Latest news with #gen
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
‘It's so boring': Gen Z parents don't like reading to their kids - and educators are worried
Last week, former elementary school teacher Spencer Russell posed a question to parents who follow his Instagram account, Toddlers Can Read: 'Why aren't you reading aloud to your kids?' The responses, which Russell shared with the Guardian, ranged from embarrassed to annoyed to angry. 'It's so boring,' said one parent. 'I don't have time,' said another. One mother wrote in: 'I don't enjoy reading myself.' Others reported difficulty getting their children to sit still long enough for a full dose of Goodnight Moon or Mother Goose: 'He's always interrupting,' or 'my son just wants to skip all the pages.' They noted the monotony of story time, with one saying: 'I love reading with my kids, but they request the same book over and over.' Screen time is replacing one-on-one, quality interactions between parent and child Spencer Russell Parents who struggle to read to their children tend to be younger themselves, according to a recent survey from HarperCollins UK. Fewer than half of gen Z parents called reading to their children 'fun for me', and almost one in three saw reading as 'more of a subject to learn' than something to be enjoyed – significantly more than their gen X counterparts. This mindset undoubtedly trickles down to their kids: the survey also found that only a third of five-to-10 year olds frequently read for fun, compared to over half in 2012. This could be because their parents are less likely to read to them before they turn five: 41% of parents of all ages reported doing so, a steep drop from the 64% in 2012. If parents are reading out loud to their children less, US educators can tell. Russell, who offers courses to teach literacy skills to kids as young as 18 months, regularly gets inquiries from parents of older children – some as old as 14 – who still struggle to crack open a book. There are other tell-tale signs. 'We see children who can sit still and focus for hours on YouTube or Miss Rachel, but when you sit them down with a book, they move, wiggle, or scream and run away,' said Russell, who lives in Houston. Gen Z parents inherited an economy racked by inequity and instability that makes child rearing all the more stressful. The cost of childcare in the US – roughly $11,000 a year on average – has skyrocketed since the 90s. It's no wonder they might be too tired or stressed to read to their kids at night, even if they realize it's important to do so. At the same time, screens are inescapable – notably, gen Z parents were the first generation to grow up with them. 'I don't think we can divorce the role of technology influencing gen Z parents and their kids with the decline in reading out loud,' Russell said. 'Screen time is replacing one-on-one, quality interactions between parent and child.' One of the most helpful ways to read books is by having a conversation with children about what they're interested in Dawna Duff Loads of evidence shows that excessive screen time can harm a child's cognitive, linguistic and social-emotional growth, and doctors recommend that parents limit 'non-educational screen time' for children ages two to five to about one hour per weekday, and three on the weekends. But you try getting a toddler to settle into story time without giving in to her demands to watch Bluey. Most parents see the iPad as a necessary evil. America's so-called 'literacy crises' is well-documented; an Atlantic report from last fall found that many elite college students fail to complete English assignments, as they never had to read a full book in high school. The pandemic wreaked havoc on students' performance in both math and reading, with scores in both subjects dropping to the lowest margin in over 30 years. On TikTok, teachers have taken to posting PSAs urging parents to read to their children with the caption: 'I bet you I can't tell who was breast-fed vs formula-fed, but I can tell you who has grown ups that read to them every night.' Kids who don't get a head start reading at home often have trouble catching up to those who do, says Dawna Duff, an associate professor of speech language pathology at Suny's Binghamton University. 'Books are a really rich source of learning new words, and if kids don't have that experience reading at home, they're likely to come to school knowing less vocabulary – and that makes a big difference in how successful you're going to be throughout school,' she said. But kids don't just learn to read at school. Becky Calzada, president of the American Association of School Librarians, stresses the importance of parents as 'reading role models'. Reading out loud to children not only helps them learn vocabulary, but it builds emotional intelligence, such as the ability to empathize and connect, Caldaza says. According to the HarperCollins report, more than one in five boys aged zero to two are rarely or never read to, while 44% of girls in that age group are read to every day. This comes as boys continue to fall behind girls in school – they are more likely to enter kindergarten behind girls, earn lower GPAs and not graduate high school. Russell acknowledges that books are 'never going to compete with YouTube', and that the pressures of parenthood in 2025 are immense. As one parent told him: 'I just don't have the energy to read to my kid. Me and my wife don't 'have a village', so it's hard to rest.' But there are ways to wean kids away from their phones. 'Just scale it back a little, as much as you can at first.' Related: She compared motherhood in four countries. The US isn't looking good Calzada encourages parents who don't like reading to their children to start slowly. 'You don't have to sit there for 20 minutes to an hour,' she said. 'A two-year-old doesn't have much reading stamina, but you can read them something that has maybe five pages, that's mostly 'the cow says moo, the pink says oink,' and you gradually build up from there.' Nor should parents give up if their children aren't paying full attention during story time. According to Duff, 'you shouldn't feel like you need to read every word on the page, or even any words on the page.' Talking about the book's pictures, or asking kids to tell the story in their own words counts, too. 'We know one of the most helpful ways to read books is by having a conversation with children about what they're interested in,' she added. 'Follow their lead.'
