Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

About 1 in 5 U.S. Teens Who’ve Heard of ChatGPT Have Used It for Schoolwork

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Pew Research Center.

Roughly one in five teenagers who have heard of ChatGPT say they have used it to help them do their schoolwork, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. With a majority of teens having heard of ChatGPT, that amounts to 13% of all U.S. teens who have used the generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot in their schoolwork.

Teens in higher grade levels are particularly likely to have used the chatbot to help them with schoolwork. About one-quarter of 11th and 12th graders who have heard of ChatGPT say they have done this. This share drops to 17% among 9th and 10th graders and 12% among 7th and 8th graders.

There is no significant difference between teen boys and girls who have used ChatGPT in this way.

The introduction of ChatGPT last year has led to much discussion about its role in schools, especially whether schools should integrate the new technology into the classroom or ban it.

Teens who are more aware of ChatGPT are more likely to use it for schoolwork. Roughly a third of teens who have heard a lot about ChatGPT (36%) have used it for schoolwork, far higher than the 10% among those who have heard a littleabout it.

There is a fair amount of support for using the chatbot to explore a topic. Roughly seven in ten teens who have heard of ChatGPT say it’s acceptable to use when they are researching something new, while 13% say it is not acceptable.

However, there is much less support for using ChatGPT to do the work itself. Just one in five teens who have heard of ChatGPT say it’s acceptable to use it to write essays, while 57% say it is not acceptable. And 39% say it’s acceptable to use ChatGPT to solve math problems, while a similar share of teens (36%) say it’s not acceptable.

Source: Pew Research Center
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/16/about-1-in-5-us-teens-whove-heard-of-chatgpt-have-used-it-for-schoolwork/

Gen Z Teens Lonelier, More Apt to Use Therapy, Less Likely to Do Drugs

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Deseret News.

When it comes to Gen Z teenagers, you can discard the old saw that “kids will be kids,” similar across generations based on their age and maturity level. Gen Z is different.

Ask young adults in Gen Z about their teen years and you will learn that, compared to previous generations:

• More teens in Gen Z felt lonely and isolated.
• They were less likely to have a significant other in their teen years.
• They didn’t hang out with other teens as much.
• With parents likely to be working full time, they didn’t have as many family meals together.
• They are much less likely to have attended religious services regularly.
• They consumed less alcohol, drugs, and tobacco products.
• They were less likely to have a part-time or summer job.
• They were more likely to have had therapy as teens.

That’s all according to “Generation Z and the Transformation of American Adolescence: How Gen Z’s Formative Experiences Shape Its Politics, Priorities and Future,” a new survey report from the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life.

In the report, Gen Z was considered to be those born between 1997 and 2012. Often, there’s a year or two variation in when different analyses consider a generation to have begun or ended. By this reckoning, Gen Z’s adults looking back on their teen years are between 20 and 26.

Daniel A. Cox directs the Survey Center on American Life and is a senior fellow in polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute. He told Deseret News that formative events help define generations.

The report itself says that Gen Z’s cohort has a distinctive demographic profile. About half of Generation Z is non-Hispanic white, compared to 7 in 10 baby boomers. More than a third of Gen Z adults say they are not religiously affiliated, which is twice the number of boomers who say that.

“Being a member of a more diverse generation raises the probability of regular social interactions with people who do not share your racial or religious background, sexual identity or sexual orientation,” Cox and his co-authors wrote. “Diversity exposes people to a wider array of backgrounds and encourages commitment to pluralism. It’s not a coincidence that Gen Z adults are more likely than older generations to believe that America’s diversity is a source of strength for the country.”

The survey included a random sample of 5,055 adults living in the U.S., including in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., conducted Aug. 11-20.

Source: Deseret News
https://www.deseret.com/2023/11/15/23958265/report-gen-z-teenagers-lonelier-more-apt-therapy-less-likely-use-drugs

Melatonin Use Skyrockets Among U.S. Kids

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Record numbers of children and tweens now take melatonin for sleep, potentially doing harm to their development, a new study warns.

