the real world nutritious, as we might say, for physical, social, and emotional development. In particular, real-world relationships and social interactions are characterized by four features—typical for hundreds of thousands of years—that online interactions either distort or erase.

First, real-world interactions are embodied, meaning that we use our hands and facial expressions to communicate, and we learn to respond to the body language of others. Virtual interactions, in contrast, mostly rely on language alone. No matter how many emojis are offered as compensation, the elimination of communication channels for which we have eons of evolutionary programming is likely to produce adults who are less comfortable and less skilled at interacting in person.

Second, real-world interactions are synchronous; they happen at the same time. As a result, we learn subtle cues about timing and conversational turn taking. Synchronous interactions make us feel closer to the other person because that’s what getting “in sync” does. Texts, posts, and many other virtual interactions lack synchrony. There is less real laughter, more room for misinterpretation, and more stress after a comment that gets no immediate response.

Third, real-world interactions primarily involve one‐to‐one communication, or sometimes one-to-several. But many virtual communications are broadcast to a potentially huge audience. Online, each person can engage in dozens of asynchronous interactions in parallel, which interferes with the depth achieved in all of them. The sender’s motivations are different, too: With a large audience, one’s reputation is always on the line; an error or poor performance can damage social standing with large numbers of peers. These communications thus tend to be more performative and anxiety-inducing than one-to-one conversations.

Finally, real-world interactions usually take place within communities that have a high bar for entry and exit, so people are strongly motivated to invest in relationships and repair rifts when they happen. But in many virtual networks, people can easily block others or quit when they are displeased. Relationships within such networks are usually more disposable.

These unsatisfying and anxiety-producing features of life online should be recognizable to most adults. Online interactions can bring out antisocial behavior that people would never display in their offline communities. But if life online takes a toll on adults, just imagine what it does to adolescents in the early years of puberty, when their “experience expectant” brains are rewiring based on feedback from their social interactions.

Kids going through puberty online are likely to experience far more social comparison, self-consciousness, public shaming, and chronic anxiety than adolescents in previous generations, which could potentially set developing brains into a habitual state of defensiveness. The brain contains systems that are specialized for approach (when opportunities beckon) and withdrawal (when threats appear or seem likely). People can be in what we might call “discover mode” or “defend mode” at any moment, but generally not both. The two systems together form a mechanism for quickly adapting to changing conditions, like a thermostat that can activate either a heating system or a cooling system as the temperature fluctuates. Some people’s internal thermostats are generally set to discover mode, and they flip into defend mode only when clear threats arise. These people tend to see the world as full of opportunities. They are happier and less anxious. Other people’s internal thermostats are generally set to defend mode, and they flip into discover mode only when they feel unusually safe. They tend to see the world as full of threats and are more prone to anxiety and depressive disorders.

A simple way to understand the differences between Gen Z and previous generations is that people born in and after 1996 have internal thermostats that were shifted toward defend mode. This is why life on college campuses changed so suddenly when Gen Z arrived, beginning around 2014. Students began requesting “safe spaces” and trigger warnings. They were highly sensitive to “microaggressions” and sometimes claimed that words were “violence.” These trends mystified those of us in older generations at the time, but in hindsight, it all makes sense. Gen Z students found words, ideas, and ambiguous social encounters more threatening than had previous generations of students because we had fundamentally altered their psychological development.

5. So Many Harms

The debate around adolescents’ use of smartphones and social media typically revolves around mental health, and understandably so. But the harms that have resulted from transforming childhood so suddenly and heedlessly go far beyondmental health. I’ve touched on some of them—social awkwardness, reduced self-confidence, and a more sedentary childhood. Here are three additional harms.

Fragmented Attention, Disrupted Learning

Staying on task while sitting at a computer is hard enough for an adult with a fully developed prefrontal cortex. It is far more difficult for adolescents in front of their laptop trying to do homework. They are probably less intrinsically motivated to stay on task. They’re certainly less able, given their undeveloped prefrontal cortex, and hence it’s easy for any company with an app to lure them away with an offer of social validation or entertainment. Their phones are pinging constantly—one study found that the typical adolescent now gets 237 notifications a day, roughly 15 every waking hour. Sustained attention is essential for doing almost anything big, creative, or valuable, yet young people find their attention chopped up into little bits by notifications offering the possibility of high-pleasure, low-effort digital experiences.

It even happens in the classroom. Studies confirm that when students have access to their phones during class time, they use them, especially for texting and checking social media, and their grades and learning suffer. This might explain why benchmark test scores began to decline in the U.S. and around the world in the early 2010s—well before the pandemic hit.

Addiction and Social Withdrawal

The neural basis of behavioral addiction to social media or video games is not exactly the same as chemical addiction to cocaine or opioids. Nonetheless, they all involve abnormally heavy and sustained activation of dopamine neurons and reward pathways. Over time, the brain adapts to these high levels of dopamine; when the child is not engaged in digital activity, their brain doesn’t have enough dopamine, and the child experiences withdrawal symptoms. These generally include anxiety, insomnia, and intense irritability. Kids with these kinds of behavioral addictions often become surly and aggressive, and withdraw from their families into their bedrooms and devices.

Social-media and gaming platforms were designed to hook users. How successful are they? How many kids suffer from digital addictions?

The main addiction risks for boys seem to be video games and porn. “Internet gaming disorder,” which was added to the main diagnosis manual of psychiatry in 2013 as a condition for further study, describes “significant impairment or distress” in several aspects of life, along with many hallmarks of addiction, including an inability to reduce usage despite attempts to do so. Estimates for the prevalence of IGD range from 7 to 15 percent among adolescent boys and young men. As for porn, a nationally representative survey of American adults published in 2019 found that 7 percent of American men agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I am addicted to pornography”—and the rates were higher for the youngest men.

Girls have much lower rates of addiction to video games and porn, but they use social media more intensely than boys do. A study of teens in 29 nations found that between 5 and 15 percent of adolescents engage in what is called “problematic social media use,” which includes symptoms such as preoccupation, withdrawal symptoms, neglect of other areas of life, and lying to parents and friends about time spent on social media. That study did not break down results by gender, but many others have found that rates of “problematic use” are higher for girls.

I don’t want to overstate the risks: Most teens do not become addicted to their phones and video games. But across multiple studies and across genders, rates of problematic use come out in the ballpark of 5 to 15 percent. Is there any other consumer product that parents would let their children use relatively freely if they knew that something like one in 10 kids would end up with a pattern of habitual and compulsive use that disrupted various domains of life and looked a lot like an addiction?

The Decay of Wisdom and the Loss of Meaning

During that crucial sensitive period for cultural learning, from roughly ages 9 through 15, we should be especially thoughtful about who is socializing our children for adulthood. Instead, that’s when most kids get their first smartphone and sign themselves up (with or without parental permission) to consume rivers of content from random strangers. Much of that content is produced by other adolescents, in blocks of a few minutes or a few seconds.

This rerouting of enculturating content has created a generation that is largely cut off from older generations and, to some extent, from the accumulated wisdom of humankind, including knowledge about how to live a flourishing life. Adolescents spend less time steeped in their local or national culture. They are coming of age in a confusing, placeless, ahistorical maelstrom of 30-second stories curated by algorithms designed to mesmerize them. Without solid knowledge of the past and the filtering of good ideas from bad––a process that plays out over many generations––young people will be more prone to believe whatever terrible ideas become popular around them, which might explain why videos showing young people reacting positively to Osama bin Laden’s thoughts about America were trending on TikTok last fall.

All this is made worse by the fact that so much of digital public life is an unending supply of micro dramas about somebody somewhere in our country of 340 million people who did something that can fuel an outrage cycle, only to be pushed aside by the next. It doesn’t add up to anything and leaves behind only a distorted sense of human nature and affairs.

When our public life becomes fragmented, ephemeral, and incomprehensible, it is a recipe for anomie, or normlessness. The great French sociologist Émile Durkheim showed long ago that a society that fails to bind its people together with some shared sense of sacredness and common respect for rules and norms is not a society of great individual freedom; it is, rather, a place where disoriented individuals have difficulty setting goals and exerting themselves to achieve them. Durkheim argued that anomie was a major driver of suicide rates in European countries. Modern scholars continue to draw on his work to understand suicide rates today.

Durkheim’s observations are crucial for understanding what happened in the early 2010s. A long-running survey of American teens found that, from 1990 to 2010, high-school seniors became slightly less likely to agree with statements such as “Life often feels meaningless.” But as soon as they adopted a phone-based life and many began to live in the whirlpool of social media, where no stability can be found, every measure of despair increased. From 2010 to 2019, the number who agreed that their lives felt “meaningless” increased by about 70 percent, to more than one in five.

