After successive school years disrupted by shutdowns, isolation, and mass experiments in remote teaching, educators returned to school in Fall 2021 to find that our classrooms and students had changed.

In the first days of the return, perhaps, we didn’t see the full scope of the changes. Yes, most of us knew that there would be yawning academic gaps. Most of us understood then what the data have since clearly borne out: despite often heroic efforts by teachers to deliver remote instruction, the pandemic had caused a massive setback in learning and academic progress. The costs had been levied most heavily on those who could least afford it, and it would take months, if not years, to make up the lost time.

But at least we were all together again, even if we were all wearing masks. We were on the road back to regular life.

As the days passed, though, a troubling reality emerged.

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For many parents, giving an upset child a smartphone or tablet to calm them down is second nature.

But new research suggests frequently using these devices to soothe children may be linked with worse behavior challenges in the future.

Writing in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers explained an increased use of devices was associated with heightened emotional reactivity after three and six months of follow-up, particularly among boys. The association was also strong among children who already experienced hyperactivity, impulsiveness or a strong temperament.

Although using devices occasionally to occupy children can be hard to avoid, problems may arise when they’re employed as a primary or regular soothing tool, researchers said.

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With little public attention, New York City has reversed how it polices prostitution, going from 20,000 annual arrests in 1985 to barely more than 100 this year.

The plunge in arrests, gradual over the last decade, accelerated last year with decisions by borough district attorneys to stop prosecuting sex workers and dismiss thousands of open cases against those charged with selling sex.

Those policy decisions coincided with the implementation of two state laws that altered how law enforcement approaches sex work: One ended the ability of police officers to arrest people suspected of loitering for the purpose of prostitution, and another permitted the erasure of old prostitution-related convictions. Supporters of those changes argued enforcement of prostitution laws had long disproportionately affected transgender people and people of color.

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Twitter has restored its suicide prevention feature following pressure from campaign groups, after Elon Musk quietly ordered the removal of the feature in recent days, Reuters reported.

The news agency reported the #ThereIsHelp feature, which appeared when users viewed certain content, had disappeared from Twitter this week.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters its removal was ordered by Musk.

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Federal prosecutors said the fight against human trafficking, a crime that harms some of the most vulnerable members of society counts among their highest priorities.

“We are committed to vindicating the rights of human trafficking crime victims by bringing their traffickers to justice and working to ensure that survivors have access to restitution, services, and assistance that are needed to rebuild their lives,” U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg offered in a statement.

U.S. Department of Justice officials maintain that their strong efforts continue to combat human trafficking.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney General released the Department of Justice’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking.

Additionally, while the holiday season counts as a time of joy, happiness, and fun, the nonprofit Shero Foundation said for human trafficking victims, the holidays are no different from any other day.

Law enforcement officials said traffickers typically increase their illegal activities during the holiday season.

“We let our guard down because you’re supposed to be joyful, and, you know, it’s a great time of year. And unfortunately, we have people out there that don’t care what time of year it is,” Tony Mancuso, a sheriff in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, told reporters in a pre-Christmas interview in 2021.

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Musk has said he wants to combat child porn on Twitter and has criticized the previous ownership’s handling of the issue. But he has cut large portions of the teams involved in dealing with potentially objectionable material

Twitter Inc. removed a feature in the past few days that promoted suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, according to two people familiar with the matter who said it was ordered by new owner Elon Musk.

The removal of the feature, known as #ThereIsHelp, has not been previously reported. It had shown at the top of specific searches contacts for support organizations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, COVID-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression.

Its elimination could add to concerns about the well-being of vulnerable users on Twitter. Musk has said that impressions, or views, of harmful content are declining since he took over in October and has tweeted graphs showing a downward trend, even as researchers and civil rights groups have tracked an increase in tweets with racial slurs and other hateful content.

Twitter and Musk did not respond to requests for comment on the removal of the feature.

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A group of New York City teens are seeking to free themselves from their phones and social media. Would you want to join their club?

Do you ever feel you have become too dependent on your phone? Do you find yourself consumed by social media and the need to endlessly chase likes? Are you ever exhausted by the thought of scrolling through yet one more picture-perfect Instagram selfie?

Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a club for you! In “‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes,” Alex Vadukul writes about a group of teenagers who are trying to break free of their phones:

On a brisk recent Sunday, a band of teenagers met on the steps of Central Library on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn to start the weekly meeting of the Luddite Club, a high school group that promotes a lifestyle of self-liberation from social media and technology. As the dozen teens headed into Prospect Park, they hid away their iPhones — or, in the case of the most devout members, their flip phones, which some had decorated with stickers and nail polish.

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A Parent’s Guide to Buying A Kid’s Phone For the First Time

Remember what it was like to get your first car?

These days, that’s exactly how kids feel when they get their first kids phone. To many kids, a phone represents freedom. Like a car, it’s a private space, a status symbol, and a ticket to adulthood. Also like a car, it can be dangerous. Reckless phone usage can crack the door to online predators, cyberbullying, and misinformation.

Unlike a car, however, there are no rules around how old someone must be before they can use a cell phone. There’s no test they need to pass before getting their first phone, no course equivalent to driver’s ed, and no police officers around to make sure they follow the rules. Choices around your kids first phone rest solely with you, their parent. When they get a phone, what type of phone they get, and how and when they can use that phone are big, life-changing decisions.

To help you make them wisely, we’ve put together this guide about buying a kids phone. Let’s get started with the big question: AGE.

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