Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

As Gen Z Ups Screen Time, Their Sadness Stats Rise

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

Is overuse of phones and social media harmful to the health of Generation Z?

With the human desire for connection evolving into a need for connectivity and the majority “always plugged into the online world, time spent with friends is down significantly. The feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness are shooting skyward for all young people,” Andrew Roth, founder of Gen Z research and strategy firm dcdx, tells Marketing Daily.  He notes that 73% of Gen Z-ers report sometimes or always feeling alone.

Dcdx’s just-released “Screen Time Report," now in its third year, shows Gen Z screen time continuing to increase, up 9% year-over-year to seven hours per day on mobile devices alone.

“We hoped to see a decline -- or perhaps a plateau” in screen time in 2023 “as more young people went to school, joined the workforce, and emerged from the post-COVID isolations into a more connected world,” Roth concludes in the report. “But as the data came in, we saw that this was not the case.

Indeed, the report calls TikTok, the clear leader in Gen Z usage time, an “addiction.”

The dcdx research, based on 157 video screen recordings of iPhone screen time settings submitted by 15- to 27-year-olds, found that Gen Z-ers are using TikTok for an average of nine hours weekly, up 50% from 2022.

Instagram, the leader in 2022, is now the second most-used app, but did experience a “significant year-over-year jump.” Nearly all other apps saw usage decline among the demographic, dcdx reports.

Source: MediaPost
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/392553/report-as-gen-z-ups-screen-time-their-sadness-st.html

Adolescent Sports Activities Help Improve Bone Health in Older Adults

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

New research has found that older adults who engaged in high-impact sports activities in their adolescence experience enhanced bone mineral density (BMD) and bone health in their old age.

Loss of bone mineral density (BMD) with age is an important cause of osteoporosis (deterioration of bone tissue), which has been reported as one of the leading causes of falls among older adults in Japan. This leads to fractures that require long-term nursing. Prevention of osteoporosis in the aging population can thus help decrease the burden of disease and health care costs substantially.

Early lifestyle habits can largely influence health and disease onset in old age. In this regard, physical activities pursued during adolescent years can go a long way in preserving long-term health. These effects can be largely attributed to the gain of bone mass, which peaks during the 20s and subsequently begins to decline with age.

A team of researchers from Juntendo University, Japan, recently examined the relationship between the type of sport played during adolescence and individual-specific features and BMD in old age.

The study included 1,596 older adults aged between 65 and 84 years from the Bunkyo Health Study residing in Bunkyo-Ku, an urban area in Tokyo, Japan. The researchers evaluated their physical fitness and blood biomarker levels, including vitamin D and BMD of the femoral neck (upper region of the thigh bone) and lumbar spine (lower region of the spine) regions, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Further, the subjects were interviewed to assess their participation in sports activities during their adolescence. Other parameters, including comorbidities, lifestyle habits, medical history, and current medication status, were also recorded for analysis.

The researchers noted that while femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD values were in the normal range for men, women had lower values for them, with a larger number taking osteoporosis medication. Conversely, diabetes, physical activity, current smoking, and alcohol intake were significantly higher in men. The most common adolescent sports activities included baseball/softball, basketball, judo, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and swimming.

The study found that basketball was associated with significantly high femoral BMD in older men and women. Further, body weight and serum vitamin D levels influenced femoral BMD. On the contrary, women who participated in volleyball and swimming had a higher lumbar spine BMD. However, sports type was not associated with lumbar spine BMD in older men. Notably, body weight, serum vitamin D, and the presence of diabetes were found to influence lumbar spine BMD.

Overall, these findings suggest that older adults who engaged in high-impact sports activities in their adolescence experience enhanced BMD and bone health in their old age. Moreover, the researchers emphasize that BMD benefits are not only limited to athletes but also extend to those in the general population who had indulged in physical activities at junior high and high school.

The study was published in Frontiers in Physiology.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-adolescent-sports-bone-health-older.html

Addiction Treatment for Teens in Crisis Is Often Hard to Find

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

A 'secret shopper' study finds that for many American families, accessing inpatient treatment for a teen battling addiction can be next to impossible.

“If you are a family in crisis and you have a kid for whom outpatient treatment is not an option, you hope to be able to call the closest residential facility to you and have access to timely, safe, affordable care for your child,” said study lead author Dr. Caroline King, from Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU), in Portland.