6. Young People Don’t Like Their Phone-Based Lives

How can I be confident that the epidemic of adolescent mental illness was kicked off by the arrival of the phone-based childhood? Skeptics point to other events as possible culprits, including the 2008 global financial crisis, global warming, the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting and the subsequent active-shooter drills, rising academic pressures, and the opioid epidemic. But while these events might have been contributing factors in some countries, none can explain both the timing and international scope of the disaster.

An additional source of evidence comes from Gen Z itself. With all the talk of regulating social media, raising age limits, and getting phones out of schools, you might expect to find many members of Gen Z writing and speaking out in opposition. I’ve looked for such arguments and found hardly any. In contrast, many young adults tell stories of devastation.

Freya India, a 24-year-old British essayist who writes about girls, explains how social-media sites carry girls off to unhealthy places: “It seems like your child is simply watching some makeup tutorials, following some mental health influencers, or experimenting with their identity. But let me tell you: they are on a conveyor belt to someplace bad. Whatever insecurity or vulnerability they are struggling with, they will be pushed further and further into it.” She continues:

Gen Z were the guinea pigs in this uncontrolled global social experiment. We were the first to have our vulnerabilities and insecurities fed into a machine that magnified and refracted them back at us, all the time, before we had any sense of who we were. We didn’t just grow up with algorithms. They raised us. They rearranged our faces. Shaped our identities. Convinced us we were sick.

Rikki Schlott, a 23-year-old American journalist and co-author of The Canceling of the American Mind, writes,

"The day-to-day life of a typical teen or tween today would be unrecognizable to someone who came of age before the smartphone arrived. Zoomers are spending an average of 9 hours daily in this screen-time doom loop—desperate to forget the gaping holes they’re bleeding out of, even if just for … 9 hours a day. Uncomfortable silence could be time to ponder why they’re so miserable in the first place. Drowning it out with algorithmic white noise is far easier."

A 27-year-old man who spent his adolescent years addicted (his word) to video games and pornography sent me this reflection on what that did to him:

I missed out on a lot of stuff in life—a lot of socialization. I feel the effects now: meeting new people, talking to people. I feel that my interactions are not as smooth and fluid as I want. My knowledge of the world (geography, politics, etc.) is lacking. I didn’t spend time having conversations or learning about sports. I often feel like a hollow operating system.

Or consider what Facebook found in a research project involving focus groups of young people, revealed in 2021 by the whistleblower Frances Haugen: “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rates of anxiety and depression among teens,” an internal document said. “This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.”

7. Collective-Action Problems

Social-media companies such as Meta, TikTok, and Snap are often compared to tobacco companies, but that’s not really fair to the tobacco industry. It’s true that companies in both industries marketed harmful products to children and tweaked their products for maximum customer retention (that is, addiction), but there’s a big difference: Teens could and did choose, in large numbers, not to smoke. Even at the peak of teen cigarette use, in 1997, nearly two-thirds of high-school students did not smoke.

Social media, in contrast, applies a lot more pressure on nonusers, at a much younger age and in a more insidious way. Once a few students in any middle school lie about their age and open accounts at age 11 or 12, they start posting photos and comments about themselves and other students. Drama ensues. The pressure on everyone else to join becomes intense. Even a girl who knows, consciously, that Instagram can foster beauty obsession, anxiety, and eating disorders might sooner take those risks than accept the seeming certainty of being out of the loop, clueless, and excluded. And indeed, if she resists while most of her classmates do not, she might, in fact, be marginalized, which puts her at risk for anxiety and depression, though via a different pathway than the one taken by those who use social media heavily. In this way, social media accomplishes a remarkable feat: It even harms adolescents who do not use it.

A recent study led by the University of Chicago economist Leonardo Bursztyn captured the dynamics of the social-media trap precisely. The researchers recruited more than 1,000 college students and asked them how much they’d need to be paid to deactivate their accounts on either Instagram or TikTok for four weeks. That’s a standard economist’s question to try to compute the net value of a product to society. On average, students said they’d need to be paid roughly $50 ($59 for TikTok, $47 for Instagram) to deactivate whichever platform they were asked about. Then the experimenters told the students that they were going to try to get most of the others in their school to deactivate that same platform, offering to pay them to do so as well, and asked, Now how much would you have to be paid to deactivate, if most others did so? The answer, on average, was less than zero. In each case, most students were willing to pay to have that happen.

Social media is all about network effects. Most students are only on it because everyone else is too. Most of them would prefer that nobody be on these platforms. Later in the study, students were asked directly, “Would you prefer to live in a world without Instagram [or TikTok]?” A majority of students said yes––58 percent for each app.

This is the textbook definition of what social scientists call a collective-action problem. It’s what happens when a group would be better off if everyone in the group took a particular action, but each actor is deterred from acting, because unless the others do the same, the personal cost outweighs the benefit. Fishermen considering limiting their catch to avoid wiping out the local fish population are caught in this same kind of trap. If no one else does it too, they just lose profit.

Cigarettes trapped individual smokers with a biological addiction. Social media has trapped an entire generation in a collective-action problem. Early app developers deliberately and knowingly exploited the psychological weaknesses and insecurities of young people to pressure them to consume a product that, upon reflection, many wish they could use less, or not at all.

8. Four Norms to Break Four Traps

Young people and their parents are stuck in at least four collective-action traps. Each is hard to escape for an individual family, but escape becomes much easier if families, schools, and communities coordinate and act together. Here are four norms that would roll back the phone-based childhood. I believe that any community that adopts all four will see substantial improvements in youth mental health within two years.

No smartphones before high school

The trap here is that each child thinks they need a smartphone because “everyone else” has one, and many parents give in because they don’t want their child to feel excluded. But if no one else had a smartphone—or even if, say, only half of the child’s sixth-grade class had one—parents would feel more comfortable providing a basic flip phone (or no phone at all). Delaying round-the-clock internet access until ninth grade (around age 14) as a national or community norm would help to protect adolescents during the very vulnerable first few years of puberty. According to a 2022 British study, these are the years when social-media use is most correlated with poor mental health. Family policies about tablets, laptops, and video-game consoles should be aligned with smartphone restrictions to prevent overuse of other screen activities.

No social media before 16

The trap here, as with smartphones, is that each adolescent feels a strong need to open accounts on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and other platforms primarily because that’s where most of their peers are posting and gossiping. But if the majority of adolescents were not on these accounts until they were 16, families and adolescents could more easily resist the pressure to sign up. The delay would not mean that kids younger than 16 could never watch videos on TikTok or YouTube—only that they could not open accounts, give away their data, post their own content, and let algorithms get to know them and their preferences.

Phone‐free schools

Most schools claim that they ban phones, but this usually just means that students aren’t supposed to take their phone out of their pocket during class. Research shows that most students do use their phones during class time. They also use them during lunchtime, free periods, and breaks between classes––times when students could and should be interacting with their classmates face-to-face. The only way to get students’ minds off their phones during the school day is to require all students to put their phones (and other devices that can send or receive texts) into a phone locker or locked pouch at the start of the day. Schools that have gone phone-free always seem to report that it has improved the culture, making students more attentive in class and more interactive with one another. Published studies back them up.

More independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world

Many parents are afraid to give their children the level of independence and responsibility they themselves enjoyed when they were young, even though rates of homicide, drunk driving, and other physical threats to children are way down in recent decades. Part of the fear comes from the fact that parents look at each other to determine what is normal and therefore safe, and they see few examples of families acting as if a 9-year-old can be trusted to walk to a store without a chaperone. But if many parents started sending their children out to play or run errands, then the norms of what is safe and accepted would change quickly. So would ideas about what constitutes “good parenting.” And if more parents trusted their children with more responsibility––for example, by asking their kids to do more to help out, or to care for others––then the pervasive sense of uselessness now found in surveys of high-school students might begin to dissipate.

It would be a mistake to overlook this fourth norm. If parents don’t replace screen time with real-world experiences involving friends and independent activity, then banning devices will feel like deprivation, not the opening up of a world of opportunities.

The main reason why the phone-based childhood is so harmful is because it pushes aside everything else. Smartphones are experience blockers. Our ultimate goal should not be to remove screens entirely, nor should it be to return childhood to exactly the way it was in 1960. Rather, it should be to create a version of childhood and adolescence that keeps young people anchored in the real world while flourishing in the digital age.

