Hits and Misses
Metro Creative
Taking just a few minutes to slather on some sunscreen could actually add years to your life.
Metro Creative
The American Psychological Association has recommended that parents keep a close eye on how their teenage children are using social media.
MISS: Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, issued a warning this week about social media use among young people, and it likely wasn’t a surprise among parents or guardians who have been paying attention – social media can cause real harm. Murthy wrote that “our children have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment,” and urged that researchers dig into how exactly using social media affects them. While noting that social media can help forge connections, it can also be a venue for inappropriate content and rampant cyberbullying. Teens use a lot of social media – the surgeon general’s report said one-third of them are on social media almost constantly – and close to 40% of children aged 8 to 12 use social media, even though the required age to use Twitter, Facebook and other sites is 13. The report also said young people are missing out on some exercise and sleep because of social media. The American Psychological Association has recommended that parents keep a close eye on how their teenage children are using social media, and given the surgeon general’s report, that advice seems more sound than ever.
HIT: This weekend marks what most of us think of as the beginning of summer, and over the next three months or so, many of us will be gratefully spending time outdoors. But as we head to beaches or pools or spend a couple of hours strolling around a festival, it can be easy to forget sunscreen and end up getting a nasty sunburn as an unintended souvenir. Even worse than an uncomfortable sunburn, 1 in 40 Pennsylvanians will be diagnosed with melanoma at some point in their lives, and more than 8,000 Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer every day. Saturday is National Sunscreen Day, and the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is trying to do its part to help protect Pennsylvanians by expanding a program that offers free sunscreen at state park swimming pools and beaches, with pole-mounted, battery-operated dispensers at 46 state parks, including Ohiopyle, Raccoon Creek in Beaver County and Moraine State Park in Butler County. Taking just a few minutes to slather on some sunscreen could actually add years to your life.
MISS: It took the Roman Empire a few hundred years to decline, but it only took Century III mall in West Mifflin a mere 40 years to go from being one of the biggest shopping centers in the world to a blighted behemoth that has become a raging headache for the community that surrounds it. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette detailed earlier this week how the structure has been a magnet for vandals, and its out-of-state owner has not paid $80,000 in fines it has racked up due to the property’s deterioration. The Post-Gazette described the once-glittering mall as “a haven for mold and flaking asbestos.” Century III mall has its own unique problems, but it should serve as a warning for other communities – the number of malls in America has declined precipitously since the 1980s, and more are predicted to shutter throughout this decade. Some retail analysts believe there could be as few as 150 malls left in the United States 10 years from now. The towns, cities and suburbs where malls are still open need to prepare for the day when that is no longer the case.