Social media can be addictive even for adults, but there are ways to cut back

Social media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids and cigarettes.

While there’s some debate among experts about the line between overuse and addiction, and whether social media can cause the latter, there is no doubt that many people feel like they can’t escape the pull of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms.

The companies that designed your favorite apps have an incentive to keep you glued to them so they can serve up ads that make them billions of dollars in revenue. Resisting the pull of the endless scroll, the dopamine hits from short-form videos and the ego boost and validation that come from likes and positive interactions, can seem like an unfair fight. For some people, “rage-bait,” gloomy news and arguing with internet strangers also have an irresistible draw.

Much of the concern around social media addiction has focused on children. But adults are also susceptible to using social media so much that it starts affecting their day-to-day lives.

Google, Meta, push back on addiction claims in landmark social media trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterized by dueling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants, Meta and YouTube.

At the core of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified only by the initials “KGM,” whose case could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits will play out. KGM and the cases of two other plaintiffs have been selected to be bellwether trials — essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury.

Comparing social media platforms to casinos and addictive drugs, lawyer Mark Lanier delivered opening statements Monday in the Los Angeles Superior Court trial that seeks to hold Instagram owner Meta and Google's YouTube responsible for addictive features and harms to children who use their products. Two other defendants, TikTok and Snap, have settled the case.

Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt spoke of the disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction, with some researchers believing it doesn’t exist, or that addiction is not the most appropriate way to describe heavy social media use.

Advocates push for advance MAID requests two years after Parliament recommendation

OTTAWA - Sandra Demontigny knew something wasn't right when she couldn't remember buying herself a new pair of boots. They were a splurge — a little out of character for the mother of three — and she had been excited about bringing them home.

"I saw them near the door and I asked my kids, 'Who bought these boots? I've never seen them,'" she said.

"The kids were saying, 'No, (they're) yours. You bought them and you really like them."

Sliding her feet inside, she realized she couldn't remember buying them. "I started crying," she said.

U of M researchers studying whether genetic testing helps zero in on effective mental-health treatment meds

A team of University of Manitoba researchers is recruiting people seeking mental-health treatment for a study that could take the guesswork out of medication with the help of genetic testing.

The study will offer free pharmacogenomic testing — which predicts how a person may react to medications based on their genetic makeup — to 200 adults who are looking to start a new medication or switch their medication treating a mental-health issue.

“Someone with mental-health conditions, they (try) multiple medications, and sometimes it takes months or years to get to a point where those drugs work for them, or to have less side effects,” said Dr. Abdullah Maruf, the lead investigator on the study and assistant professor in U of M’s College of Pharmacy.

“Pharmacogenomic testing can find out how our body will respond to these kinds of medication.”

Why doing good also makes us feel good, during the holidays and beyond

WASHINGTON (AP) — The holiday season is a time for giving thanks, giving gifts — and for many, a time for giving back.

Food banks, services that deliver meals to seniors and other U.S. charities typically see a surge in volunteering between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. But there are good reasons to volunteer at any time of the year.

Alfred Del Grosso volunteers weekly to work the lunch shift at Shepherd’s Table, a food bank in Silver Spring, Maryland. “I feel more connected to the broader community,” he said.

Most Thursdays, the retired chemist from Kensington, Maryland, also lends an unpaid hand to help clear fallen trees and brush from local trails with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. "It’s mostly volunteers who help maintain the trails," he said.

What happens when your immune system hijacks your brain

“My year of unraveling” is how a despairing Christy Morrill described nightmarish months when his immune system hijacked his brain.

What’s called autoimmune encephalitis attacks the organ that makes us “us,” and it can appear out of the blue.

Morrill went for a bike ride with friends along the California coast, stopping for lunch, and they noticed nothing wrong. Neither did Morrill until his wife asked how it went — and he'd forgotten. Morrill would get worse before he got better. “Unhinged” and “fighting to see light,” he wrote as delusions set in and holes in his memory grew.

Of all the ways our immune system can run amok and damage the body instead of protecting it, autoimmune encephalitis is one of the most unfathomable. Seemingly healthy people abruptly spiral with confusion, memory loss, seizures, even psychosis.

When self-doubt creeps in at work, pause and reframe your negative thoughts. Here’s how

NEW YORK (AP) — When we make mistakes at work, it can lead to a cycle of negative thinking.

The damaging thoughts swirl: “I’m an impostor.” “I’m not smart enough.” “I’m failing at my job.”

Feeling like an impostor — doubting one’s own abilities despite a track record of success — is common, especially among women and members of marginalized groups. Even on days when everything’s going right, it can be hard to shift out of a cycle of self-doubt.