9. What Are We Waiting For?

An essential function of government is to solve collective-action problems. Congress could solve or help solve the ones I’ve highlighted—for instance, by raising the age of “internet adulthood” to 16 and requiring tech companies to keep underage children off their sites.

In recent decades, however, Congress has not been good at addressing public concerns when the solutions would displease a powerful and deep-pocketed industry. Governors and state legislators have been much more effective, and their successes might let us evaluate how well various reforms work. But the bottom line is that to change norms, we’re going to need to do most of the work ourselves, in neighborhood groups, schools, and other communities.

There are now hundreds of organizations––most of them started by mothers who saw what smartphones had done to their children––that are working to roll back the phone-based childhood or promote a more independent, real-world childhood. (I have assembled a list of many of them.) One that I co-founded, at LetGrow.org, suggests a variety of simple programs for parents or schools, such as play club (schools keep the playground open at least one day a week before or after school, and kids sign up for phone-free, mixed-age, unstructured play as a regular weekly activity) and the Let Grow Experience (a series of homework assignments in which students––with their parents’ consent––choose something to do on their own that they’ve never done before, such as walk the dog, climb a tree, walk to a store, or cook dinner).

Parents are fed up with what childhood has become. Many are tired of having daily arguments about technologies that were designed to grab hold of their children’s attention and not let go. But the phone-based childhood is not inevitable.

The four norms I have proposed cost almost nothing to implement, they cause no clear harm to anyone, and while they could be supported by new legislation, they can be instilled even without it. We can begin implementing all of them right away, this year, especially in communities with good cooperation between schools and parents. A single memo from a principal asking parents to delay smartphones and social media, in support of the school’s effort to improve mental health by going phone free, would catalyze collective action and reset the community’s norms.

We didn’t know what we were doing in the early 2010s. Now we do. It’s time to end the phone-based childhood.

This article is adapted from Jonathan Haidt’s forthcoming book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

#phones are bad #childhood

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 4 months

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Am I the asshole for ditching my best friend because of her political views?

🧠🧠🧠 so I can find it later.

My best friend of nearly 10 years has, imo, gone completely off the deep end politically. She went from an educated CNA with 4 years at the same job to being unable to hold down a job and being blacklisted from EVERY hospital and medical center in the city for forcing her patients to pray with her and spouting political and pseudoscience. This last year, she had 7 jobs, which is unreal for her.

In 2016, she fell down the Qanon rabbit hole. Over the last 6 ish years, she has started abusing trans people online, she harassed people at Pride this year, and actually believes all of the qanon stuff.

I just can't handle it. She's become hateful, paranoid. She doesn't even shop at grocery stores anymore because they are "run by liberal scum." She only shops Amazon and fast food. She bought a gun, and she answers the door with it. Even if she knows a friend is coming over, she's afraid of black people now. She's afraid of poor people, too. I just don't get it. She watches the news all day, every day. Like it's an addiction to see global suffering 24/7.

I'm not kidding. I think there's something going wrong upstairs. I tried to reach out, gently, around August about a possible mental health issue, since she's struggled with a few issues in the past. She just started in on how NASA pushed the moon further from Earth and that gave us all depression. I tried for months to help her. But nothing has worked and now she is talking about how all liberals should die and is getting those horrible "hang biden" stickers on her car, and I just blocked her. I blocked her number, blocked her on all social media, and blocked her email address. I ghosted her.

She was my best friend, and I think I might be TA because I didn't stick it out and try more to bring her back. But I also think she's past that point, if she comes around it has to be on her own. In the mean time, I want nothing to do with her. But I miss her. We had such an amazing friendship that's gone downhill so fast. I think I hurt her, but I'm worried for my own mental health. See how I'm on the fence? Ugh.

Aita?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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aloysiavirgata · 2 months

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Details of how his school works aside, tomorrow is VirgataBoy’s last day of high school classes. He won’t graduate until June, but he finishes formal classes tomorrow.

He turns 18 the weekend after this, and his sister will be 20 in June. Legally, I’m just about done parenting. It’s a very strange feeling.

I was 43 in December and maybe I should be feeling my age, but I don’t. I love my 40’s and this sort of quiet peace I’ve found in not caring about whether other people find me pretty anymore or if my clothes are cool or in performative femininity or whether I’ve done my makeup the right way.

I’m feeling a little wistful for being a teenager in the 90’s, but not because I was young and easy under the apple boughs. My closest friends and I from those days, we are all still friends. I like and love myself much better now than I did then.

Truth? I was conventionally attractive on the East coast and took road trips with my friends to DC and Manhattan and the beach. I was VERY lucky for parents who gave me a car (a Taurus of course) and a cell phone in 1997. I was lucky that my jobs were at trendy places to have jobs. (I was an Abercrombie Girl, a barista in the nascent days of the independent coffeehouse boom.) There was no social media. There were mix tapes and the mall and the Delia’s catalogue and Hard Candy nail polish and posters carefully ripped out of Tiger Beat. Kipling bags and Peace Frogs and Absolut Vodka ads that Rachael (that BITCH) collected.

And also, also.

Also.

I was super into this geeky show, and there wasn’t streaming or social media so you watched or you recorded it on VHS. You were, if as EXCEPTIONALLY geeky as I was, on ATXF on the dial-up modem. You printed reams of fanfic on a dot matrix printer because your friends worked at Kinko’s. You were a little shy about it all because it was wildly popular but somehow also not quite cool.

You eyed up the FTF action figures at Suncoast. Even though your friends bought Chanel Vamp, you bought Chanel Brown Sugar because it seemed like a Scully sort of lip color.

You realized some things about yourself, with Scully. With Gillian. With the complicated feelings being at an all-girls school gave you.

You went to college and grad school and got married and had babies and they grew up too. You shop online now and the posters and Scotch tape gave way to framed art.

Kinko’s isn’t even a thing anymore, you married a coffee shop customer, the Ford Taurus has been discontinued, is Abercrombie even cool?

But. This one funny thing remains. Remains so unexpectedly and sometimes, on a Thursday evening in March, you might be 17 again.

***

“We are not preordained, we are not predestined, and even so, in this enormous world of men we found each other, a colossal global coincidence causing earthquakes in Turkey and Mexico. We shook it up, she and I. We shake it up.

And when the dust settles it's just her, and me, in the car, shifting lanes and she reaches down to turn the radio on, quietly, just enough to distract me, just enough to warm us up. Streetlights outside, and night. Cars and children.

Wood and nails.”

#nostalgia #90’s #Sabine #navelgazing bullshit

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nerdylilpeebee · 2 months

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nevermind! have just seen your stance on gazan genocide. racial conflict and racial power dynamics are above you, white supremacy eludes and/or invisibly benefits you, you have no qualms depicting palestinians as barbaric terrorists colluding to lie about thousands upon thousands of civilian casualties and deliberate famine reported straight from the strip by independent journalists watching their native communities being blown apart by fascists simply because theyre arabic, you have no grasp of israel's/the idf's continued bloody history of settler violence for generations before you and i were born, the humanity of gazans who have lived their whole lives enduring this deep suffering and humiliation, this soul-deep degradation, is just drivel and sob stories to you, and most crucially,

you lack the conceptualization to engage in discourse beyond fandom. so dont.

human lives arent 'discourse'. this isnt online drama. its not trendy, its not mascot horror, its not problematic fanfic, its not animation, its not a trope, its not a callout post. you cant understand the human elements of the palestinian genocide, you just see your gracious, god-sent mighty white murderers exterminating the brown vermin in a faraway land. my inlaws who have their house shot at every other day arent human to you. my fiance who shakes uncontrollably when they hear thunder isnt human to you. they are not afraid of hamas bombing their apartment. hamas flies no planes over their building, hamas sets off no raid sirens, hamas deprives them of no aid. the dignity of protest and resistance is not afforded to the average palestinian because the moment they speak out theyre threatened with loss of jobs, scholarships, expulsions from their schools. theyre immediately branded as unstable terrorists, dangers to society- that is, their israeli, white supremacist society. consider who benefits from you believing that ONLY a babykilling jewhating subhuman psychopath could ever POSSIBLY oppose and protest palestinians being sexually assaulted and humiliated in detention centers, murdered and treated as second class citizens in their own homes. it was never about religion (let me ask you if you have found it in your hollow heart to even read this far: do you truly think it is impossible for jewishness, for jewish joy and community to flourish without the blood of arabs on their hands? is that so outlandish to you, that you are so hellbent on seeing a word where jewish people are constantly that unsafe, that they lack homes, communities, safe havens, or the basic ability or agency to reach out for help and connection? do they really need to be sealed away in israel to shelter them from the rest of the nations where millions have already established meaningful lives? do you really think all jews are zionists and those who dont want to see palestinians killed for simply being born here are selfhating and deluded? do you think that zionists really care about holocaust survivors and nonwhite jews? again, please research before speaking on matters that may be out of your usual scope of fandom content...). it was just about eliminating as many palestinians as possible while the world turned a blind eye. israel was built on the mass killing and exodus of palestinians and the sustained oppression of the native population, and youll probably never understand this. but we can see. more than ever, we can see. if you did actually manage to read this youve already done more than most zionists ever have to understand how the average innocent palestinian suffers. i dont expect to have changed your mind on the conflict at all, really, but i do hope youll at least stop trying to tackle global conflicts the same way you post about media consumption. this is inconceivably real blood being shed, lives being ruined, and youre posting about it like youre giving your take on a cartoon or videogame. you dont even have to respond to this ask. just please consider stopping and sticking to fandom.

