【推荐1】Teenagers who spend more than three hours a day on social media may have doubled the risk of mental health problems compared with those who avoid it, research suggests.

The study of more than 6,000 children aged 12 to 15 found those who used social media more heavily were more likely to report situations such as sadness, anxiety and loneliness, as well as aggression (攻击性) and anti-social actions, than teenagers who did not use social media. The findings held true even when researchers took into account mental health problems experienced by young persons in the year before they were asked about social media use.

The research, from a team at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland, was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry(精神病学).

Some previous studies have suggested no connection between poorer mental health and screen time. Dr Rina Dutta, senior medical lecturer at Kings College London, said, “A main strength of this study compared to previous research is that the researchers took into account mental health problems the young people already had a year before the measurement of social media use. This largely overcomes the ‘what came first-mental health problem or high social media use? ’question.”

The study looked at two types of actions that can show mental health problems: internalising(内化行为)and externalising(外化行为). Internalising can include social disconnection or difficulty dealing with anxiety or sadness. Externalising can include aggression or breaking instructions.

The study found that the use of social media for at least three hours a day was connected with around twice the risk of mental health problems, compared with those who avoided it.

Lead author Kira Riehm said, “Many present studies have found a connection between digital or social media use and the health of teens, but few look at this connection across time. We cannot say that social media causes mental health problems, but we do think that less time on social media may be better for the health of teens.

The study found that fewer than 17 percent of teenagers did not use social media. Of those who did, 32 percent spent less than 30 minutes a day; 31 percent spent 30 minutes to three hours; 12 percent spent three to six hours and 8 percent spent more than six hours per day.

Ms Riehm said, “Social media has the ability to connect teenagers who may be excluded(排除在外) in their daily life. We need to find a better way to balance the benefits of social media with possible harmful health results.”

【推荐2】While Google, Bing and Yahoo dominate (居……之首) adult search engine choices, they are not always the best choice for students. The sites on this list are good search engines that students can rely on.

Homework help is always on hand with Fact Monster (www.factmonster.com). It is mainly fit for students aged from 7 to 12. There are also all kinds of games, spelling tests and more for kids to improve their study and have some fun.

Ask Kids (www.askkids.com) is a great site for students to safely find the information they need from the web. Besides being a useful and safe search engine, Ask Kids also has a useful picture and video search function that allows students to find pictures or videos that may be useful to their information search.

SortFix (www.sortfix.com) is one of the useful search engines for students because it provides relevant, organized search results. It does this by analyzing the keywords in the search results, and giving the searcher the ability to focus on, or remove, certain keywords. It is a useful search engine if you are not sure what information you want to find, or if you are tired of finding irrelevant (不相关的) results in your searches.

Created Stephen Wolfram, Wolfram Alpha (www.wolframalpha.com) can calculate things that it would take a hundred or more individual websites to do. It uses a set of ways to answer questions directly that you type into the search box, which is different from other websites. You can find everything from the nutritional value of an apple to the real-time position of the International Space Station. An Apple app is offered so that you can add it to any iPod Touch devices. It is best suited for older students.

【推荐3】Everyone has a phone in their pocket nowadays, but how often do we really use them for their original purpose—to make a call? Telephone culture is disappearing. What brought us to this moment, and what are its effects?

“No one picks up the phone anymore,” wrote Alex C. Madrigal on The Atlantic. “The reflex (习惯性动作)of answering—20th-century telephonic culture—is gone.”

The shift is of course due in large part to more communication options: texting with photos, videos, emojis, reaction gifs, links and even voice messages can be a more attractive option.

Texting is light and fun, not nearly as demanding of your attention as a phone call. It can also be done with multiple people at the same time. Social media, email and video calls have also eaten away at traditional phone calls.

In recent years, another reason has caused people to ignore phone calls completely: robocalls. Robocalls are automate(自动化的) messages from organizations verifying (核实)your phone number or telemarketers trying to sell something. Americans received 22.8 billion robocalls halfway through 2020, equaling an annual rate of 45.6 billion, slightly below 2018 numbers, according to YouMail, a robocall protection service and blocking app.

As telephone culture disappears, what is the loss of a singular family phone doing to the family unit? Early landline phones unified family members, whereas mobile phones isolate(隔离) them.

“The shared family phone served as an anchor(精神支柱)for home,” said Luke Fernandez, a Weber State University computer-science professor and co-author of Bored, Lonely, Angry, Stupid: Feelings About Technology, From the Telegraph to Twitter. “With smart phones, we have gained mobility and privacy. But the value of the home has been diminished, as has its ability to guide and monitor family behavior and perhaps connect families more closely,” Fernandez said.

