Mean girls--today and 68 years ago

I just watched a Fox News story on the damage social media is doing to young teen girls and their body images. I used to be a young teen girl who hung out with other teens, caring about every word and piece of gossip. We didn't have social media like Instagram or TikTok (the focus of this story). We didn't have personal phones (most of us were on a party line). We didn't have organized sports (against the law in those days). If we took a photo it was on film and it was 2 weeks to get it developed. We all went to church and almost no one had divorced parents. But we still found all the ways to be mean girls and make snide remarks about bodies and tease anyone who didn't fit the mold or current fashion. Can I get an Amen or am I the only one who remembers "the good old days?"

  

Dating violence in middle school?

My jaw dropped when I saw this study. Reducing dating violence/partner abuse among middle school boys. What?! And then it got even more strange--to participate they had to "identify as male" i.e. it's possible some of these were girls, and the parents had to speak English, which means in those schools, immigrants were probably not included.

Also interesting, but not surprising was 91% of the parents who participated in the focus groups with their sons were mothers. William Farrell in "The Boy Crisis" notes that boys without father involvement are more likely to be violent and in mass shootings like Adam Lanza, Elliott Rodger, Dylann Roof, Nicklas Cruz and Stephen Paddock.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/252517.pdf

Yes, I know I read strange stuff—it’s a librarian thing.

Middle school is much harder than the 1950s

 
I picked this title up at Barnes & Noble a few days ago.  I made it to page 4.  Middle school is a lot harder than I remember.