That is one HELL of an essay that I have no intention of reading given you started it talking about the "Gazan genocide" (a genocide is not happening) and tried to say I painted all Palestinians as barbaric terrorists who colluded to lie about thousands of civilian deaths.

You literally ignored what I actually said to create a straw man that supported your idea that I don't understand racial conflict and racial power dynamics (Israel vs Palestine is not a race issue, you freak, they're literally two groups of POC, their race means nothing, at MOST their nationality is the issue. XD) so yeah, fuck off. :P I'm not wasting my time on a straw-manner who is also a big fucking racist. :P deny that if you want, but you wouldn't be trying to argue "power dynamics" if it was someone being racist to black people, even if it was taking place in Africa.

#tvp discourse #long post #israel #arab israeli conflict #hamas #gaza

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prideprejudce · 11 months

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what I find interesting & frustrating is that every time some rich fuck(s) with all the available resources at their fingertips completely & entirely ignore every aspect of safety, regulation, protocol, etc. in literal pursuit of money (source: the article about the CEO's goals of working with oil/gas companies), there's always going to be a group of people being like "we have to be the bigger person, thoughts and prayers" when none of these people give a shit about any one of us. in a time when the wealth gap feels bigger than ever, homelessness & poverty is on the rise, during massive inflation & a recession after a global pandemic that told us no one in power gives a fuck about you, who is this compassion for? yes they're human, yes everything about this is horrifying, but these people willingly walked into a death trap & paid 250k to do so! I have to wonder why is it always on us to "be kinder, have sympathy for another human being" but I never hear this directed at a billionaire from the same crowd scolding us "jealous broke haters" & when does it end? if/when we reach irreversible climate change, when ppl lose their jobs/homes/wages, when ppl die in a warehouse during a tornado so some guy can make more money than they can spend in a lifetime, is that crowd still going to be like, "well those billionaires are human beings, have some respect"? anway I don't personally blame anyone who finds the jokes distasteful but the "thoughts and prayers" crowd isn't any more morally superior imo, we're all doing the same thing, which is posting our opinions online which doesn't do anything to help (or not help) find the carbon fibre can piloted by a $40 video game controller

exactly ^^^

Also this is not something that is going to go away. As technology evolves and we are able to travel to these places that we couldn’t have before (like the bottom of the ocean or space) you better believe that the ultra wealthy are gonna be right there with the first ticket to explore new places and cease opportunities that will not be given to the vast majority of the rest of us

like the CEO of oceangate Stockton Rush had absolutely no intention to offer his technology to regular people like us. In a previous interview he said that his ultimate goal was to start creating ways for humans to explore and live in the ocean where you can live in safety from the above world environment and climate changes inevitable damage. but this dream (if it somehow ever happened decades in the future) was meant for the wealthy only. people who could pay millions and millions of dollars to “live underwater” and away from harm.

It’s the same thing as Elon Musk’s dream of building some space colony by the moon or whatever. You think that’s going to open to everyone? Of course not- only the super wealthy will get to cease these opportunities. Only the wealthy will get to be saved from the environment that they destroyed. and therefore the wealthy will continue to die in the most bizarre situations imaginable like maybe on a spaceship to see the moon years from now (I’m calling it right now) or in a tin can at the bottom of the ocean to see the titanic

#answered #anonymous #capitalist dystopia #<< best way to describe this future

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beautifulpersonpeach · 5 months

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kind of random, but I’m curious about your thoughts on what seems to be the intended growth and direction of Weverse and Weverse magazine beyond the kpop sphere

bang pd has said that they want to expand weverse’s use to western artists and fanbases. Of course it’s still almost entirely kpop and kpop adjacent, but in general I like the platform and I think it could be an interesting tool for smaller artists globally. But I also don’t see western artists being that interested in engaging with their fans like this, especially where they already have tools like Instagram live. Maybe I’m biased by my army experience, but the Weverse armys are some of the cringiest (and youngest) imo, and the parasocial relationship encouraged somewhat in kpop isn’t encouraged in the same way in the west. Maybe there’d be interest in the online concert format?

as for Weverse magazine, I like the idea of growing a kpop oriented magazine that actually respects the artists. There’ve been so many dumb articles written about bts that it’s nice to see there be consistently decent interviews with them. The bts/hybe bias shows, but I don’t need constant fluff pieces about the members to appreciate the magazine and I think it’d be better off in the long run if they have objective authors writing about kpop generally. I have seen some articles about western artists which threw me off of what I thought they wanted to do with the magazine and who they want their audience to end up being. Do you see a benefit in trying to grow their reach to western artists and growing their audience? What do you think they want to do with this magazine?

***

You raise very good points. I want to challenge and expand on a few things.

"...and the parasocial relationship encouraged somewhat in kpop isn’t encouraged in the same way in the west."

This is changing. Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard, etc, the main music publications have been highlighting since BTS got on the scene (2020), that musicians should look into actively building dedicated fanbases via more fan engagement, to be more successful. Here's an article from Billboard crediting this shift in the industry to Taylor Swift (I disagree). Also, western artists already leverage parasocial relationships: Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj are all examples of western artists who are about as engaged with their fans as some k-pop groups are. So if the sales pitch for Weverse is a customized fan engagement solution to lean on the parasocial aspect more, there's more than a few western artists who will be interested.

Just wanted to put that out there, and also because it ties to my next point about the (theoretical) competitive edge WV has over a platform like Instagram Live:

IL is technically the better platform because it gives you the widest audience reach. More people have Instagram already installed than they do Weverse.

But the key thing about successful fan engagement, is cultivating a fandom. Meaning, a somewhat organized group of fans. For the fans to organize, they need a fandom space. A shared feed where people in the fandom can communicate and build community. It's somewhat difficult to get this on Instagram and this is why forums like Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, Quora etc thrive.

Weverse's pitch is highlighting a customized solution that combines the best things about those platforms into one thing, creating a dedicated fan space for the artist and their fans.

In theory, Bang PD is right on the money here and with a few adjustments should have a gold mine on his hands. But the platform isn't well managed.

And neither is the magazine.

And so that theory remains just that.

There's been a handful of dumb articles about BTS/members and other artists by Weverse Magazine too. They've done an excellent job with the interviews they've published, and sometimes they've offered critical counterarguments to shoddy logic from mainstream music publications, but the times they've gaffed have been really embarrassing for everyone involved. For example that racist article that undermined Jimin's accomplishments with FACE. One can assume that was maybe their attempt to show less bias towards BTS and come across as 'objective', but all it did was make the writer and magazine look uninformed.

To gain any critical cred they need more flashy bylines, more socially conscious Korean critics and more mainstream writers, etc. And to increase their audience, yeah more pieces featuring western artists is one way to go about it. They want the magazine as an avenue to tell their own stories and offer their own side, as well as an attempt to participate in discussions in the wider industry, in k-pop and outside k-pop.

This is the wrong way to think about things, but I use Weverse as a bellwether to gauge how efficient and well-run HYBE is. My take on things, using how Weverse appears to be managed as a proxy, is that HYBE is bloated - not quite yet a bureaucratic nightmare but key departments are slow to react whether it's in fixing problems, picking up on trends, course correcting, etc.

I don't know much about coding but the UX/UI on Weverse feels like an afterthought. Almost everything from the color scheme (and lack of personalizing options) to the fact there's a WV streaming platform nobody uses.... they could be doing a much better job with a leaner structure.