Of course, as technology progresses, lives always change for better or for worse. With the loss of telephone culture, families will need to find other ways to unite.

【推荐1】Alison Malmon was trapping up (完成) the end of her freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, US when she got the news: Her older brother Brian, a student at Columbia University, was suffering from mental illness.

Inspired by this, Malmon formed a group at her university to empower (使能够) students to talk openly about mental health. It soon blossomed into a national organization that today has more than 450 campus chapters. Leaders with the organization spend their time talking with college students about the pressure that today's young people face.

“What you hear often is just a need to be perfect,”said Malmon, “and a need to present oneself as perfect.”

And a new study in the UK proved that this need for perfectionism is simply part of today’s society. In the study, two researchers studied more than 40,000 students from the US, Canada, and the UK. They found that what they called“socially prescribed(社会定向型的) perfectionism” increased by a third between 1989 and 2016.

Lead researcher Thomas Curran said that while so many of today's young people try to present a perfect appearance online, social media isn’t the only reason behind this trend.  Instead, he said, it may be driven by competition in modern society, meaning young people can't avoid being sorted and ranked in both education and employment. That comes from new norms(准则) like greater numbers of college students, standardized testing and parenting that increasingly emphasizes success in education.

For example, in 1976, half of high school seniors expected to get a college degree of some kind. By 2008, more than 80 percent expected the same. The researchers also said changes in parenting styles over the last two decades might have had an impact. As parents feel increased pressure to raise successful children, they in turn pass their “achievement anxieties" onto their kids through “excessive(过多的) involvement in their child’s routines, activities or emotions”

Those in the mental health community like Malmon say they’re concerned about the impact the culture of perfectionism has on mental health on campuses. “Mental health has truly become this generation's social justice issue,”she said.“It's our job to equip them with the tools and to let people know that it's not their fault.”

【推荐3】Is Doodling (涂鸦) Good for You?

Doodling is drawing lines, shapes, etc, especially when you are bored or thinking about something else. Some people believe that drawing random patterns and designs during meetings and lectures shows you aren’t listening or paying attention.    1    They show that doodling may be beneficial.

    2    It used to be seen as a product of absent-mindedness. However, a modern article on the Harvard University website has discussed the idea that random drawings may assist you in keeping memory and focus.

The article mentioned above highlights that26 of 44 American presidents were known to Doodle. with Ronald Reagan famous for drawing cowboys. A 2009 study conducted by psychologist Jackie Andrade asked 40 people to listen to a “dull and odd” voice message.    3     Those people who did were able to recall 29%more of the information contained in the message

Some experts believe that embracing your creative and artistic sides during meetings may keep your mind active. Jesse Prinz, a famous professor of philosophy, actively encourages his students to doodle. He believes that doodling is the “sweet spot of attention”. And it may not just be good for your concentration. An artist known as Mr Doodle has made a career out of his doodles    4    .

So random drawing to aid concentration may be becoming more of a thing.    5    So next time you see staff members casually drawing pictures during a meeting, it may be a sign that they are listening more than you think.

【推荐3】Too often, I hear people say “I’m just a housewife” when they introduce themselves. I don’t understand why their introduction is always filled with regret and self-pity. Is it really a crime to be a housewife? Is it really embarrassing when you choose not to work outside and instead choose to work in your home?

How could you be “just a housewife” when the basic social unit of society depends on you and your service? A housewife works for the longest hour, supporting your husband, child’s studies, caring for elders, managing finances, paying bills, grocery shopping, cooking according to individual taste, cleaning, etc. A housewife could be anyone: daughter, wife, mother, teacher, financial adviser, fashion designer and nurse, gardener, driver, cook, and so on. Don’t think you are not being paid for it. You get the reward that no money can offer—the love and affection (喜爱) of your family, their trust in you, a happy home and your own satisfaction.

It is you who choose to be in this occupation, willingly or for any other reason. After a busy day, all wait to return to the comfortable home set by you. They know you will be there to absorb all their stress and tiredness and relax them. Would the life have been the same if you had been working outside to earn some money? Would you along with your family have been able to buy all the content in life that you are enjoying now with that money?

Respect yourself for what you are. Introduce yourself to the world with the same dignity (尊严). The world understands the importance of your job. It’s time to make them accept it. Introduce yourself with pride and with twinkle in your eyes “I am a housewife”. Kick that “just” out.