YCU: Activism by Facebook

PLUS: Addicted to media; Twitter cops; raising teens hard work

Activism by Facebook — Thousands of high school students reportedly walked out of classes all across New Jersey April 27, 2010, protesting proposed budget cuts in education. The mass demonstration was plotted via Facebook; the page set up to organize the protest boasted 17,000 fans. “What we want to do is get attention to the issue and show primarily that the youth is not apathetic to the issue,” said Michelle Lauto, the 18-year-old student who organized the walk-out. (CBS)

Addicted to Media — As part of a recent study conducted by the University of Maryland, students were asked to give up media: TV, music, smart phones, the whole shebang for 24 hours. For some students, it was one of the hardest days of their lives. Researchers found that many students experienced withdrawal symptoms not that different from those experienced by alcoholics or drug addicts when they first go on the wagon. One student said the experience was “sickening.” Another said that losing the ability to text left him feeling “alone and secluded.” Many reported cravings and anxiety. (UM Newsdesk)

Terrible Twos? Try Terrible Teens — A new poll by TheBabyWebsite.com has uncovered a not-so-secret truth: Raising teens is hard work. Pollsters found 2,000 mothers and fathers who successfully ushered their children to age 18 and asked them when their children gave them the most trouble. Turns out, the “terrible twos” were a breeze compared to the early teens: Of the parents who reared boys, 78 percent said their sons were at their worst at age 15. Girls peaked a little earlier when it came to causing ulcers: 63 percent of respondents said their daughters were particularly sullen and hard to manage when they were 14. Most parents, though, understand their children weren’t trying to cause them grief necessarily, but rather falling victim to their own changing bodies and rampaging hormones. “We have to remember that as well as being the worst age for the parents, the teenage years are also the most difficult for the children themselves,” says Kathryn Crawford of TheBabyWebsite.com. (The Daily Mail)

Tweet Police — Twitter, bastion of terrible spelling, outrageous abbreviations and all-cap missives, is being besieged by a handful of do-gooding grammarians hoping to instill a little “Twetiquette” to the medium. By bringing old-fashioned Strunk & White style to Twitter’s free-for-all discourse, they hope to instill just a touch more civility. “It would be kind of nice if people cleaned up their grammar a little bit, typed in lowercase and made the Internet a little smarter,” said Nate Fanaro, a.k.a. “CapsCop” on Twitter. Twitter users—particularly celebrities—who’ve received messages from the Twitterverse’s grammar police aren’t all that thrilled. “Are you high?” wrote actress Kirstie Alley. “You really just linger around waiting for people to use incorrect grammer? you needs a life.” John Cusack was even more direct in one of his recent tweets. He claims to use incorrect English on purpose, and when someone calls him on it, “I blockthem executioer style now with no warning!!” (New York Times)

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