Last week if you opened Weverse you'd have gotten a notice to participate in a survey. I left my feedback and I hope y'all did too. BigHit used to be decently good at responding to fan feedback. Let's hope that's still the case with Weverse and HYBE because even the company recognizes that Weverse is underperforming.

#edited to fix typos #bts #weverse #weverse magazine #bang pd #bighit #hybe #music platforms #fan engagement #kpop fandoms

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dirttodelight · 3 months

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Finding the Motivation to Start; What You’ll Discover at the Other End.

The most pivotal point in an artist's life is when they decide to make their art a priority in life. Being a full-time artist is not a feasible job for the average person, and unfortunately, there’s still a societal stigma against being a full-time artist. This can prevent artists from investing in their craft because art is typically thought of as something that can be done in between “more important” things. I beg to differ, however, as hobbies outside of official work benefit the quality of life of those who participate.

The presence of art is unavoidable regardless of the circumstance; humans are essentially surrounded by it on a daily basis. A majority of the time, it’s in passing, such as a design in the tile underfoot, advertisement art on a website pop-up, or a random vase you’ve never noticed in your house. These things are all art in their own respect, but we don’t necessarily notice or consciously view it the same as something we would view in a museum. We use it and see it every day, yet we hesitate to invest time in our own process of creating.

By taking the first step and investing in your own creative outlet, you are investing in yourself. Art takes labor, and labor has always created value. There are, and always will be, multiple avenues from which to profit off your art if you choose, even if it’s not monetarily. Other benefits can be a sense of pride or overall mental wellness; simply having some form of stability and structure in your life. Additionally, there are multiple practical uses for art in everyday life, especially ceramics because it can take essentially any form you assign it.

Where There's Labor…

There’s going to be money tied into the efforts of your labor, but the difficulty becomes finding the need for your craft. A lump of clay does not become an eye-pleasing, durable, and usable piece without someone’s skilled hands taking time and resources to make it. The information that you have learned about your craft and the time you’ve put into your pieces add value. Something that is handmade, especially if it’s commissioned, is worth far more than something that is mass-manufactured.

Your art is already projected to grow in value; Yahoo! Finance posted in their online article, “Ceramics Market is Forecasted to Reach US$ 240 Billion Valuation by 2034: Fact.MR Study,” that “The global Ceramics Market is estimated to reach a value of US$ 133.7 billion in 2024 and expand at a 6% CAGR over the next ten years (2024 to 2034)” (Yahoo!), later citing one of the reasons as “…the high popularity of ceramic art pieces…” (Yahoo!). Therefore, there is money to be had within the ceramics industry if monetary gain or becoming a full-time ceramicist is something you would like to pursue.

Sometimes, you get the opportunity to achieve both monetary gains and emotional fulfillment from your ceramics pieces. This is the case for Blayze Buseth, a ceramics artist in Fergus Falls who founded a ceramics business after graduating high school. The newsletter “Studio opens in western Fergus Falls” details Buseth’s inspiration for opening his business: “...he made an urn for a friend whose mother had passed.” (Meier) His story highlights the importance of art as a mechanism to memorialize people and its relationship with the grieving process. In the newsletter, Buseth further elaborated: “This is something that can be set on their mantle and be passed down from generation to generation” (Meier).

While Blayze Buseth may not be who is remembered when people look at the pieces he’s made, he is still ultimately their creator. By this logic, any artist who creates something holds the possibility of sharing that gift in whatever way they want. The emotional satisfaction that is present when you see a piece that you have admired for so long being appreciated by someone else is incomprehensible.

If Not Money, What?

More than just money can be gained from enjoying your hobby; most of the time, there's an emotional need that is satisfied when a piece is finished. The ceramics process is hard, and there’s a chance of failure at every step. This difficulty and attention to detail required make it all the more rewarding when you successfully create a piece. An article that discusses the association between having a hobby and mental health, written by Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London, reflected: “Meta-analytic fixed-effects findings showed that having a hobby was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, and higher levels of self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction” (Fancourt). Therefore, as much as we enjoy being lazy and sleeping in, humans thrive off participating in physically and mentally engaging activities.

Ceramics can teach many lessons in spirituality, overall mental wellness, and even just being able to use your hands to physically make something. Seth Rogen, actor, comedian, and ceramicist, in his casual chat with Interview Magazine put it in his own perspective, stating: “...work I do is very intangible in a lot of ways, so being able to create something you can hold in your hands is very appealing.” (Williams) Being able to hold or admire something that you’ve made in ceramics makes it difficult not to appreciate or celebrate because it is quite literally a quantifiable weight and feel to the success.

There is something oddly satisfying and rewarding in even the tedious duties of having a functional studio. I’ve grown a particular appreciation for the clay recycling process and wedging stiff clay back into a workable consistency. Initially, it seems impossible; everything's a crumbling mess under your already-aching hands, and you debate whether or not you should just abandon the clay entirely until you finally feel some give. The stability of the rhythm of the clay underneath your hands slowly melting everything else you may have been worried about away. I have grown to particularly appreciate the cyclic activities present within this art form because they allow for moments of pausing and reflecting. I believe that these moments of reflection are often neglected in everyday life, which is just one reason why I’ve decided to implement ceramics into my everyday life.

These procedural steps that have to be taken along the process of creating art have been used by artists for generations, and they are part of the reason why a studio provides a sense of stability. Since creating my own, I’ve noticed that whenever I walk into my studio, I always know exactly what steps to take, almost as if it’s a mapped-out dance. There’s no randomly forgetting as soon as I walk in, or “where did I place this?”; it is all consistent and set in stone. This stability was studied in the online article “Opening Art Therapy Thresholds: Mechanisms That Influence Change in the Community Art Therapy Studio,” in which it states: “the people and actions within the space changed, but the studio remained constant” (Nolan). There will always be changes occurring in your life outside of your studio, and most of the time, you’ll have no control over the outcomes.

Most people, particularly college students like me, struggle with time management issues, which, in the long run, can be detrimental to all aspects of life and ultimately can cause excess stress. Having your own studio space and creating your own ceramics provides you with the ultimate say in what you create while having a stable routine in place to create a successful piece. Under the “Results” subtitle of the article “Opening Art Therapy Thresholds: Mechanisms That Influence Change in the Community Art Therapy Studio,” author Emily Nolan provides an explanation for the description of the results that they gained from the study: “From this description, change…in community art therapy studios is influenced by the safety and structure within the studio, acceptance of self, others and artwork; and opportunity to explore, attend to self-care, be authentic, and find a new perspective…” (Nolan). Therefore, not only does the structure and stability reduce stress and improve mental wellness, it encourages healthy growth in the creativity of artists.

Why there is No “Right Time”

A majority of people make the mistake of waiting for the “right time” to do something. Life is constantly changing, and certain priorities take precedence, but there really is no better time than right now. From the first time that I sat at a potter's wheel, I knew I’d eventually have to invest in one myself. The want to create an art space is no hard thing to find, but the courage and funds to do so are.

Space and time seem to be of no consequence when you begin to notice the benefits of investing in yourself after using a shared space. No more cleaning other people's messes, worrying about clay vultures, having to use the communal slip bucket (with lizard tails and mosquito larvae), or readjusting machinery. The extra time that I spend tending to my own studio is time that I would’ve otherwise spent on something likely less rewarding, like scrolling on my phone. I identify heavily with what Seth Rogen says in his interview when asked about what prompted him to make his own at-home studio, he stated: “I identify as a lazy person in many ways, but then I slowly came to terms with the fact that I actually enjoy doing things and that I find it more relaxing to actually create more things and find more outlets of expression.” (Williams) Therefore, once you start the process of creating, it doesn’t stop because every time you’re not in front of the wheel, you’ll begin to think about what you’re going to create next. Working with ceramics is a never-ending self-motivating process that simply requires a little push at the beginning to cascade into a rewarding experience.

The process of building your own studio can be quite daunting at first because of the steep prices of equipment. Space is another relevant factor to take into account, but as Soul Ceramics states in their article: “Any space in which you can comfortably and safely work from can become your pottery studio, whether that’s a spare room in your house, the basement, the garage, or even the attic.” (Soul Ceramics) Use the space you have available to you in order to safely make your pieces; you know what tools you need to succeed (or you should at least have an idea). The previously mentioned article further elaborates: “When it comes to equipment, it really depends on the kind of pieces you will be creating and the techniques you use to create your art.” (Soul Ceramics) Which essentially means all of my hand-builder folks, congratulations! You’ve won the “spending the least money as a ceramicist” award (for equipment at least). Meanwhile, my fellow wheel throwers and slab rollers have to bite the bullet and invest in reliable heavy machinery. This investment, however, comes with a bounty of rewards.

