1 . September is upon us, which means one thing for parents and children alike: term time. Many will be excited to engage in-person, after months of remote learning. Unfortunately,this won't apply to everyone. It's alarming that an estimated 540,000 children will continue to stay at home, due to mental or physical health concerns directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic (流行病）．For those that aren't able to attend classes in person, maintaining some form of connection with their peers is vitally important, both to protect their educational development and to prevent them from becoming isolated(孤独）。

No Isolation, a company that specializes in understanding and reducing the impact of loneliness, has decided to take action. Throughout the summer, No Isolation worked with independent researcher,Henry Peck, to better understand the effect of lockdown on educational and emotional development in school-aged children. They collected responses from some primary and middle school students and found that about 1,320 children, or more than 75% of the surveyed, were more or less lonely during the lockdown.

There is no immediate “fix" for loneliness, but there are steps to be taken to help.Parents need to open up a dialogue around what loneliness is, and what it feels like, so as to stress that feeling lonely is completely normal and a topic that is safe to talk about. For adults, loneliness is a shame, which means that often they are not open enough about it with each other, let alone with their children. Parents need to break the taboo around loneliness by talking and encouraging children to share their emotions.They also need to learn to ask for help. Sometimes these emotions need to be talked through with family or with a professional. Now, more than ever, parents should be listening to children and helping to make sure they are heard when they feel lonely. They are facing the same pandemic,and they deserve all of the help and support they can get.

3 . The process of mountaintop removal mining (MTR) has caused permanent damage to Appalachia. Although the law requires that mining companies restore the mountaintops after the mining has been completed, the 1.5 million acres of mountains that have already been removed cannot be regrown, rebuilt, or replaced. The companies do secure the rock formations to prevent erosion and landslides, but their efforts cannot recreate the once-beautiful mountain landscape. Furthermore, while companies are usually cautious about securing the rock formations, they seem less interested in restoring the native plants. MTR operations clear enormous areas of forests; some experts estimate that over 2,000 square miles of forests in the Appalachian region will have been razed by mining companies by the end of this year. Instead of replanting the native trees and shrubs that have been cleared, many companies chose to plant cheap, fast-growing plants.

Environmental threats are not only created in preparing a mountaintop for mining, but they also continue once the coal has been extracted. After the explosion, the excess mountaintop——which miners refer to as “overburden”——is usually dumped into nearby valleys or streams. The overburden contains a variety of poisonous substances, including explosive residue, silica, and coal dust. Over 700 miles of streams in Appalachia have been polluted by this dumping. Although the mining companies have built structures known as “sludge dams” that are intended to contain the runoff, these dams may easily burst or leak, sending thousands of gallons of poisonous chemicals into drinking water.

While the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and other environmental protection bills can theoretically be enforced to protect Appalachia, local lawmakers have been unwilling to take action for fear of upsetting those who believe that the jobs created by MTR are vital to the community. However, instead of bringing jobs and prosperity to poor Appalachian communities, MTR companies actually bring destruction and poverty. MTR does not involve the amount of human labor required by traditional sub surface mining. Despite the poverty. MTR does not involve the amount of human labor required by traditional sub-surface mining. Despite the fact that coal production has increased between 1950 and 2004. the human labor force working in these mines has sharply decreased. In the 1950s, there were approximately 130,000 people employed by the mining companies; by 2004, that number had decreased to 16,00. Moreover, while the coal companies may make enormous profits from MTR, Appalachian communities located near the mines suffer increased rates of kidney cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, chronic pulmonary disorders and vision problems.

6 . I've worked as a social media influencer for four years and have experienced the many positive aspects of this industry. My travels inspired an American woman to take her first solo(独自的)trip to the Middle East, which is a valuable experience. But I’ve also seen the more negative aspects, such as the emotional stress that comes from creating content with the goal of getting as many people as possible to double-tap or like our photos.

So when Instagram announced that it is beginning to test removing likes from the platform, my immediate reaction was a positive one.

Similar to the experience of the average Instagram user, viewing likes creates an incredible point of comparison among influencers. It shifts the focus away from providing value to constantly comparing yourself to other creators.The removal of likes pushes influencers to create valuable content and start meaningful conversations with their followers rather than post content only for the purpose of generating likes. It is a shift in a positive direction and an answer to the call for social platforms to take responsibility for the impact their apps have on users' mental health.

If Instagram does away with likes altogether,the way brands will partner with influencers will also likely change. The influencer marketing industry is still fairly new and most brands make quick judgments using only the ratio(比率)of the number of followers to the number of likes without looking at much else. If like counts are no longer visible, brands will need to take a deeper dive into a creators content and into the quality of the conversations they are having with their audience. This is the true test of an influencer's impact and ultimately, of the return on investment a brand can expect. This change will force brands to get smarter.

