Salon.com > teens

Tween booted off Facebook starts his own social network

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:09:00 +0000

Even though he was two years too young to join the social network, 11-year-old Zachary Marks signed up for Facebook, anyway. Less than a week later, this happened:

I spent all my time on the computer chatting with friends. Then, I made mistakes. One of my adult friends cursed and posted something inappropriate, and I cursed back. Also, I friend-requested grownups who I did not know. About a day later, my dad found out. He was really mad. I had to deactivate my account.

And so begins the story of Grom Social, the social networking site for the 15 and under set that Marks founded after being summarily booted from Facebook. Even though there are other kid-friendly networks he could have joined, none really appealed to the preteen. "They were all childish," he told the "Today" show.

Study: Recessions can be hazardous to kids’ health

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:51:00 +0000

A new study in the online edition of JAMA Psychiatry shows that growing up during periods of widespread economic instability can have long-term consequences for kids. Researchers found that babies born during the two great recessions of the 1980s were more likely to develop behavioral problems later in life than those born during boom times.

The study confirms what largely seems like common sense: Financial insecurity is stressful, and anxiety associated with unemployment and low household income can affect how well parents parent. It's easy enough to understand how more time worrying about keeping the lights on could mean less time to focus on helping with homework and strengthening family bonds.

Led by Dr. Seethalakshmi Ramanathan of the State University of New York’s Upstate Medical University, researchers used information about 8,984 youth born between Jan. 1, 1980, and Dec. 31, 1984, as a sample group. As Time magazine reports:

Asian teenagers flock to get “fashion” braces

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:46:00 +0000

Braces, long the symbol of nerds, geeks, mouth-breathers and others who dwell at the bottom of the high school food chain, have suddenly become très chic. Well, at least in certain parts of Thailand, Indonesia and Malayasia.

Many teens in Southeast Asia have been shelling out more than $100 for so-called black market braces, mouth gear that doesn't serve any function other than fashion -- and status. While being a brace-face stateside might be a drag, real braces cost close to $1,200 in places like Bangkok, putting dental care far out of reach for the average family. As a result, braces have become a surprising status symbol.

Is your kid an addict?

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:25:00 +0000

I know a 23-year-old NYU graduate—I'll call her Sophia—who had an arrangement with her dad when she was in high school: he would buy her booze if she would buy him pot. Since many folks don’t think either pot or alcohol are “hard” drugs, some adults—including Sophia's dad—don’t have a problem with such boundary-crossing bartering. For my friend, however, it created a number of conflicts: for one thing, it meant Sophia was dealing in illegal drugs, and exposing herself to prosecution for felony crimes. For another, it meant she got a clear message from her father that teenage drinking isn’t harmful.

So began Sophia’s drinking career as a young teenager. In high school she drank hard and hung out with likeminded kids. Her grades dropped, and her parents switched her school and put her in therapy—perhaps her father couldn’t imagine what might be leading his daughter to “act out.”

Should teens be screened for drug use?

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:00:00 +0000

This just in: Teenagers experiment with sex, alcohol and drugs. But for the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics now boldly recommends that adolescents be routinely screened for illicit-substance use and HIV. The policy statements suggest doctors test kids 16 and up for HIV in communities where more than 0.1 percent of the population has the virus -- regardless of whether the patient admits to being sexually active. It also states that doctors should ask teens about drug, alcohol and nicotine use at every visit. But while a routine HIV test is a fairly straightforward, judgment-free process, frank conversation is another one altogether. Are parents and pediatricians ready to get frank with teenagers about their recreational activities?

Can a gay musical stamp out bullying?

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Can a little musical theater and some same-sex kissing help stamp out bullying? Earlier this month, students at Hartford Public High in Connecticut attended a production at their school. But this wasn't some amateur attempt at "Guys and Dolls." Instead, it was the "musical fairy tale" "Zanna, Don't!" -- a show that's even gayer than "Cats."

The action takes place in the imaginary land of Heartsville, U.S.A, where straightness is unusual and heterophobia is common -- until an opposite sex-oriented high school couple challenge the gods. The Connecticut production, mounted by the Hartford community leadership group Quest and the LGBT organization True Colors, featured local high school and college students in the cast. And when two of the male leads engaged in a brief liplock during the first show, several dozen audience members – notably a bunch wearing the school's football jerseys – stormed out in protest. Principal Adam Johnson told CBS that "It was almost a symbolic kind of thing." And the Hartford Courant noted pointedly that a later girl-on-girl smooch was "cheered among students." America, we still have work to do.