Editor’s Web Note: Talk about brain drain. Multi-tasking is the biggest mass waste of our evolved brain to date. As you see from the Hewlett Packard-commissioned study that I cite below, constant tending to emails, texts, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., while you’re trying to work makes you twice as dumb as if you smoked a joint. Or didn’t sleep at all the night before. Parents need to insist on electronic-free homework time for their kids. In addition to better grades, they will feel less stressed. — Lauren Forcella
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Editor’s Web Note: The biggest sexual revolution since the sixties is taking place right now. We went from the generation of free love to the generation of pan-sexuality. Not that most young people are taking part, but there is enough happening that many parents are paranoid of social factors that could lead their child to “fly to the other tree.” After the panelists express their views (most being incredulous that there is even a fuss about this), I offer a “middle way” for parents to address this topic productively. — Lauren
Editor’s Web Note: I am an advocate of mandatory national service with non-military options (see our column of Dec. 31, 2008). I know several young people, including some on this panel, who have dual citizenship in Europe. When they turn 18, they readily return to put in their service. Most young adults are eager to learn new skills, get in shape, and contribute to something larger. Take these twins, for example. If there were more non-military programs in place with equally sexy recruitment efforts as put forth by the military, the lives of young adults and the state of our country would be improved — and parents wouldn’t feel like ripping down the posters. —Lauren
Editor’s Web Note: This column tells the deeper story of how poorly bullying is being addressed on our campuses. The fact that only a third of the panelists strongly advise taking the problem to authorities (and this from a safe write-in perspective; on the ground, I imagine the numbers drop almost to zero), tells you the lack of leadership/resources at the top to take swift action against bullies. Our schools need community and parental support. Looking for a way to serve? Bullying needs addressing at all levels, from prevention to enforcement. — Lauren
Editor’s Web Note: True love. Everyone wants it, but few experience it in a lasting format. Please use the write-to-us form or the comment section below to send us your stories of true love: How you recognized it, what obstacles you had to overcome to make it real (both external and within yourself), and what you did to keep it alive. To love, Lauren
Editor’s Web Note: I recently met someone in his fifties who just learned he was adopted when his mother let it slip accidentally. She started bawling. He finally had the missing puzzle pieces. We’ve come a long way in understanding the importance of an adopted child grasping cognitively the loss he or she feels within the body — and that it’s normal to yearn for the womb from which we began our journey. If you know an adopted person of any age, give them some extra warmth when you see them. Whatever the setting, they always could use more reminding that they “belong.” — Lauren
Editor’s Web Note: Could humans finally be weary of violence and exploitation? As of today’s date, the sci-fi film “Avatar” holds the spot for the second-highest grossing film ever made. For all the complaints from the intellectual community and the Christian right, Cameron makes a spiritual life of peace and ecological balance look sumptuously fulfilling. If it wasn’t for “abandonment guilt”, most young people would head to Pandora in a hot second. —Lauren
