Prisms

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The United States surgeon general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, issued a public advisory on Tuesday warning of the risks of social media use to young people. In a 19-page report, Dr. Murthy noted that although the effects of social media on adolescent mental health were not fully understood, and that social media can be beneficial to some users, “there are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”

The surgeon general called on policymakers, tech companies, researchers and parents to “urgently take action” to safeguard against the potential risks.

Why It Matters: Young brains are particularly susceptible to social media.?

“Adolescents are not just smaller adults,” Dr. Murthy said in an interview with The New York Times about the advisory. “They’re in a different phase of development, and they’re in a critical phase of brain development.”

The report noted that “frequent social media use may be associated with distinct changes in the developing brain in the amygdala (important for emotional learning and behavior) and the prefrontal cortex (important for impulse control, emotional regulation, and moderating social behavior), and could increase sensitivity to social rewards and punishments.”

The report also cited research indicating that up to 95 percent of teens reported using at least one social media platform, while more than one-third said they used social media “almost constantly.” In addition, nearly 40 percent of children ages 8 to 12 use social media, even though the required minimum age for most sites is 13.

Researchers have been struggling to understand the impact of social media use on teen mental health. The data are not straightforward and indicate that the effects can be both positive and negative. For instance, social media enables some young people to connect with others, find community and express themselves.

But social media also brims with “extreme, inappropriate and harmful content,” the advisory noted, including content that “normalizes” self-harming, eating disorders and other destructive behavior. Cyberbullying is rampant. And the rise in social media use has coincided with declines in exercise, sleepand other activities considered vital to the developing brain.

Moreover, social media spaces can be fraught for young people especially, the advisory added: “In early adolescence, when identities and sense of self-worth are forming, brain development is especially susceptible to social pressures, peer opinions, and peer comparison.”

Background: The increased scrutiny comes amid a mental health crisis among American youth.?

The advisory joins a growing number of calls for action around adolescents and social media, as experts probe what role it may play in the ongoing teen mental health crisis. Earlier this month, the American Psychological Association issued its first-ever social media guidance, recommending that parents closely monitor teens’ usage and that tech companies reconsider features like endless scrolling and the “like” button.

What’s Next: The surgeon general is calling for immediate action.?
In the advisory, Dr. Murthy expressed an “urgent need” for clarity on several research fronts. They include the types of social media content that cause harm; whether particular neurological pathways, such as those involving reward and addiction, are affected; and which strategies could be used to protect the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.

“Our children have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment,” Dr. Murthy wrote. “It is critical that independent researchers and technology companies work together to rapidly advance our understanding of the impact of social media on children and adolescents.”

Dr. Murthy also acknowledged that, until now, “the burden of protecting youth has fallen predominantly on children, adolescents, and their families.”

“That’s a lot to ask of parents — to take a new technology that’s rapidly evolving and that fundamentally changes how kids perceive themselves" and ask parents to manage it, Dr. Murthy told The Times. “So we’ve got to do what we do in other areas where we have product safety issues, which is to set in place safety standards that parents can rely on, that are actually enforced.”
A Mental Health Crisis Among Our Youth?
Mental health issues among children and teens in the United States are on the rise. Learn more about this worrisome trend from various angles.?
Turning to TikTok: Teens are using the popular app to diagnose themselves with mental illnesses. Some are embracing ineffective or inappropriate treatments.
The Toll of Covid-19: During the pandemic, the number of children and adolescents needing urgent mental health care spiked.
Rise in Suicide Among Black Youth: A recent study uncovered a sharp rise in suicide rates among Black youth, especially among girls.
Prevention: With more young people reporting suicidal thoughts, concerned parents and loved-ones are looking for ways to help. Here are some suggestions.
Advocacy Efforts: To contain the crisis, teens are organizing to improve the mental health services available to them.
The Suicide Website: An online platform providing directions on how to die is linked to a trail of deaths among young people, a Times investigation found.

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FLORIDA — The League of United Latin American Citizens has issued a travel alert warning immigrants to stay clear of Florida following the passage of Senate Bill 1718 by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 10.

Additionally, LULAC leaders said they are considering legal action in federal court against the state of Florida following the signing of the new law, which goes into effect July 1.

The new law mandates that hospitals and health clinics check the legal status of patients before treating them and prevents the hiring of undocumented immigrants by Florida businesses.

"Only once before in its 94-year history has LULAC issued this level of travel-related alert," said LULAC spokesman David Cruz.

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DeSantis said Senate Bill 1718 is designed to combat the dangerous effects of illegal immigration "caused by the federal government’s reckless border policies."

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In his first public comments since the caught-on-video May 1 tragedy on an F train, Penny was both soft-spoken and stoic about being at the center of a political and racial firestorm, as he faces criminal charges that could send him to prison for up to 15 years.

“This had nothing to do with race,” said Penny, 24, sitting under a gazebo at Argyle Park in Babylon, not far from the Long Island beaches where he grew up surfing.

Dressed in black slacks, a blue zip-up jacket and beat-up Vans sneakers, Penny didn’t flinch when asked about Neely, a black, 30-year-old mentally ill homeless man.

“I judge a person based on their character. I’m not a white supremacist.

