teens | Common News Update

Mar162021 by adminNo Comments

Instagram to allow teens to block messages from adults

Technology

Instagram is introducing new anti-grooming safety measures that will prevent adult users from sending direct messages to teenagers unless they follow them.It follows criticism of Facebook over its actions on child grooming, with multiple international statements calling for the company to ensure that young people using its platforms were kept safe. Of particular concern has been the company's plans to move all of its platforms to using end-to-end encryption, similar to WhatsApp. Critics allege this would disable Facebook's own internal monitoring of messages for potential grooming. Image: Facebook also owns Instagram and WhatsApp Instagram's policies require that all of its users are over 13. People who identify themselves as teenager...

Dec172020 by adminNo Comments

One in six U.S. teens used tobacco in 2020, government figures show

Health

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Roughly one in six teens across the United Stated used some type of tobacco product in 2020, according to data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This means that nearly 4.5 million teens nationally used traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes or chewing tobacco this year, officials estimated. Advertisement The relatively high level of product use persists, despite recent research suggesting that the number of teens who smoke cigarettes or opt for chewing tobacco has declined in recent years. As a result, the estimates indicate that teen tobacco use is now being fueled by e-cigarettes or vaping, officials said. "These findings demonstrate success in reducing youth use of tobacco overall, while also revealing changes in use patterns that will...

Jun82020 by adminNo Comments

Internet vigilantes falsely link ex-officer to teens’ attack

Technology

A retired police officer who was falsely accused by many Twitter users of accosting three young adults on a Maryland bicycle trail says he was saddened and scared by the barrage of hate directed against himBy MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated PressJune 8, 2020, 9:47 PM4 min read4 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleSILVER SPRING, Md. -- John Damskey’s nightmare began with his wife getting emails from strangers telling her she should be ashamed of her husband, a retired police officer. Their phones wouldn’t stop ringing with calls from unfamiliar numbers. Some even called his 74-year-old mother. Baffled by the barrage of hate last Thursday, Damskey plugged his name into the internet and made a horrifying discovery: Mobs of Twitter users were falsely accusing him of being ...

Apr272020 by adminNo Comments

Later school openings allow teens to get needed sleep, study finds

Health

April 27 (UPI) -- Schools may be closed across much of the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic but, when they re-open, a later start to the day could help students get the sleep they need to perform better, according to a new study. The analysis, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, found that adolescents and teens at two high schools that delayed the school day by an hour had around 40 minutes more sleep per night and needed less extra sleep on the weekends compared to those at schools that opened earlier in the morning. "Most teens require a lot of extra sleep on weekends to payback the 'sleep debt' they run up during the school week," co-author Dr. Rachel Widome, an associate professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota, told UPI. "In our st...

Mar62020 by adminNo Comments

Study confirms teens with EVALI used illicit marijuana vapor cartridges

Health

March 5 (UPI) -- A study published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention confirms that at least some people with a vaping-linked lung injury used illicit marijuana products. Researchers at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services report that teens who developed EVALI, or e-cigarette product use-associated lung injury, often obtain vaping cartridges through illicit or informal sources, according to a study published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Of the 3,000 or so EVALI cases since last year when the condition emerged across the country, more than 50 were reported in Wisconsin. EVALI is a severe respiratory illness linked with the use of vaping cartridges that contain vitamin E acetate. It can result in significant damage to the lungs, an...