Category: Featured

In sharp contrast to past generations, few teens are now spending their summer vacations working paid jobs.

A study released June 23 by the Pew Research Center found that teen summer employment dropped to just 31.6% last summer. For younger teens, aged 16 and 17, summer employment was only 20% — less than half what it was as recently as 2000. Older teens, aged 18 and 19, fared better at 43.6%. But that’s still almost 20 percentage points below the 62.6% average of 2000.

It’s not surprising that teen employment figures have fallen during the most recent recessions, since overall employment has too. But what is surprising is that the teen job market failed to rebound after both the 1990-91 and 2007-09 recessions. Between 1948 (which is as far back as the data goes) and 1990, teen employment rose in healthy economies and fell as the economy contracted. But the most recent figures represent only a small gain compared to the lowest post-recession point of 29.6%, reached in 2010-11.

Employment isn’t equal across racial and social groups, either. White teens are far more likely to land summer jobs than their black, Hispanic or Asian peers; a rough estimate of last summer’s employment demographics indicate that about 84.2% of teen job holders were white.

Challenges for Job-Seeking Teens
Why is it that fewer teens are finding jobs? While the Pew Study didn’t attempt to give a definitive answer, it did float a few suggestions.

One is simply that fewer low-skill, entry-level jobs are now available to teens. Underemployment (referring to the phenomenon of workers taking jobs they are overqualified for) is rampant, with even many college graduates taking entry-level positions before moving on to more permanent careers. Recent figures show that by age 35, a full 25% of workers have had five or more jobs.

Longer school years, with high schools often starting up prior to Labor Day, may also make it difficult for teens to find jobs over summer vacation.

And finally, it appears that increasing numbers of teens are taking unpaid internships either to fulfill graduation requirements or round out their college graduations, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not account for such unpaid work in its employment data.

Thomas Kenny, a 25-year-old from Birmingham, England, not only cheated on his long-term partner — but also accidentally impregnated his mistress. He did everything he could to avoid taking responsibility and paying child support, going so far as to pressure his mistress into getting an abortion, which she decided not to do.

When the local Child Support Agency finally ordered him to take a DNA test to prove he had to pay up, Kenny hatched a scheme so absurd that it could have appeared on a late night sitcom.

He sent a lookalike to take his paternity test for him.

“You wished her to have an abortion which she declined and then in December 2012, when you knew you were the father of her forthcoming child, you decided to deny paternity. As a result of that she and the child were forced to undergo DNA testing. On 24 June 2013 you were required to provide a DNA sample to a doctor,” said Judge Philip Parker QC, according to the Birmingham Mail. “One way or another you sent someone in your place. The effect of what you did was to seek to avoid payments to the child that was genuinely yours. You are plainly the author of your own misfortunes.”

As most boneheaded schemers are, Kenny was eventually caught. The truth came out after Kenny’s girlfriend, who was the mother of his first two children, was also subjected to a DNA test.

Though zany the scheme may be, it is not totally unbelievable that someone who already supported two children with limited income would do whatever he thought possible to avoid paying child support. It is expensive, after all. In the United States, 18% of a father’s gross monthly income is allocated for child support collection if there is one child, generally speaking. The average amount of child support due in 2011 was $6,050 per year (or about $500 per month), which can be a serious amount of money, depending on one’s financial circumstances. This, however, does not excuse his actions, of course.

“He is obviously a young man who has made a big mistake,” his lawyer, Heidi Kubik, said. “He is a man who has been under enormous pressure and stress and has spent a number of months contemplating the prospect of going to custody.”

Kenny was sentenced to six months, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay £885 in compensation and £500 costs.

“I know you are said to be the loving father of two children by your long standing relationship but this case shows you were prepared to disown a child of your own for financial gain,” said Judge Parker. “Morally you can not sink lower than that.”

Depression is a bigger problem for the Latino community than many might think, and according to a new study, the Internet is making things worse for teens.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Latinos are a high-risk group for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. NAMI reports that women and Latinos are more likely to experience a major depressive episode, while the Common Wealth Fund Survey also found that Latino girls exhibited more depressive symptoms than African American or white girls.

While there are many problems that can trigger depression, a new review published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that cyberbullying on social media is strongly linked to depression amongst teenagers. Michele Hamm, a researcher in pediatrics at the University of Alberta, and her team reviewed studies on cyberbullying and social media. Although each study looked at different health outcomes, and sometimes defined cyberbullying differently, there was one finding that stood out.

“There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression,” Hamm told Live Science.

Of the 36 studies reviewed, 10 examined the link between social media victimization and depression. Each found a connection.

However, these studies didn’t prove that the bullying actually causes the depression, as it’s possible that depressed teens are just easier targets for bullies, but one study in particular found that cyberbullying preceded teens’ depression, suggesting a causal relationship. Most troubling of all, the researchers found that the more cyber bullies harassed a teen, the more severe his or her symptoms of depression.

Combating cyberbullying isn’t easy, either. More often than not, people don’t speak up. Over 80% of depressed individuals don’t seek out professional help. At the same time, 95% of teenage, social media users who’ve witnessed cruel behavior online say they’ve seen others ignoring the problem — more than half (55%) of whom say they see this frequently. Worse, 66% of teens who’ve witnessed cyber bullying say they’ve seen others join in, and 21% say they even contributed to the problem. In other words, both victims, and bystanders don’t take any form of action when the problem arises.