Unfortunately, “this study shows that affordable, timely and effective treatment is severely lacking for the most vulnerable kids in our population," she said in a university news release.

As an influx of opioids such as fentanyl continues, there's been a steep rise in overdoses and deaths among young Americans. That makes the need for effective residential treatment programs more urgent than ever.

But how available are these programs? To find out, King's group posed as "secret shoppers" -- people purporting to be the aunts and uncles of a 16-year-old who'd recently survived a fentanyl overdose. They reached out to 160 residential treatment centers across the United States, asking about admission availability and costs.

The results were disheartening: About half of the facilities said there was a waiting list to get in, and the average wait time was almost one month, a long time for a child in crisis.

Costs were an issue, too: If a placement was available, almost half of facilities required full or partial payment up front, with costs averaging $878 per day, the study found.

The average quoted cost for a one-month stay: $26,000.

When told by the secret shopper that cost might be an issue, facilities often suggested folks secure a loan, take out a second mortgage on their home or put all the charges on a credit card.

All of this leads families to stark choices when a child is in crisis.

The study was published in the journal Health Affairs.

Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/addiction-treatment-for-teens-in-crisis-is-often-hard-to-find

What's Hot? 01/12/24

Trending Today on X (formerly Twitter) - 1/12/24
 1. Jerod Mayo
2. #NeverNikki
3. Wiggles
4. #fridaymorning
5. #FridayFeeling
6. $APP
7. Good Friday
8. Ciara
9. #KissAGingerDay
10. #AlonRTX
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 1/5/24
 1. Bill Belichick
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4. Don Toliver
5. Warriors
6. Jelly Roll
7. Barcelona Osasuna
8. Cavs
9. Google layoffs
10. South Africa
Source: Google

Top Five on Apple Music - 1/12/24
 1. Lovin On Me - Jack Harlow
2. FTCU - Nicki Minaj
3. Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA) - Drake
4. Snooze - SZA
5. I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) - Zach Bryan
Source: Apple Music

Top Box Office Movies - Weekend of 1/5/24
1. Wonka
2. Night Swim
3. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
4. Migration
5. Anyone But You
Source: Showtimes.com 

TV Shows Trending on Streaming Services - 1/12/24
 1. True Detective (2014) - Max
2. Beef - Netflix
3. The Bear (2022) - Hulu
4. Fargo (2014) - Hulu
5. Reacher (2022) - Prime Video
Source: Reelgood

Trending Today on YouTube - 1/12/24
 1. Lil Nas X - J CHRIST
2. Ariana Grande - yes, and?
3. Goodbye Internet
4. Still Here | Season 2024 Cinematic - League of Legends
5. Our First Months as Parents
Source: YouTube

Netflix Top 5 TV Shows in the U.S. Today - 1/12/24
 1. Fool Me Once
2. Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli
3. The Brothers Sun
4. Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer
5. You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
Source: FlixPatrol

US Teen Smoking Rates Have Plummeted, With Fewer Than 1% Now Daily Smokers

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

The number of American teens who smoke or have even tried smoking has dropped dramatically compared to a generation ago, with less than 1% now saying they light up cigarettes daily.

Researchers tracked data on students in grades 9 through 12 from 1991 through to 2021. They report a 16-fold decline in daily cigarette use—from 9.8% of teens saying they smoked daily in 1991 to just 0.6% by 2021.

Even trying smoking is clearly unpopular now: Whereas about 70% of teens surveyed in 1991 said they had "ever" smoked, that number fell to less than 18% by 2021, a fourfold decline.

"The substantial decrease in cigarette use among U.S. adolescents spanning three decades is an encouraging public health achievement," said senior study author Panagiota Kitsantas of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Other findings from the study:

• "Frequent" smoking (on at least 20 days of the prior month) fell from 12.7% of teens in 1991 to 0.7% 30 years later.
• "Occasional" (at least 1 cigarette over the past month) smoking dropped from 27% of teens to 3.8% by 2021, a sevenfold decline.
• 12th graders were more likely to say they occasionally smoked versus kids in grades 9 through 11. That suggests that older teens may be more likely to at least experiment with smoking, the researchers said.