Instagram's test to explore removing likes reflects a larger cultural call for connection, community and authenticity online. I believe it would be a welcome change that all users could appreciate.

7 . There’s been a frightening increase in the number of people feeling lonely, brought on or made worse by COVID-19. In fact there’s been an epidemic (流行病)of loneliness.

Loneliness is awful and dangerous. For one thing it weakens self-control and that, University of Bristol researchers have found, makes quitting smoking very difficult. Moreover, data from hundreds of thousands of people led Dr. Robyn Wootton, senior research associate at Bristol University and colleagues to conclude that loneliness appears to increase the need to smoke.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the equivalent of 7.4 million people said their wellbeing was affected through feeling lonely in the first month of lockdown. Lonely people were also more likely to be struggling to find things that would help them cope and were also less likely to feel they had support networks to fall back on.

Dr. Robyn Wootton said, “We found evidence to suggest that loneliness leads to increased smoking, with people more likely to start smoking, to smoke more cigarettes and to be less likely to quit.” Senior author Dr. Jorien Treur from Amsterdam UMC added, “Our finding that smoking may also lead to more loneliness is tentative(不确定的), but it is in agreement with other recent studies that identified smoking as a risk factor for poor mental health. A potential explanation for this relationship is that nicotine from cigarette smoke has a great impact on neurotransmitters(神经传导物质)such as dopamine(多巴胺)in the brain.”

Dr. Wootton said with millions of people now being more socially separated, incidences of loneliness will climb. “We were really interested to find that loneliness decreases the likelihood of stopping smoking and we think this is a really important consideration for those trying to stop smoking during COVID-19,” she said. To ease your loneliness and improve your chances of succeeding in quitting, I think one of the best things you can do is to find a “buddy” who’ll try to give up smoking with you. Together you can compare notes, share progress, talk through difficulties, and encourage each other to keep on going when all you want is to give in.

8 . Those aged 50 or older account for more than 10% of the online population, making the ma growing force on the Internet, as Xinhua reports.

China Internet Network Information Center said that by the middle of this year, about 25% of China's 751 million Internet users were aged 40 or above. Those aged 50 or more ac-counted for over one-tenth of the online population, up by more than 10% from the end of2016, the report said. That makes the elderly an ever-growing force on the Internet as they follow news, search for and share information, shop, seek entertainment and stay connected with family and friends through the Internet. For many, online music platforms such as Tencent's WeSing have created a new stage.They can find songs released in the 1980s and1990s on such platforms, connect with other singers who share similar tastes and even sing together with a complete stranger.

About 70% make videos to share online, 40% use the Internet to pay mobile phone bills and 30% shop online, according to a report by Tencent and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Many also know how to give money in hongbao by WeChat.Elderly WeChat users have even created a series of special emojis, featuring various big characters and extremely bright colors. A report by Tencent said they are usually filled with positive energy.Such emojis, which carry traditional messages such as "Wish you every success!" and "Have a wonderful morning!" are considered by many young people.

10 . It may be the holiday season, but the spirit of peace and good will has not infected the streets of Los Angeles. More drivers seem to be rolling through stop signs and running red lights than ever before. Everyone seems to be in a terrible hurry.

Why is everyone in such a hurry? Where are they rushing to?

I think perhaps the answer lies in answering this question: What does that round of parties and meeting and mad rushing from place to place allow all of us to avoid confronting? T think the answer is clear- ourselves.

There is an experiment where subjects had to choose between being alone with themselves and their thoughts for approximately 15 minutes and receiving electric shocks. The majority chose the shocks-a reflection of how painful, frightening,threatening,confusing,boring(!),you name it... we find being alone with just ourselves and our thoughts.

Our desire not to be with our innermost thoughts is so great that we create and find distractions. In the car, we can make phone calls or listen to music. We live in a world of endless opportunities for distraction.

I understand the desire. Life is hard. Growing is a painfully slow process. To keep moving requires determination and strength - and giving up seems so much easier (as do those electric shocks!) We may win some battles, but the war is never over. Sometimes we are just too tired to fight and just need that music or that book to relax. I just instinctively(本能地）tun on the radio when I get in the car; I don't even give the quiet a moment to sink in.

But it's time for a reality check; otherwise we slip into an avoidance mode. It's challenging. But let's make a change. Instead of rushing from house to car to meeting to groceries to... let's take a moment to stop and think before each activity. What do I want to achieve now? And what is the best way to do that? Maybe I could think of ways to grow.