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Have We Become An Angry Dating Culture?

I’m seeing a really disturbing trend out there.

I want you to take this time right now to read every single word that I’m writing.

I don’t want you to glance through this article, because if you’re single, this is by far the most important thing you’ve ever read in your life.

I’m going to start off with this:

How frustrated are you now in your dating life?
If you can write that down right now, write the one word that describes how you feel in your dating life right now.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed a really disturbing trend when it comes down to dating.

The word that we used to have a long time ago, before the flood of Internet dating sites and dating apps and social media validation.

And all these ridiculous ways to get lost in cyber world.

The word that people used to use in dating was a magical word, it was called hope.

People got excited about finding a new mate.

People got excited about finding a new partner.

People went out and actually talked to one another.

If you’re a woman reading this article right now, I want you to think, when was the last time a man came over and approached you and flirted with you?

If you’re a man reading this, I want you to think, when was the last time you actually walked over and actually took a dare and flirted with a woman?

I want you to also ask yourself this question: when you’re out in public, how often do you look at your cell phone?

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Meet 3 20-Somethings Making It Easier For Black Millennials

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, African-Americans are 10 percent more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report some form of psychological distress.

So contrary to the old folks’ adage, black people living with depression aren’t doing so because they’ve been afforded the luxury of having “white people problems.”

Thankfully, a number of creative black 20-somethings with mental illnesses are addressing the stigma that surrounds it. But three, in particular, have stood out for the unique ways they’re going about furthering the mental health dialogue.

They spoke to HuffPost about using social media to share their experiences ― which include depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia ― through digital art, community meet-ups and storytelling.

They’re hoping their forthrightness about their own struggles with mental health will help others to cope. Given the looming threat of TrumpCare, which would classify mental illness as a pre-existing condition and raise rates, such a mission is vital.

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4 Old School Ways Of Parenting That Still Hold Up Today

Originally published on Family Footnote.

Life has changed quite a bit since I was a kid. Social media, text messaging, and Snapchatting are all components that were missing when I was a child, so parenting in this digital age is confusing.

In a world that is still quite new to me, I often get nervous about raising my kids well; however, there are some times when I’m able to sit back, relax, and tap into some of those parenting skills my parents instilled in me many years ago.

I think it’s healthy to have some old-school parenting in this new world.

1. Go Outside and Play

One of my favorite things about living in a cul-de-sac is having the ability to still say “Go outside and play.” When we were kids, we were definitely the kind of children who would check in once or twice, but didn’t feel the need to come in until the street lights came on. I know that times have changed, and I get why, but my kids still get a huge slice of that freedom.

They bounce from cul-de-sac to cul-de-sac and house to house. My neighbors and I parent the same way ― if they can hear us and we can hear them, then they are free to play in front yards, back yards, and the open spaces in between.

I think this freedom is good. It’s where games are created, problem-solving can occur, and my kids would tell you it’s amazing to play for a couple of hours before they stop in at our neighbor’s house for a snack and a Capri Sun.

My “go outside and play” mantra comes from my parents, and the times that I explored my neighborhood are the ones that I remember fondly. I think my kids will, too.

2. Wait While Others are Speaking

This old-school way of thinking is a work in progress for my children. I’ve mentioned many times that I have very loud and excited kids, and for them to hold in what is on their minds for longer than 30 seconds can prove to be nearly impossible.

However, when others are speaking, I try to get them to wait. They may look like someone asked them to hold their breath while they’re waiting, but they are learning to wait for a little bit.

I realize people generally don’t have to be patient for a darn thing anymore. This is one of the ways I’m trying to get them to realize that waiting before speaking is not only polite, but it can also help them formulate what they want to say more articulately.

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Pirate Bay founder: We’ve lost the internet, it’s all about damage control now

At its inception, the internet was a beautifully idealistic and equal place. But the world sucks and we’ve continuously made it more and more centralized, taking power away from users and handing it over to big companies. And the worst thing is that we can’t fix it — we can only make it slightly less awful.

