2 . Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, recently signed two bills into law that strictly limit children’s use of social media platforms. Under the law, which takes effect next year, social media companies have to check the ages of all users in the state, and children under age 18 have to get agreement from their parents to have accounts. Parents will also be able to use their kids’ accounts, apps won’t be allowed to show children ads, and accounts for kids won’t be able to be used between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am without parental agreement.

While some people argue age limitation allows tech companies to collect even more data about users, let’s be real: These companies already have much private information about us. To solve this problem, we need a separate data privacy law. But until that happens, this concern shouldn’t stop us from protecting kids.

One of the key parts of the law is allowing parents to use their kids’ accounts. By doing this, the law begins to help address one of the biggest dangers kids face online: harmful content.

One huge challenge the law helps parents get over is the amount of time kids are spending on social media. A 2022 survey found that, on average, children aged 8 to 12 spend 5 hours and 33 minutes per day on social media while those aged 13 to 18 spend 8 hours and 39 minutes daily. It’s warned that lack of sleep is connected with serious harm to children — everything from injuries to depression (抑郁), fatness and diabetes. So, parents need to have a way to ensure their kids aren’t up on social media platforms all night.

Considering the experiences many kids are having on social media, this law will help Utah’s parents protect their kids. Parents in other states need the same support. Now, it’s time for the government to step up and ensure children throughout the country have the same protection as Utah’s kids.

5 . Fidget toys have been going viral recently, arousing safety concerns among parents and the whole society. To better protect the physical and mental health of young students, the Ministry of Education recently issued a notice, aiming to prevent fidget toys from presenting a risk to the health of the younger generations.

Fidget toys include inhaler nasal sticks and radish knives, which are popular as stress-relievers among students.

The “Energy Stick,” or inhaler nasal stick, has been selling well online recently on platforms such as Taobao. Some online shops have already sold nearly 100,000 sticks, whose prices range from 6 yuan to approximately 128 yuan. The product contains watermelon, tea and orange flavors and even alcohol to attract more customers. The online store salesperson responded by stating that the main ingredients of the product are camphor and mint (薄荷), which do not contain any addictive properties. Meanwhile, Zhao Ting, a medical expert, told the Global Times that some children are likely to get addicted to the “Energy Stick.”

The colorful plastic toy knife, a radish knife, nicknamed “Carrot Knife,” has also skyrocketed an astonishing selling online. “After her classmate had bought a Carrot Knife and said it was a fun toy to use, my daughter also bought one, which makes me anxious.” Julian, a father from Beijing told the Global Times on Saturday. Some of radish knives are so small that they can be gripped in the palm of a child’s hand while others are as long as one meter. There are various ways of playing with the radish knife, with some mimic (模拟) attack at friends as part of a game, according to media reports.

Experts warned that such toys could encourage violence and cause long-term mental harm to children. To change this situation, the government stressed the importance on maintaining strict management, and stopping harmful toys into campus. Schools should organize safety promotion activities to teach students to correctly identify and keep away from dangerous and harmful toys. Also, parents should teach their children to play with toys safely and correctly.

7 . When Kyle D’Costa and his wife met Rio, a nine-month-old shih tzu (西施犬), in 2021, “it was love at first sight. “The new couple soon added a Lhasa Apso (拉萨犬) and rented a bigger flat to give the animals ”more space“.

The D’Costas and millions of other middle-class Indians, no longer pleased with new cars and other Western fancy decorations, they are rapidly acquiring pets. According to Statista, a research company, India had 19.4 million pet dogs in 2018 and may now have 31m. In 2021, Market Decipher, another research organization, valued India’s pet industry at 890’hillion dollars and said that it would continue to grow by 3 times over the next 10 years.

Actually, the pet industry is growing at a fast rate throughout the world. With rising incomes comes increased pet-ownership, especially among young professionals who tend 10 put off marriage and parenthood and to be extremely willing to enjoy the company of a dog. It is only a matter of time before marriage websites include a ”pet-friendly“ option.