“Kids really are hesitant to tell anyone when cyberbullying occurs,” said Hamm. “There seems to be a common fear that if they tell their parents, for example, they’ll lose their Internet access.”

For this reason, it’s crucial that parents respond carefully if their teens are being cyberbullied.

“Parents need to address that this is happening and that the Internet and social media is here,” said Hamm. “It’s an important part of their kids’ lives. But it needs to be a whole team approach.”

When one thinks of the type of wildlife inhabiting sewers, animals like rats, snakes, opossums and raccoons often come to mind. Baby deer, or fawns, in contrast, typically aren’t found lurking in these underground pipes.

In the town of Wentzville, MO, however, a fawn is running free once again after being rescued from a storm sewer by a few brave firefighters.

According to a KMCB article, residents of the eastern Missouri town reported hearing a high-pitched wail at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 17, and contacted the fire department.

Soon after, firefighters from the Wentzville Fire Protection District arrived at the Stone Meadow Subdivision off Highway Z, where they found the fawn trapped in the storm sewer on Jonathan Cody Drive.

After about 20 minutes, firefighters successfully freed the baby deer, who didn’t appear to be injured by its ordeal, said John Schneider, assistant chief for the Wentzville Fire Protection District. Firefighters gently brought the fawn up using a rope and their bare hands.

It’s unclear how the fawn had fallen 12 to 24 inches into the bottom of the storm sewer, Schneider said. It’s likely that the fawn could simply have fallen in accidentally, or that the area’s recent rainfall swept the animal into the hole.

Upon being freed from the storm sewer, the baby deer left the area on its own. Schneider added that the mother deer had been spotted near the area where her fawn had gotten trapped, and authorities hope the two are reunited soon.

“We are hoping they’ve been reunited,” he said.

Across the world, 3D printing technology has slowly made its way into new housing constructions. There’s a 3D-printed home located in Amsterdam; in the Chinese city of Suzhou, plans are underway to construct a development of 3D-printed mansions.

And now, this technology has finally reached the U.S. housing market in the form of a sprawling luxury estate, constructed entirely through 3D printing.

According to CNN, the 3D-printed Upstate New York estate will consist of a 2,400 square foot mansion, as well as a swimming pool, jacuzzi and car port. New York City architect Adam Kushner, in collaboration with 3D-printing pioneer Enrico Dini and his D-Shape firm, plan to begin excavation and construction soon.

While the swimming pool and jacuzzi are set for completion by the end of this year, 3D printing of the house itself will continue through the end of 2017.

Kushner stressed that the entire project’s realization depends on whether or not he and Dini can acquire a 3D printer large enough to take on such a massive project. Currently, the only printer that can handle this workload is located in Italy, where it was designed and built for Italian military use. Kushner and Dini will require military clearance before it can be shipped to the U.S.

“If I had another printer I’d send it there tomorrow, but unfortunately we don’t have and must wait,” Dini told CNN.

But once construction does start, the results will be incredible to witness. D-Shape uses a distinctive printing process that involves collecting sand, dust and gravel on site and mixing these materials with a magnesium-based binding agent. The resulting building blocks closely resemble marble and allow D-Shape to create unique sculptural forms that other printing systems cannot, CNN reports.

In March 2015, the U.S. housing marketing saw 618,000 new single-family homes begin construction. Who knows how many of these homes will be built using 3D printing technologies someday? According to Kushner, the 3D-printed housing industry is only getting started.

“Why? Because it democratizes construction and architecture and puts it into everyone’s hands, just like the camera phone made everyone a photographer,” he said. “Not everyone is good at it, but everyone can become one.”

New studies on sleep come out practically every day with different recommendations for all kinds of demographics, and now there is another to add to the list. A panel from the University of Washington says that for optimal health, adults need to sleep for seven hours every night.

However, researchers say that this figure isn’t counting functioning effectively for day-to-day activity. If you habitually slam back a couple cups of coffee in the morning before you can get going, you may need even more sleep — seven hours is just the bare minimum.

The study looked at over 5,300 articles concerning links between sleep and health for people aged 18 to 60. For young adults, those recovering from a sleep deficit, or those who are sick, the number jumps up to nine hours a night. If you’re healthy, however, that may be too much. In other words, it’s all a balancing act.

Looking at current estimates from other studies, most adults sleep six hours or less each night, making this study an important but difficult message to get out. In a world where being busy means that you’re successful and driven, this may be a message some take lightly.

Not only does sleep improve your effectiveness throughout the day, but it also cuts down on health risks. Those who sleep less than the recommended amount per night can fall victim to a host of other issues, including weight gain, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even higher risk of death. You may also get sick easier and more often due to a lower-functioning immune system. Your body needs sleep to be able to run all necessary functions.

Those who still do not believe that enough sleep is necessary can refer to another study done by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which outlines other risks, such as heart attacks and strokes. As it is, over 42 million Americans say they are disrupted during sleep due to pain or discomfort a few times each week or more. Both of these studies concluded that a lack of sleep makes those aches and pains worse, in addition to lowering your threshold for pain.

The bottom line here is: to stay healthy, you need to strike a balance with your sleep. Sleep enough, but not too much, and remember that there is no substitute for a good night’s rest.