SBS Australia
01-05-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Swipe right, feel lonely: Dating apps and social media are making gen Z feel isolated
Smartphones, dating apps, social media are driving disconnection in the lives of Australia's gen Z and millennials, contrary to what you may think. Source: SBS News This article contains references to suicide/self-harm. Jayden Delbridge lost his father to suicide at the age of eight. By 14, he became a mental health advocate. Now 20, he is the founder of UrVoice Australia, a not-for-profit that provides mental health and wellbeing support to school students. "[Conversation about] mental health doesn't start in the hospital. It starts in cafes; it starts in speaking with friends in informal settings," Delbridge said. A new report based on two online polls covering nearly 1,400 respondents in various age groups (gen Z, millennials, 18+) by the Social Health Foundation highlights how loneliness, social isolation and disconnection are fuelling a mental health crisis amongst Australia's youth. The report also shines a light on the "hidden first responders" to mental health problems. The report highlights areas where social connection is breaking down amongst Australia's gen Z and millennials. Gen Z is generally defined as encompassing those aged between 13 and 28 (born between 1997 and 2012), with millennials aged between 29 and 44 (born between 1981 and 1996). Negative impact of smartphones and social media: 56 per cent of participants said social media left them feeling distressed, distracted and significantly impacted their mental health. Almost all participants (91 per cent) aged 18-39 believed "social media adversely affected the strength of their real-life interactions". Online dating apps lead to loneliness: 46 per cent shared that online dating apps "increased how lonely they felt". Many workplaces are not mentally healthy: 67 per cent of gen Z and millennial respondents support a shorter work week to reduce loneliness and improve their mental health. "Workplace bullying is at an epidemic level, with one-third of women having reported being bullied", the report added. The cost of living crisis is a mental health crisis: It stopped 86 per cent of gen Z and millennial respondents from pursuing their dreams and ambitions. The National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing for 2020-2022, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), surveyed Australians in the 16-85 age group, which totalled 19.8 million people. Of these, 42.9 per cent or 8.5 million Australians had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life. Out of these 19.8 million Australians, only 17.4 per cent or 3.4 million, sought help from a health professional. The survey also found that one in five Australians has experienced a 12-month mental disorder, with 38.8 per cent of people aged 16-24 experiencing a 12-month mental disorder. The most prevalent conditions include anxiety, affective disorders (including depression) and substance abuse. Like Delbridge, the Foundation for Social Health also believes that mental health conversations don't just start at the hospital. Those suffering disclose trauma, stress and isolation to people who aren't part of the formal mental health system. The report states: "These informal, unrecognised interactions are the quiet frontlines of our mental health system. And yet, public policy barely acknowledges them." From hairdressers to hospitality staff, gym trainers and childcare educators — all are part of this "hidden workforce." Their clients confide in them very often "because those are the places they actually go". But for some, like salon owner Nicole Serafin, this can present challenges. "We get told about everything from affairs, to drug and alcohol abuse, to physical and mental abuse from partners, family and friends, and you can't do anything about it," she said. She said while trained psychiatrists have a buddy system: "hairdressers are not qualified to handle what we take on". Dr Pramudie Gunaratne is chair of the NSW branch of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. "As psychiatrists, we are trained in caring for mental illness, but mental health is much wider than that … When we see people in emergency departments and clinic rooms, they are overwhelmed, at crisis point," she said. "Social connection is required all the time. It doesn't matter if it's prevention or early intervention, having that glue that holds people together is essential." This is why Glenys Reid established the first Chatty Cafe at Eclair Boulangerie, a French patisserie in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton in 2019. She recalls visiting cafes and restaurants, seeing many people dining alone. Referring to loneliness, she says: "It's an invisible and silent epidemic in Australia that we need to take action on." "The only way that it's going to be successful is if it is community-led." More than five years later, The Chatty Cafe Scheme has expanded to over 250 venues mainly across the east coast of Australia, including community centres, op shops, art galleries and even croquet and bowling clubs where patrons can have a chat with other patrons. "We know seven out of 10 people know we've got a