Youths spending more screen time

Youth are spending more time with nearly every form of media than ever, according to a report released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. They spend more hours on the computer, in front of television, playing video games, texting and listening to music than an adult spends full-time at work.

The only media young people aren’t soaking up, the study says, are newspapers, magazines and other print publications.

Youth spend more than 7 1/2 hours a day using electronic media, or more than 53 hours a week, the 10-year study says. "And because they spend so much of that time ‘media multitasking’ (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those 7½ hours."

Affirming parents’ fears, the study showed those habits ripple throughout a youth’s life. Those who were big media consumers were more likely than kids and teens who are only seldom in front of a screen to earn average or poor grades in school. Those who use more electronic media get in more trouble, and say they are often sad.

But the effort to reduce screen time pays off. Parents who impose limits have kids who consume less media.

"For example, kids whose parents don't put a TV in the bedroom, don't leave the TV on during meals or in the background when no one is watching," according to the report.

“Understanding the role of media in young people’s lives is essential for those concerned about promoting the healthy development of children and adolescents,” the report’s author wrote in the introduction. The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the influence of media over youth.

What accounts for this move to screen living? An explosion of mobile and online media, facilitated by broadband and smart phones, in part. The last thing youth do when they fall asleep is send a text or check a social networking applicaiton on their phone, which they then tuck under their pillows, the authors wrote. Television shows are available at any time, recorded on DVRs and through a few clicks online.

The report showed that 20 percent of media consumption is now done over cell phones and about one hour a day of music and television is now consumed through digital forms like through iPods and sites like Hulu.

And youth own more gadgets and computers than ever:

-In 2009, 76 percent of youth owned an iPod or MP3 player, compared to 18 percent in 1999
-Nearly seven out of ten youth owned a cell phone in 2009, compared to four in ten a decade earlier
-The percentage of youth with laptops more than doubled to 29 percent

Five years ago, the Kaiser Family Foundation's finding on youth and media showed children were breaking records of "screen time" and multi-tasking at the same time -- often using more than one form of media at a time. In other words, 29 percent of youth studied were surfing the Web on their computers while text messaging and watching television.

"At the point, it seemed that young people's lives were filed to the bursting point with media," the authors wrote. "Today, however, those levels of use have been shattered."

Key findings:

-Children ages 8 to 18 are now spending more than 53 hours a week (7:38 hours/day) using entertainment media. Ten years ago, that figure was 43 hours a week.

-Television still dominates among young people, followed by music, computers and video games. TV watched online and over phones has contributed to television viewing.

-Kids spend 38 minutes a day reading a print publication, compared to 43 minutes a day 10 years ago.

-Nearly seven in 10 youth have a cell phone, compared to four in 10 a decade ago. Those kids are using mobile phones for music, videos and other entertainment more than for talking.

-When parents want to restrict or reduce media use, they can. But few parents enforce the rules they set.

-Nearly half of all heavy users of media platforms have C grades or lower, compared to 23 percent of light users.

-The biggest users of media are black and Hispanic youth in their early teen years

In my personal opinion, this is indeed a worrying trend. Increased screen time would mean:

• More adverse effects on eyesight
• Less time to socialize in the real world
• Become a more introvert person
• Temptation to get hooked in online gaming - loss in concentration
• Others...

Unless the student is using the computer for study purposes, and utilizes the tool correctly, in my opinion, print will rule over screen.

US - China Tension Heightened over Internet Freedom Issues

The start of the new decade marks a new world order, and greater strains in Sino-US ties. Yesterday just saw a raise in tensions over the issue of internet freedom after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mr Maoxu, a foreign ministry spokesman stated yesterday in a rebuttal on the ministry's website that the criticism levelled by Hillary Clinton was "harmful to Sino-US relations". He stressed that the "Chinese internet is open".

The debate was brought to the fore in China last week when Google announced it will shut down its Chinese-language search engine, Google.cn, and curtail its other its other operations in China if Chinese officials did not back from requiring Google to censor its search results.

