For One Group of Teenagers, Social Media Seems a Clear Net Benefit; The New York Times, May 24, 2023

 Claire Cain Miller, The New York Times; For One Group of Teenagers, Social Media Seems a Clear Net Benefit

Despite the surgeon general’s warning about its risks for youth in general, researchers and teenagers say it can be a “lifeline” for L.G.B.T.Q. youth.

"The surgeon general’s warning Tuesday about social media’s “profound risk of harm” to young people included a significant qualification. For some of them, the warning said, social media can be beneficial to health in important ways.

For one group in particular — the growing share of young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer — social media can be a lifeline, researchers and teenagers say. Especially for those growing up in unwelcoming families or communities, social media often provides a sense of identity and belonging at a crucial age, much earlier than for many L.G.B.T.Q. people in previous generations.

“It’s a lifeline for folks to receive information and to really see that they are not alone, and there are so many people like them,” said Jessica Fish, who studies L.G.B.T.Q. youth and their families at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. “They can feel some sense of connection, and realize there is a place for them.”"

Communities suffer when library budgets are cut​​​​​​​ - Sean McNamara; The Scotsman, May 22, 2022

Sean McNamara, The Scotsman; Communities suffer when library budgets are cut​​​​​​​ - Sean McNamara

How much value a nation or local authority attaches to its libraries can often be a good indication over how much it values its people.

[Kip Currier: Interesting 5/22/22 perspective on the vital role libraries/librarians fill for communities in Scotland, mirroring many of the challenges libraries/librarians are facing in the U.S. now too. The "culture of firefighting" metaphor (see excerpt below) perfectly captures the need for us to be proactive, rather than reactive.]

"In Scotland we have supportive politicians at all levels, a public that defends their libraries, a national strategy and strong collaboration between national bodies. And yet, the monetary support for libraries continues to fall often creating a culture of firefighting rather than the robust service building and forward planning we need in 2022.

Libraries in Scotland help meet some of our biggest financial and societal challenges. They do this by providing life changing and equitable access to books and computers, by improving health and wellbeing, by reducing social isolation and by being free at point of use, often one of the only places that is in many communities...

Libraries are backed by an excellent national plan and are hugely popular, recently gaining 45 million annual visits, up 40 per cent from 2010, yet spending has fallen by around 30 per cent in the same period. We have incredible libraries and skilled librarians, but they are dealing with year-on-year budget cuts and staff too often on low pay or insecure contracts. This cannot continue, Scotland’s communities and their librarians deserve better."