The News Not Noise Letter: The White House Talks Aliens
What we know about those unidentified flying objects, plus an alarming report on teen girls’ mental health and the rise of #deinfluencing
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Here are today’s top headlines:
Uncharted Territory in the Skies: US military fighter jets shot down two more high-altitude objects over the weekend. What do we know about the unidentified flying objects? The White House says there “is no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial activity.” John Kirby, the President’s National Security Council spokesman, says the balloons were not carrying passengers or sending communication signals and they could not propel themselves. (Ie, not a spaceship or a foreign craft; cue the conspiracy theorists ask “would they tell us if they were?”) However, officials determined that they posed a danger to civilian aircraft, which is why the military ordered them shot down. Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor for President Obama, told MSNBC there is always a lot of material flying in our airspace and after discovering the Chinese spy balloon the US moved from a “high tolerance” for this unidentified material to “zero tolerance.” US officials acknowledge they were probably carrying some kind of payload and we’ll learn more once the debris is recovered. Meanwhile, China says that the US sends balloons into its airspace frequently. The Biden administration flatly denies this. Oh my.
Teen Girls Are “Engulfed” In Sadness: Warning: This story includes data on sexual violence and suicide. Today the CDC released an alarming report on the state of teen girls’ mental health in the US. It is filled with startling findings. Teen girls in the US are experiencing record-high levels of sadness, violence, and trauma. And 14% of teenage females report being forced to have sex in 2021, up from around 12% in 2019. Here are more specifics:
The report is called the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Researchers found that in 2021, 57% of teen girls felt “persistently sad or hopeless.” Ten years ago, that number was 36%. Let that sink in — more than half of teen girls are regularly experiencing feelings of hopelessness, up 21 points in 10 years.
Since 2011 when the CDC began collecting data on forced sex, about 12% of US girls consistently reported being forced to have sex in the prior year. As we mentioned above that number jumped to 14% in 2021. That is the first increase the CDC has documented since they began collecting this data.
Almost 30% of US girls said they have contemplated suicide (up from 19% in 2011). 18% of teen girls say they’ve experienced sexual violence, a 20% increase from 2017 when the CDC first started tracking this data. 45% of LGBTQ+ students considered suicide and 58% of students with same-sex partners did as well.
But why, are girls more aware of depression than boys and therefore more inclined to acknowledge they’re experiencing it? Did the pandemic change social relations for girls more dramatically? Did we normalize talking about forced sex and therefore girls are more likely to report it? We don’t know the answer – and there likely isn’t a single cause. But we do know this:
Girls are twice as likely as boys to be bullied online through texts or social media. The CDC didn’t measure the influence of social media on girls who exhibited depression symptoms, but we do know that social media is a major contributing cause of plummeting mental health in teens. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt testified to Congress about an alarming increase in mental illnesses among teen girls after social media entered the world (comparing girls’ depression rates pre 2009 to now). The US’ surgeon general said 13 is too young for kids to be on social media. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in children’s mental health. Dr. Kathleen Ethier, the leader of the CDC’s Adolescent and School Health Program said there’s “no question” what this data is telling us. “[Young people] are in crisis.”
The Rise of Deifluencers: We are following a bad-news story about teens with what we think is a good news story about social media. Watch out, influencers; “Deinfluencing” is on the rise. Deinfluencing is when “content creators encourage people not to buy or use something.” It’s all a response to viral consumer culture on social media, and the millions of influencers who try to talk their viewers into buying sponsored products that aren’t healthy for them or their pocketbooks (in my feed it’s all beauty, diet, plastic surgery) and then profit off their clicks. As a sign of its popularity— the #deinfluencing hashtag has more than 154 million views on TikTok.
Why does this matter? Because increasingly social media isn’t about sharing pictures and videos of your friends, family, and cute dogs. (Or even sharing news; the algorithm is now tuned to make it painfully difficult to grow an audience with actual information). Too often it’s about commerce from people who aren’t experts, keeping you online and insecure long enough to get you to impulse-purchase something you don’t need. The so-called “influencer marketing economy” is valued at $16 billion. And the profits the platforms rake in from running ads in-between free content is far, far higher.
Instead of using search engines, more and more consumers are researching products on social media. GWI, a market research firm, says Gen Z’s interest in influencers has dropped 12% since 2020. That’s important because Gen Z is the population that’s most likely to buy something based on an influencer recommendation. At the same time, growth is slowing on TikTok, Meta platforms (which includes Facebook and Instagram) and Twitter.
What does all this say about our culture? It’d be great if we were over- overconsumption. Or if the public finally had enough of social media pushing us to feel bad and spend money at every turn. It might be a result of the current economic situation. We’ll keep an eye on this probing trend.
Ohio Train Derailment: Three more dangerous chemicals were on the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, than officials originally thought. At least one of those toxic chemicals is a carcinogen that causes “burning and irritation in the skin and eyes.” Residents of East Palestine were told to return to their homes, but a hazard specialist says chemicals could still be present. Rewind: On Feb 3, a train carrying cancer-causing chemicals derailed in the town of 5,000. Officials ordered an evacuation so they could launch a controlled burn of the most hazardous chemicals. Questions remain about the safety of the air and water supply.
Riri Makes History: Rihanna made history on Super Bowl Sunday as the first pregnant woman to ever headline a Super Bowl performance. Rihanna’s all-red outfit showed off her baby bump, and launched a bazillion memes. Sara Foster tweeted, “Rihanna just made it impossible to use being pregnant as an excuse to get out of something.” And Gary Janetti snarked, “I can’t wait to see what she does for the gender reveal.” Rihanna performed on a 10x17.5 foot platform that, at times, was suspended high above the field (no morning sickness, let’s hope). The singer who made “Work” 9x platinum in the US showed us what work means – grabbing the world’s attention dancing and belting out some of the century’s biggest hits while also growing a baby. (And in a costume that never showed cleavage or booty!) It was a Super Bowl sized display of a woman’s capabilities that really wasn’t about the male gaze or sexualizing a female body; that’s a message we should be giving our teen girls.
An Observation: I know. In one of the above items I trashed social media and in the Rhianna item I plumbed it for content. I also post on Instagram all day and built this audience through social media platforms. Because I spend so much time on social media, I can attest that being on those platforms for any extended time is not good for your spirit. The fact that they are a default information gathering place highlights the challenge we face: social media is our means of communication today. We know it’s toxic, but we are stuck on it. I believe that’s a for-now thing, not a forever thing. We need new healthy platforms and means of distribution! It’s one reason I’m here on Substack and I’m taking time to have conversations with people who think deeply about what’s next. What do you think comes next and where can we share content with one another on a large scale, outside social media? Please post your ideas in comments or email us at community@newsnotnoise.com.
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I’m honestly really glad for the world of content that Substack has created. I know it’s not perfect and doesn’t satisfy all needs, but I’ve found so many amazing people here, both as an author and as a consumer of other folks’ newsletters. It feels *almost* like social media, but without the nastiness.
On an unrelated note I read the article about teenaged girls with horror and sadness. I have a 13-year old non-binary kid (who was assigned female at birth) so it hits close to home. Thankfully they’re not on any social media, and won’t be for the foreseeable future. They also seem (and tell me that they are) quite well adjusted and happy. But I’m aware that could change anytime and it terrifies me. Just have to love them as hard as I can and hope they make it through tough times with the help of family and friends.