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Parents of Teens More Concerned About Internet Addiction Than Drug Use, Study Finds: ‘Problematic Patterns’
More parents are concerned about internet addiction by their adolescent children than substance addiction, according to the results of a survey published in JAMA Network Open on Oct. 26. The researchers conducted an online survey of 1,000 parents of U.S. youth between the ages of 9 and 15 to understand their perceptions and concerns about their kids’ internet use. Participants completed the survey between June 17 and July 5, 2022.
The survey assessed the parents’ perceptions of the risks and benefits of internet use in four main areas: their children’s physical and cognitive development, their children’s safety, the potential for addiction, and family connectedness.
Excessive internet use has been associated with mental health problems that include higher rates of alcohol dependence, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Too much time on the internet has also been linked to difficulty socializing with peers, having healthy conversations, being comfortable in social settings and showing empathy, as previous studies have shown.
Overall, internet addiction concerns outweighed those of substance problems. In particular, the potential for addiction was most evident for social media use and video gaming. The survey highlighted the growing influence of internet use in kids’ lives and the importance of monitoring for potential harmful use.
Sweeping Ban on COVID Vaccine Mandates by Private Employers Heads to Governor
A sweeping ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees of private Texas businesses is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, carrying with it a $50,000 fine for employers who punish workers for refusing the shot.
Senate Bill 7, by state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, cleared its final hurdle Tuesday when senators agreed on a 17-11 vote to accept the House version of the legislation, which raised the fine from the $10,000 initially proposed in the bill.
The legislation, which Republican lawmakers have been trying to pass since 2021, offers no exceptions for doctors’ offices, clinics or other health facilities. The bill also includes unpaid volunteers and students working in medical internships or other unpaid positions as part of graduation requirements.
Private employers are allowed by the legislation to require unvaccinated employees and contractors to wear protective gear, such as masks, or enact other “reasonable” measures to protect medically vulnerable people who work or come into their places of businesses or medical facilities.
The legislation makes it illegal, however, for any employer to take action against or otherwise place requirements on an unvaccinated employee that the Texas Workforce Commission determines would adversely affect the employee or constitute punishment.
Musk Tells Rogan Twitter ‘Suppressed’ Republicans ‘10 Times’ More Than Dems
Elon Musk said that conservative users of X, formerly Twitter, were suppressed “10 times the rate” of liberal users prior to him taking over the company.
Musk, the platform’s CEO, obtained X in October 2022 and quickly made headlines after signing off on a series of reports published by independent journalist Matt Taibbi in late 2022 nicknamed the “Twitter Files.” Taibbi’s work purportedly showed that the platform’s previous ownership, led by Twitter’s founder and previous CEO Jack Dorsey, had worked with the federal government to censor conservative and Republican content online.
Speaking with podcaster Joe Rogan on Tuesday, Musk described Twitter as once acting as “an arm of the government,” and claimed that Dorsey “didn’t really know” that such actions were taking place.
“The degree to which — and by the way, Jack didn’t really know this — but the degree to which Twitter was simply an arm of the government was not well understood by the public,” Musk told Rogan, according to a clip of Tuesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that was shared to X by the group Mythinformed.
Musk went on to claim that the “old” version of the social platform would not only oppress views considered “far-right,” but also some that may be considered “middle of the road” or “mildly right.”
Exclusive: U.S. Gave $30 Million to Top Chinese Scientist Leading China’s AI ‘Race’
The U.S. government gave at least $30 million in federal grants for research led by a scientist who is now at the forefront of China’s race to develop the most advanced artificial intelligence — which he compared to the atomic bomb due to its military importance, a Newsweek investigation has revealed.
Pentagon funding for Song-Chun Zhu, the former director of a pioneering AI center at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), continued even as he set up a parallel institute near Wuhan, took a position at a Beijing university whose primary goal is to support Chinese military research, and joined a Chinese Communist Party “talent plan” whose members are tasked with transferring knowledge and technology to China.
Newsweek’s revelations underline how the United States, with its open academic environment, has not only been a source for China of advanced technology with military applications but has also actively collaborated with and funded scientists from its main rival. Only as tensions with China have grown over everything from global flashpoints to trade to technology has the research started coming under growing scrutiny.
High Court Struggles on Whether Officials May Block Social Media Critics
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struggled to agree on how to determine when public officials can block critics from their private social media accounts, reviewing two cases that will have broad implications for citizen interactions with politicians online.
All nine justices seemed to acknowledge the challenge and importance of defining when government employees are acting in an official capacity online, and therefore bound by First Amendment restrictions on censorship; and when they are acting as private citizens, with their own individual free speech rights.
Biden’s AI Order Is Massive, but Far From Enough to Address the Technology’s Risks
The Biden administration on Monday unveiled its most comprehensive effort to regulate powerful artificial intelligence technologies yet, issuing a sweeping executive order. Its aim: ensuring American leadership in AI while preventing AI abuses that could threaten Americans’ civil rights and safety.
But despite the wide-ranging scope of the executive order, experts said it fails to address a number of issues, including how AI can help prevent societal problems ranging from consumer privacy and security and competition.
“This [plan] is silent on AI and democracy. … This is silent about the fact that we could use AI to promote citizen engagement,” said Beth Simone Noveck, director of the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University in Boston. “There is nothing in here about public consultation. There’s nothing in here about engaging with citizens to develop any of these things that are going to come next.”
Despite hosting a number of hearings and various lawmakers proposing different forms of legislation, Congress is still far from passing any kind of federal legislation related to AI.