Until now, Google had been trying to frame this dispute with Google as purely a commercial matter, and took great effort to explain that these should not be "over-interpreted" and linked to the bilateral relations between China and U.S.

But in the aftermath of Ms Clinton's speech, in my opinion, this attitude could be changing. In her speech, Ms Hillary Clinton took little care to adopt a sensitive and tactful manner when addressing the issue. She pointedly said that a "new information curtain was descending across much of the world" and bluntly identified China as one of the handful of countries that have stepped up on their internet censorship.

Ms Clinton's provocative speech has raised the stakes of a possible clash between Beijing and Washington over their different point of views on the issue of internet freedom.

It is a foregone conclusion that China's complicated censorship, nicknamed the "Great Firewall" is a ineffective tool. A wall can be scaled, similarly, there are external proxy servers that can bypass the censorship imposed.

In light of this fact, I think China shouldn't persist on its ideal of censorship, and further damage Sino-US ties. After all, it is not working...

Google - China conflict

It has been a week since the controversy over censorship between Google and China has created waves of anger amongst netizens. It is unanimous response that its not Google that is withdrawing with China, it is China that is withdrawing from the world.

Conflict has been sparkled after Chinese attempts to penetrate the Gmail accounts of dissidents who oppose Chinese government policies.

It is foregone understanding that China has a great firewall in the internet that censors anything detrimental to government policies and decisions.

Some inferences we can make from this conflict about significant changes in China:

The first is that China is increasingly devoted to cyber warfare against western influences in the internet, a cheap way to counter U.S.'s traditional military force power. Should the two countries face off in battle one day, China may easily disrupt electrical systems and military communications easily.

The second point is that China is drawing a clear line between openness and economic efficiency. Mr Hu Jing Tao seemed to be straying from Mr Deng Xiao Ping's ideals, and censoring open information sharing on the web so Chinese will not be affected and influenced by Western culture and ideals.

Many have expressed anger over China's persistence in censoring of certain information, and Google's exit from China. This means a another big step backwards in the road of moving towards globalization.

Although it is ultimately the Communist Party's final say that counts in the short-term, for the long-run, I will put my money on Google.

Fine for life

It has been a year since Mr Tang's kidney transplant incident has triggered a wave of heated debates, and up till today, the debate is still going on - it is right to buy a kidney from a "live" person or not?

I used to agree with the latter - it is illegal to buy a kidney, because it is taking advantage of the poorer party's situation and health for one's own benefit. A human organ shouldn't be treated as a commodity that can be traded.

But after a personal recount by Mr Tang today in the newspaper, I tend to incline more towards organ trading. For him, it was illegal trading or die, jail or die, heavy fine or die, of course if there's anybody in his shoes, the choice would have been obvious.

Nobody wants to break the law - but for Mr Tang, he was really being forced to. He tried all legal means before buying a kidney - going to China to cure his disorder, going all over the world, even USA to find a suitable doctor, and even queueing up for a available kidney, but it seems that luck was not on his side.

His blood vessels were so clotted that even if he got a kidney from a dead donor, his medical conditions and body wouldn't accept the foreign organ. The only available option left for survival was illegal kidney buying.

What would you do if you are in his shoes? This was the question I asked myself after reading this article.

A human has two kidney - it is still alright with one left.

Perhaps some are still violently arguing that it is unfair for those trapped in the shackles of poverty, but if they are being diagnosed with kidney disorder this moment now, what would they do? $10,000 fine for breaking the law in exchange for a life. Worth it.

The Foreign Talent Dilemma (2)

Its the start of the new decade, and the foreign talent dilemma problem has continued to escalate. More and more locals are complaining about foreigners crowding them out and taking away their jobs, and if this continues, it may mean a serious backlash in the ballot polls.

As Singapore's economy is picking up speed, and low birth rate problems worsen, it is vitally necessary for the government to attract foreign talent to boost our economy. Although this has help alleviate the economy, it seems to cause more unemployment problems for the locals.

