The Daily Valet. - 4/18/22, Monday

✔️ Are the Kids Alright?

April 18, 2022

Monday, April 18th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Happy tax day!

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Are the Kids Alright?

The United States is experiencing a teenage mental-health crisis

The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis. From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26% to 44%, according to a new CDC study.

The government survey found that almost every measure of mental health is getting worse, for every teenage demographic, and it’s happening all across the country. Hopelessness and sadness has increased for every race; for straight teens and gay teens; for those who say they’ve never had sex and for those who say they’ve had it with males and/or females; for students in each year of high school.

Why is this happening? The Atlantic dug into the data to look for answers while dispelling “a few tempting fallacies.” Because this is not about young people behaving badly. In fact, since the 1990s, drinking-and-driving is down almost 50%. School fights are down 50%. Sex before 13 is down more than 70%. School bullying is down. And LGBTQ acceptance is up.

But it’s not a coincidence that the timing aligns with when our phones became more addictive and social media entered our consciousness. Psychologist Jean Twenge wrote a whole book about how social media and texting has replaced other activities, so kids spend less time with their friends in person, which contributes to their unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness.

Another psychologist, who compiled data from over 200 research studies about social media told the New York Times that the effects vary, depending on the person, their age and home life. So maybe it’s like like drugs or alcohol: enticing and intoxicating but can also lead to dependency and depression among some users.

And speaking of which, drug overdose deaths among high school-aged U.S. teens have more than doubled since 2019, driven by a rise in the deadly opioid fentanyl. According to The Guardian, researchers attribute this to a flood of counterfeit pills, which look exactly like real oxycodone or Xanax tablets, but actually contain fentanyl, a synthetic opioid so potent that just one counterfeit pill can prove fatal.

↦ Meanwhile: CDC data on teen mental health during the pandemic suggests that for many, their home life was full of stressors like job loss, hunger and even violence.

Mariupol in Final Siege

Ukrainian forces ‘will fight till the end’

Russia offered to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Mariupol if they laid down their arms Sunday as the weekslong resistance in the besieged port city appeared to finally be coming to an end.

But the Ukrainian fighters ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. According to the Associated Press, capturing the southern city would also allow Russia to fully secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula (which it seized from Ukraine in 2014) and deprive Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets.

Analysts predict Mariupol will become the first major city to fall under Russian control, and Ukrainian officials have described the city as all but lost. But President Volodymyr Zelensky told media outlets that negotiations between the two sides could end if Russian forces killed all of the Ukrainians defending the city.

“We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABC's This Week. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, “but we do not have intention to surrender.”

↦ Watch: President Zelensky spoke one-on-one with CNN's Jake Tapper in Kyiv about his soldiers, his country and his legacy.

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You Catch Cavities?

A TikTok dentist has revealed that cavities can, in fact, be spread from mouth to mouth

Just as the masks are coming off, here's some strange and concerning news: it's possible for cavities to be spread through kissing.

This isn't exactly new information, but it is making the rounds after a dentist's now-viral TikTok, which has racked up over 1.2 million views. People are now questioning if they've ever caught cavities from their respective partners before. “New fear unlocked,” one person said in a comment which got over 4,000 likes.

According to InsideHook, a number of other dentists and dental organizations have since confirmed the warning, explaining that cavity-causing bacteria can easily spread via close contact or sharing eating utensils.

Gross, right? Fortunately, your internal alarm might go off before this even happens. “The reason you usually aren't excited about kissing partners with foul-smelling breath is because, biologically, you know bad-smelling breath is associated with the replication of 'bad' bacteria that could harm your oral health,” one orthodontist tells Shape.

↦ Dig Deeper: Delta Dental found that it’s far more easier for young children to catch cavities from parents than adults from one another.

The Boston Marathon Is Today

It’s back and better than ever

Just six months after the delayed 2021 Boston Marathon was held in the fall, the famed race returns to its traditional April date today for the first time in three years.

Apparently, this is the fastest field in the race's history, boasting a star-studded slate of previous champions and Olympic medalists (along with a few celebrities who have qualified).

Today's race also marks the 50th anniversary of the first official women's field to run the Boston Marathon. Only eight women finished that race in 1972. This year, more than 12,000 women will compete in the most decorated women's field, according to the Boston Athletic Association.

One of those women will be Adrianne Haslet, who was watching the runners cross the finish line in 2013 when the bombs exploded and she lost her foot. She's since become a runner and only gotten stronger (faster).

↦ FYI: The Boston Marathon is the only major marathon to be held on a weekday.

In Other News

↦ We Might Be Looking at COVID “Seasons” for Years to Come

↦ The FDA Is Investigating Lucky Charms After Reports of Illness

↦ SNL’s Please Don’t Destroy Write Lizzo’s Latest Hit

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

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The next “it” plant

Brand-new secondhand EVs?

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What We’re Eyeing

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↦ Want more? 5 stylish items to buy this week