Suicidal Ideation, Video Games, and a Real Happy Fun Ball
More of a Happy Soothe Ball, I guess, technically
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Lydia Loveless on the pod this week
And you can listen here! Or wherever, as the saying goes, you get your podcasts.
Singer-songwriter Lydia Loveless has gained a lot of attention over the years with her sound that combines honky tonk, pop, country, and punk. She got my attention even more when I listened to the song “Runaway” from her forthcoming album, Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again.
“Every time I go to the airport, I try to miss my flight
Every time I drive on the highway, I want to jerk my wheel to the right
Every time I’m on the sidewalk, I want to step into the road
Let this Kia flatten me cause I don’t want to come home”
It’s a bracing portrait of suicidal ideation and one of the few songs that combines suicidal ideation with a Kia.
In our interview, Lydia talks about how she’s managing her long-standing depression and intrusive thoughts and doing it independently. She had gone from a marriage at a young age to a long-term relationship with a bandmate but now she’s on her own.
Something that I found kind of, I guess, funny(?) was that Lydia pretty much laughs all the way through our interview. It’s her way of dealing with the awkwardness of laying out her soul just as naked as she is on the album cover.
Over 200 school boards suing social media companies over kids’ mental health
School boards across the country are joining a federal suit against companies like TikTok and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) saying that the practices of these companies are harming the mental health of the nation’s young people.
"All the issues with all the cases are virtually identical, which is why they're consolidated into one case. … Right now, we understand that there are a little more than 200 school boards that have filed lawsuits. Certainly, many more school boards are represented but have yet to file their actual lawsuits," North Carolina attorney Philip Federico, who is representing the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Near as I can tell, the lawsuit originated in Seattle.
I know you’ve spent a lot of time and money on things like meds and therapy but don’t worry because now there’s a big squishy ball to solve all your problems
It’s true. HERE COMES SQUISHY BALL.
A Ph.D. student from the University of Bath in the UK has created a plush ball that “personifies” human breathing, inflating and deflating in sync with the user’s inhales and exhales. Engineered to enhance mental well-being, the ball offers individuals a physical embodiment of their breath to keep them focused and to help them regulate their emotions.
Alexz Farrall, the student in the Department of Computer Science who invented the device, said: “By giving breath physical form, the ball enhances self-awareness and engagement, fostering positive mental health outcomes.”
Here is Alexz and his squishy ball:
I’ll stipulate that I have not tried the squishy ball so maybe it’s GREAT. I do appreciate it’s Dan Flashes like pattern.
Video games, the other thing kids like besides social media, is also damaging their mental health
But not from all the shooting and sedentary lifestyle, this time it’s from the OVERWHELMING RACISM.
A growing field of research on online racism and its effects on young people shows racism and extremism in online gaming platforms are having detrimental mental and emotional health effects on those targeted directly, or even indirectly, by such vitriol.
…
About two-thirds of the estimated 25 million U.S. gamers aged 10 to 17 experience harassment on multiplayer platforms, the Anti-Defamation League estimated in a December report. “The spread of hate, harassment and extremism in these digital spaces continues to grow unchecked,” its authors wrote.
That can have harmful repercussions, Calhoun said, pointing to a 2019 policy statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics that addressed racism’s mental health impacts on children, describing it as a social determinant with profound health effects.
OKAY SO WE’VE COVERED SUICIDAL IDEATION, DAMAGING SOCIAL MEDIA, AND DETRIMENTAL RACIST VIDEO GAMERS. MAYBE IT’S TIME TO GRAB YOUR MAGIC SQUISHY BALL AND GO WATCH SOME TV.
Vanity Fair has a list of 25 perfect tv episodes from the last 25 years.
I like that it’s not really a ranked list, feels less click-baity. But there are some good ones to remember on here and perhaps go back and watch again.
I’m glad the Pine Barrens episode of The Sopranos made the list. How could it not?