problem with loneliness across Australia, we want those seven out of 10 people to play a role and reach out." According to the 2023 Social Connection in Australia report, from the Ending Loneliness Together organisation, one in four Australians feel persistent loneliness, and one in three people experience loneliness at any given time. Foundation for Social Health CEO Melanie Wilde is calling for a Commissioner for Social Connection to be established within government. "This isn't a problem you can solve with 7,500 psychiatrists and 30,000 psychologists," she said. What we need is a national strategy that funds the places, people, and platforms that keep communities strong — from pubs to libraries, sports clubs to cafes, gyms to grassroots arts organisations. Melanie Wilde, Foundation for Social Health CEO. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there were 4,300 psychiatrists and 33,000 psychologists in Australia as of 2023. Separate inquiries into loneliness in Queensland and the ACT have called for a Minister for Loneliness. A similar inquiry is underway in NSW. Wilde welcomes the recommendations from these inquiries, but believes a more permanent position that goes beyond "cyclical portfolios" needs to be established. Social media influencer Milly Rose Bannister, who has 137,000 followers on Instagram, is also the CEO of youth mental health charity ALLKND. Bannister believes the issue is hard to fight with existing resources. "We have inherited a bit of a bin fire and been given a water pistol," she said. "We've got structures in place that have been in place for decades, and they're simply not matching up to what young people today are requiring for their well-being in general and particularly their mental health. "We need a complete reform."
National Post
24-04-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Geoff Russ: Good riddance to Jagmeet Singh
Article content Jagmeet Singh is urging people to vote NDP and calling it the only defence against a Liberal ' supermajority.' It is a rather pathetic conclusion to Singh's time as party leader, but par for the course when taking into account the entirety of his career in federal politics. Article content Article content When Singh first became NDP leader in 2017, he did so with a mandate to build a young, multiracial coalition to challenge Justin Trudeau's place as leader of Canada's progressive movement. That coalition has been built, but they're not voting for the NDP. Article content Win or lose the federal election, Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives made themselves the standard-bearers for the aspirations and anger of millennial and gen Z Canadians. Arrayed against them are the resurgent Liberal party led by Mark Carney and his almighty base of boomers. Article content Article content Contrary to Singh's delusional past assertions that he would one day become prime minister, nobody ever seriously expected an NDP government under his leadership. Under his leadership, the NDP lost 15 seats in 2019, along with the party's lowest vote share in 15 years, and that was only his first election as leader. Article content Some diehard NDP supporters have declared that Singh will be remembered as some kind of great statesman whose efforts gave birth to expansive new social programs like pharmacare and dental care. Article content Article content There is some truth to this, as Liberal concessions to these ideas were Singh's price for supporting the Liberal minority government from 2019 until now, but Canadians remember events in strange ways. Article content
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
There's a deep ugliness and some slippery ethics behind the snail slime beauty boom
Apologies. As a reasonably attentive student of generational divides, I'm still late to one of the most dramatic divergences yet: the normalisation of snail slime. At some point, maybe around the time I stopped believing in face cream miracles, smearing on snail mucus, in serums or lotions, was hailed by newcomers to Korean-made skin products as transformative, almost immediately. Its most cherished effect being, as an industry spokeswoman told British Vogue in 2023, 'a radiant youthful glow'. Today, thanks more to rhapsodising influencers than age-defying evidence, the slime phenomenon persists, gathers converts and withstands objections from snail supporters, who do not, sadly, seem that numerous. What snails need now, perhaps more than any other animal, is celebrity allies, supposing there are any willing to sacrifice the magical power of slime. Early ethical concerns about the snails' treatment were satisfied, to a remarkable extent, by industry assurances, duly recited by slime fans, that the slime makers are treated like kings, even when sprayed in their thousands with acidic solution that prompts slime secretion as a defence mechanism. After a few such sessions these snails are caringly euthanised. Yet more blessed gastropods, according to a popular K-Beauty brand, SeoulCeuticals, live out their days in less stressful 'snail havens, allowing snails to meander freely over mesh setups, mimicking their natural environment'. Either way, all snails, fortunate and not, are natural, and thus appeal to key demographics in the