Nearly one in five school-aged kids are popping melatonin to help them rest, often with the help of their parents, researchers reported in the Nov. 13 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

But safety and effectiveness data for melatonin is slim, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t heavily regulate such supplements, researchers say.

“We hope this paper raises awareness for parents and clinicians, and sounds the alarm for the scientific community,” said lead study author Lauren Hartstein, a postdoctoral fellow in the Sleep and Development Lab at University of Colorado Boulder.

“We are not saying that melatonin is necessarily harmful to children,” Hartstein added in a university news release. “But much more research needs to be done before we can state with confidence that it is safe for kids to be taking long-term.”

The human pineal gland naturally produces melatonin, to signal to the body that it is time to sleep and to regulate the 24-hour circadian sleep cycle. Many countries classify melatonin as a drug that’s available by prescription only, researchers said in background notes. But in the United States, melatonin is available over the counter as a dietary supplement -- increasingly available in child-friendly gummies.

To get a sense of how many kids now take the supplement, researchers surveyed about 1,000 parents in the first half of 2023. What they found was startling:

• Nearly 19% of children ages 5 to 9 had taken melatonin in the previous 30 days, and more than 19% of tweens 10 to 13 did
• Nearly 6% of preschoolers ages 1 to 4 had used melatonin in the previous month.
• Preschoolers using melatonin had been taking it for an average of a year, while grade schoolers and tweens had been using on average for 18 and 21 months, respectively.
• The older the child, the greater the dosage, with preschoolers taking between 0.25 milligrams (mg) to 2 mg and preteens taking up to 10 mg.

Reports of melatonin ingestion to poison control centers increased 530% from 2012 to 2021, the authors noted, largely occurring among children under age 5. More than 94% were unintentional overdoses, and luckily 85% were asymptomatic, researchers added.

Giving children melatonin also sends a message that If you’re having trouble sleeping, a pill is the answer, the researchers noted. “If this many kids are taking melatonin, that suggests there are a lot of underlying sleep issues out there that need to be addressed,” Hartstein said. “Addressing the symptom doesn’t necessarily address the cause.”

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/melatonin-use-skyrockets-among-us-kids-study-finds

Older Adolescents With Physical and Mental Illnesses Have Lowest Self-Perceptions

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

The combination of physical and mental illness had a negative impact on self-perception among older adolescents but not for younger ones, shows a new University of Waterloo study.

Researchers found that compared to adolescents with a physical illness only, their self-concept—the image we have of ourselves—was lower, but that was not the case for younger adolescents.

"Roughly 25% of the adolescent population in Canada have a physical illness, and adolescence is already a time where mental illness is at increased risk," said Dr. Mark Ferro, a researcher in the School of Public Health Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health. "We know that adolescents with a physical illness tend to have lower self-concept, but this study shows that it's even worse for adolescents with co-existing physical and mental illnesses."

In the study, researchers used data from the ongoing Multimorbidity in Children and Youth across the Life-course (MY LIFE), a prospective study of children and adolescents with diagnosed physical illnesses and their parents. The 116 adolescents in the study sample averaged 13 years of age, and 60% were male. More than 86% were white, and 18% were children of immigrant parents.

The study, "Self-concept in Adolescents with Physical-Mental Comorbidity," was published in the Journal of Multimorbidity and Co-Morbidity.

"This study shows us that there are a great many youths in need of support," Ferro said. "Health-care providers and parents need to find opportunities to assess self-concept and support positive self-perceptions for these adolescents, especially when planning the transition from pediatric to adult health services."

