There has been a cultural shift over the past year or so: being at the forefront of social media and Internet culture—or being “chronically online”—is now frowned upon. It’s similar to the ’90s, when bragging about how much TV you watched could get you accused of lacking personality or having lowbrow taste. These days, bragging about bed-rotting and doomscrolling is akin to being a proud couch potato. Why are the chronically online backing away from their iPhones and calling TikTok trend followers tacky? It all comes down to the delivery system. In a viral Instagram post, Carmen Vicente, a social strategist in tech, says the shift began when the Internet changed from a place where savvy people pursued their interests on their own to one where culture was spoon-fed through algorithms. There’s a huge difference between sitting at the cultural trough and waiting to be fed by Meta and going out to discover what you authentically enjoy. The point is simple: You will never cultivate authentic taste in culture, art, movies, music, fashion, or food if your appetite is curated algorithmically. View this post on Instagram “Fifteen years ago, it required effort and curiosity to discover cool stuff on the Internet,” Vicente says. “But now, and since the advent of algorithms that hinge on economic metrics of success, looking away or elsewhere is the thing that requires effort and curiosity.” Vicente continues: “Personally speaking, I think taste is the result of your cultural inputs. And to develop good taste, we need to consume a diversity of inputs beyond just the confines of our modern suggestion engines. Simply put, the algorithms are controlled by the institutions. The institutions need to maximize shareholder value. And the more time you spend drinking the Kool-Aid from these fire hoses, the looser your grasp becomes on what is truly interesting, substantive, or moving.” A woman scrolling in bed. Photo credit: Canva There are myriad definitions of taste, but it’s generally seen as the ability to appreciate things that are culturally and aesthetically valuable. In his essay “Of the Standard of Taste,” philosopher David Hume argues that taste is a byproduct of a life rich in experience: “Strong sense, united to delicate sentiment, improved by practice, perfected by comparison, and cleared of all prejudice, can alone entitle critics to this valuable character.” Therefore, true taste can’t be developed without real-world experience and cultural inputs that go far beyond what’s delivered via smartphone. A woman at an exercise class. Photo credit: Canva The lesson here isn’t hard to figure out: it’s about a life lived shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, spending time outdoors, practicing hobbies that don’t involve screens, and reading books while in the dentist’s waiting room. There are so many incredible cultural treasures we can experience only by being in physical places with real people—where you can stumble upon life-changing culture by accident. Taste is a touchy subject, hard to separate from social status, because it often requires resources and connections to access many aspects of culture. However, that’s not an excuse to judge those who strive for an expansive, more refined sense of taste—or who hope others will join them on that journey—as merely performative. The post Tech strategist shares why algorithms killed ‘taste’ and where to find it now appeared first on Upworthy.

