Author: TECH

By EarthTimes Health Desk | February 19, 2026 From scrolling before breakfast to late-night binges, social media use has become a defining feature of today’s teen years. This article examines the latest research on teens and digital platforms, exploring what experts are learning about mental health and developmental outcomes — and how those findings are increasingly intersecting with legal scrutiny. For readers interested in how mounting concerns about youth well-being are now playing out in court, this in-depth look at the social media trial examining youth safety and platform design offers additional perspective on how accountability efforts could reshape protections…

Many people carry emotional pain from childhood without even realizing how deeply it affects daily life. A new study shows that mindfulness practices may reduce depression symptoms, especially in people who experienced abuse or neglect early in life. Researchers at Brown University led this important study. Professor Eric Loucks, a professor of medicine, epidemiology, and behavioral and social sciences, and director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown, guided the research. The findings suggest that caring for the mind can improve both emotional and physical health.Studying mindfulness programsThe research team enrolled 201 adults. Out of this group, 101 participants…

Next week, certain Social Security beneficiaries are to receive their latest monthly benefits, as the Social Security Administration (SSA) completes its three-Wednesdays payment cycle for February 2026.On Feb. 25, the SSA is scheduled to distribute February’s monthly benefits to a particular group of Americans who claim retirement, disability or survivor pay.How does Social Security’s Wednesday cycle work?Of the just under 71 million people who receive Social Security retirement, disability or survivor benefits in the U.S., most get their monthly payments on the second, third or fourth Wednesday in each month. A beneficiary’s designated Wednesday depends on the date of birth…

TOTS at a Rugby nursery have been getting in touch with their feelings during Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Busy Bees Rugby held a self-regulation activity to support children’s emotions. In the pre-school room, children enjoyed the story The Colour Monster, a gentle book which teaches kids to explore their feelings. Vicki Prestwich, Centre Director at the Rodney Close nursery, said: “We read The Colour Monster to spark meaningful conversations about emotions, encouraging the children to share their own experiences of feeling happy, sad, angry, calm, or worried. “Through storytelling, we explored how emotions are a natural and important…

If you know anything about team sports, most athletes don’t really care for sitting the bench.  In fact, they tend to work super hard at practice, honing their skills because they want to be in the game giving it all they have. They want to be an asset on the team. It’s not that sitting on the sidelines is a bad thing. Everyone sits out at times. However, most athletes try extra hard on and off the field or court so that they can have plenty of playing time. Life is like a sport for everyone – but not everyone…

Emotional support animals, hot drinks, and a lounge to relax in: this is what greets you if you walk into a specialist emergency mental health unit in west London.The centre in Ladbroke Grove is designed to be a calmer, more suitable alternative to A&E departments.It can also provide support more quickly: patients are seen “within 15 minutes”.Karalyn, a patient with complex mental health needs, says she prefers the centre because there’s more certainty, whereas “it’s a waiting game in A&E”.Karalyn says the centre is better than A&E where she once had to wait 24 hours [BBC]The centre is quiet, with…

Letter from the SSAC Chair to the Minister for Social Security and Disability about the Government’s Right to Try policy. The Social Security Advisory Committee confirms that it will be taking the regulations on formal reference, with further advice to follow in due course. /Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

A 10-year-old boy has launched a project to help schools celebrate neurodiversity.The scheme aims to raise awareness in classrooms and promote understanding among students.It is the brainchild of Dexter, a pupil at Sompting Village Primary School, who has named the scheme Dexter’s Dream.The programme aims to help children with ADHD understand themselves and to encourage all pupils to better understand and value neurodiversity, including ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions.Dexter said: “The hardest part isn’t me having ADHD. It’s when other people don’t get it.”I don’t want kids like me to feel different in a bad way. I want them to…

Dragon stones of Armenia – Credits: Armen Manukov (left) and Sonashen (right) CC BY-SA 3.0 For the first time in the country’s history, a detailed analysis of Armenia’s “dragon stones” has been conducted with the hope of solving the mystery of these large Neolithic monuments. Raised between 4200 and 4000 BCE, in concert roughly with the megaliths of Stonehenge, Armenia’s vishaps, meaning dragons, weigh between 3 and 8 tons, and stretch across a highland region bearing either the carved imagery of a fish or a stretched cowhide. Dozens have been found and identified, and their ubiquity along with their seeming randomness…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Access Ready Strategic, a social purpose subsidiary of Access Ready, Inc., today announced the launch of its Personal Injury Disability Services (PIDS) program — a new resource designed to help personal injury attorneys and their clients effectively navigate the complex landscape of disability rights, services, and supports following an injury. The recent rapid approach to policy changes at the Federal and State levels is causing people with disabilities, especially the newly disabled, to find assistance. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Access Ready, Inc., a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit cross-disability advocacy organization, Access Ready…