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Times of Oman
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times of Oman
Young adults in Europe are putting away smartphones
London: The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram. "Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok. Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences." For the past year, the three have organised meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram. Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their cellphones, at least for these organised events. Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days. "We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website.. The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was one of the first locations, then came London, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen. Berlin also hosted the first meetings of this kind. Also, a growing number of restaurants and clubs ask their guests to leave cellphones at home. The Dutch founders seem to have struck a nerve. After all, young people in particular often find it difficult to switch off their smartphones despite having all the settings that could limit their usage time. Even the return of the "boring phone" without apps has not been able to seriously displace smartphones despite being celebrated on social networks. According to figures by the German industry association Bitkom from the end of 2024, people aged 16-29 spend more than three hours per day on their smartphones. That is the highest usage time of all age groups, and the actual duration is probably even longer. Yet, a large number of young people would like to spend significantly less time on their smartphones. According to a new survey by the British Standards Institution (BSI), almost 70% of the 1,293 people aged 16-21 feel worse when they spend time on social media. Half would be in favor of a "digital curfew" that would restrict access to certain apps and websites after 10 p.m. Around 46% even stated that they would have preferred to be young in a world without the internet. These results align with other surveys, such as the one Harris Polls, an American polling institute, conducted in late 2024. In that survey, many young people wished that TikTok, Instagram or X had never been invented. On Tuesday, British Technology Minister Peter Kyle hinted at considering mandatory curfews, according to The Guardian newspaper. Norway wants to raise the age limit for the use of social media from 13 to 15. As a global pioneer, Australia already raised the age limit to 16 in late 2024. Other countries, such as Denmark, ban tablets and smartphones almost entirely from schoolyards. In 2024, Danish Minister of Education Mattias Tesfaye said that the country had been in its approach to digitalisation. Excessive smartphone use is further associated with various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and addictive behaviour. A study published in the journal BMC Medicine earlier this year found that depressive symptoms decreased by 27% after three weeks of reduced smartphone use. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), young people's mental health has deteriorated dramatically over the past 15 years. This trend was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when digital media was increasingly used. However, the OECD also stated that research has not yet been able to prove any direct causality between those two factors. On the other hand, the founders of the Dutch Offline Club want to take action and expand their meetups. Offline events are increasingly happening in different cities. In early April, over 1,000 people switched off their cell phones and smiled happily into the camera in London. This marks a new record, the offline influencers proudly declared, of course, on Instagram.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Whitmer wants more outreach to young men about higher education programs in Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Thursday calling on state agencies to reach out to young men about programs that could help them obtain college degrees or skills certificates, part of a recently outlined goal to close a gender gap in Michigan's higher education settings. Such a gender gap is evident in state educational data — as of the 2022-2023 academic year, 53% of students enrolled in undergraduate programs at Michigan universities or community colleges were women, compared to 39% of students being men, according to the state Center for Educational Performance and Information. That gap is even wider, the governor's office says, in the state's tuition-free Michigan Reconnect program for adults looking for a degree at a community college or a skills certificate at a trade school. The program, launched in 2021, provides scholarships to adults 25 and older who don't have a postsecondary certificate to cover tuition costs at a local community college or trade school. It received bipartisan support at its inception and one point was even expanded to include individuals 21 and older, although the program is now back at its original 25-and-up age limit. Right now, close to 130,000 people are enrolled in either the Reconnect program or the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, according to the governor's office. Two out of every three enrollees in the Reconnect program last year were women, a disparity state officials believe could be due to a lack of outreach. "This program is open to everyone, but men just aren't signing up," Whitmer said at a Thursday morning event at Oakland Community College livestreamed by WWMT-3. "We think it's because a lot of people just don't know about this opportunity, and that's why this executive directive is really important. We want more men to use programs like Reconnect so they can go to college and learn more and earn more." The Michigan Achievement Scholarship, also set to be highlighted under the executive directive, allows recent high school graduates to receive funds to attend universities, community colleges or enroll in a skills program. The program was launched in 2022. In her State of the State speech in February, Whitmer said she would be issuing such a directive to make an effort to reach more young men about higher education options in Michigan. Closing the gender gap in higher education, Whitmer argued, will lead to higher earning potential. When Whitmer came into office in 2019, she outlined a goal of increasing the percentage of adults in Michigan with some sort of postsecondary certificate to 60% by 2030. In 2019, the share of adults with such a certificate was 45%, according to the governor's office. In February, the proportion was 52%, Whitmer said at an event at Grand Rapids Community College. Widening gender gaps in higher education isn't a trend limited to Michigan. A 2023 analysis of census data by the Pew Research Center found young men made up 44% of college students nationally, down from 47% in 2011. More: Trump welcomes Whitmer to White House: 'She's really been doing an excellent job' Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer: Michigan isn't informing enough young men about scholarships
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Whitmer's proposed $83.5B budget faces GOP headwinds in Lansing and D.C.