The study was published online in the winter 2023 issue of the Ochsner Journal.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-teen-plummeted-daily-smokers.html

About 22 Adolescents Died Weekly From Overdoses in 2022, Driven by Fentanyl-Laced Prescription Pills

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

An average of 22 adolescents 14 to 18 years of age died in the U.S. each week in 2022 from drug overdoses, raising the death rate for this group to 5.2 per 100,000—driven by fentanyl in counterfeit pills, new research finds.

Adolescent overdoses had more than doubled among this group between 2019 and 2020 and have since intensified to such an extent that the death count equals a high school classroom each week and is now the third largest cause of pediatric deaths behind firearm-related injuries and motor vehicle collisions.

The increase is, however, not due to more illicit drug use—which has, in fact, fallen over the years; for example, excluding cannabis, the rate of any illicit drug use among just 12th graders had fallen from about 21% to 8% in the 20 years since 2002. Instead, the increase is the result of drugs becoming deadlier due to fentanyl, which is increasingly found in counterfeit oxycodone, benzodiazepines, and other prescription pills that fall into the hands of adolescents.

"Teenagers are likely to be unaware of just how high-risk experimenting with pills has become, given the recent rise in counterfeit tablets," said study co-author Joseph Friedman, a researcher at UCLA.

"It's often impossible to tell the difference with the naked eye between a real prescription medication obtained from a doctor and a counterfeit version with a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl. It's urgent that teenagers be given accurate information about the real risks and strategies to keep themselves and their friends safe."

The researchers found that adolescent overdoses were occurring at double the national average in Arizona, Colorado, and Washington State between 2020 and 2022.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-adolescents-died-weekly-overdoses-driven.html

High Adolescent BMI Increases the Risk of Early Chronic Kidney Disease

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

Adolescent obesity significantly increases the risk of developing early chronic kidney disease (CKD) in young adulthood, according to a large cohort study led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and Sheba Tel HaShomer Medical Center researchers.

The new study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, highlights the importance of lowering adolescent obesity rates to better manage the risk of kidney disease for adolescents with high body mass index (BMI). While those with severe obesity appear more at risk, researchers also found cause for concern for seemingly healthy individuals with high-normal BMI under 30.

"These findings are a harbinger of the potentially preventable, increasing likelihood of developing chronic kidney disease and subsequent cardiovascular disease," the researchers say.

The study, conducted by colleagues from major health institutions in Israel and the United States, including Johns Hopkins and Harvard University, included data on 593,660 Israeli adolescents ages 16-20, born after January 1, 1975, who had medical assessments for mandatory military service.

The findings of this cohort study underscore the importance of mitigating adolescent obesity rates and managing the risk factors associated with developing CKD.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-high-adolescent-bmi-early-chronic.html

Emotional Problems in Young People Were Rising Rapidly Even Before the Pandemic

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

There was a substantial increase in emotional problems among young people in Wales in the years immediately before the pandemic, research from Cardiff University shows.

In the article, "Trends in adolescent emotional problems in Wales between 2013 and 2019: the contribution of peer relationships," published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, academics studied data collected from more than 200,000 young people aged 11–16 in Wales.

The results, which compare responses taken between 2013 and 2019, show the number experiencing emotional symptoms associated with anxiety or depression increased over time, with the proportion of young people with high numbers of emotional problems rising from 23% to 38% over a six-year period. Emotional symptoms reported in the survey include feeling low, irritable, nervous and having sleep difficulties.

Friendship quality and experiencing any form of bullying were strongly associated with higher emotional problems in all three surveys, but these trends did not account for the sharp increase in emotional problems over time.

Lead author Dr. Rebecca Anthony, based at Cardiff University's Center for the Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer) and Wolfson Center for young People's Mental Health said, "This study provides evidence of a substantial increase in emotional problems among young people in Wales, particularly for young people from less affluent backgrounds.

"These results are concerning, particularly as this paper only explores the emotional symptoms of young people prior to COVID-19. Evidence indicates that the pandemic and associated restrictions took a large toll on young people's mental health. Our data demonstrate what a vulnerable position young people's mental health and well-being was already in before the pandemic struck."

The study used data from the 2013 Welsh Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) and the 2017 and 2019 School Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Well-being surveys.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-emotional-problems-young-people-rapidly.html

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

There was a substantial increase in emotional problems among young people in Wales in the years immediately before the pandemic, research from Cardiff University shows.