“I mean, it’s, it’s a little bit comical. Everybody who’s ever met me can tell you, I love all people, I love all cultures. You can tell by my past and all my travels and adventures around the world. I was actually planning a road trip through Africa before this happened.”

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A plus-size TikToker is arguing that airlines should make plane aisles wider to accommodate larger passengers, calling the current layout “discrimination.”

The woman, who posts to the platform as Big Curvy Olivia, shared a video this week showing herself struggling to traverse a United Airlines plane, having to turn sideways as she walked past the rows of seats.

“Honestly, it’s discrimination that they can’t build wider aisles in airplanes 2023,” she wrote on the clip, which has landed about 700,000 views.

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Her post drew more than 5,000 comments, with users divided over how to handle the situation.

“That’s why I fly business or first class. I’m not as big, but I’m not small. Everyone is happy and I get peace!” one user confessed.

“Look I’m a really big guy and I don’t fit in things either but like I just accommodate and accept that for myself,” another declared.

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Others slammed the woman for her “audacious” observation.

“Got a problem with it, don’t fly,” one TikToker snarked.

“How is that discrimination?” another wondered.

“Real talk though they should be accommodating for tall people,” a user quipped.

Some users pointed out airlines would lose seat space if they widened aisles.

“Wider aisles mean less seats. And they would be cutting into profits to accommodate the super sized,” one person wrote. “That wouldn’t make sense.”

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A recent video showing a man slapping a woman and repeatedly insulting her spurred reactions on social media claiming a lack of response from Phoenix police, who arrested and later released the man following the recorded assault.

Police identified the man as Brent Michael Hospelhorn, 46. Online records show Hospelhorn owns a construction company in Scottsdale called BPH Construction LLP.

The incident happened on Tuesday at about 12:30 p.m. at a property near Deer Valley Drive and 56th Street in north Phoenix, police said. The video shows Hospelhorn using coarse language and acting aggressively toward a woman who he says scratched some cabinets inside a property under construction.

Hospelhorn is seen in the video slapping the woman, belligerently ordering her to leave the building and threatening to fire her.

The video showing the assault originally posted on TikTok by Guadalupe Solano has a text in Spanish that translates to "no one can treat you like this, even if they're the owner simply because the cabinet was scratched."

TikTok users reshared the video and demanded accountability from police, asking why they didn't arrest Hospelhorn.

In a statement released Wednesday, Phoenix police said the claims from social media users were spreading an "inaccurate narrative" and that there was no lack of action from officers. Hospelhorn was detained for assault, cited instead of being arrested and then released on site after being "recommended for charges," the statement read.

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The parents of Grant Brace, a University of the Cumberlands wrestler, say their son died from an "exertional heat stroke" after struggling to find water. When he became exhausted and begged for a water break during training, one of his coaches allegedly told him to keep going or he'd be kicked off the team. Brace’s grieving parents say he desperately tried to find water but he collapsed and later died. The parents sued the university and two of Brace’s coaches for wrongful death. Without admitting any wrongdoing, the university and the two coaches settled the lawsuit with his parents, with the school agreeing to pay $14 million. The university says it will work with an expert to help raise awareness about heat-related injuries. Grant's coaches did not respond to Inside Edition's requests for comment.

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Chaotic video footage captures the moment a naked man attacked people at a Florida gym and then rampaged through the street.

The unidentified nudist was taking a boxing class Tuesday night at UFC Gym in midtown Miami when he suddenly stripped down, according to cops.

Outrageous footage shows the man attempting to use the machines — while completely naked — before trying to pick fights with people who were working out.

“The boxing coach said he was a little off, he wasn’t hitting the bag as usual,” UFC Gym assistant general manager Ray Lopez told NBC Miami.

“The member walked his way downstairs and he was just acting very bizarre.”

Gym staff tried to control the man, who kept fighting back.

“He was just becoming dangerous, so at that point, the coaches just picked him up and took him out, but I just hope he gets the mental help he needs to overcome this with whatever he’s going through,” Lopez recounted.


After being manhandled out of the gym by staff, the rowdy man began trying to attack people on the road outside the facility.

The footage shows the aggressive nudist harassing an older man who is sitting in a wheelchair outside before getting whacked in the back of the head with a bag by a bystander.

Police finally arrived and used a Taser on the man twice, which did not seem to immediately stop him

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A young woman is going to spend the next six years behind bars in Mexico for killing a man who assaulted and raped her at her home two years ago.

Roxana Ruiz will be appealing the sentence, which was handed down by Judge Mónica Osorio in Mexico on Monday, her attorney said.

'I feel sad, disappointed in (the) justice (system), they locked me up for nine months, they give me a sentence,' she said following the court hearing. 'If I had not defended myself, I would be the dead one.'

Her lawyer, Ángel Carrera, fears that Osorio's ruling could set 'a bad precedent' going forward if is not overturned.

'It's sending the message to women that, you know what, the law says you can defend yourself, but only to a point,' he said. 'He raped you, but you don't have the right to do anything.'

Judge Osorio backed her sentencing by indicating that Ruiz 'could have given him a blow to the head to defend herself and leaving him unconscious would have been enough.'

She also ordered Ruiz to make a $16,000 reparation payment to Sinai Cruz's family.

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