This is the part where we put our thinking caps on; what issues will you face? What external resources can you seek out to make your goal more achievable? How can you budget or plan to earn extra money to fuel your project? Furthermore, are you planning on making it back? Even if all you do today is browse through Facebook Marketplace looking for second-hand gear, you are taking one step closer to unlocking your creative potential and creating a studio tailored towards you.

Sources

“Ceramics Market Is Forecasted to Reach US$ 240 Billion Valuation by 2034: Fact.MR Study.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, finance.yahoo.com/news/ceramics-market-forecasted-reach-us-130000305.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMu6Q70NVsT8L9A3hutPQbhFUN--D_9RC1t2259w_FmQ89Cwzh1gSUrYGRaFct79hkaL8pMHUxtX7zb2ZVb5qF54U2J5imapWE8SMdNBwgLI5VTO5v4m6t_sf-2o4vNCtZ9IAYcYNmOwD44cV5Bi3AGdYsx9MTbY7WyEvmdtsRSc#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways%20from%20Market%20Study,240%20billion%20by%202034%2Dend. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.

Fancourt, Daisy, et al. “Moderating effect of country-level health determinants on the association between hobby engagement and mental health: cross-cohort multi-level models, meta-analyses, and meta-regressions.” The Lancet (British Edition), vol. 402, 2023, pp. S41–S41, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02091-3.

Meier, Jeff. “Studio opens in western Fergus Falls.” TCA Regional News, 2016.

“A Mini Guide to Starting Your Own Pottery Business.” Soul Ceramics, Soul Ceramics, www.soulceramics.com/pages/starting-pottery-business-guide. Accessed 14 Feb. 2024.

Nolan, Emily. “Opening Art Therapy Thresholds: Mechanisms That Influence Change in the Community Art Therapy Studio.” Art Therapy, vol. 36, no. 2, 2019, pp. 77–85, https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2019.1618177.

Williams, Conor. “Seth Rogen Is Hooked on Ceramics.” Interview Magazine, Interview Magazine, 13 Dec. 2019, www.interviewmagazine.com/art/seth-rogen-pottery.

#aesthetic #art #illustration #museums #ceramics art #pottery #sculptures #ceramic art #sgraffito #ceramics

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denmark-street · 6 months

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How Osama bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ reached millions online

By Wednesday night, the letter had become a point of discussion among left-wing creators on the video app, with some saying its critiques of American foreign policy had opened their eyes to a history they’d never learned.

But the letter didn’t rank among TikTok’s top trends. Videos with the #lettertoamerica hashtag had been seen about 2 million times — a relatively low count on a wildly popular app with 150 million accounts in the United States alone.

Then that evening, the journalist Yashar Ali shared a compilation he’d made of the TikTok videos in a post on X, formerly Twitter. That post has been viewed more than 38 million times. By Thursday afternoon, when TikTok announced it had banned the hashtag and dozens of similar variations, TikTok videos tagged #lettertoamerica had gained more than 15 million views.

The letter’s spread sparked a deluge of commentary, with some worrying that TikTok’s users were being radicalized by a terrorist manifesto, and TikTok’s critics arguing it was evidence that the app, owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, had been secretly boosting propaganda to a captive audience of American youth.

But the letter’s spread also reflected the bedeviling realities of modern social media, where young people — many of whom were born after 9/11 — share and receive information on fast-paced smartphone apps designed to make videos go viral, regardless of their content.

It also showed how efforts to suppress such information can backfire. Many of the videos on TikTok were posted after the British newspaper the Guardian, which had hosted a copy of bin Laden’s letter, removed it. Some TikTokers said the removal was proof of the letter’s wisdom and importance, leading them to further amplify it as a result.

“Don’t turn the long-public ravings of a terrorist into forbidden knowledge, something people feel excited to go rediscover,” Renee DiResta, a research manager at the Stanford internet Observatory who has advised Congress on online disinformation, wrote Thursday in a post on Threads. “Let people read the murderer’s demands — this is the man some TikTok fools chose to glorify. Add more context.”

TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek said Thursday that the company was “proactively and aggressively” removing videos promoting the letter for violating the company’s rules on “supporting any form of terrorism” and said it was “investigating” how the videos got onto its platform.

Haurek said that the #lettertoamerica hashtag had been attached to 274 videos that had garnered 1.8 million views on Tuesday and Wednesday, before “the tweets and media coverage drove people to the hashtag.” Other hashtags, for comparison, dwarfed discussion of the letter on the platform: During a recent 24-hour period, #travel videos had 137 million views, #skincare videos had 252 million views and #anime videos had 611 million views, Haurek said.

Ali said he made the compilation video Wednesday after seeing “thousands” of the videos and intentionally left out the “most incendiary examples” because he didn’t want the compilation to be removed from Instagram, where he also posted it.

He agreed the hashtag had never trended on TikTok but disputed the idea that the number of videos posted there had been “small,” saying, “Sure, in the context of a global platform. But not small enough to be minuscule or not important.”

Most of the videos have since been removed by TikTok, making it difficult to get a full tally. But a search for the letter Thursday morning by a Washington Post reporter revealed around 700 TikTok videos, only a few of which got more than 1 million views.

Such high view counts are common on TikTok, where videos are served up in rapid fashion and the average U.S. user watches for more than an hour a day. One viral video last month, in which a young woman discussed the pain of a 9-to-5 job, has more than 3 million views and 280,000 likes.

The videos featured many people saying they’d known little about bin Laden and were questioning what they’d been taught about American involvement around the world. Some said they were “trying to go back to life as normal” after reading it; in one video, a user scrolled through the full letter and said, “We’ve been lied to our entire lives.”

But while many pointed to bin Laden’s comments on the Palestinian issue, few highlighted the letter’s more extreme criticism of Western “immorality and debauchery,” including “acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling and trading with interest.”

Many commenters also criticized giving the letter attention or worked to remind people that bin Laden had preached an antisemitic, sexist ideology that led to thousands of deaths. On the “_monix2” video, one commenter said, “You guys Bin Laden wrote this. Do y’all know what he did. What is wrong with y’all [oh my God. I guess] we’re supporting terrorism these days.” (Attempts to reach the @_monix2 account were unsuccessful.)

Charlie Winter, a specialist in Islamist militant affairs and director of research at the intelligence platform ExTrac, said in an interview Thursday that he was “frankly really quite surprised at the response” to the letter, which he described as “a kind of core doctrinal text” for both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist group.

In addition to long-standing grievances, the letter contains “blatant language that is clearly calling for acts of genocide … [and] for killing noncombatants in any nation that is democratic and is fighting against a Muslim-majority state,” he said.

“It’s not the letter that is going viral. It’s a selective reading of parts of the letter that’s going viral,” he said. “And I don’t know whether it’s because people aren’t actually reading it or, when they’re reading it, they’re reading the bits that they want to see.”

The letter’s spread online was celebrated Thursday by users on al-Qaeda forums, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online extremism. One user Thursday wrote that Islamist militants should capitalize on the opportunity, saying, “I hope you all are seeing ongoing storm on Social Media. … We should post more and more content.”

Some of the TikTok creators who shared the letter posted follow-up videos saying they did not support terrorism or violence. One of the first TikTok creators to share it, and who spoke to The Post on the condition that her name not be included in the story, said she had encouraged people to read it for “educational purposes.”

She said she did not “condone nor justify” bin Laden’s actions and was “distancing [herself] from this entire situation.” “It’s a sad world if we cannot even read a public document, simply to educate ourselves, without being smeared online,” she said.

TikTok has faced criticism and calls for a nationwide ban due to the popularity of pro-Palestinian videos on the app compared with pro-Israel content, even though Facebook and Instagram show a similar gap. In a video call organized by TikTok on Wednesday, first reported by the New York Times, some Hollywood actors and TikTok creators pushed company executives to do more to crack down on antisemitic content.

But the idea that the “Letter to America” discussion solely began on TikTok is challenged by Google data, which show that search interest in the “bin Laden letter” began gathering last week, days before it became a topic of TikTok conversation.

And TikTok is far from the only place where the letter has been discussed. Though Instagram blocked searches for some hashtags, some videos related to the letter — including those critical of it — remained publicly viewable Thursday on the Meta-owned app.

