1 . Social media can lead to mental exhaustion (疲惫). And when mentally exhausted, you are more likely to be influenced by a high number of likes on posts - even to the point of clicking on ads for products you don’t need.

As a professor of advertising, I have studied social media behaviors for years. In late 2022, my colleague Eric Haley and I conducted three online studies on Americans aged 18-65 to test how people under various mental loads respond to ads differently.

The control group in each study were given no introductory task- we just had them look at an ad. A second group had to memorize a nine-digit number and then look at the ad. The third group looked through the Internet for 30 seconds and then looked at the ad. Participants randomly saw an ad with a few hundred likes or tens of thousands of likes. After viewing the ad, each participant rated how willing they would be to buy the product, and how much mental effort it took to think about the information.

The group that used the Internet first were the most likely to want to buy the featured product when there were lots of likes or comments, and they also reported using the most mental effort to assess the ad. Researchers refer to this mentally exhausted state as “cognitive (认知的) overload”. Using social media puts them in this state because they are constantly evaluating different types of texts, photos and video posts from so many different people. All of this evaluating leaves them feeling frazzled.

Imagine asking your roommate if they want to get pizza. Under normal conditions, the roommate might consider several factors such as cost, hunger, timing or their schedule. Now imagine asking your roommate the same question while they are on the phone with a sick relative. They no longer have the mental energy to logically consider whether pizza for dinner is a good idea. They might just yell “Yeah, sure!” while running inside to clean their shoes.

By understanding how social media influences them, consumers can be more thoughtful in regulating their use and hopefully will not buy yet another water bottle they don’t need.

For example, there are public advertisements, which    1    (鼓励) citizens to participate in improving their neighborhood, protecting the environment, and helping other people. Over the last     2    (十年) , the government has sponsored advertisements to    3    (教育)the public on fighting AIDS, saving water, helping the poor, giving up smoking, etc. These advertisements have helped to increase public    4    (知识)about topics that used to be i    5    (忽略)by most people, and this has made our society a better place for everyone.

7 . STEM Summer Programs for High School Students

STEM is a term that stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Here is a list of some of the best STEM summer camps for high school students.

It is an eight-week paid summer research experience for high school students. This is a hands-on program for worldwide students interested in going after a career in medical research. Students will attend seminars led by faculty and participate in discussions with peers.

It is a seven-week program located at Stony Brook University. Students will have the opportunity to participate in special workshops, tours and events. They will conclude the program by producing a written research abstract and research poster.

It is the first cost-free program of its kind. During this seven-week program, students will dive deeper into the world of science and engineering by experiencing the entire research cycle. In this program, students attend classes conducted by famous professors and prepare oral presentations to present their research.

This program is a six-week intensive mathematics program designed for students across the globe. Unlike common programs, it offers a great deal of independence for students to choose their own schedules and decide what they want to study. Besides learning, there is also “mandatory (强制)fun time” built into the weekly schedule so that students are able to have non-math related activities.

9 . ALL NEW!

REPTILE (爬行动物) PETTING ZOO at the Oak Park Nature Center

Kids! Are you tired of Mom or Dad taking you to the same’ old petting zoos where (if you’re lucky)you might get to touch a little rabbit or goat?

Mom or Dad! Are you tired of hearing your kids complain about how animals in the same old petting zoos are monotonous?

Consider This:

The fact is that most mammals (哺乳动物) are boringly warm, furry, . and come in a limited range of dull colors. Reptiles, on the other hand, are cold-blooded and covered with scales (鳞) of attractive colors, from bright green to bright red to dark purple-red. Some like the chameleon, can even CHANGE colors. Did you ever see a rabbit with scales and a purple tongue almost as long as its body? NO! In our zoo, you can see iguanas, snakes, bearded dragons, giant tortoise and other attractive creatures! Learn what these reptiles eat and how they care for their babies, which ones live in the desert and which live in wetlands, which ones are meat-eaters and which are vegetarians, which ones are deadly poisonous and which are not.

So Remember:

If you’re bored with furry animals like rabbits. . .

Then the place for YOU is the Reptile Petting Zoo!

Bring the WHOLE family —Grandpa, Grandma, Cousin Irene, even baby Joe!

There’s something for EVERYONE!