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-older-adolescents-physical-mental-illnesses.html

What's Hot? 11/27/23

Trending Today on Twitter - 11/17/23
 1. #BlueyXboxSweepstakes
2. Drake
3. #BEFE
4. Everton
5. Andre 3000
6. #fridaymorning
7. #FridayFeeling
8. #FridayVibes
9. Scot Pilgrim
10. Founders Day
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 11/17/23
 1. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
2. Brazil
3. Bengals
4. Joe Burrow
5. Diddy
6. Starbucks Red Cup Day
7. Snoop Dogg
8. Argentina vs Uraguay
9. Dana Carvey son
10. Mark Andrews injury
Source: Google

Top Five on Apple Music - 11/17/23
 1. Lovin On Me - Jack Harlow
2. IDGAF (feat. Yeat) - Drake
3. First Person Shooter (feat. J. Cole) - Drake
4. Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA) - Drake
5. Great Gatsby - Rod Wave
Source: Apple Music

Top Box Office Movies - Weekend of 11/10/23
1. The Marvels
2. Five Nights at Freddy's
3. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Priscilla
Source: Showtimes.com 

TV Shows Trending on Streaming Services - 11/17/23
 1. The Curse (2023) - Paramount+
2. A Murder at the End of the World - Hulu
3. Lessons in Chemistry - AppleTV+
4. All the Light We Cannot See - Netflix
5. The Curse (2022) - Netflix
Source: Reelgood

Trending Today on YouTube - 11/17/23
 1. Drake - First Person Shooter ft. J. Cole
2. Percy Jackson and The Olympians | Trailer
3. MADAME WEB - Trailer
4. André 3000 Talks His New Album and Life After Outkast
5. 72nd MISS UNIVERSE Preliminary Competition
Source: YouTube

Netflix Top 5 TV Shows in the U.S. Today - 11/17/23
 1. Matt Rife: Natural Selection
2. How to Become a Mob Boss
3. Escaping the Flames
4. All the Light We Cannot See
5. Criminal Code
Source: FlixPatrol

Talking to Someone in Person Better for Mood Than Using Smartphones All Day

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Countless people look to their smartphones for approval and happiness, but researchers from the University of Georgia find that people would be better off talking to someone in person instead. Study authors report that when people were asked to either scroll on their phones, sit quietly by themselves, or have a conversation with a stranger, participants usually believed talking was the most enjoyable.

“When people are out in the real world, they have these options,” says lead author and doctoral student Christina Leckfor in a university release. “We were interested in getting a sense of how people compare their options, both in terms of how they expect to feel and then how they actually feel after doing these things.”

“We thought people might underestimate how much they would enjoy talking to a stranger and overestimate how much they would enjoy using their smartphones,” Leckfor continues. “But that’s not what we found. Across our studies, people were actually more accurate in predicting how they would feel than we thought they’d be.”

When study participants were given three options (use a smartphone, sit alone, or talk to a stranger), the conversation held the highest positive emotional value. Using a smartphone ranked second, and sitting alone came in third.

Adding more options shuffled up the results even further. After providing volunteers with specific smartphone tasks (watching videos, scrolling social media, or texting) besides just talking or sitting quietly, participants reported they would enjoy watching videos the most, followed by talking to a stranger, using social media, and then texting. Sitting alone once again ranked last.

A major difference, according to Leckfor, stemmed from the emotions associated with these tasks. While people admitted they would prefer using their smartphone in some capacity, they saw a higher mood boost after talking to a stranger.

“It surprised us that even though participants reported an improved mood after talking to a stranger, they still ranked texting above talking to a stranger,” Leckfor adds. “This could mean that people don’t always recognize the potential benefits of a conversation, or they’re not prioritizing that information. It also shows that just experiencing something as enjoyable isn’t always enough to get us to want to do it.”

The study was published in The Journal of Social Psychology.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/talking-to-someone-in-person/

Teens Are Popping Cannabis Edibles in the Middle of Their School Day

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

According to a recent study, the number one reason teens say they use cannabis (52.9%) is to calm anxiety. And across the board teen cannabis abuse has increased dramatically — up 245% over the past 20 years, according to one study — with some experts attributing the rise to the wide availability of edibles. While cannabis is legal only for adults, that study's researchers found that edibles have made the drug more accessible to adolescents and fostered a perception that the drug is totally safe. Edibles are “marketed in ways that are attractive to young people, and they are considered more discreet and convenient,” the study's lead author said. Indeed, a recent survey on youth and cannabis found that teens view edibles as being less risky than smoking joints or blunts or vaping THC.

