2 . With video meetings, taking selfies (自拍) and posting on social media, it’s easier to see one’s own image online. And for some people, this can lead to feelings of appearance dissatisfaction. In the past few years, screen time has increased for both adults and children. What’s worse, recent research suggests that the video and photo images we see of ourselves are distorted (扭曲的).

One study found that those who spent more time comparing their appearance during a video call experienced lower appearance satisfaction. This study also found that people who used more photo-editing features in video chat were more likely to compare themselves with others and spend more time looking at themselves on video calls.

A 2023 study found that discomfort with one’s appearance during video meetings led to an increased attention to appearance, which in turn led to poor work performance. Researchers also suggest that appearance dissatisfaction is connected with boredom in online meetings. The research reports that this could be due to negative attention to oneself and worry about being looked at or being negatively treated based on appearance.

If you find yourself criticizing (批评) your appearance every time in a video call, it may be time to be intentional about paying more attention to what other people are saying instead of looking at your own face.

When it comes to helping others who have difficulty with appearance dissatisfaction, it is important to care more about the person’s qualities beyond appearance. When viewing yourself or your partners on video and social media, try viewing the person as a whole and not as parts of a body.

Reducing screen time can make a difference as well. Research shows that reducing social media use by 50% can improve appearance satisfaction in both teens and adults. When used in a right way, video chatting and social media are tools to connect us with others, which finally is a key piece in satisfaction and well-being.

3 . Many youngsters in China enjoy gathering a couple of good friends and taking a relaxing walk through the streets, which is a popular form of visiting a new city, that is, Citywalk. They can follow a special urban route (路线), exploring old building, drinking a cup of coffee, or eating local snacks. It can be a special guided trip for a small group of people, or simply a relaxing walk for one or two to explore new areas, sticking to the key point: avoiding famous tourist attractions and big crowds to get a more interesting experience of the places you visit.

In China, the Citywalk trend (趋势) is spreading from big cities like Beijing and Shanghai to other cities, encouraging more people to take part. Xiao Yiyi is a young visitor from Changsha exploring new possibilities while traveling. Recently she tried six Citywalk routes to walk in different cities and posted them on her social media account, with the aim of sharing experiences to “walk in open-air museums”.

Citywalk not only offers a way for young people to interact with a city but also provides an opportunity for people who share the same interests and ideas to easily make friends. Xiao Yiyi said her group usually includes a few or so people and her trips last around half a day.

Even though Citywalk is a new trend, industry insiders say that its future possibility is huge. It is offering a beneficial change to travelers as they can better choose the experiences that suit their interests and needs. At the same time, Citywalk gives an opportunity for tour guides and travel service providers to offer a more professional service to meet ever-changing market needs.

5 . Students at West Side Elementary School in California, with the help of their art teacher, created a telephone hotline to offer cheerful advice during difficult times. In just days, the hotline began getting thousands of calls an hour. The hotline, available in English and Spanish, offers the happy voices of children of different ages sharing positive messages.

Most people agree that with concerns like Covid-19, extreme weather, and the climate crisis, the last years have been stressful.

“To hear the pure joy from kids is extremely comforting in these difficult times,” art teacher Jessica Martin says.

Ms. Martin called the project “Pep Talk”, which later changed to “PepToc” to draw an ad for the hotline. The project had two parts, one the hotline, and the other creating encouraging posters. Along with artist Asherah, she worked with students from kindergarten to sixth grade. Students working on the hotline thought of what they would like to say. When they were ready, Ms. Martin recorded each one. Later, she sorted out the recordings into the different parts of the telephone hotline. For example, pressing 2 results in words of encouragement and life advice. This includes messages like: “The world is a better place with you in it.” and “You are okay!” Pressing 4, you hear the sounds of children laughing — a sound certain to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Other students took part in making encouraging posters to hang up around the town. Many posters had strips of paper that people passing by could tear off and take with them.

Ms. Martin thought the project would attract interest from people near the school. But word of the hotline spread quickly on social media. The hotline has become popular with stressed adults, patients in hospitals, older people in homes, and others to beat stress by hearing the happy voices of children.

6 . Tracy was always hard-working and creative. She started a website called TEAM for girls when she was 16, and it’s doing better than ever.

TEAM now has 10 million visits every month.

When she was ten, Tracy drew four characters (人物). They are all girls, and they are good friends. She called them “Amazing Girls”. The main amazing girl, Miss E, represents (代表) her younger sister Elizabeth. Amy writes stories, and Mary answers questions. “Amazing Girls” finally became TEAM. “TEAM” means “Together everyone achieves more”.

At that time, Tracy wanted a safe and warm site for girls, but she couldn’t find one. So she decided to create one herself.

At first, Tracy asked family members and friends for help. Her computer teacher also helped her a lot. She created a small website. “There was a homepage, which had the four characters and simple flash animations (动画),” Tracy says. “It was very, very simple, but it was a start.”

Now it is a heaven for millions of girls. It has message boards, quizzes, games, music, and more. Girls can help each other with homework here. And they can also discuss fashion, dancing and singing stars. They feel free and comfortable. They have made their life more fruitful and meaningful.

“I’m able to learn so much about culture around the world,” Tracy says. “The goal for the site was, and still is, to help young girls to believe in themselves.”

10 . When parents ask, “What grade did you get?” there is a common follow-up question: “So who got the highest grade?” The practice of making such social comparisons(比较) is popular in all corners of the world. Many teachers choose and publicly announce the “best student” in a class. Adults praise children for doing better than others. People cheer for the athletes who defeat others.

Social comparisons are well meaning: we want to make children feel proud and push them to achieve more. Yet social comparisons can backfire: children can learn to always compare themselves with others and become caught up in a harmful cycle(循环) of competition.

One well-known method to remove social comparisons is to provide participation prizes for children who take an active part in activities. Such prizes, however, may not end social comparisons: A high achiever who receives the same prize as a low achiever may feel unfairly treated. More generally, those who are highly praised unexpectedly may come to believe that they do better than others and thus have reason to be given a prize.

How, then, can we make children feel proud of themselves and encourage them without the unwanted side effects? We believe a better way is to use temporal comparisons—encouraging children to compare themselves with their past self rather than with others, such as by checking on their progress. Adults should teach children that doing better than oneself is more important than doing better than others and that even small achievements can be celebrated.