On Thursday afternoon, searches for “letter to America” on Instagram were still being given a “Popular” tag. One post, a series of screenshots of the letter, had more than 10,000 likes as of Thursday afternoon.

On Thursday, the letter and bin Laden’s name were also “trending topics” on X, the social network owned by Elon Musk. One tweet there from Wednesday — in which the writer said reading the letter was like feeling a “glass wall shatter,” and asks, “Is this what ex cult members feel like when they become self aware” — remained online Thursday, with nearly 3 million views.

The letter — a nearly 4,000-word translation of the al-Qaeda leader’s comments — had been originally posted in Arabic on a Saudi Arabian website used to disseminate al-Qaeda messages. The Guardian originally published an English translation in 2002 alongside a news article that offered more detail on how it had begun circulating among “British Islamic extremists.”

Though the Guardian removed the letter on Wednesday, its replacement, a page called “Removed: document,” had by Thursday become one of the most-viewed stories on the newspaper’s website. Some TikTokers voiced anger at the newspaper for, in the words of one, “actively censoring” information.

A spokesperson for the Guardian said in a statement that the letter had been removed after it was “widely shared on social media without the full context.”

The editors of the Guardian faced a “no-win scenario” once interest in bin Laden’s letter began to grow, Marco Bastos, a senior lecturer in media and communication at City, University of London, said in a phone interview.

“If they don’t take down the content, the content will be leveraged and it will be discussed, potentially shared and is going to go viral — if not out of context, then certainly outside of the scope of the original piece,” Bastos said. “If they take it down, they’re going to be accused, as they are right now, of censorship.”

At the time of publication, the editors “expected that this letter would be read critically, you know, adversarially … that you would process this within the view — or the bias, if you prefer — of the Western side of the events,” Bastos added. “And now it’s being consumed, distributed and shared to push an agenda that’s precisely the opposite of the one that it was originally intended for.”

Winter, the Islamist militant affairs specialist, said he found it “kind of ironic” that the letter was being shared uncritically around the web.

“People who consider themselves to be critical consumers of mainstream media are consuming this very uncritically and not thinking about the context around it,” he said. “Not thinking about everything that happened just over a year before it was published as well, in any meaningful way.”

Bisset reported from London.

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beardedmrbean · 7 months

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A Polish tech entrepreneur's global project, aimed at getting more children into computer programming, has been endorsed by Pope Francis.

Miron Mironiuk, founder of artificial intelligence company Cosmose AI, is drawing on his own experience of coding transforming his life.

He said the "Code with Pope" initiative would bridge "the glaring disparities in education" across the globe.

It is hoped the Pope's involvement will attract Catholic countries.

"We believe that the involvement of the Pope will help to convince them to spend some time and use this opportunity to learn programming for free," Mr Mironiuk told the BBC.

The initiative will champion access to coding education through a free online learning platform for students aged 11-15 across Europe, Africa and Latin America.

After 60 hours of dedicated learning, children will be equipped with the basics of Python, one of the world's most popular coding languages.

In the digital age, programming skills have become as fundamental as reading and writing.

World Economic Forum data released in 2023 revealed that "the majority of the fastest growing roles are technology-related roles".

However, a severe global shortage of tech skills threatens to leave 85 million job positions unfilled by 2030.

As a result, increasing access to high-quality programming education has become a necessity, particularly in low and middle-income countries - many of which are Catholic.

A large percentage of the Polish population identifies as Catholic.

The 33-year-old millionaire Mr Mironiuk told the BBC that he was proud of his Polish heritage and to be part of a crop of successful Polish people working in technology.

The country is making significant strides in the tech scene, particularly in AI, with companies like Google Brain, Cosmose AI and Open AI having significant numbers of Polish employees.

But Mr Mironiuk is also aware that many countries are not as fortunate, and hopes this educational programme could help change that.

The programme will be available in Spanish, English, Italian and Polish. It is expected to reach children all over South America except Brazil, and in English speaking nations in Africa and South East Asia.

This is not the first time the Pope has encouraged young people to get into coding, having helped write a line of code for a UN initiative in 2019.

Mr Mironiuk will meet the Pope at the Vatican. But he admits he's not anticipating the pontiff to emulate his students in acquiring new skills.

"I don't expect him to know Python very well, at least," he said. "But he will get a certificate for his efforts in helping start the programme."

#nunyas news #papal edict says #learn to code #lol

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astrologybyolga · 7 months

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*Wealthy placements in astrology

~These placements could be in your natal chart.

~This can also occur when there is a transit ( outer planets) to your Venus ( money ) & Mercury ( work , offers , opportunities)!

~Check your Solar return chart & progressed chart too !

Some examples :

*Pluto trine Saturn ( Big property developers).

*Pluto trine Jupiter ( Law , trading, big companies that have global reach ).

*Pluto trine Venus ( Big contracts, powerful collaborations, gold, diamond).

*Uranus trine Venus ( online /marketing/AI /computers ).

*Uranus trine Jupiter ( trading , importing , writing , technology)!

*Saturn trine Jupiter( property, inheritance, marriage , foreign investments).

*Saturn trine Venus ( property, land, housing , wealthy family, money via marriage/divorce).

*Saturn trine Mercury ( Money via a good job, good contracts, government work , politicians , civil engineering).

#astrologybyolga #zodiac #astrology #horoscope #astrologersofinstagram #astrologers #horoscopes #zodiacsigns #astrologypost #dailyastrology

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mindfulmusinghub · 1 day

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Maximizing corporate social responsibility impact : partnering with Marpu Foundation for sustainable development goals:

Marpu Foundation an NGO, dedicated to harness individual potential for positive change through innovative, empathy-led projects promoting sustainability and social empowerment. Believing in the power of collective efforts and partnerships to be a beacon of transformation, to craft a future that's equitable, compassionate, and sustainable.

One of India’s youth activist, environmentalist and leading social entrepreneur, Kadiri Raghu Vamshi – The Environment Man, known for his relentless quest of innovative solutions to social challenges. As the founder of Marpu Foundation, His enterprising leadership in environmental protection, sustainable development, and social advocacy is directed towards empowering citizens to embrace social responsibility. He was awarded India’s prestigious Chakra award in 2019 for his vision in empowering citizens to be socially responsible.

This blog delves into the symbiotic relationship integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to devise innovative solutions for critical societal challenges, Along with spotlighting the distictive approach of Marpu Foundation and its remarkable success stories.

In the realm of sustainable development, the synergy between CSR and SDGs emerges as a potent catalyst for positive transformation. Marpu Foundation spearheads initiatives in volunteering, sustainable development, and environmental conservation. Their unwavering support for women and advocacy for crucial causes amplify their impact nationwide. They works closely with many partners and reaches out widely to create big changes in communities all over India. This combination allows for a more coordinated and impactful approach to addressing social challenges at both local and global levels.

Through its unique approach and steadfast dedication, the Marpu Foundation exemplifies how businesses can magnify their social responsibility impact while advancing the global agenda for sustainable development. The NGO is truly making a significant impact in both Chennai and Pune, as well as in Jaipur and Surat through its multifaceted initiatives aimed at addressing various social and environmental challenges. As we forge ahead, let us draw inspiration from the triumphs of the Marpu Foundation :

The attempts of Marpu Foundation in Chennai have brought a significant change in addressing water quality, safety, and connectivity issues together with equipping more than 20 with solar power panels.

CSR projects in Chennai and Pune, showcases a commendable commitment to the society,

Digital Literacy Program: by providing computer and internet training to 10,000 underprivileged children and youth, the foundation has not only equipped them with essential digital skills but also opened doors to online education and job opportunities.

Solar Power for Schools: Installing solar power panels in government schools didn’t just reduce electricity costs but also promotes environmental sustainability by decreasing carbon emissions and ensuring reliable electricity access.

Rainwater Harvesting Systems: Implemented rainwater harvesting systems in schools and community centres to combat water scarcity. This initiative not only ensures access to water for various purposes but also promotes water conservation which is crucial for sustainable development in cities like Chennai and Pune.

Sustainable Livelihoods Program: Offered training and support for women and youth in entrepreneurship skills, helping them kickstart their own small businesses. This not only creates jobs but also boosts economic independence. By specifically targeting marginalized communities, the foundation is championing inclusive economic growth and uplifting livelihoods.

The Waste Management Initiatives: By annually diverting more than 500 tons of waste from landfills. Their emphasis on composting, recycling, and upcycling, to actively foster an economy and promote sustainable waste management practices. These efforts not merely lessen environmental harm but also stimulate innovation and resource efficiency, opening new lanes for progress.