As keeping pets becomes increasingly popular, so do those working in the industry. “Being in this trade was despised just five years ago,” says Chinmay, a 30-ycar-old dog trainer in Thane, Mumbai. “How will you find a girlfriend?” he recalls his relatives asking him. But dog trainers in Mumbai can these days cam 2, 400 rupees (S30) an hour —more than twice as much as piano teachers. Chinmay is now happily married to one of his customers.

Current pet-industry players are prepared and new ones stepping in. Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, Inst year bought into Purina Petcare, an Indian pet-food business. Emami, an Indian company, targeting daily goods, offers medicines for pets. Euromonitor International, a market-research company, thinks India’s pet-food industry is worth 480 million dollars and will grow to $1. 2 billion by 2025.

8 . Why Do Millennials (千禧一代) Keep Changing Jobs?

Millennials have been labelled as the “job-hopping generation”. In fact, a recent survey showed that 49% of millennials would leave their job within the next two years! Observers from older generations may think it is caused by the youth’s laziness. However, if we search deeper, there is more than meets the eye.

Instead of the traditional and practical reasons of changing jobs, such as to get better salaries or greater job stability (稳定), many millennials are inspired by value-driven goals. For example, more have to seek new opportunities whenever they lack a sense of belonging in their present jobs. Additionally, some also leave their positions for companies which better suit their value system. Therefore, it is clear that many millennials do not only consider their jobs as a source of income, but in fact, seek meaning and professional achievement in their daily jobs.

Clearly, the fearlessness of millennials in seeking job opportunities has been inspired by new business models. With the rise of online platforms, millennials who prefer work-life balance and flexibility have been attracted towards such jobs. Moreover, the increase of social media has also created more career paths. From food and travel bloggers to YouTube content creators, more millennials are leaving boring desk-bound jobs to look for more untraditional, but certainly attractive, careers.

However, people have different opinions on job-hopping. While some employers value rich experience and skills that job-hopping brings about, many of them still look down upon job-hopping. Some even argue in disappointment that the youths of today are lazy, unable to bear hardships and too self-centered.

The former American President Jimmy Carter once said, “Human identity is no longer defined (定义) by what one does but by what one owns.” Indeed, his comment still rings true today. Rather than allow traditional models of success in society to define our youths, the millennial generation should be encouraged to define new horizons of success by making the right career choices guided by the right values.

10 . Since Zhao Hongshan’s dermal filler injection (皮肤填充注射) four years ago—he has spent around 80,000 yuan on his face. “Getting plastic surgeries is just as normal as body building. Both make men more handsome and confident,” says the 33-year-old, who owns a gym in Beijing.

Zhao is among a growing number of Chinese men using plastic surgeries to change their physical appearance to increase their self-confidence. In 2021, the market for beauty medicine in China was worth more than 495 billion yuan, with males accounting for around 15 percent of customers, according to a report by plastic surgery social networking app Gengmei.

There is a rising trend of young men turning to plastic surgeries; most male customers are in their teens or 20s. “Some men just want to please themselves, while others hope to improve their possibility in job hunting or dating,” says Wang Jun, vice-president of marketing for Gengmei. “Men are under the same social pressures as women and their confidence and competitiveness would be more or less weakened by facial and body weaknesses.”

However, experts point out the risks of plastic surgeries. Fan Jufeng, director of the Plastic Surgery Department at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, does not encourage people, no matter men or women, to “blindly” go under the knife.

According to the National Health Commission, a total of 2,772 cases related to illegal (非法的) plastic surgeries were handled by China's health departments during a year long attack that started in May 2017.

Fan also warned the public of the negative influences of live streaming celebrities (流量明星) who promote the misunderstanding that being pretty goes above all else. “Whether to have plastic surgeries is a personal choice, but people should not be addicted (上瘾) to it,” Fan says. “Think twice on it. After all, a rich and beautiful inside world is far more important than a pretty face.”