soaring market for snail beauty products: millennials and gen Z, 'who actively seek skin-friendly, cruelty-free beauty solutions'. In a masterstroke by the beauty industry, gen Z consumers (aged under 28) have begun spending on anti-ageing while still young. The value of the snail beauty product market has been projected as $3.4bn by 2034. The industry can also take credit for what appears to be, though not that helpfully for the snails, much diminished levels of snail- and slime-related revulsion. This is hard to quantify, but not so long ago Patricia Highsmith's affection and respect for snails, which she wrote about and kept as pets, was routinely portrayed as bizarre and repellent. Her 1948 short story, The Snail Watcher, featuring a kind of awful snail apotheosis, was initially rejected by periodicals 'with horror and disgust'. Highsmith's habit of transporting pet snails in her handbag or, for smuggling purposes, her bra (10 under each breast) was likewise presented, before the arrival of snail slime beauty, as deficient if not actively disgusting. Now, in a eulogy to a Korean snail product, Vogue rhapsodises about 'a slime-y texture that is a sensorial experience on its own'. Along with the slime-tolerance evinced by generations often considered super-sensitive, levels of incuriosity about the snail slime industry are such as to make you wonder, if you still recoil from the whole thing, if that makes you one of the weird ones. What's wrong with you! Why wouldn't you feel fine about industrialised snail labour for a product with uncertain benefits if the snail industry says it's OK? Especially for slime that could give you the prized, regularly slimed look known as 'glass skin'. Being beyond any expectation of rejuvenation, I can't, admittedly, be certain that having a reflective face would not once have seemed worth the torment and premature death of any number of gastropods. But expert consensus, not just in beauty magazines is, overwhelmingly, that it is. Including for an Atlantic magazine writer speculating, with some feeling, about the impact of tariffs on Korean beauty product prices – could US glass skin go the same, chilling way as US free speech? The trade-off between snail and human wellbeing is evidently settled. 'It has made my skin softer and only grossed me out twice,' she tells us. From the snails' perspective, the effect of tariffs – if they drive US buyers back to domestic, non-snail slime products – might amount to a more important commercial pushback than anything so far achieved by animal welfare organisations. While the soaring demand for slime products could encourage recourse to unethical types of extraction, Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has just tried another intervention, warning that 'snails are not skincare tools. They can feel stress, pain and fear.' Secrecy by some within the industry, along with a moderately stressed snail looking, to an amateur, much like a relaxed one, makes this easier to claim than to demonstrate. Even so, in the limited snail mucin studies concerned with ethics, the animals' treatment by some manufacturers sounds, when not actively barbaric, difficult to reconcile with industry assurances. The slime is, after all, a stress response. There is film of snails frothing and retracting into their shells. An analysis by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center found that common methods of snail slime collection include, as well as allegedly low-stress techniques that deliver less product, electrical stimulation, the application of salt solution ('osmotically drawing out a snail's hydration') and the use of force (featuring 'objects such as glass rods, cotton swabs, syringes, droppers, sticks or needles') to increase the yield. Alternatively, the shell might be cracked, generating more mucus, or the extractors might try vibrational, ozone-assisted and ultrasonic stimulation: 'These methods are less favoured as snails often die easily.' The authors prioritise, in conclusion, 'the need for ethical extraction'. Sign up to Observed Analysis and opinion on the week's news and culture brought to you by the best Observer writers after newsletter promotion But without the exposure of a cruel snail extraction facility, it's not obvious how snails get beyond their current designation as insensate slime machines. At some point, the popularity of mucus might give way to another miracle face-plumper, possibly a synthetic version of snail mucin. Alternatively, if the snails get lucky, this resourceful industry will discover superior secretions in another unfortunate animal, ideally one similarly docile, cheap and unlovable enough to be euthanised in its millions. Not that consumers seem to be too picky. No matter how distressing the process, it's not so distressing, even among the usually tender-hearted, as the prospect of looking old. Catherine Bennett is an Observer columnist
The Guardian
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Train takes, diss tracks and TikTok clips: politicians pull out the stops to win over gen Z voters