In the article, "Trends in adolescent emotional problems in Wales between 2013 and 2019: the contribution of peer relationships," published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, academics studied data collected from more than 200,000 young people aged 11–16 in Wales.

The results, which compare responses taken between 2013 and 2019, show the number experiencing emotional symptoms associated with anxiety or depression increased over time, with the proportion of young people with high numbers of emotional problems rising from 23% to 38% over a six-year period. Emotional symptoms reported in the survey include feeling low, irritable, nervous and having sleep difficulties.

Friendship quality and experiencing any form of bullying were strongly associated with higher emotional problems in all three surveys, but these trends did not account for the sharp increase in emotional problems over time.

Lead author Dr. Rebecca Anthony, based at Cardiff University's Center for the Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer) and Wolfson Center for young People's Mental Health said, "This study provides evidence of a substantial increase in emotional problems among young people in Wales, particularly for young people from less affluent backgrounds.

"These results are concerning, particularly as this paper only explores the emotional symptoms of young people prior to COVID-19. Evidence indicates that the pandemic and associated restrictions took a large toll on young people's mental health. Our data demonstrate what a vulnerable position young people's mental health and well-being was already in before the pandemic struck."

The study used data from the 2013 Welsh Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) and the 2017 and 2019 School Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Well-being surveys.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-emotional-problems-young-people-rapidly.html

What's Hot? 01/05/24

Trending Today on X (formerly Twitter) - 1/5/24
 1. $BRCT
2. #FridayVibes
3. #FridayFeeling
4. Pomu
5. Good Friday
6. Happy Founders
7. #FridayMotivation
8. #NationalBirdDay
9. #FursuitFriday
10. Founders Day
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 1/5/24
 1. Neri Oxman
2. PERRY, Iowa
3. Las Vegas judge attacked
4. Glynis Johns
5. Barcelona
6. Spurs
7. Dalvin Cook
8. Natalia Grace
9. Bruins
10. Golden Bachelor Wedding
Source: Google

Top Five on Apple Music - 1/5/24
 1. Lovin On Me - Jack Harlow
2. FTCU - Nicki Minaj
3. Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA) - Drake
4. Snooze - SZA
5. I Remember Everything (feat. Kacey Musgraves) - Zach Bryan
Source: Apple Music

Top Box Office Movies - Weekend of 12/29/23
1. Wonka
2. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
3. Migration
4. The Color Purple
5. Anyone But You
Source: Showtimes.com 

TV Shows Trending on Streaming Services - 1/5/24
 1. Fargo (2014) - Hulu
2. Reacher (2022) - Prime Video
3. True Detective (2014) - Max
4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Disney+
5. A Murder at the End of the World - Hulu
Source: Reelgood

Trending Today on YouTube - 12/22/23
 1. Where Is The Flooded McLaren P1?!
2. Crystal Palace v Everton | Key Moments
3. Potter Payper - Trench P
4. D-Block Europe - Skims
5. MY REDDIT HATES ME
Source: YouTube

Netflix Top 5 TV Shows in the U.S. Today - 1/5/24
 1. Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer
2. Fool Me Once
3. You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
4. Money Heist: Berlin
5. My Life with the Walter Boys
Source: FlixPatrol

Almost Half of Teenagers Feel Addicted to Social Media

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Yahoo! Finance.

Almost half of teenagers feel as if they are addicted to social media, according to analysis.

The early findings from a study being carried out at the University of Cambridge were described as “striking”, with researchers saying that some people’s relationship with social media could be “akin to a behavioral addiction”.

The Cambridge team is analyzing data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which is being carried out by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the University of London.

It is following the lives of more than 18,000 babies born in the UK between 2000 and 2001 to map the backgrounds of children born in the early 21st century.

Cambridge researchers found 48% of 7,022 people surveyed agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I think I am addicted to social media”.

The data was collected between January 2018 and March 2019, when the cohort was 17 years old.

The total who answered that they feel addicted included a higher proportion of girls (57%) compared to boys (37%).

University of Cambridge graduate student Georgia Turner, who led the analysis, said: “We’re not saying the people who say they feel addicted are addicted. But it’s not a nice feeling to feel you don’t have agency over your own behavior, so it’s quite striking that so many people feel like that.”

Ms. Turner’s work is ongoing and has not been peer-reviewed or published formally.

Source: Yahoo! Finance
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/almost-half-teenagers-feel-addicted-092618251.html