But there are ways to interrupt that downward spiral.

Drunk driver who killed woman in 2022 hit-and-run denied parole

The man who killed a 24-year-old woman while driving drunk in a high-speed hit-and-run collision in Transcona in 2022 was denied parole Wednesday.

In November 2023, Tyler Scott Goodman was sentenced to seven years in prison — six for impaired driving causing death and one for leaving the scene — for the collision that killed Jordyn Reimer on May 1, 2022, sparking outrage from loved ones who argued the sentence was too low.

The Wednesday hearing, at Stony Mountain prison, was to assess whether Goodman could be deemed a manageable risk if granted day or full parole.

Parole Board of Canada member Lesley Monkman said he wasn’t ready for either.

The big meaning behind micro-relationships, and why we should talk to strangers more

VANCOUVER - Psychology Prof. Gillian Sandstrom was a lonely graduate student in Toronto when she began what she calls "a tiny, tiny micro-relationship."

She and a woman who ran a hotdog stand on her way to university around 2007 would wave hello and smile at each other. Their interactions were so small that Sandstrom uses air quotes to even describe them as a "relationship."

And yet "it really meant something much bigger than it seemed like it should, and it made me feel like I belonged there," said Sandstrom.

"I felt very out of place and she, more than anyone else, is who made me feel OK, which was a bit puzzling."

Blame game after acts of political violence can lead to further attacks, experts warn

DENVER (AP) — From the moment conservative activist and icon Charlie Kirk was felled by an assassin’s bullet, partisans began fighting over which side was to blame. President Donald Trump became the most prominent to do so, tying the attack to “the radical left” before a suspect was even identified.

It was part of a new, grim tradition in a polarized country — trying to pin immediate responsibility for an act of public violence on one of two political sides. As the nation reels from a wave of physical attacks against both Republicans and Democrats, experts warn that the rush to blame sometimes ambiguous and irrational acts on political movements could lead to more conflict.

“What you’re seeing now is exactly how the spiral of violence occurs,” said Robert Pape, a political scientist and director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats at the University of Chicago.

On Friday, authorities announced they had arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Washington, Utah, in the shooting. While a registered voter, he was not affiliated with any party and had not voted in the last two general elections. Even so, officials said Robinson had recently grown more political and expressed negative views about Kirk.

Should you let pets sleep next to you? (Does it even matter what the experts say?)

It turns out, our furry best friend might be our sleep enemy.

Lots of pet owners let their animals sleep on the bed with them, which usually disrupts sleep. But many would say it’s worth it.

And researchers don't necessarily disagree.

Melissa Milanak, a professor at Medical University of South Carolina specializing in sleep health, said most people at her clinic say their pets disturb them often at night.

Nearly one in three non-profit workers burnt out and food insecure, survey suggests

A survey of 1,116 employees at non-profit organizations across Canada indicates more than one-third of workers regularly feel burnt out and exhausted.

The Changemaker Wellbeing Index, published Thursday, says 36 per cent of workers said they were struggling with issues such as anxiety, poor job satisfaction and insufficient household incomes.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 21 and March 14 by Toronto-based Environics Research on behalf of media company Future of Good.

Thirty-four per cent of respondents at community non-profits said they were food insecure, and 20 per cent said they were likely to quit in the next six months.

The joke’s on us as social media capitalizes on our base impulses in race to the bottom

The most important thing we can teach ourselves, and our children, about how to navigate social media is this: the algorithms want you to be angry. They want you to be angry, because it is good for business.

‘Cette terre n’a fait aucun mal’

Le 3 mai, une caravane d’étudiants en architecture paysagiste de l’Université du Manitoba a été accueillie devant le bâtiment d’autogouvernement de la Nation Dakota de Sioux Valley. Ils ont présenté à un comité du conseil de bande leurs plans pour l’aménagement d’un centre de guérison sur les lieux de l’École industrielle indienne de Brandon.

L’École industrielle indienne de Brandon était un pensionnat autochtone où, de 1895 à 1972, des enfants autochtones étaient éduqués par divers ordres religieux selon la politique d’assimilation du gouvernement canadien. Le chef de la Nation Dakota de Sioux Valley, Vincent Tacan, indique qu’il y a grand nombre de survivants de l’ancien pensionnat dans sa Nation.

“Nous avons besoin de guérir. Nous sentons les effets intergénérationnels des pensionnats autochtones. Essayer d’aller de l’avant avant de guérir serait inutile.”

Le Sud-ouest du Manitoba n’a aucun centre de guérison avec un environnement approprié aux cultures autochtones. Le chef Tacan note que les membres de sa Nation en besoin de traitement doivent se rendre à Regina, ou encore en Alberta.