The 2025 federal election marks an important time for voters born in the internet age, as gen Z and millennial voters significantly outnumber baby boomers heading to the polls. And what better way for politicians to connect with the youth than through TikTok – right? While the Greens might have captured the zeitgeist with their recent Brat-themed DJ set, an analysis by marketing company Fabulate found Anthony Albanese is actually leading in engagement on TikTok. The analysis found the prime minister's most popular video on the platform, a pretty sanitised clip spruiking Medicare, had more than 400,000 views. Meanwhile, Peter Dutton's top rating video was a sombre slideshow on his policies with more than 130,000 views. Adam Bandt's top video was on legalising cannabis, raking in more than 90,000 views. We've already seen a number of political diss tracks, as well as AI action figure memes, as political parties fight for young eyeballs online – so who knows what else they might have up their sleeves. Fortunately for young Australians, there's still yet to be a viral dance routine from leaders. For now. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter While we're still on 'trying to make politics fetch for anyone under 45', the independent candidate for Bradfield has taken a bold step. Channelling Kareem Rahma's popular Subway Takes series, Nicolette Boele is launching her own – T1 Takes. In a preview video on Instagram this week, the teal candidate asks commuters riding on Sydney's north shore train line for their takes. Like the original series, it's low budget, with interviewees using their Opal cards as microphones. One woman quips: 'If men were the ones staying at home, we would have had universal childcare 20 years ago.' 'Your generation kind of screwed us over,' a (presumably) gen Z punter says. We can't wait for more takes. This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Who says life after politics is dull? Probably not former Coalition MPs Julian Simmonds and Jason Falinski, who are exacting revenge on the pesky challengers who took their seats in the 2022 election. Falinski, the former Mackellar member, and Simmonds, the former Brisbane MP, have been getting busy putting out ads for their anti-super-tax group, Australians for Prosperity. The 'grassroots' group has spent nearly $113,000 in the three months to 13 April across 182 ads, according to Meta's ad library. Most of those ads target teal candidates, including Sophie Scamps, who unseated Falinski last election, as well as featuring street interviews. One ad targeting the Wentworth MP, Zali Steggall, resembled a product recall notice, with supposed 'defects' including 'increases costs'. When they're not targeting the teals or the Greens, the group's main gripe is with Labor's proposal to double the tax rate for superannuation accounts of more than $3m. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Like almost everyone living in Australia, you've probably seen or heard an ad from Clive Palmer and his Trumpet of Patriots party. This is because the bulk of his digital ad spending since the start of the campaign – at least $1.4m so far according to Meta and Google data aggregated by Populares' political AdTracker – has targeted the entirety of Australia. The only significant spend outside the national spree has been on several YouTube ads targeting the seat of Hunter, near Newcastle, and surrounding electorates. One ad takes aim at the major parties' support for a net zero target and claims that the major parties want to close down the coal industry in the Hunter Valley. The Trumpet's focus on the Hunter is no doubt due to the Trumpet of Patriots' candidate in the area, Suellen Wrightson, being the party's 'lower house party leader' and proposed next prime minister. Sound familiar? We've been tracking everywhere the leaders have been since the start of the campaign, and now that we've reached the midway point, we can reveal the locations each leader has visited the most. In this map (using the same modified cartogram design we use for election results so smaller seats are more visible) you can see where they've been, and how many times. Not surprisingly, both leaders have been spending plenty of time in marginal electorates – marginal seats have comprised 50% of Albanese's visits and 57% of Dutton's so far. According to the Australian Electoral Commission, 51 of Australia's 150 federal electorates are considered marginal in 2025 (held with a margin of 6% or less). Election campaigns are full of oopsies moments and it's our privilege to bring them to you. One eagle-eyed X user spotted a typically divisive post by Facebook page 'Election News', run by rightwing activist group Advance Australia, that seems to have gone astray. The post contained a link to a YouTube video by Labor-aligned YouTuber FriendlyJordies, AKA Jordan Shanks, with the hyperbolic title (and matching comically large thumbnail) 'Labor is too WOKE'. In the video, posted after the US election in November, Shanks expressed concern the party was risking the same fate as the Democrats by focusing on 'elitist' and 'censorious' policies. But in a cheeky move, Shanks has since changed the video's title, thumbnail and caption to 'The Liberals WILL Privatise Medicare'. 'Now Liberal party funds are going towards a MediScare campaign', he said in a follow-up video detailing the move. 'Thanks again for my only paid sponsorship for the election, Libs.'
