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Today’s youngsters are as socially skilled as previous generations, despite concerns about their heavy use of technology, like smartphones and social media, new research shows. The researchers compared teacher and parent evaluations of more than 19,000 U.S. children who started kindergarten in 1998 — six years before Facebook appeared — with more than 13,000 who began school in 2010. That’s when the first iPad came on the market. “In virtually every comparison we made, either social skills stayed the same or actually went up modestly for the children born later,” said study lead author Douglas Downey, a professor of sociology at Ohio State University. “There’s very little evidence that screen exposure was problematic for the growth of social skills,” he added in a school news release. Both groups of youngsters had similar ratings on interpersonal skills — such as the ability to form and maintain friendships and get along with people who are different — and on self-control, such as the ability to control their temper. The only exception to the overall findings was that social skills were slightly lower for children who accessed online gaming and social networking sites many times a day. “But even that was a pretty small effect,” Downey said. “Overall, we found very little evidence that the time spent on screens was hurting social skills for most children,” he added.… read on >

An analysis of Twitter data suggests that Americans are heeding social distancing and other safety recommendations during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers say. Officials have told people to limit travel, stay home and distance themselves to slow the spread of the virus. “The question though is how effective are these policies? Once you tell people to stay home, it doesn’t mean everyone listens,” said research leader Mark Dredze, a computer scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “It’s important for us to understand on an ongoing basis if people are actually listening to these directives,” he said in a Hopkins news release. But how do experts know people are staying put? For this study, they used location data from Twitter. It showed that the movement of Americans between March 16 and 29 was 52% of what it was between Jan. 1, 2019 and March 16, 2020. People’s movements in some states didn’t fall as much as in other states, particularly states with firm social distancing measures, according to the researchers. The analysis of nearly 400 tweets by 3.7 million users found the greatest reductions in movement in Washington, D.C. (63%); Alaska (62.5%); Washington state (58.8%); New Jersey (58.3%), and Maryland (57.6%). The smallest reductions in movement were in Wyoming (21.5%); Oklahoma (30.9%); Mississippi (35.4%): Iowa (36%), and Idaho (36.4%). Similar research has been conducted by others,… read on >

If you feel like the news about coronavirus is growing worse by the hour, then it might be time to take stock: How much do you really need to know? As the pandemic unfolds, and people routinely wake up to uncertainty, it is necessary to stay informed, psychologists say. At the same time, they caution, remember that media overload is real. And it may raise anxiety to a level that does more harm than good. “The data show that the harm does not come from staying informed in a reasonable way — like reading your morning paper every day,” said Dana Rose Garfin, an assistant adjunct professor at the University of California, Irvine’s School of Nursing. And in the midst of a pandemic, she pointed out, a little worry is normal and necessary. “Some amount of concern is a good thing, so that we’re not complacent,” Garfin said. “We want to be aware of — and following — public health guidelines.” But there is such a thing as too much. “There’s a big difference between staying informed and having the news on all day long, repeating the same things,” said Garfin, co-author of a commentary on coronavirus media exposure that was recently published in the journal Health Psychology. Beyond the amount of news, the content matters, too: News outlets have taken to tracking daily death… read on >

If more women were hired for trucking jobs, the roads would be a lot safer, British researchers suggest. That’s because men, who hold most driving jobs, are more likely to drive dangerously. This puts other road users at risk, said lead researcher Rachel Aldred. She’s a reader in transport at the University of Westminster in London. “Greater gender equity would have a positive impact on [vehicle-related] injuries,” Aldred said. “Policymakers should be looking to measure the risk posed to others, and how to reduce it.” For the study, Aldred’s team drew on four sets of British data. They included injury and traffic statistics, travel survey data, as well as population and gender figures for 2005 to 2015. Men posed a significantly higher risk to others for five of the six types of vehicles studied, the researchers found. For cars and vans, the risk male drivers posed was double that of women per kilometer driven. The risk was four times higher for male truck drivers, and more than 10 times higher for those on motorcycles, the findings showed. Overall, two-thirds of traffic deaths were tied to cars and taxis, but the research suggested other vehicles might be even more dangerous. Trucks and buses were associated with one in six deaths to other road users, according to the report. The number of deaths for each kilometer driven… read on >

With bogus information about the new coronavirus spreading fast online, how can you separate fact from fiction? A communications expert at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg said identifying reliable and useful sources of information is key. Here’s her advice: “Be skeptical of social media posts about the COVID-19 virus, even those that have the superficial look of news items, and check their sources and accuracy,” said Adrienne Ivory, associate professor of communication at Virginia Tech. “If you are not sure whether a source of information can be trusted, check multiple news sources to see if the information is consistent across them.” Always check social media claims about coronavirus prevention and treatment against official sources such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, Ivory added, pay attention to summary information in news stories, instead of individual anecdotes. “Interesting examples of people and events related to the COVID-19 virus may be true, but not typical,” she said in a Virginia Tech news release. “In addition to reading stories about individuals, pay attention to general information summarizing more broad populations (numbers of cases, rate of growth, hospitalization rates by age group) because it may be more relevant and representative.” Ivory suggested seeking out information that helps you and others stay healthy, not information that worries you. “Much of the most ‘viral’ news you encounter in social… read on >