Manitobans will continue to spring forward, fall back

Premier Wab Kinew has rejected the idea Manitoba would make daylight time permanent.

British Columbia has announced it will adopt year-round daylight time. The one-hour time change this Sunday — a shift forward — will be the last for most people in that province.

“Not right now,” Kinew said after being asked whether Manitoba would follow suit.

“Everybody’s got an opinion on it, but we only have so many hours in a day, and we’re going to spend those hours on health care and lowering your cost of living.”

Trial against Meta in New Mexico highlights video depositions by top executives

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors began presenting never-before-seen video depositions of Meta executives at a trial in New Mexico on Tuesday to bolster accusations that the social media conglomerate failed to disclose what it knows about harmful effects to children on its platforms, including Instagram.

New Mexico prosecutors are billing depositions from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram leader Adam Mosseri as centerpieces of the state's case against Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Prosecutors have accused Meta of violating state consumer protection laws.

Prosecutors say the dangers of addiction to social media as well as child sexual exploitation on Meta's platforms weren’t properly addressed or disclosed by the company.

Meta attorney Kevin Huff pushed back on those assertions during opening statements on Feb. 9, highlighting efforts to weed out harmful content from its platforms while warning users that some content still gets through its safety net. He said Meta discloses the risks.

End the ban: France backs return of intellectually disabled athletes to Winter Paralympics

LANS-EN-VERCORS, France (AP) — On a well-groomed, snow-covered slope in the Montagnes de Lans ski area near the French city of Grenoble, a group of Alpine skiers take aggressive lines through the gates. Their trajectories are precise, the tempo is fast and the technique polished.

Among this competition squad are world champions — some with multiple medals to their names.

Yet none will line up in the starting gates at the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games, where more than 650 athletes will compete in 79 medal events from March 6.

The reason? They have cognitive disabilities and are not eligible to compete.

Manitoba premier says U.S. men’s hockey team offside on Trump phone call

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is praising Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck for his performance in this year's Winter Olympics, but says when it comes to promoting sport and respect, the entire U.S. men’s hockey team was way offside.

Kinew, speaking to reporters in Winnipeg, made the comment when asked about the American players celebrating in their dressing room after their gold medal win over Canada and laughing at disparaging comments about the gold medal-winning women’s team made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The women’s team, for America, deserved a lot better than they got, both from the men’s team but also from their president,” Kinew said Friday.

"With Hellebuyck, I’m a Winnipeg Jets fan, so I’m going to bite my tongue about the Trump stuff. But (to Hellebuyck), win a Stanley Cup for our city now.”

Social media companies face legal reckoning over mental health harms to children

For years, social media companies have disputed allegations that they harm children’s mental health through deliberate design choices that addict kids to their platforms and fail to protect them from sexual predators and dangerous content. Now, these tech giants are getting a chance to make their case in courtrooms around the country, including before a jury for the first time.

Some of the biggest players from Meta to TikTok are facing federal and state trials that seek to hold them responsible for harming children's mental health. The lawsuits have come from school districts, local, state and the federal government as well as thousands of families.

Two trials are now underway in Los Angeles and in New Mexico, with more to come. The courtroom showdowns are the culmination of years of scrutiny of the platforms over child safety, and whether deliberate design choices make them addictive and serve up content that leads to depression, eating disorders or suicide.

Experts see the reckoning as reminiscent of cases against tobacco and opioid markets, and the plaintiffs hope that social media platforms will see similar outcomes as cigarette makers and drug companies, pharmacies and distributors.

Movement, proper sleep crucial for brain health

Winter in Winnipeg has a way of forcing us indoors.

Short days. Long nights. More sitting. More screens. Less movement. More “I’ll get back on track in spring.”

That seasonal slowdown doesn’t just stiffen joints and pad waistlines. It quietly affects the brain, too.

When most people think about Alzheimer’s or dementia, they picture something that shows up late in life — 70s, 80s, maybe a parent or grandparent.

Province hunting for web-based system to better assess and help youth with mental-health, addiction issues

As a drug crisis rages in Manitoba, the province is looking for a better web-based mental-health and addictions assessment tool for youth to help connect them to the services they need.

Shared Health said it’s seeking an evidence-based assessment system that focuses on mental health and substance use challenges in youth. On Monday, it posted on the public-sector tendering site MERX that it’s looking for systems and tools that are secure and ready to go.

A spokesperson for Shared Health said the authority is trying to determine whether there are any stronger screening tools and digital platforms than what is currently in use. The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth has sounded the alarm over substance use among children and youth, and the need for the province to do more and better.

Shared Health currently has a screening tool and digital platform — the Child Behavior Checklist and the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA-Web), the spokesperson said.