Grief is an unfortunately universal and often inescapable feeling. Yet, due to certain societal norms, it can be harder for some people to embrace or fully work through than for others. In a Reddit post titled “100% Really Sucks,” a man wrote: “About ten years ago, our at the time 9-year-old son died of cancer. Hundreds of people asked my wife how she was doing, offered her support, etc. Lots of people asked me how she was doing, how the kids were doing, and how I had to be strong for her and our two remaining kids. Only a few close male friends asked how I was doing. Not one of my female friends did. Not even my mother. It never occurred to them. That really sucked. Not because I don’t think my wife deserved support. Of course she did – but so did I.” Reddit post. Photo credit: StreetKindly3614/Reddit The good news is that the OP bravely began a difficult discussion that seemed to resonate deeply with many people. The post received over 90,000 upvotes and 2.6 thousand comments. Clearly, people seem ready to talk about it. One Redditor noted that they shared a similar experience: “My wife and I divorced – after our marriage she chose drugs and alcohol and I chose to be a dad. People still ask me all the time how she’s doing through everything. She still gets invited to parent/kid meet ups even though the kids live with me 7 days a week. It’s unfair.” Another commenter added the importance of including men when an entire family needs support, writing, “It absolutely is unfair. I hope future generations will learn to be more supportive after seeing more great dads in action!” What was even more encouraging was that the Reddit community came together not only to commiserate but also to offer hopeful suggestions. Another commenter pointed out a similar situation, sharing, “We had a house fire. Lost everything. People in the community donated so many clothes and toiletries for my wife and kids. But nothing for me. One year later and I’m still struggling with wardrobe choices.” This Redditor was ready to help, writing, “What size do you wear bro? I have some nice clothes that I never wear I’d be happy to have dry cleaned and sent your way.” Not everyone, thankfully, had the same experience, though the post helped some feel a sense of gratitude: “My word, reading these comments just makes me appreciate my wife and my mom all the more. They actually support me when I let them know I am hurting or depressed. I do have to vocalize that I want the support in the moment because my wife will pick up on the fact that I’m down almost immediately and I’ll tell her I’m just having a down day. I don’t really deal with very bad depression but I do have days where it gets bad and she’s always there for me. When I was growing up, my mom never dismissed my feelings, never told me to ‘act like a man’. I’m so sorry to hear all of your stories of your struggles. I wish the best for all of you out there dealing with this type of stuff.” Society needs to encourage men to open up In the article “The Problem of Male Grief” for Psychology Today, Nick Norman, LICSW, discusses what he refers to as a “silent epidemic” among men. “According to the CDC, 1 in 10 men experiences anxiety or depression, but less than half reach out for help,” Norman wrote. “They are less likely to seek help for mental or emotional difficulties overall.” Norman seems to hit the nail right on the head when it comes to the Reddit post: “While there are common ways that men respond to grief, that does not mean that they are actually processing their emotions or coming to a healthy resolution. The real issue is not that men have some other means or manner of grieving. It is that the Western cultural expectation of men discourages grieving altogether.” He offered suggestions for men to create healthy spaces for one another: “The unspoken rules of oppressive masculinity often lead men to shame those who dare step outside of the limited emotional box we’re given. In this way, we become enemies of our brothers and create more pain when what we need is support. Although we may struggle with our own discomfort, we need to stop shaming other men for weeping and feeling authentically. We have enough challenges in this work. We owe it to one another to buoy each other up, or at least grant each other silent respect.” Mindfulness can help Jeanette Lorandini, LCSW, founder of Suffolk DBT in New York, spoke to Upworthy about the issue: “From a DBT [Dialectical Behavior Therapy] perspective, many boys grow up in environments where their emotions are invalidated. They are often taught very early that showing sadness or vulnerability is a sign of weakness and that they should ‘be strong.’ Over time, this can lead men to learn how to hide their emotions rather than understand or process them. They may become skilled at making their feelings invisible to others, but that does not mean those feelings are not there.” To counter this, Lorandini suggested men practice mindfulness to help process their emotions: “Mindfulness, a core component of DBT, encourages people to slow down, notice their emotional experience, and give themselves permission to feel sadness rather than push it away. We call that mindfulness of current emotion. When someone does not give themselves these important moments to grieve, they develop what we call inhibitive grief. It doesn’t go away but remains in a ‘holding cell.’ While it may not be a literal prison, it won’t go away until it is experienced. It often will show up in ways such as anger, substance use, working excessively, heavy screen time, or other maladaptive behaviors.” She added, “Grief does not require someone to fall apart, but it does require space to be felt. Learning to experience sadness in manageable moments, while continuing to move forward at a balanced pace, can help men process loss in a way that honors both their emotional needs and their role within their family.” The post A dad who lost his young son to cancer shared a note on male grief that has gone massively viral appeared first on Upworthy.

A different path. The post “In over my head”: the show that threatened to derail Linda Ronstadt first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

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The horror host has more in store for the future.

