It may shock some leftists to discover that a surefire way to bolster the mental health of America's youth is not a numbing diet of pharmaceuticals‚ surgical procedures‚ or costly psychiatric interventions but rather conservative parenting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed in a recent report that in 2021‚ 42% of students indicated they felt persistently sad or hopeless‚ and 29% signaled that they experienced poor mental health. 22% of students surveyed said they seriously considered suicide‚ and 10% said they had made an attempt. Gallup and the Institute for Family Studies launched a study over the summer‚ looking for the causes of this runaway problem. Researchers surveyed 6‚643 parents and 1‚580 adolescents living with a parent through Gallup's nationally representative‚ probability-based panel and took into account measures of "adolescent mental health‚ parental demographics‚ political views‚ attitudes toward marriage‚ parenting practices‚ and parent-child relationships." A parent's race‚ ethnicity‚ household income‚ and educational level appear to bear little relation to their child's mental well-being. Rather‚ their parental practices‚ worldview‚ relationship with their child‚ and relationship with their spouse appear to be the greatest predictors of the next generation's cognitive health. Jonathan Rothwell‚ principal economist at Gallup and the lead author of the study‚ underscored in an IFS blog post that the "best results com[e] from warm‚ responsive and rule-bound‚ disciplined parenting." The most impactful parenting practices identified in the study pertain to regulation and enforcement‚ including setting well-established rules; demonstrating affection daily; setting a regular routine; and authoritatively regulating behavior. Respondents who indicated it was difficult to discipline their child scored eight points lower on an index that combines youth-reported measures of well-being and mental health with parent reports. Adolescents belonging to parents who agreed that their child "must complete the priorities I set for them before they are allowed to play or relax" alternatively saw a 7.3% increase in likelihood of having good mental health. Political ideology was found to be a strong predictor of parenting style. According to the study‚ adolescents with "very conservative parents are 16 to 17 percentage points more likely to be in good or excellent mental health compared to their peers with very liberal parents." Liberal parents‚ conversely‚ had the lowest scores. Only 40% of liberal parents scored above average on the index. By way of comparison‚ 71% of very conservative parents and 56% of conservative parents scored above average. According to the data‚ the biggest political divide in responses manifested in response to the statement‚ "my child often gets their way when we have a conflict." 80% of very conservative parents disagreed compared to 66% of conservative parents‚ 64% of moderate parents‚ 53% of liberal parents‚ and 55% of very liberal parents. Rothwell noted‚ "Conservative parents enjoy higher quality relationships with their children‚ characterized by fewer arguments‚ more warmth‚ and a stronger bond‚ according to both parent and child reporting." Beside ideology‚ parents who disagree with the notion marriage is an outdated institution‚ agree that marriage improves the quality of relationships by strengthening commitment‚ and wish for their own children to get married some day appear to have the best outcomes. When it comes to couples‚ parents in high-quality relationships with their spouse were found to be roughly 14% more likely to adopt the practices that most benefit adolescents than those who give a middling or poor review of their spousal relationship. The partner-partner relationship also happens to be the strongest predictor of child-parent relationship quality. Rothwell referenced the work of the late Stanford University psychologist Eleanor Maccoby‚ intimating she had been on the money in suggesting that children raised in authoritative homes — contra authoritarian or laissez-faire homes — were more likely to exhibit "self-control‚ social competence‚ success in school‚ compliance with rules and reasonable norms‚ and even exhibit more confidence and creativity." The Gallup economist further suggested that contrary to the prevailing wisdom presuming medical experts to be the "only people who can prevent illness or help if it arises — often with prescription drugs‚" parents' actions‚ judgments‚ and relationships remain‚ as always‚ the key to their teen's mental health. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

