Snapchat Moves To Support Bill Protecting Young Social Media Users

Politico: First Tech Platform Breaks Ranks To Support Kids Online Safety Bill 
The owner of Snapchat is backing a bill meant to bolster online protections for children on social media, the first company to publicly split from its trade shop days before the company’s CEO prepares to testify on Capitol Hill. A Snap spokesperson told POLITICO about the company’s support of Kids Online Safety Act. The popular messaging service’s position breaks ranks with its trade group NetChoice, which has opposed KOSA. The bill directs platforms to prevent the recommendation of harmful content to children, like posts on eating disorders or suicide. (Kern, 1/25)

More news about children's mental health —

CNN: Teen Suicide: Study Identifies Behavioral Risk Factor 
If your teen’s opting out of the school football game or shopping with friends, chalking it up to teen angst can be easy. But you should pay more attention since social withdrawal could signal something deeper is going on, a new study has found. Being socially withdrawn and experiencing physical discomforts as a preteen is associated with a higher risk of having suicidal thoughts at age 16, according to the study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open. (Rogers, 1/25)

Fox News: Mental Health May Be Worse In Teens From Large Families, Study Suggests: 'Fewer Resources'
Researchers from The Ohio State University found that teens with a greater number of siblings reported poorer mental health than those who came from smaller families. "The association between the number of siblings and mental health was negative in two large datasets in different countries (U.S. and China)," Doug Downey, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University, told Fox News Digital. (Rudy, 1/25)

Grist: How Climate Disasters Hurt Mental Health In Young People
After a hurricane, flood, wildfire, or other disaster strikes, a great tallying commences: the number of people injured and killed; buildings damaged and destroyed; acres of land burned, inundated, or contaminated. Every death is recorded, every insured home assessed, the damage to every road and bridge calculated in dollars lost. When the emergency recedes, the insurance companies settle their claims, and the federal government doles out its grants, communities are expected to rebuild. But the accounting misses a crucial piece of the aftermath: Worsening disasters are leaving invisible mental health crises in their wake. (Teirstein, 1/25)

Myjournalcourier.com: Mental Health Screenings For Teens Mandatory Under New State Law
Beginning next school year, Illinois students in seventh through 12th grades will undergo a mental health evaluation. Annual mental health screenings will be required of the students under the state Wellness Checks in Schools Programs Act, which establishes a collective to help schools identify students at risk of mental health conditions. (Singson, 1/24)

On school shootings —

AP: Michigan School Shooter's Mom Is At Fault For Deaths, Prosecutor Says
A school shooting that killed four students in Michigan could have been prevented if the mother of the armed teen had removed him after seeing his violent drawings that same day, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday in an uncommon trial about parental responsibility. Jennifer Crumbley is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Nov. 30, 2021, attack at Oxford High School. Prosecutors say she and husband James Crumbley were grossly negligent and that their son’s actions were foreseeable. Jennifer Crumbley was aware of Ethan Crumbley’s deteriorating mental health and social isolation and knew that a gun drawn on a math assignment resembled the one that he had used with her at a shooting range, assistant prosecutor Marc Keast said. (White, 1/25)

Also —

CBS News: Bill That Would Legalize Medically Assisted Suicide Debated At Minnesota Capitol 
A bill that would legalize assisted suicide in Minnesota may have the momentum to pass this upcoming session. The bill was heard and debated on Thursday by the health committee, and it would make the assisted suicide option available only for patients 18 and over who are terminally ill with a prognosis of six months to live or less. The patient must also be mentally fit. The bill's sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mike Freiberg, said he's confident the bill has the votes to pass from the DFL-led legislature. (Kaplan, 1/25)

NBC News: 81-Year-Old Woman With A Knife Suffering A Mental Health Episode Is Fatally Shot By Florida Deputy
A Florida deputy fatally shot an 81-year-old woman suffering from a mental health episode after she lunged at him with a knife, authorities said. Authorities were called to the Rails End Mobile Home Park in Wildwood, about 52 miles northwest of Orlando, just after 11 p.m. Monday "in reference to a female who was in distress and having a mental episode," the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. (Burke, 1/25)

Fox News: Depression Could Be 'Zapped' Away With Brain Stimulation, New Study Suggests: ‘Better Quality Of Life’ 
For those with severe depression, relief could soon be just an MRI away. In a major clinical trial, researchers from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the brains of 255 patients with treatment-resistant depression over a total of 20 sessions. The patients reported "substantial improvements" in their symptoms and quality of life for at least six months after the procedure, according to a press release from the university. More than two-thirds of participants responded to the treatment, with a third showing 50% improvement in symptoms. (Rudy, 1/25) 

Medical Xpress: Kiwifruit Can Quickly Improve Mental Health, Suggests Study
Kiwifruit has proven itself as a powerful mood booster and new research from the University of Otago has shown just how fast its effects can be. In a study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers found the furry fruit improved vitality and mood in as little as four days. (1/25)

If you need help —

Dial 988 for 24/7 support from the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free and confidential.