Social media evils, school suspensions, Long Island poverty numbers, 1983 Shea stadium banner, assisted living 911 calls

Social media evils must be dealt with

Frequent news stories, studies and a new warning by the U.S. surgeon general highlight the concerning impact of social media activity on youth [“New York, other states sue Meta,” News, Oct. 25]. While advances in technology have provided us with boundless advantages, there are also dangerous consequences, particularly for the young.

My Family Service League colleagues and I often see many young people inadvertently and sometimes intentionally putting themselves and their families in highly vulnerable situations linked to social media activities.

Examples include dangerous online challenges, algorithms that feed information about eating disorders, self-harm and suicide, predatory practices, scams, bullying and harassment, and the relatively new phenomena such as malicious doxing and prank swatting. These often result in disastrous consequences. These are the extremes, but we must also look at the erosion of social skills and in-person relationships, lost sleep, lack of exercise, impact on academic achievements, etc.

While children always seem to be one step ahead of adults when it comes to social media, and most young people can’t see or acknowledge the risks, we as adults must find ways to educate them about the very real consequences of social media behavior. We must provide youth and parents with tools to manage and mitigate the impact.

— Kathy Rosenthal, Huntington

The writer, a social worker, is senior vice president of programs at Family Service League.

Suspensions won’t work in school bias

I am always struck that when disciplining students, suspension often is the first act of discipline [“Tackling bias at schools,” News, Oct. 29].

How does suspension offer space for student reflection, learning and personal growth? If anything, it simply isolates the student, making the offender angry. It often sharpens the desire to commit further harm. Remember, that student will likely be returning to your school community. How will you welcome back that person?

Instead of focusing on how to punish the offender, schools, researchers and policymakers must consider spending more time on how to create a school culture where it is less likely that these incidents will occur in the first place.

— Patti Cathers, Oceanside

The writer is a former director of programs in child abuse prevention services.

Getting LI poverty numbers right is key

The editorial “Better poverty measure needed” [Opinion, Sept. 26] makes a point that resonates with Catholic Charities of Long Island as well as with many of Long Island’s poor and needy living in poverty. We agree wholeheartedly that the federal poverty level of $29,678 for a family of four has almost no correlation to what it actually costs to live on Long Island.

We recently conducted our first “poverty simulation,” along with our partner Catholic Health. More than 50 Catholic Charities employees and volunteers, among others, learned what it was like to walk in the shoes of the poor. The simulation reinforced the tough measures and fraught decisions low-income families encounter each day as they move through life, lacking a real safety net.

Newsday’s editorial board suggests United Way of Long Island’s 2023 ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report, with its “household survival budget,” provides a much better gauge for what it takes to manage a family of four here, nearly $80,000 in Suffolk County and nearly $77,000 in Nassau.

And we believe getting the numbers right is important, as the editorial asserts, since official poverty guidelines are used to calculate a variety of benefits, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

— Michael E. Smith, Hicksville

The writer is CEO of Catholic Charities of Long Island in Hicksville.

A surprise 40 years in the making

It was a big surprise to open Sunday’s Newsday and see a photo of the banner I hung at Shea Stadium 40 years ago demanding that team owner and oil mogul Leon Hess stay in New Jersey and keep his Jets and lineman Mark Gastineau in New York [“They got the shot,” LI Life, Oct. 29]. I was completely shocked.

It’s quite an honor to be surrounded by photos of sports icons Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, John McEnroe, Joe Namath and Sarah Hughes!

By the way, I made the sign with my friend Tony Perotti of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The banner? It’s still in my basement.

It’s too bad Hess never took our advice.

— Donathan Salkaln, Center Moriches

Assisted living folks need their landlines

Removing landlines from rooms with assisted living residents is a dangerous mistake [“Landline hang-ups,” Our Towns, Oct. 26].

In my 30-plus years as a 911 operator, I received numerous calls from several assisted living residents because the front desk person never picked up their calls. I would then have to call their front desk to send them help.

Facility owners might get to keep more money, but it would be a shame if this is allowed.

— Carol Rook, Hempstead