Paul Skenes is smiling from ear to ear, draped in red, white, and blue, along with the rest of his teammates, as they begin the first exhibition game representing Team USA at the World Baseball Classic at Papago Sports Complex in Phoenix. Skenes told the MLB Network why it means so much to represent his country in the games. “First and foremost, I care because I’m from America. I love America. I’ve seen the WBCs in the past, and there’s no bigger stage or no greater honor than wearing USA across your chest,” he said ahead of the game. There was another reason Skenes said he cared, and that had to do with a mission greater than self and service. “I went to the Air Force Academy for two years. I wanted to serve. I was intending to serve and ended up transferring to LSU. Won a national championship there, did some cool stuff there. But there was a big part of me that was fully intent on serving in the military as a career after college,” he explained. In 2022, Skenes told the Daily Advertiser that, just as he was about to participate in his first fall practice at LSU, he entered the transfer portal over the offseason because he wanted to see if he had what it took to make it in the majors. And that meant the star pitcher and hitter at Air Force had to withdraw from the academy before his junior year because he might have to enlist. “So even if you’re still in Minor League Baseball or Major League Baseball, if you’re still in the Air Force, they can pull it away from you, which isn’t a super common thing, but you see it occasionally.” Skenes said he had always felt a strong pull to serve and had never really given a serious thought to a career in baseball when he arrived at the academy. Two seasons later, after hitting 24 home runs and posting a 2.77 ERA in two, the pull to pursue baseball became real. Skenes said that the people he met at the academy made him the person he is today. Skenes, who won the prestigious Cy Young Award last year while pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has shown that imprint with how he leads his life outside of the spotlight. He has teamed up with the Gary Sinise Foundation, donating $100 to the organization for every strikeout that he has. The 23-year-old has been unequivocal about why he is pitching in the World Baseball Classic, and that it is to honor the men and women in the military, he told the Athletic. “This is the greatest country in the world. That’s what I believe. That’s why I wanted to serve, why I went to the Air Force Academy. And those folks don’t get the recognition they deserve,” he said. “We’re doing it to represent the men and women who are fighting for us, along with many other things that make this country the greatest country in the world. That puts it into perspective a little bit,” Skenes added. After seeing the success of the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams in the Olympics, Skenes told a Bleacher Report journalist that he felt even more determined to outperform competitors in the World Baseball Classic. “Yeah, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, all the other golds that we won in the Olympics,” Skenes said. “We’re America; we’ve got to assert our dominance over everybody else. That’s what we do. It’s gonna be fun.” Baseball has been America’s pastime for ages. It is an American original, drawing its roots from two English games: rounders and cricket. But being the independent sort that we are, Americans started modifying it on our shores during the American Revolutionary War, when variations of the game were played. It was another 50 years before a group of New Yorkers, calling themselves the Knickerbocker Baseball Club, codified the rules and held the first game nearly 200 years ago, in the 1840s. It was a game with no clocks, and each team was scattered across the country. Whether it’s on a sandlot for a Little League team, a wooden bat team, or a major league team, every spring always begins with hope. And like many other American sports that are played professionally or at thousands of local rec leagues, high schools, and colleges, the game serves as a social fabric that connects communities, neighborhoods, small towns, and big cities. It was hard to find one member of Team USA with anything other than bold enthusiasm for the honor of making the team, playing for the country, and doing it for a purpose. Skenes said that bringing a championship home to the United States would be incredible. “This is the biggest stage I’ve played on. The coolest motivation that we’re playing for is winning the gold for our country,” he said, smiling broadly. Winning a World Series is the goal every year, he said. “But you know, playing in an international tournament where every country in the world is represented, being able to be on top of that, that’s pretty cool.” Team USA’s quest to win the 2026 World Baseball Classic began Friday in Houston. Salena Zito is a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. She reaches the Everyman and Everywoman through shoe-leather journalism, traveling from Main Street to the beltway and all places in between. To find out more about Salena and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM Image licensed under CC BY 4.0.

LGBTQ Nation, a “100% LGBTQ+ Owned” news magazine, claims 2025 behavioral questionnaire data “debunks a claim made by anti-trans activists related to mass shootings.”  The LGBTQ Nation article references a study consisting of a small, non-representative population of young biological females receiving testosterone injections. The author argues that evidence of reduced aggression, after a brief period of testosterone use, proves that testosterone does not influence youth to commit mass shootings. The results of the questionnaires do not, however, offer support for any claim about transgender mass shooters.  The Crime Prevention Research Center found that individuals identifying as transgender accounted for a disproportionately high share of perpetrators in “active shooting attacks.” The research center, which drew from raw FBI crime data, published a Feb. 20 report that stated, “In 2024 transgender individuals committed active shooting attacks at least 12 times their share of the population and possibly more than 16 times their share.”  The study cited by LGBTQ Nation was a 12-month observational analysis following adolescents beginning testosterone therapy. Researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago measured 178 “gender-diverse adolescents and young adults’” self-reported anger and irritability scores using behavioral questionnaires. Participants were females, between the ages of 12 and 20, at Tanner stage 5 in puberty, and with no prior use of puberty-blocking medications.  Researchers found no significant increases in anger, aggression, or related behavioral measures over the 12-month follow-up period, after participants began receiving testosterone injections. Self-reported anger levels were found to be “within normative ranges” and “remained about the same” after 12 months. According to an abstract of the study presented in Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the data showed “No significant changes were demonstrated across baseline, 6 months, and 12 months for anger (p = .08), aggressive behavior (p = .08), conduct problems (p = .97), oppositional defiant problems (p = .37), or externalizing problems (p = .45).” Therefore, researchers could not conclude that testosterone caused measurable changes in any of these emotion-based scores. A $10 million study from Children’s Hospital LA previously found no evidence that puberty blockers improved the mental health of children between 8 and 16. Erin Friday, a California attorney and opponent of puberty blockers, refuted the study. She alleged that Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, who led the research, withheld the results because “she was afraid that her findings would be weaponized and used in court and used to prescribing puberty blockers for children.” Friday believed Olson-Kennedy “placed a political agenda above children’s welfare.” Leor Sapir, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, reinforces that puberty blockers do not help children. He appeared on the Epoch Times’ American Thought Leaders talk show in January, where he stated, “There is no credible evidence that puberty blockers … address anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation.”  Sapir further explained, “The people who do studies in this area are typically gender clinicians … who believe in it for sometimes very ideological reasons, sometimes financial reasons. Sometimes they just believe that they’re helping kids.” Sapir is the co-author of the 2025 HHS review of pediatric gender medicine.

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It's almost certainly HUNDREDS at this point… https://t.co/uQHbMvgs4D — HealthRanger (@HealthRanger) March 11, 2026