Moderator(主持人)

Today marks the last day of the Social Media Detox, Brenton High’s fundraising campaign for new sports equipment. At the start of the detox, over 100 students had been persuaded to stop using social media, in ANY form, for seven days. This meant no messaging friends, no posting photos, no blogging - nothing. They had been promised money by family and friends for each day spent without using social media. They were excited. They were nervous. But could they do it?

With the detox finished, they’ve switched on their devices and they’re back online. I bet you’re as eager as I am to find out just how many have been motivated enough to last the full seven days! And what, if anything, have been learnt from the experience?

Anna 17

I lasted two days. The detox was more difficult to tolerate than I had expected. I felt like I had lost an arm! Not eating for two days would have been easier! But on reflection, I can see how much of my time had been occupied with checking my phone. I’m now trying to spend less time online and more time picking up my hobbies.

Devon 16

I lasted four days. On Monday, our classmate and I spoke about what we did at the weekend — it felt strange not to already know what he had done. We would have posted pictures and updated our profiles. Doing the detox meant we had to talk and explain what we were doing and thinking! It made me realise the value of real contact that I had forgotten.

Cindy 18

I managed the whole week! At first, I really felt I was missing out. Then, instead of messaging my friend, I went around to her house. Without our phones, we had a proper conversation for over two hours. Without being distracted by messages from other people, it felt so good! Then I decided to visit a different friend every day. By the fifth day, I wondered – was I really missing out by not constantly checking my phone to see what everyone else was up to?

George 16

I did all seven days, too! To be honest, I didn’t find the detox too difficult, but I did give my phone to my father to avoid giving in! My brother thought I should make full use of the time without my phone; so he took me to check out our local sports centre. An hour’s sport each day left me tired out and sent me early to bed. The detox made me healthier!

Max 17

I’m embarrassed to say that I threw in the towel on the first day! I knew there was a party happening that evening, but I without access to social media I couldn’t remember where it was! In the end, I turn on my phone to check, but couldn’t resist having a quick look at my social media accounts. What’s worse, I then spent so much time catching up on news, I almost missed the party.

Moderator(主持人)

The detox raised a total of $1,632.82 for. new school sports equipment! Well done, everyone who took part! After, reading the posts on this forum, it seems that something rather than money has also been raised through the detox. Awareness of just how much we rely on social media can help us step away from it and communicate with each other better.

Washington State's growing population of gray wolves is exposing deep divides among residents and testing its decision makers. And managing the animals is about to get more complicated, as the state begins drawing up a management plan and weighing whether to start a hunting season.

The wolves, nearly non-existent in the Northwestern state for almost a century, have grown in numbers about 28% each year since 2008, about a decade after they were introduced to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. By late last year, Washington had at least 126 wolves and 27 packs.

The wolves' return has brought cheers from conservationists, who view them as symbolic creatures that can improve the state's ecosystems, and criticism from farmers and livestock（家畜）owners, who see them as killers threatening livelihoods. With wolves expected to reach targeted recovery levels in a few years, the debate over how to manage them is getting fierce. Officials recently canceled three public meetings about wolves after threats of violence and Interruption.

Wolves were largely eradicated across the Western U.S. in the 20th century, targeted by government agencies and hunted by farmers and other private citizens. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service relocated some wolves to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, leading to their return in the West.

Tensions in Washington have risen after decisions from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to kill a number of wolves responsible for the deaths or injury of cattle and livestock. The conflict is centered in Ferry County in the northeastern part of the state. Fish and Wildlife staff this year killed nine wolves in Ferry County-including the last of a pack that killed or injured 29 livestock in the county.

Washington governor Jay Inslee has asked the state Fish and Wildlife agency to reduce the need to kill wolves as a result of their killing livestock, and instead increase the use of deterrent（威慑物）which can include electric fencing or range riders to monitor cattle and other livestock. Officials have said killing wolves is a last choice.

Meanwhile, researchers are racing to understand the wolves’ effect on the ecosystem to better inform how to manage the population.

Nearly one-third of American adolescents and adults are affected by anxiety, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. In fact, over the last decade, anxiety has surpassed depression as the most common reason college students seek counseling (咨询) services, the New York Times reported. Sixty-two percent of undergraduates in survey reported “unbearable anxiety,” a significant increase from 50 percent in 2011.

Anxiety, along with depression, cuts across all demographics (人口统计数据), including both privileged and disadvantaged teenagers. But privileged teens are among the most emotionally upset youth in America, Arizona State University psychology professor Suniya Luthar told the New York Times.

“These kids are incredibly anxious and perfectionistic,” Suniya Luthar said, “there’s always one more activity, one more A. P. class, one more thing to do in order to get into a top college. Kids have a sense that they’re not measuring up. The pressure is never-ending and getting worse.” But helicopter parents aren’t always to blame. Many students internalize the anxiety and put the pressure on themselves, Madeline Levine, co-founder of Challenge Success, a nonprofit aimed at improving student well-being, told the Times.

Another expert, psychiatrist Stephanie Eken, said despite the cultural differences, there’s a lot of overlap among teens regarding what makes them anxious. Eken mentions factors range from school, family conflicts, what food to eat, diseases, how they’re perceived by friends and notably in the last few years, Eken told the Times, to a rising fear about terrorism. “They wonder about whether it’s safe to go to a movie theater,” she said.

A lack of close, meaningful relationships is also a major factor. Experts have long said mental and physical changes associated with puberty (青春期) may leave teens at higher risk for anxiety. And social media doesn’t help, Eken said, adding that teens are always comparing themselves with their friends, which leaves them miserable.

When Times reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis visited Mountain Valley, a nonprofit that offers teens need-based assistance for $910 a day, a college student at the facility said, “I don’t think we realize how much it’s affecting our moods and personalities. Social media is a tool, but it’s become this thing that we can’t live without but that’s making us crazy.”