AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A push in Texas to ban social media accounts for children under 18 has failed after lawmakers did not take a key vote on creating one of the nation’s toughest restrictions aimed at keeping minors off platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. The bill, which already passed the GOP-controlled state…
Eight years ago, I spent days listening to exhausted employees of a high-profile startup. They shared troubling stories about brutal hours, abusive managers, and constant humiliation that was passed off as motivation. One engineer opened his inbox to show me countless farewell emails—a silent, heartbreaking testimony to the toll the company’s toxic culture was taking….
Even if unevenly, Karl Marx stays in popular memory for his 1848 clarion call asking workers of the world to unite as they had nothing to lose but their chains. Unevenly because we have come a long way since the days of chimney sweeps in Europe. Or have we? Uneven workloads persist. A recent study…
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The sheriff in New Mexico’s most populous county is crediting his department’s drone program for helping disarm two children and prevent what could have been a worse outcome. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office recently released drone and body camera footage showing a tense standoff in February with two young brothers —…
A recent update to OpenAI’s GPT-4o, rolled out on April 25th, led to unintended sycophantic behaviour in responses, prompting the company to quickly reverse the changes. According to the San Francisco-based company, this issue raised concerns over the model’s influence on users, as it appeared to validate negative emotions, fuel anger, and offer excessively agreeable…
I don’t know if the makers of Adolescence, the Netflix drama about a 13-year-old boy who is accused of killing a female classmate after being radicalized into a toxic performance of masculinity by adult men looking for clicks and views, had Atwood’s observation in mind when they set out to make this series. It is,…
Rising heartbeat, breathlessness, shaking, and sweaty palms—many of you might have experienced these when a teacher asks you a random question or when you are on stage for public speaking. While it could be occasional fear or anxiousness, if it goes beyond certain situations and starts interfering with your daily life, relationships, and wellbeing, it…
Our study started with no such preconceived meanings. It performed an emic or insider’s deep dive into the contours of aspiration for the world of mass or mainstream young India, a world described in our previous column in Mint (‘Young India is fuelled by agency but is being failed by structure,’ 24 March) as one…
Several times a day groups of young-professional types gather at 7Breaths, a meditation studio in central London, simply to breathe. The studio offers yoga and meditation sessions but their signature class is focused on “breathwork”. Those attending sit cross-legged atop small cushions in the warm, minimalist space, as an instructor gently guides them first to…
Also, social media has embedded itself so deeply into modern existence that the thought of cutting back, let alone quitting, feels like giving up an entire social sphere. Yet, the benefits of reducing screen time and limiting the number of online platforms one engages with are becoming increasingly apparent. The key lies not in abrupt…