In a recent essay in the New Yorker called “There Is No A.I.‚” Jaron Lanier opens by saying how much he dislikes the term AI and even though that ship has sailed‚ "we’re at the beginning of a new technological era — and the easiest way to mismanage a technology is to misunderstand it.” Lanier is often critical of technology‚ or rather its misuse‚ but he is also an idealist who proposes solutions to problems that often involve a more considered‚ ethical approach. "Who Owns the Future?" suggests a more equitable compensation for creators‚ and "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now" envisions a more humane approach to social interaction. The SAG-AFTRA strikes were partly due to AI potentially making actors obsolete. The ability to replace Harrison Ford with an AI version of Indiana Jones in perpetuity keeps actors and voice-over artists up at night. Without a labor agreement in place‚ a lot of people could find themselves unemployed. Pop culture politics Donald Trump and Martin Luther King Jr. share a jail cell after being arrested for their civil rights demonstrations - 1963 — (@) Deepfakes are of particular interest for their potential use as much as for their possible misuse. One meme-worthy X account called Trump History places the former president in historical moments reminiscent of Forrest Gump. The scenarios are hilarious and anachronistic: Trump touring with Tupac in the 1990s and sharing a jail cell with Martin Luther King Jr. But they also offer a commentary‚ however oblique‚ on politics and pop culture. Regardless of politics‚ the aesthetic value of these posts is undeniable. Whoever runs the account knows the right prompts to ask Midjourney‚ but there’s a deeper level to this. Trump is both a low- and highbrow figure. Except for Ronald Reagan‚ who began his career as an actor‚ no other Republican president has been both a historical and a pop culture figure — and one that was both celebrated and lambasted. According to Andy Warhol’s friend Bob Colacello: “Andy was the pope of pop and Reagan was the first pop president. A movie star as president was a Warhol fantasy come true. It wasn’t that Andy was politically aligned with Ronald Reagan‚ but the idea of someone who came out of a Hollywood star system and was ‘created’ by Warner Brothers becoming president is very Warholian …” Like Warhol‚ the Trump History X account rises to art for the questions it compels. What is celebrity? What is history? It even questions‚ playfully‚ the notion of playing politics. And with Trump’s recent mug shot now emblazoned on T-shirts for fundraising purposes‚ it’s also life-imitating art. Warhol never tired of exploring the concept of branding‚ not just in his art but in life. His person-as-brand philosophy predated influencer culture by decades. Twitch streamers‚ podcasters‚ and YouTube influencers might see Warhol’s “fifteen minutes” quote as a goal. Gen Z views it as a warning. A generation in revolt Brownie Harris/Getty Perhaps realizing this more than other generations‚ Gen Z is responsible for an increase in dumbphone purchases. My teenage daughter and her friends spend less time online for many reasons. They are quicker to recognize staged setups on TikTok and have no interest in propagating them. They aren’t doomscrolling on Instagram but having dinner with each other on Discord. They no longer want to leave breadcrumbs of themselves all over social media or the data mining machine and want to avoid the language and thought police on social media sites. They are looking for real‚ genuine interactions without being in front of an audience of unknowns. It’s the 2023 equivalent to talking for hours on a landline. A year removed from the worst of the pandemic‚ they spend more time together in person with their phones turned off. And perhaps this is only anecdotal‚ but she and her friends are musicians and artists. They are more interested in creating together offline with electric guitars‚ bass‚ and drums. If any software is involved‚ it’s Ableton Live or GarageBand. A new economy is emerging in the form of mindfulness products designed to help you detox digitally. There is a purse with a Faraday pocket designed with the express purpose of assisting women to limit their screen time and prevent unwanted ads from tracking their every move and conversation. Just because tech overlords want us to live online at all times and insist we will enjoy it doesn’t mean we want to or ever will. When I first got online in the late 1990s as a student‚ I was most interested in using the World Wide Web to create offline experiences. Chat rooms usually led to offline phone calls. I visited a pen-pal site to find people to write to in real life — one of whom I’ve been writing to for two decades now. We ended up meeting in person a few years ago. And as an advertising professional‚ I even met my wife through her website‚ which is the oldest site devoted to advertising still online today. Even as AI seems to be an unstoppable force‚ we might just be witnessing the end of Moore’s law‚ not as it pertains to technology but to our interest in it. For every early adopter or evangelist of the new‚ scores of people might see its value but not its meaning. Lanier closes his essay with a warning. If we romanticize an AI “that lives independently of the people who contribute to it — we risk using our new technologies in ways that make the world worse.” His plea is to “think of people. People are the answer to the problems of bits.” Tempering our excitement about AI and not allowing the online world to control our behaviors might be the answer. AI is a tool like anything else. It can be used to our benefit and misused by bad actors. If the people of a younger generation are rejecting technology‚ we should ask ourselves why and what they want to get out of it. Instead of seeking innovation for innovation’s sake‚ we can find creations that connect and enhance our lives. Dumbphones are a sign that there’s a yearning for an intelligence that is real and genuine. In a sense‚ by going backward‚ they are showing a way to go forward.

Tucker Carlson has gone viral for claiming that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin threatened congressmembers by saying if they don’t approve another $60 billion for Ukraine‚ “We’ll send your uncles‚ cousins‚ and sons to fight Russia.” Chip Roy was there‚ and he has the truth. “In a briefing the other day‚ the secretary alluded to saying‚ ‘You know‚ if you guys don’t do this‚ effectively we’re going to be committing American troops to war‚’” Roy tells Glenn Beck. If you want to keep an open mind and believe that the secretary of defense wouldn’t say something like that‚ he may have meant we’ll be drawn into a war if we don’t push back on Putin. And if that were the case‚ Roy’s answer would be the same. A fat‚ resounding‚ “No.” “If you keep carrying out your incompetent policies where you refuse to promote American energy‚ where you refuse to actually sanction‚ for example‚ Iran. You allow Iran to provide oil to China. You take all of the positions that are empowering our enemies‚” he continues‚ adding‚ “then you say we need to fund a proxy war to stop those enemies or you’re going to send our men and women to war.” The Senate Armed Services Committee also once passed a provision in the yearly NDAA bill that would require young women to register for the draft. “They wanted to draft your daughters‚” Roy says. “Which I proudly stood up and stopped.” Roy doesn’t plan on giving an inch when it comes to Ukraine spending. “We will not even remotely consider Ukraine funding until the border’s secure‚” Roy says‚ noting that’s Mike Johnson’s position as well. “I hope he sticks to that‚” Roy adds. Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling‚ thought-provoking analysis‚ and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

A report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation sheds light on the diverse origins of Mexican Americans and the culture they bring to their adopted country.

Awad’s appalling remarks about the 10/7 massacre show that he and his organization are exactly who we thought they were.

The publication said the NFL was the intended target of its criticism rather than the child.

The 56-page indictment makes for salacious reading: the president’s ne’er-do-well son dodging taxes to pay for escorts‚ drugs‚ and a life of luxury.

It would be letting universities off easy if the response to antisemitism is more-restrictive speech codes.

While the court found that the order ‘should not have restricted speech about the Special Counsel himself‚’ Trump ‘does not have an unlimited right to speak.’

Twitter Wrecks Journos Using Pictures of Hamas Prisoners to Try to Decry 'Western Values'