Interesting Articles 

Vaping  (4 Sept 2019)

(Source ABC Sunshine Coast  By Megan Kinninment )

Educators and health experts say big tobacco companies are hooking a new generation of children on smoking by marketing candy-flavoured e-cigarette juices with glamourous social media imagery. They warn the promotion of e-cigarettes with cartoon-like characters and the use of social media influencers is "re-normalising" smoking to youth.

• There are concerns a growing e-cigarette culture in Australian teenagers will lead to an increase in combustible cigarette smoking

• 13 per cent of Australian teenagers have had already tried e-cigarettes, or "vaping"

• Cancer Council Australia said e-cigarettes contain unregulated ingredients that can damage lungs and increase the risk of heart disease and cancer

Sleep Is Your Superpower (2 June 2019)

Dr Matthew Walker, sleep expert, delivers a 20 minute TED talk on the benefits of sleep.

Sleep is your life-support system and Mother Nature's best effort yet at immortality, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. In this deep dive into the science of slumber, Walker shares the wonderfully good things that happen when you get sleep -- and the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don't, for both your brain and body. Learn more about sleep's impact on your learning, memory, immune system and even your genetic code -- as well as some helpful tips for getting some shut-eye. 

The effects of social media use on teenage life satisfaction are limited and probably "tiny"  (7th May 2019, BBC)

A study of 12,000 UK adolescents suggest that family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on wellbeing, says the University of Oxford research team.

It urged companies to release data on how people use social media in order to understand more about the impact of technology on young people's lives.

The study, published in the journal PNAS, attempts to answer the question of whether teenagers who use social media more than average have lower life satisfaction, or whether adolescents with lower life satisfaction use more social media.

Past research on the relationship between screens, technology and children's mental health has often been contradictory.  The Oxford research team claims its study is more in-depth and robust than previous ones.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-48147378 

Is young people’s mental health actually getting worse?  (11 Feb 2019, BBC)

 Reports of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and self-harm are on the rise. This is true around the world and also within KGV. It is sometimes reported as an ‘escalating epidemic’, but it is very difficult to establish how much of this represents an actual rise in young people experiencing problems, and how much is due to an increasing awareness of symptoms alongside a destigmatisation of mental health conditions leading to more people seeking help and being diagnosed.

 Take a look at this article written by the BBC's  which looks at some of the statistics behind the “mental health crisis’ in the UK. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47133338

Nicotine Addiction From Vaping Is a Bigger Problem Than Teens Realize 

(Yale Medicine, 19 March 2019)

“Adolescents don’t think they will get addicted to nicotine, but when they do want to stop, they find it’s very difficult,” says Yale neuroscientist Marina Picciotto, PhD. Recent and past studies show that nicotine can cause physical changes in the teenage brain. 

As the vaping epidemic continues, researchers point to well-known health risks associated with nicotine.  Data show clearly that young people are vaping in record numbers. And despite the onslaught of reports and articles highlighting not only its dangers but the marketing tactics seemingly aimed to hook teens and young adults, the number of vaping users continues to climb. 

These teens may be overlooking (or underestimating) a key ingredient in the vapors they inhale: nicotine. Though it’s possible to buy liquid or pod refills without nicotine, the truth is you have to look much harder to find them. Teens may not realize that nicotine is deeply addictive. What’s more, studies show that young people who vape are far likelier to move on to cigarettes, which cause cancer and other diseases.

FULL ARTICLE  in Yale Medicine 

How can reading ensure the community’s wellbeing? (7th March 2019)

Literary fiction has been shown to bestow its readers with a stronger sense of empathy. When reading literary fiction, we are engaging with the story characters’ perspectives, emotions, motivations, goals, and personalities. Similar to how we learn to understand the characters in the story, we can transfer these skills to real life. We become better at reading people’s emotions and understanding where they are coming from. Those who are empathetic are better at relationships and tend to have more friends.

Regular readers will acquire more worldly knowledge and develop a better vocabulary. Those who read tend to write better too. In fact, writers often read other writers they admire in order to improve their own writing.

Momo Challenge (28 Feb 2019)

There has been a lot of media coverage about the supposed 'Momo Challenge' threat to children. Most of the evidence at the moment supports the idea that this is a media amplified story based on a a hoax that surfaced last year. It is, however causing some concern among parents and children

• • This Guardian article describes how it has become a major media story. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/28/schools-police-and-media-told-to-stop-promoting-momo-hoax

  • This article from Snopes confirms the hoax nature but explains why the coverage of the MOMO hoax could prove damaging for students https://www.snopes.com/news/2019/02/26/momo-challenge-suicide-game/ 

  • This BBC article again debunks the story and also suggests some strategies https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47393510

Questions I Wish My Parents Had Asked Me.

‘Young Minds’, a UK based mental health charity for young people, asked, what do you wish your parents had asked you? Have a look at some of the responses, and consider what you could ask your children. 

There is also tips and advice for how to encourage your child to open up, out their conversation starters.

https://youngminds.org.uk/take20/questions-i-wish-my-parents-had-asked-me/