Michigan Capitol | Susan J. Demas Without the benefit of a politically friendly Legislature for the final two years of her tenure, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer skipped Thursday's rollout of an $83.5 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget proposal, the seventh of her administration. As in years past, members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees gathered in the Capitol's Heritage Hall to hear the executive budget recommendation. Unlike the past two years — when Democrats controlled the House and not just the Senate — Whitmer was absent, instead attending a graduation ceremony in Grand Rapids for the state's Reconnect community college program. She is slated to unveil her road-funding plan next week and deliver her State of the State address on Feb. 26. That left the presentation to State Budget Director Jen Flood and Deputy Director Kyle Guerrant. In some years, Whitmer has had state budget officials do the honors, just as Govs. Rick Snyder and Jennifer Granholm did in the past. 'Michigan is well-positioned,' said Flood. 'Other states are not in the same position. My colleagues across the country, both Democrat and Republican, are facing really tough decisions. Lawmakers in other states are dipping into their rainy day funds. They're raising taxes to fill deficits and backfill unsustainable spending. Schools are facing layoffs and cuts. Here in Michigan, as you all know, we're in a much better place.' Flood said among the investments made in the proposed budget would be a $50 million deposit to the Budget Stabilization Fund, bringing the rainy day fund balance to nearly $2.3 billion by the end of Fiscal Year 2026, which she said would double the 2019 balance when Whitmer took office. Additionally, the governor is also proposing a $50 million deposit into the rainy day fund for schools, bringing the combined total in reserves to $2.8 billion. Additional revenue would be realized through a new tax on vape pens and e-cigarettes, expected to bring in nearly $43 million to support related health care and prevention initiatives. There would also be an increase in so-called 'tipping fees' at the state's landfills, renewing a previous proposal to hike the tax from 36 cents per ton to $5 that trash haulers pay at landfills. 'The proposal that we are announcing is not too different from what former Gov. Snyder proposed while he was in office,' said Flood. 'Michigan's fees are far below those surrounding states and some of our other counterparts are. We're proposing to bring Michigan in line with surrounding states to discourage the out-of-state and out-of-country trash that comes in and fills up our community.' A 4% ongoing increase in revenue sharing for local governments. $125 million to expand career technical education (CTE) programs in underserved districts as well as fund the 'Future Ready' pilot program in middle schools. $98.9 million for state and local roads, highways and bridges. $75 million for a Public Safety Trust Fund to address violent crime prevention. $2.9 million to expand Michigan's Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, adding 54 slots in Saginaw, Traverse City and Newaygo to assist seniors with comprehensive medical, social and physical care so they can continue to live independently in their homes. The proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget is about $1 billion bigger than the finalized FY 2025 budget, which was drafted by the then-Democratic majority Legislature. While Whitmer had proposed an $80.7 billion plan for the current fiscal year, the final version came in at over $82.5 billion, including $23.4 billion for the K-12 budget, and $59.1 billion for the remainder of the state's departments and agencies. FY 2026 would see a pared-down K-12 School Aid budget totaling $21.2 billion, with a General Fund at $15.3 billion. The FY 2026 budget year begins on Oct. 1, with a new budget constitutionally mandated to be in place by Sept. 30. While legislation committing to having a deal in place by July 1 has been in effect for several years, that may be easier said than done this year. House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) said last week his goal was to get the budget done by Sept. 1. There's no penalty if lawmakers don't meet their self-imposed July 1 deadline. After Republicans recaptured control of the state House in November, Hall said he and the GOP majority in that chamber intend to provide intense scrutiny over spending, saying the budget-writing process this year will be about 'restoring fiscal responsibility' and cutting waste. State Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Twp.), who was appointed by Hall to chair the House Appropriations Committee said the need for cuts to the how much the state spends and what it spends it on were obvious. 'I think that we have to really roll back,' she told reporters after the presentation. 'We have to look at what are we required to do constitutionally? What are required by court order, statutorily, then what's a priority and what's a preference? And that is in the order that I'm going to be looking at the budget and going and building from that baseline in. There are a lot of programs that seem very great on the surface, but are they gonna give us our best bang for the buck and are they the role of government?' With such a fundamental difference of opinion on budget priorities between Republicans and Democrats, Bollin was pressed on whether she anticipates missing the July 1 deadline. 