Let your imagination go wild. Try to pose dilemmas with equally good, or equally bad, alternatives, and make the other person’s decision really difficult. They can be realistic or fantastic, sober or outlandish.

2. Twenty questions

One person thinks of something; the other person can only ask yes/no questions to deduce what it is.

First person says a line, and then second person has to come up with a rhyming line. You can make it harder by specifying a meter.

Roadtrip bingo

Before you leave, make a stack of different bingo sheets, with each square being something you might reasonably expect to see on a road trip. You can have themes like road signs, license plate states, chain restaurants, or geographical features. Make sure each sheet has a different configuration.

If the car has an automatic transmission, use the driver’s right hand and the passenger’s left. Don’t crash the car!

Madlibs

These were popular when I was a kid, but I haven’t seen them lately. You can buy the booklets very cheaply.

Pick something you know very well by heart, like the alphabet or the pledge of allegiance, and try to say the words in reverse order. Go for accuracy then speed. It’s challenging! “All for justice and liberty with, indivisible, God under, nation one, stands it which for republic the to and, America of States United the of flag the to allegiance pledge I.”

Scattergories

You don’t need to buy the official board game. Just choose a category and a letter, and see who can come up with the most things in the category that start with that letter. For example, you might choose “jobs beginning with M,” and come up with “maid, mason, mechanic, model…” Set a timer and keep score if you want.

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Galaxy Note 8 is going to be missing a feature we’ve all been waiting for

The long-rumored Galaxy Note 8 may not feature an optical fingerprint reader after all. According to a new report from Korean publication Naver, Samsung has decided against installing a display-integrated biometric sensor on its next flagship smartphone, because the technology isn’t as secure as it hoped it would be.

“We made every effort to install a display-integrated fingerprint sensor on Galaxy Note 8, but we decided not to install it on this strategic phone due to various technical limitations such as security,” said an official on behalf of the company, later adding that it will continue to develop the scanner.

Apple’s believed to have found a way to perfect the technology

Those who’ve been following TechnoBuffalo closely for the past few months may recall that Samsung reportedly poured a lot of money into developing an in-screen fingerprint reader for the Galaxy S8, but was unable to achieve favorable results in time for mass production.

Apple, on the other hand, is believed to have found a way to perfect the technology and should debut it on board the upcoming iPhone 8, which, like the Galaxy Note 8, is expected to pack a sizeable edge-to-edge display, a dual-camera setup, and powerful internals. Nothing’s confirmed, though.

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Dear Instagram, We Hate The Stupid Algorithm — Sincerely, Every User

It’s dumb, it’s wrong, it’s counterproductive, it’s rude, it’s frustrating, it’s confusing, it’s downright evil. All these things and a lot more can be said about a stupid algorithm created by really smart people.

That’s just it, the Instagram executives are too smart for their own good. They think they’re helping us and their financial bottom line at the same time by having the algorithm only show us what they think we want to see.

What they failed to remember is that the number one most functionally amazing technology ever created to tell Instagram with extreme accuracy what I want to see in chronological order is the follow button!

The follow button was masterfully crafted with 100 percent accuracy to show users only what they want to see in their feed.

The other aspect that these extremely book smart—but clearly not street smart—IG executives failed to realize when deciding what posts are most relevant to show us, based on our previous engagement with accounts, is that there’s lots of accounts that we’re forced to engage with for political reasons—like if my nephew, mother-in-law or co-worker posts something, I’m obligated to “like” it.

On the flip side of that, I’m never going to like an @anacheri photo because it’s too sexy and my wife would be infuriated, and I’m never going to comment on @danbilzerian’s exploits on his page in fear of getting in trouble as well.

But it obviously doesn’t mean that i don’t wanna see Ana and Dan’s posts just because I don’t engage with them. It’s far from that! I’m on Instagram to get a rush of endorphins to feel good, so I’d much rather see their entertaining content than my cousin’s dinner salad.

But with the way the algorithm works, I may never get those endorphins because it may push those pages way down in my feed or completely ignore them, all at the algorithm’s discretion.