Some implications of rising foreigners:

• More unemployment for locals since many foreigners are much more capable
• Property prices would rise because of the increase of rich foreigners
• Dilution of local culture and national identity

In my opinion, although there would be some disadvantage to the weaker locals, the "correct" things the government should actually do is to give equal opportunities and fair chance for all to prosper.

The government, I think, should not be biased to the locals and give them special rights, since we state in our pledge that we are democratic country. In a democratic country, those who are capable survive and prosper, and those who are not falls.

If the government looks at the "smaller picture" of winning local votes by appeasing the public, and neglect the bigger picture of maintaining democracy, it is a selfish government.

Maybe some other small special rights can be given to the locals to encourage citizenship, but if the government controls the number of foreigners too tightly in order to provide jobs for locals, then the locals would further depend on the government in future.

Character Analysis

Recently, I been madly "chasing" a TV drama serial - 当我们同在一起. It is a very meaningful show regarding friendship and kinship, and after some analysis, I would like to review the personality of the main character - Xiao Bei.

Xiao Bei is a impulsive and bold person who cannot accept setbacks.

It is evident that Xiao bei is a very bold person. He does whatever he thinks is right. For example, during Jianhong's first day of work as dance hostess, despite public embarrassment, he still lighted up firecrackers to motivate Jian hong.

Another example is how he always wins the heart of Jian hong by doing bold moves like shouting to the public, escaping from his parents and building his own future.

Xiao bei is also an impulsive person. When Jian hong gets stabbed in the abdomen by Jin hao, Xiao bei, who has the wrong idea that Black Mole was the one who did it, without thinking, went to Black Mole to take revenge on him.

In the end, he got badly beaten, and even got framed by one of the corrupted police officers. When Tarzan got severely injured by Mountain Wolf, he also immediately went to Mountain wolf to teach him a lesson but in the end got beaten badly himself instead.

Xiaobei is apparently one who cannot accept setbacks too. After Tarzan got severely injured, Xiaobei locked himself in his room, and does nothing everyday, because he thinks of himself as a troublemaker, and was too afraid to bring more trouble to those around him should he continue his business.

However, Xiaobei learnt a very important lesson later on that even if fate destines you to be a troublemaker, you still have to be strong and overcome your fate.

He also proves himself to be very capable. Xiaobei is always full of ideas, energy and courage to pursue his dream. The first day he left his home to pursue his future, he already earned 12k (a lot for that time!). That can prove how capable he is.

Xiao bei is a perfect example of a "hero", somebody who is brave, does things everyone doesn't dare to do, is capable and decisive, but a little impulsive.

Secondary One Orientation (2)

Yesterday marks the end of our school's Sec 1 Orientation. It was a rewarding and fruitful three days with the new freshmen, and I definitely enjoyed the Orientation.

Secondary One Orientation is something every school would organize to give their new freshmen a warm welcome to Secondary school life. Our school's orientation is a three-day day camp that helps the freshmen know each other, know this school and make them proud of this school.

The first day was basically devoted to icebreakers and mass games. As buddy, it was difficult to hype up the freshmen; they were shy and afraid to participate actively in the games. It definitely pays to chat with them over lunch about this school, and develop a relationship with them - they were more willing to speak up and more enthusiastic.

A tradition passed down over the years was teaching our school cheers to the freshmen. Hwa Chong is especially proud of its cheering because when it comes to cheers, we solely use our voices to cheer, unlike many other schools who use loud hailers, drums and instruments.

In preparation for the cheers competition, my Sec 3 buddy and I taught them all the cheers first. To our pleasant surprise, they were quite loud, except for a few who were not enthusiastic.

The second day was reserved for CCA Orientation, where we brought the freshmen to different locations to try out in the trials of the various CCAs. We also played the advisory role to the freshmen on the conditions of the CCAs, as well as some experience.