'I'm not anticipating anything. I'm anticipating getting right to work today, right now,' she said. Meanwhile, Flood said Whitmer is putting forward a proposal to change how budget earmarks are handled in the process. It would serve as a counter to a plan advanced by Hall, which would require such requests to provide detailed information, including the sponsor and co-sponsors, and be submitted 14 days in advance of the budget's passage to the House Business Office. Whitmer's plan would instead require details of earmarks to be released five business days before the passage of the budget, but also that it first receive approval at the subcommittee level, and that sponsorship information be submitted to the State Budget Office on official letterhead. Similar to the GOP plan, however, for-profit organizations would be barred from receiving taxpayer-funded grants from the state budget and lawmakers making such requests would need to file forms demonstrating they had no conflict of interest with the entity receiving the money. While earmarks have long been a part of the budget process, regardless of which party has controlled the Legislature and governor's mansion, the race to introduce reforms follow revelations last year about misspending involving a $20 million grant provided through the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) to Fay Beydoun to operate a business accelerator organization. Beydoun, a Democrat who had previously served on the MEDC board after being appointed by Whitmer, obtained the grant through an earmark and was later accused of misusing the funds on personal luxuries, including a $4,500 coffee maker, and an $11,000 first-class international plane ticket. Previous earmarks also benefited Republican-aligned interests, including a $25 million grant for a 'health campus' that was provided to a nonprofit set up by an aide to former-House Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Clare). That entity then paid $3.5 million for a land parcel to a company partially controlled by state Rep. Tom Kunse (R-Clare). Most of that grant was paused after 'red flags' were raised by officials, including Kunse. At the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) in January, it was projected the state will finish out the 2025 Fiscal Year with $14.72 billion in the General Fund, more than $450 million more than had been projected during the conference's last meeting in May 2024. The state also expects to close out this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, with nearly $313 million more in the School Aid Fund compared to the forecast from May, now expecting $18.46 billion at the end of FY 2025. When Flood was asked how much money would be left in the state's two main discretionary funds if all of the spending items in the proposed budget were approved, she said there would be just $11 million in the state's General Fund and $18 million in the K-12 School Aid Fund. 'I'll say this reflects a return to normal. We had an incredible opportunity with the surge in one-time federal dollars during COVID, and carried those funds so that we could partner with the Legislature, Republicans at the time when the dollars first came in, and we wanted to make sure that we took a really strategic approach in investing those in one time investments,' said Flood. 'So that's why it looks a little different. We're back to a return to normal.' That exchange touched on the other elephant in the room, namely the almost certainty that the administration of President Donald Trump will be drastically cutting back on federal expenditures, which have helped to buoy state budgets beginning as a response to the economic collapse caused by the pandemic during Trump's first term, and then continuing under former President Joe Biden, whose administration oversaw major spending initiatives such as the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed in November 2021, and the $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act, signed in August 2022. Trump's acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a two-page memo during the first week of the administration ordering a federal funding freeze. While federal judges have temporarily blocked the move, Trump and the GOP majorities in Congress have made it clear they intend to make major budget cuts. With that as a backdrop, many Democratic lawmakers like state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) wanted clarification on the ramifications of proposals such as eliminating the Department of Education. 'Those are our tax dollars that go to the federal government and then come back into our state,' said McMorrow. Flood noted that 42% of the state budget is made up of those federal expenditures, funding 'critical' programs like Head Start and Meals on Wheels, as well as making sure water is safe to drink and people are safe in their homes. 'There's obviously a lot of chaos out of Washington, D.C., over the past couple of weeks,' she said. 'We're monitoring closely the executive orders that are coming out and also actions in the courts to determine what it would mean for our state, but I know that there's critical programs we all care about that have been disrupted. The budget today that we're presenting is based on what's in current law, but should there be changes we're gonna have to work together on what the next steps look like.' State Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) asked how Medicaid in Michigan might be impacted by a federal freeze in payments and whether the state's rainy day fund could make up that difference. According to KFF, more than 2.5 million Michiganders are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid. 'We're tracking very closely what could happen in that space and with federal funds making up 42% of our budget, there's just not gonna be an opportunity for the state to backfill,' said Flood. 'We've got a record balance in our rainy day fund, but painful cuts of that extent, we would not be able to backfill.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
