I’m Taking Your Phone Away (and you didn’t do anything wrong)

The study found that those who had high and increasing addiction to mobile phones and social media platforms were at a higher risk of suicidal behaviors and thoughts. At year four, almost 18% of kids reported having suicidal thoughts, and 5% said they had suicidal behaviors. Teens with ‘addictive’ phone use more likely to be suicidal: Studyhttps://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5360042-teens-addiction-social-media-phones-suicidal-thoughts/

Here’s the link to the JAMA article https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2835481/

Yikes!

Anker PowerCore Model Number A1263 (only 19 reports of fires and explosions!) RECALL

Note: Do not throw this recalled lithium-ion battery or device in the trash, in the general recycling stream (e.g., street-level or curbside recycling bins), or in used battery recycling boxes found at various retail and home improvement stores. Recalled lithium-ion batteries must be disposed of differently than other batteries, because they present a greater risk of fire. Your municipal household hazardous waste (HHW) collection center may accept this recalled lithium-ion battery or device for disposal. Before taking your battery or device to a HHW collection center, contact it ahead of time and ask whether it accepts recalled lithium-ion batteries. If it does not, contact your municipality for further guidance. More than One Million Anker Power Banks Recalled Due to Fire and Burn Hazards; Manufactured by Anker Innovationshttps://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/More-than-One-Million-Anker-Power-Banks-Recalled-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards-Manufactured-by-Anker-Innovations

Yikes. I was actually thinking of buying a power bank when I heard about this recall.

Tsundoku (guess the disease)

“All those books you haven’t read are indeed a sign of your ignorance. But if you know how ignorant you are, you’re way ahead of the vast majority of other people.” Jessica Stillman

Tsundoku is the Japanese word for the stack(s) of books you’ve purchased but haven’t read. Its morphology combines tsunde-oku (letting things pile up) and dokusho (reading books). The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide lasting benefits — https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books/

When People Did Not Have Access to Mobile Internet, they Spent More Time Socializing in Person, Exercising, and Being in Nature.

https://www.harmonyhit.com/phone-screen-time-statistics/

Our results provide evidence that blocking mobile internet from smartphones for 2 weeks can produce significant improvements for SWB (subjective well being), mental health, and the objectively measured ability to sustain attention. Even those who did not fully comply with the intervention experienced significant, though more modest, improvements. These findings suggest that constant connection to the online world comes at a cost, since psychological functioning improves when this connection is reduced. Blocking mobile internet on smartphones improves sustained attention, mental health, and subjective well-being PNAS Nexus, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2025, pgaf017, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf017

Excuse me please, I have to check my phone.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Recall (check your prescription bottles)

In February, the FDA found problems with cleaning and testing at the plant in Madhya Pradesh, India, which was the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year. The current recalls, listed in an FDA enforcement report last week, cover a wide range of commonly prescribed medicines, including ones that treat epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other ailments. ​​A full list of the recalled medications is available here. An Indian Drugmaker, Investigated by ProPublica Last Year, Has Recalled Two Dozen Medications Sold to U.S. Patients https://www.propublica.org/article/glenmark-recalls-two-dozen-drugs

Time to bring the pharma supply chain back onshore.

What’s Your America? (there are 10 Americas) – Updated with Scary Charts 02.01.25

Asians and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders definitively outlive other Americans. Is there anything we can learn from them? A confluence of factors may be at play. They tend to have relatively higher socioeconomic status, lower rates of obesity, and the lowest smoking rates of any racial group in the U.S. Healthier traditional cooking may also contribute to their longevity. When it comes to life expectancy, there are 10 Americashttps://bigthink.com/health/ten-americas-for-life-expectancy/

Attention Mortality Risk Experts

Sharpen your pencils and don’t ask me what a pencil is.

Updated 02.01.25 with Scary Charts

Would You Pay $700.00 a Month to Live in One of These?

Large enough to fit a twin mattress!

Sleep on it: the $700 San Francisco ‘pod’ with privacy curtains and charging ports

A company that rents “sleeping pods” in downtown San Francisco for $700 a month has had 300 people apply for its remaining 17 beds, the company’s CEO said. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/31/san-francisco-sleeping-pods-affordable-housing-crisis?

Mmm…no.