I noticed some change in them the second day - they were much more bonded, they started talking to me about school life and they began to cheer enthusiastically for their school.

The last day was the most fun and fruitful one. We had very exciting team building games which really involved sweet team spirit. I could sense strong teamwork and bondage between the freshmen especially when it came to the water bombing game.

Our team also performed well at the cheers competition. Although we did not win the cheers competition, we managed to clinch a stunning 5 points out of 7 points!

This year's Sec 1 Orientation has been a great success, all thanks to the hard work of our Organizing Team, the enthusiastic Sec 1s and the passion of the buddies.

I will not forget my sweet experience being a buddy to Group 8. This 3-day leadership training has shown me that to achieve a goal with your followers, the most important things is to develop relationship and bonding with them.

Apart from that, a leader must also stand firm in face of criticism and contrasting opinions, if he knows what he is doing is right. Only by being a role model and a firm leader, then can you earn the respect of your followers.

Burj Dubai

The latest tallest building in the world successfully ends this decade on a high note. The Burj Dubai was completed yesterday.

The building is part of a US $4.1 billion project for an entire new "Downtown Dubai". It stands at a stunning height of 818m, a far lead from the world's 2nd highest building, the Taipei 101 which is 509m in height.

The world's tallest building was completed right after debts problems in Dubai were just resolved.

It has 160 floors in total. It is the world's tallest structure to ever include residential units. It has 60 over lifts. It has the highest observation post ever. It has the world's fastest elevator system. It is the pride and new baby of the coming decade.

It seems there's nothing more a country can wish for - except that Dubai constantly borrows from other countries, and finally landing herself into a trouble of debts. With all the people fleeing Dubai now due to its poor economy, who is going to occupy 160 floors? It is possible to imagine what would become of it - the poor economic situation of Dubai now, plus the tedious maintenance of the tower. ( 60 over lifts system plus other wear and tear, not to mention the bank interest involved to finance this building )

All these competition over glory and glamour are really not important - why don't the countries compete over glory on who has more carbon emission cuts? Besides instilling a sense of national pride amongst his followers, what else can all these temporary glamour offer the country? Debt problems?

After all, with advancing technology, one day, the Burj Dubai would soon be overtaken by another building. All these worldly glamours are truly temporary.

New Year Resolutions

A year had just passed in a blink of an eye. I am sure we have all encountered many incidents, made many new friends, experienced many difficulties, and of course, from these, learnt many precious lessons of life in the past 12 months.

This year marks the end of the decade; it has been a fruitful and busy year and I would like to share some of the important things that has happened to me, and what I have learnt from these things.

Reflection:

• Entered Hwa Chong Institution. This has been a big change from my Primary School and will ( I know ) transform me into a different person.
• Elected to be chairman of class. First step of confidence from my timid self in Primary School. It is the beginning of my leadership "journey".
• Chosen to be a student councillor. I learnt a lot in the council how to organize events, and the role of a leader.
• Disobeyed my teacher's instructions, and failed to abide by the proper conduct of a chairman. Through this incident, I learnt a very important lesson the hard way that to earn the respect of your followers, you have to be a good role model yourself first.
• Earned the model class award after organizing two class outings for my fellow classmates. Learnt a important lesson that bonding, unity and motivation amongst the followers is important.

My english teacher Ms Susan Soh has never failed to tell us that we must strive to be a better person after one year, we must be better than an hour ago, a minute ago and a second ago. After these important "milestones", I have have reflected on what could have done better. I aim to improve on these weaknesses next year.

Resolution:

• Be more confident in speaking
• Be a good role model as councillor to my fellow classmates and fellow councillors
• MSG results aim for less than 1.33
• Improve in my english language
• Pass my music Piano Grade 8 examinations next year
• Make more true friends and strive to be a good listener everyone can confide in
• Learn to better motivate
• Develop better relations with my teachers

I know I cannot achieve all of them, but I hope I can improve on most of these points next year. After all, I am still just 13 years old.