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29 Jan 2012 13:30

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Tech: Study: Teens flocking to Twitter more than they did two years ago

  • 8% of young people ages 12-17 had Twitter accounts in 2009, according to a Pew study
  • 16% of young people ages 12-17 had Twitter accounts in 2011, according to an updated study source
  • » Not so square anymore? Two years ago, Twitter had a bit of a reputation as the social network of choice for slightly older professionals, while many young teens were giving it a pass. The study appeared to be showing an interesting trend among teens, who preferred to stick with Facebook or other services. Things appear to have changed since then. “I love twitter, it’s the only thing I have to myself … cause my parents don’t have one,” noted 17-year-old Britteny Praznik. One major difference? Rather than self-promotion, the goal seems to merely be social in nature. Wow, who would’ve thought? A social network for social networking? Be still our hearts.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2011 21:44

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Culture: Anderson Cooper on hot seat after teen guest’s skateboarding injury

  • Sometimes, standing in a foot of floodwater is easier than hosting a daytime talk show. This is a lesson “Anderson” learned the hard way, after a teenage guest on the CNN über-anchor’s daytime talk show put himself in a coma — by attempting to do some crazy skateboarding ahead of an appearance on the “Oprah” heir apparent. (They asked him to do so, because the show was about studying the teenage brain.) For what it’s worth, Anderson is somber about how things went: “I was very saddened to hear the news of this accident, and want to express my deepest concerns for the teenager who was injured,” he said. “I take this situation seriously, and my thoughts and prayers for his health, well-being and recovery are with him and his family.” But the real problem, of course, is that Anderson the journalist would never do something like put a kid in danger for ratings. How do you justify such a thing? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2011 01:23

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Tech: Teens don’t blog much anymore, but their parents still do

  • 14% of teens 12-17 blog; that number is down by half
  • +6% the gain in blogging among people 34-45, to around 16%
  • -2% the decline in Blogger’s U.S. usage; it’s still growing globally, though
  • no a lot of kids say they don’t consider Tumblr “blogging” source
  • » Old people blog, young people tweet: It’s becoming clear that, while blogging is definitely here to stay, it’s not exactly the hip new thing for kids to do anymore. Why’s that? Well … basically, all their friends are already on other social networks, meaning that their friends don’t have to come to them. Facebook is the new blog site du jour. But even considering that, sites like WordPress say they aren’t facing much decline because, well, serious bloggers blog on WordPress and they use social networking to promote their content.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Nov 2010 20:22

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World: Lost-at-sea New Zealand teenagers were trying to win over a girl

  • cute Three New Zealand teenagers who wanted to woo a girl they saw went on a trip to see her.
  • scary Instead of finding her, they got lost without food, water or any sort of long-term supplies.
  • crazy The teens were rescued 50 days later, which should make that girl not feel guilty at all. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2010 12:54

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World: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Girls should marry before they’re 18

  • 15 the age girls can get married in Iran (upgraded from nine in 2004)
  • 16-18 the age Ahmadinejad thinks that girls should get married
  • 19-21 the age Ahmadinejad thinks guys should get married source
  • » Why so young? Well, strangely, hardline Iranian leaders think that waiting to get married helps to encourage the “spread of immorality among youth.” Conversely (and strangely), they’re also worried about high rates of divorce, which logic dictates might be caused by people who get married too early. Ahmadinejad says that there’s no reason that women should wait until they’re 24 to get married. We have a pretty good one, actually – so you won’t get divorced before you’re 24.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2010 22:07

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U.S.: Protip to teenagers: Text a lot and you’ll get high, drunk and laid

  • cause Teenagers like to text each other a lot, and some of them send over 120 a day (five an hour). Us old people won’t understand the reasoning behind this.
  • effect Those teens are more likely to take drugs, drink alcohol and have sex. Translation: They get invited to all the good parties because they text so much. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Apr 2010 11:17

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Culture: Parents of teenagers: Get the unlimited texting plan for your kids

  • 75% of all teens between 12-17 own cell phones
  • 50% of them send as least 50
    texts each day
  • 49% of teen girls text “just to say hello” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Mar 2010 20:36

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U.S.: Teenagers learn that that killer party wasn’t really worth it

  • There was blood, urine, food, all over the floors. I’ve never seen anything like it in my career.
  • East Bridgewater, Mass. Police Detective Michael Jenkins • Regarding the killer party that some punk kids threw while another kid’s parents were on vacation in Paris. They caused $45,000 in damages, got arrested, and somehow managed to top this shirtless Australian pro. From the sound of the story, this situation was a nightmare – laptops were stolen, cars were damaged, mattresses were urinated on, and walls were severely damaged. Or in other words, just another average Saturday night for the 14,000 residents of sleepy East Bridgewater, Mass. Kegger next week! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 20:57

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U.S.: How young is too young for major weight-loss surgery, anyway?

  • I want to be able to run. I haven’t been able to run since I was 5 years old. … I just want to be normal.
  • 14-year-old Maria Caprigno • Regarding her decision to go under the knife for purposes of losing weight. Caprigno, who weighs over 400 pounds even after losing 45, says that many of her weight problems come from a mix of genes (her parents are also overweight), couch potato status, and overeating. But the gastrectomy surgery she got, which involved removing much of her stomach, is often used on people three times her age (or older). Her doctor, though, claims holding back the surgery would have been unethical. “Her BMI [body mass index], which is a measurement we use to determine how obese someone is, put her in the highest risk category,” said Dr. Evan Nadler. “Not just morbidly obese, but two categories higher than that.” Holy crap. We’re glad she got help. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2009 10:18

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World: Why does Greenland have such a high suicide rate? Take a guess

  • It’s because they live in Greenland. Teens and young adults in Greenland commit suicides at staggering rates far higher than anywhere else in the world – twice as high as Japan, notorious for its high rates. Why? Two reasons: The cold seasons are very depressing, and they have easy access to guns and nooses due to a culture built on hunting. “Here the kids are successful because it’s always so violent,” said Bodil Karlshøj Poulsen, who directs Paarisa, Greenland’s public-health center. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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