You went jogging and developed a cough. You did some yard work and now you’re wheezing. Maybe your throat is scratchy. Your first thought is: Do I have COVID-19? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a new coronavirus self-checker on its website that might ease your mind and steer you toward any medical help you might need. The worst part about the coronavirus pandemic is the way the admittedly vague symptoms of the infectious disease plays tricks on your mind, experts say. “There’s a lot of symptoms here that are going to be nonspecific, as with any upper respiratory infection, and the fact is that many cases of coronavirus are very mild,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore. “You’re going to have people who don’t know what to do.” The CDC’s website has a tracker to help figure out if you have anything to worry about. The web tool first asks if you are ill or caring for someone who’s ill, and where you are located. It gathers basic information such as age and gender. The tracker then asks about a series of life-threatening symptoms, including some that aren’t at all related to COVID-19. These include gasping for air, blue-colored lips or face, severe pain or pressure in the chest,… read on >

Technology can help you maintain social connections if you’re staying home during the coronavirus pandemic, an expert says. “When using technology to stay connected, prioritize keeping deeper, meaningful connections with people,” said Stephen Benning, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Benning suggests using Skype or other video messaging to see and hear from people who are important to you. An old-fashioned phone call will let you maintain vocal connection, and your favorite social media site’s messaging app will let you keep an individual or group dialog going. “In these deep, close, personalized connections, it’s OK to share your anxieties and fears. Validating that other people are concerned or even scared can help them feel like they are grounded in reality,” he said. But don’t stop there, Benning added. “Use these deep connections to plan out what to do, to take concrete actions to live the lives you want,” he suggested in a university news release. “To the extent possible, share hobbies or other pursuits together if you’re shut off from work or other personal strivings for success.” Hold book clubs on speakerphone or group meetings on Zoom. Find online versions of bridge, board games, role-playing adventures or other diversions. Make a date with friends to watch a show or movie on TV or streaming media, and share your reactions… read on >

New research suggests that last summer’s spate of severe lung illnesses tied to vaping prompted many Americans to consider giving up e-cigarettes. Online searches about how to quit vaping spiked after serious lung injuries among vapers started being reported, the study authors found As of January, more than 2,700 hospitalizations for vaping-associated lung injury had been reported in the United States. Sixty deaths in 27 states have been confirmed, with more under investigation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Before these lung illness cases were connected primarily with vaping of marijuana and additives, many people who used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes were concerned, the researchers noted. “We were curious whether this outbreak led vapers to consider stopping using e-cigarettes or increased people’s desire to quit,” said study author Dr. Sara Kalkhoran, an investigator in the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “We thought people might be going to the internet to look into ways to help them quit,” Kalkhoran added in a hospital news release. She and her team analyzed Google data and found that searches with terms such as “quit vaping” increased up to 3.7-fold during the lung illness outbreak. “Then these searches then died down, so the timing of the outbreak was strongly associated with searches on how to get off of these products,” Kalkhoran said.… read on >

Walking on America’s streets is getting ever more dangerous, a new report shows. Based on data from the first six months of 2019, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) predicts there were 6,590 pedestrian deaths that year, which would be a 5% increase over the 6,227 pedestrian deaths in 2018. The 2019 figure is the highest number of such deaths in more than 30 years, according to the association. “In the past 10 years, the number of pedestrian fatalities on our nation’s roadways has increased by more than 50%,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “This alarming trend signifies that we need to consider all the factors involved in this rise, identify the high-risk areas, allocate resources where they’re needed most, and continue to work with local law enforcement partners to address the chronic driver violations that contribute to pedestrian crashes,” Adkins said in an association news release. Pedestrians are projected to account for 17% of all traffic deaths in 2019, compared to 12% in 2009, according to the GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report, released Thursday. While there’s been a significant increase in pedestrian deaths over the past decade, the number of all other traffic deaths increased by only 2%. Overall, traffic deaths in the first half of 2019 are projected to be 3.4% lower than in the first half of 2018, according… read on >

Rave online reviews about a hospital stay may not mean much about the actual medical care there, if a new study is any indication. Researchers found that across U.S. hospitals, patient-satisfaction scores were more dependent on “hospitality” factors — like friendly nurses, quiet rooms and good food — than on hard measures of health care quality. At hospitals with the lowest death rates, patient satisfaction tended to be higher, but only by a small amount, the study found. Instead, quiet, comfort and friendly staff were much stronger influences. It’s not exactly surprising: Patients know whether their food is palatable, their room is comfortable or hospital staffers are responsive, noted Cristobal Young, the lead researcher. “Those front-stage factors are visible to them,” said Young, an associate professor of sociology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. The “backstage” happenings, meanwhile, are critical, but not necessarily apparent. “The steps a hospital takes to control infection, for example, are very important,” Young said. “But they’re not visible to us.” And if patient satisfaction ratings do not capture those variables, people should take Yelp reviews with a grain of salt, according to Young. The study, published recently in the journal Social Forces, conflicts with some past research that found high patient-satisfaction ratings do correlate with the quality of a hospital’s medical care. But the fact that medical care affects patient… read on >