Deisha Brown Campbell, 13, thought that giving up technology for a short time would be simple. but when she was forced to put away her phone and computer time for a whole week—part of an experiment for “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee,” she thought she might go crazy before the seven days was finally up. “I didn’t think she was going to make it,” says her mother. “I thought she was going to break down and beg.” The first day, she moped around her room, wondering what to do with herself. As time went on, she discovered some other pastimes. She began cooking, singing and playing guitar. Before the experiment, she said, “I text more than I talk.” During the exercise, she found newfound pleasure in communicating verbally. “I ended up being the talkative one,” she says. “My family basically got sick of me because I was always around, talking.” When Deisha’s mother gave Deisha her phone back at the end of the week, Deisha wouldn’t take it. “I noticed how much fun I was having without it,” she says. Instead, she’s decided to write a book. (The Boston Globe)
The Teen Brain is a Marvel—and a Mess
Ever wonder why it’s easier for teens to learn music and foreign languages than adults, but make such questionable decisions? The answer may lie in how our noggins work and grow. According to scientists, the brains of children are programmed to learn as much as they can as quickly as they can: Brain cells are geared toward making as many connections with each other as possible—a process called excitation—which makes learning relatively easy. It also, oddly enough, may be part of the reason why teens get more easily addicted to alcohol and drugs—because addiction is itself a form of learning. In addition to all that synapse-firing gray matter, the brain also produces “white matter,” something called myelin. This stuff helps messages between cells to transfer faster, but it also acts as something of an inhibitor and gradually builds in the brain through middle age. Myelin is the stuff that boosts judgment and introspection—the stuff that cautions us to look both ways before crossing the street, no matter how interesting the other side looks. In other words, the teen mind excels in absorbing information. Knowing what to do with it, though, is better done by myelin-rich adults. “It’s kind of like a learning disorder,” says Karen Russell, an English teacher who’s seen teen brains in action in her classroom and with her own children. “They’re so strong in one area and so weak in another.” (The Boston Globe)
Thufferin’ Thursdays
Thursday, not Monday, is the most miserable day of the week. So suggests a recent study tracking Twitter users across the country. According to researchers, Tweets gradually get angrier during the course of the work or school week, culminating in some serious grouchiness by Thursday. Once Friday hits, the mood lightens considerably. (New York Daily News)
Quote: “I’m happy with my life OK? If you can’t, like, realize that and stop hating, you know what? I’ll pop a Glock in your mouth and make brain slushy.”—an 11-year-old girl, known as Jessi Slaughter, discussing on YouTube what she hoped to do to her haters. Slaughter’s profane rant went viral and led to a brutal backlash. People began posting death threats on the thread and some cyber-savvy malcontents released Jessi’s real name, address and phone number—along with addresses to all her social networking accounts. The threats and harassment spurred Jessi’s father to post his own outraged rant on YouTube—a rant roundly mocked online—and allegedly sent Jessi to the brink of despair. The girl’s now in counseling, though she told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she doesn’t regret the post that started it all. “I just want it to kind of like turn positive,” she said. “I kind of do like the attention, but I don’t like so much negative attention.” (ABC News)