But compared to the immediate high of smoking weed, the high from edibles can take several hours, leading some impatient teens to take more of them — and causing intense and unpredictable highs.

It's why headlines about teens being rushed to the ER after overindulging in the middle of their school day — something they can easily do without detection — seem to come at a constant clip, with cities including Boston, Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles and suburban schools in Ohio, Indiana, New York and other states reporting kids getting sick, passing out and even having seizures after ingesting high-dose THC edibles.

“If you are using a gummy in school, it's hard to catch you,” Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, youth risk behavior expert and professor of pediatrics at the Stanford School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life about why kids are being so brazen. “They're super-easy to hide. So they're feeling less vulnerable to getting caught.” In fact, a 2017 focus group study on cannabis edibles and teens revealed that they opted for edibles “primarily to reduce the likelihood of getting caught.”

Plus, with expanding legality, edibles are “ubiquitous,” Halpern-Felsher, creator of the widely used Cannabis Awareness and Prevention Toolkit, says. “They're everywhere right now.”

“Young people think that to self-medicate [with weed] is the way to reduce their stress. But that is not true. Actually what it often does is make you feel more stressed, because you want more of it — especially if you're addicted.”

The science behind edibles, says Dr. Travis Fahrenkamp, psychiatrist at the Hazelden Betty Ford Center for Teens, Young Adults and Families, has to do with how the body metabolizes the psychoactive substance THC. “When edibles are ingested, they go through the GI tract, they get into the bloodstream, and they go through what is called first-pass metabolism, which means they're metabolized by the liver.”

That process, he says, forms an additional psychoactive metabolite called 11-OH THC, which can be even more potent and appear in the blood at higher quantities. “That's where not only do you get longer duration” of the high, Fahrenkamp says, “sometimes you get more of a psychoactive effect, depending on the dose that you're taking.”

While you may not be able to overdose and die as you could with, say, opioids, there are plenty of risks with ingesting THC, Fahrenkamp warns — the first of which is taking way too much to begin with.

A factor with taking too much, Fahrenkamp explains, is that the high of edibles not only lasts a lot longer than that of smoking (up to 12 hours or more, compared to about four hours), but it also takes a longer time to kick in: While smoking takes effect immediately and peaks in about 20 to 30 minutes, edibles can take about an hour or longer to get you high, peaking at around the two- to four-hour mark.

“So let's say that they're waiting 30 minutes and are like, ‘Oh, I don't feel anything, maybe I need to take more.’ And then they take more and more, and then it starts hitting them. Then they've already taken too much,” he explains.

Source: Yahoo!
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/teens-cannabis-edibles-at-school-risky-224851108.html

Teenage Obesity Increases Risk for 17 Different Cancers in Adulthood

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Researchers have discovered a dangerous link between obesity in male teenagers and over a dozen forms of cancer. A team from the University of Gothenburg reveals young adults who are overweight when they’re 18 years old have a significantly higher risk of developing 17 different types of cancer later in life. The research also sheds light on the potential impact of the ongoing youth obesity epidemic on the cancer landscape over the next three decades.

In two new studies, the research team focused on body mass index (BMI) as a factor while considering the participants’ aerobic fitness levels. The results revealed that having a higher BMI at age 18 is associated with an even greater risk of developing various cancers later in life, surpassing the impact of poor fitness at the same age.

The study identified a correlation between high BMI at conscription and a heightened risk of 17 different types of cancer, including:

• Lung cancer
• Head and neck cancer
• Brain cancer
• Thyroid cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Liver cancer
• Colon cancer
• Rectal cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Malignant melanoma
• Leukemia
• Myeloma
• Lymphoma, both Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s.