In Jaipur, the focus is on improving educational opportunities for underprivileged communities. They introduce creative educational initiatives designed to meet various needs. They build partnerships with organizations and institutions to maximize their influence.

Businesses in Surat could consider engaging with Marpu Foundation for their CSR activities for several reasons like local impact and expertise experience in executing successful CSR initiatives offering businesses the opportunity to partner with an organization experienced in driving impactful projects.

Overall, Marpu Foundation's holistic approach to social and environmental issues underscores their dedication to creating a better future for generations to come. Through their collaborative efforts and innovative solutions, they are leaving a lasting impact on communities across the nation inspiring others to take responsibility for the well-being of society and the environment.

By: Hiba Siyad

#marpufoundation #sustainable development

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monisha1199 · 8 months

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Discover the Cloud's Potential: Check Out Now in this Fantastic AWS Course!

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, the significance of cloud computing has reached unprecedented heights. It's not just a technology trend; it's a transformative force driving innovation and reshaping the way businesses operate. In this era of digital transformation, the cloud has emerged as a critical enabler, offering scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions to complex challenges.

At the forefront of cloud computing stands Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world's leading cloud platform. AWS has become synonymous with cloud computing excellence, providing an extensive array of services and tools that empower organizations to harness the limitless potential of the cloud.

In this comprehensive blog, we will delve deep into the power of cloud computing, the soaring demand for AWS skills, and introduce you to an exciting opportunity - the AWS course offered by ACTE Institute. Prepare to embark on a journey that will unveil the incredible possibilities that await you in the cloud!

The Power of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing isn't just a technology; it's a revolution. We'll dive into the significance of cloud computing in today's digital world, discussing how it has transformed businesses, streamlined operations, reduced costs, and fostered innovation. From startups to global enterprises, the cloud has become an integral part of the modern business landscape.

The Soaring Demand for AWS Skills

In the job market, AWS skills are like gold. We'll showcase compelling statistics and trends that underscore the ever-growing demand for professionals with AWS expertise across diverse industries.

Introducing the AWS Course at ACTE Institute

Get ready to discover the ACTE Institute, your partner in mastering AWS. We'll provide an in-depth overview of the AWS course, illustrating how it perfectly aligns with the surging need for skilled AWS professionals.

Key Features That Set ACTE's AWS Course Apart

What makes the AWS course at ACTE stand out? We'll unveil the unique features and highlights of the course, emphasizing the invaluable contributions of expert instructors, hands-on learning experiences, and a curriculum meticulously designed to cater to the demands of the industry.

What You Will Gain from the AWS Course

Curious about what lies ahead? We'll outline the specific skills and knowledge that participants can expect to acquire, showcasing how these skills translate into real-world scenarios and career opportunities.

Benefits of Enrolling in the AWS Course

Enrolling in the AWS course at ACTE comes with a multitude of benefits. From boosting your career prospects to elevating your skills to a professional level, we'll highlight how this course can be a game-changer.

Real-Life Success Stories

Dive into the success stories and testimonials of past course participants who have harnessed their AWS knowledge to achieve remarkable career milestones. These real-life accounts will offer you a glimpse into the transformative power of the AWS course.

Course Format, Duration, and Flexibility

Learn about the different course formats available, whether you prefer online or offline learning. We'll also provide insights into course duration and flexibility, ensuring that you have options that suit your schedule.

How to Enroll and Start Your AWS Journey

Interested in embarking on your AWS journey? We'll provide a step-by-step guide on how to enroll, ensuring a seamless transition into your cloud computing adventure.

As we conclude this insightful blog, we'll recap the key takeaways, reinforcing the boundless potential that AWS and cloud computing offer for your career and personal growth. It's an invitation to explore the AWS course at ACTE Technologies and take the first step towards mastering the cloud.

#aws #aws course #aws training #tech

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sidehustlerscentral · 25 days

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Take Control of Your Finances: Earn Income on Your Schedule and Your Terms 🤝

Introduction

Are you tired of living paycheck-to-paycheck and feeling like you’re constantly struggling to make ends meet?

In a world where financial stability seems like an elusive dream, there is a way to take back control of your money. By exploring easy ways to earn extra income on your own time, you can pave the way towards a more secure future.

On this page, you will dive into practical tips and resources to help you identify your financial needs and personal interests, explore side hustle opportunities, utilize online platforms, invest wisely, and create a financial plan for success.

Start Your journey to financial independence and learn how to make your money work for you.

Identify Your Financial Needs and Personal Interests

One way to start earning money on your own time is by identifying your financial needs and personal interests.

By taking stock of what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing, you can pinpoint potential opportunities for generating income.

Everyone has unique talents that can be monetized.

Once you have a clear understanding of your financial needs and personal interests, you can confidently move forward by exploring side hustle opportunities that align with what you have to offer, your schedule, and a stress-free work-life balance.

Explore Side Hustle Opportunities

Another way to increase your financial flexibility is by exploring side hustle opportunities.

Side hustles can be a great way to earn extra money outside of your regular job or commitments. Side hustles can also lead to a lucrative, flexible, and full-time income.

Whether it’s freelancing, mystery shopping, merchandising, or having a driving side hustle on a part-time basis, side hustles allow you to leverage your skills and interests to generate additional income.

By exploring different side hustle options, you can find a way to make money on your own terms. This flexibility can give you the financial freedom you desire while also providing a stress-free work-life balance.

Fill in financial gaps in your spare time, or you can even create your own lucrative, flexible full-time income.

Utilize the many income opportunities available in 2024 by mixing and matching side hustles that meet your schedule, interests, and income needs.

Take Advantage of the Digital Age to Easily Earn Money

Utilize Online Platforms for Quick Cash! You can also explore online platforms that offer opportunities for quick cash. Websites and apps like Appen, Kashkick, Observa, Testerup, and Clickworker, allow you to earn quick cash from your current skills or by learning new skills.

Earn from a wide range of clients, companies, and brands. Whether it’s picking up quick local tasks while out running errands with the kids, completing online tasks, or playing games on your cell phone these platforms provide a convenient way to earn money on your own terms.

By utilizing these digital tools, you can tap into a global marketplace and find income that matches your financial needs, personal interests, and your schedule.

Invest Wisely

Invest in your future by considering long-term financial goals and strategies to secure your financial stability and build wealth over time.

Planning for the future is essential to achieving financial success and creating a solid foundation for yourself and your loved ones.

By making smart investment decisions, saving diligently, and consistently contributing to retirement accounts, you can set yourself up for a comfortable and secure future.

Creating a solid financial plan is the key to reaching your goals and setting yourself up for long-term success.

Create a Financial Plan for Success

To create a financial plan for success, start by setting clear and achievable financial goals. Whether it’s saving for a major purchase, building an emergency fund, or planning for retirement, having specific goals in mind will give you direction and motivation to stay on track.

Next, assess your current financial situation by evaluating your income, expenses, assets, and debts. Understanding where you stand financially will help you make informed decisions about how to allocate your resources.

Once you have a clear understanding of your financial goals and current situation, develop a budget that aligns with your priorities and allows you to save and invest for the future. Track your spending, cut unnecessary expenses, and prioritize saving for your goals. Consider creating different savings accounts for different goals, such as an emergency fund, a retirement account, and a fund for major purchases.

As you work towards your financial goals, be sure to regularly review and adjust your financial plan as needed. Life circumstances can change, and your financial plan should be flexible enough to accommodate unexpected expenses or shifts in income. Stay informed about investment opportunities, retirement planning options, and other financial tools that can help you reach your goals faster and more efficiently.

By creating a solid financial plan and sticking to it, you’ll be well on your way to achieving financial success and securing a stable future for yourself and your loved ones. Building wealth takes time, discipline, and careful planning, but the rewards of financial security and independence are well worth the effort. With a clear roadmap to guide your financial decisions, you can confidently take control of your finances and set yourself up for long-term success.

Conclusion

Know You Know, So Go Grow¡!

In conclusion, taking control of your finances and earning money on your own time is a powerful way to secure your financial future. By identifying your financial needs and personal interests, exploring side hustles, utilizing online platforms, investing wisely, and creating a solid financial plan, you can achieve financial independence and stability.

Remember, the opportunities to earn extra income are endless; all you have to do is take the first step today.

As the saying goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” Take control of your finances and watch your future flourish.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share this with those you feel cold benefit from it. Did you find this helpful? Do you have any questions?

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