“Overweight and obesity at a young age seems to increase the risk of developing cancer, and we see links between unhealthy weight and cancer in almost every organ,” says study first author Aron Onerup, postdoc at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, in a university release. “Given the alarming trend of obesity in childhood and adolescence, this study reinforces the need to deploy strong resources to reverse this trend.”

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/obesity-cancer-young-men/

Vaping's Popularity Falls Among U.S. High School Students

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

Warnings about the dangers of vaping may be reaching American teens as a new U.S. government report shows e-cigarette use is down among high school students.

In fact, use of any tobacco product over the past 30 days declined among this age group during the 2022-2023 school year, from 16.5% to 12.6%.

This was driven largely by a decline in e-cigarette use, which dropped from 14.1% to 10%.

“The decline in e-cigarette use among high school students shows great progress, but our work is far from over,” said Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health.

Anti-smoking advocates welcomed the findings. "It is terrific news for our nation’s health that e-cigarette use among high school students fell sharply this year, while use of cigarettes, cigars, and other smoked tobacco products are at record lows," said Yolonda Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "These results are powerful evidence that with the right policies and public education campaigns, we can drive down and even eliminate youth use of all tobacco products. They show that we can reduce youth e-cigarette use without a resurgence in cigarette smoking."

Middle school students were the one age segment that bucked the downward trend, where significant increases occurred during the 2022-2023 year in the current use of at least one tobacco product, from 4.5% to 6.6%, and the use of multiple tobacco products, from 1.5% to 2.5%.

"The possible uptick in e-cigarette use among middle school students is also cause for concern and underscores the urgent need to eliminate flavored e-cigarettes," Richardson said.

The study, published Nov. 3 in the CDC publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is based on findings from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

That survey includes information on current and past use of nine tobacco product types, flavored tobacco products, and e-cigarette use behaviors in students in grades 6 through 12.

About 2.8 million, or 10%, of middle and high school students reported current use of a tobacco product in 2023. Additionally, 2.2 million, 7.7%, of students reported current e-cigarette use in 2023.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/vapings-popularity-falls-among-us-high-school-students

What's Hot? 11/10/23

Trending Today on Twitter - 11/10/23
 1. Veterans Day
2. #BOOM
3. Semper Fi
4. Happy Birthday Marines
5. #fridaymorning
6. Meek
7. Keke
8. #FridayFeeling
9. Chris Brown
10. Good Friday
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 11/10/23
 1. Harry Styles
2. Jill Stein
3. Bears
4. Veterans Day 2023
5. Inside Out 2
6. Joe Manchin
7. Europa League
8. Bucks
9. Bryce Young
10. Milwaukee Bucks
Source: Google

Top Five on Apple Music - 11/10/23
 1. IDGAF (feat. Yeat) - Drake
2. Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA) - Drake
3. Is It Over Now? - Taylor Swift
4. First Person Shooter (feat. J. Cole) - Drake
5. Virginia Beach - Drake
Source: Apple Music

Top Box Office Movies - Weekend of 11/3/23
1. Five Nights at Freddy's
2. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Priscilla
5. Radical
Source: Showtimes.com 

TV Shows Trending on Streaming Services - 11/10/23
 1. All the Light We Cannot See - Netflix
2. Lawmen: Bass Reeves - Prime Video
3. Friends (1994) - Max
4. Yellowstone - Peacock
5. Lessons in Chemistry - AppleTV+
Source: Reelgood

Trending Today on YouTube - 11/10/23
 1. Inside Out 2 | Teaser Trailer
2. Dua Lipa - Houdini
3. Digging a SECRET GARAGE Part 1
4.Secret Tunnel/Garage Update #3
5. 73 Questions With Nicki Minaj
Source: YouTube

Netflix Top 5 TV Shows in the U.S. Today - 11/10/23
 1. Escaping Twin Flames
2. All the Light We Cannot See
3. Selling Sunset
4. The Billionaire, The Butler, and the Boyfriend
5. Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom
Source: FlixPatrol