How young content creators plan to balance their social media success and campus life

Growing up, Sofia DelGiudice never imagined her father’s annual back-to-school tradition would be a pivotal moment in her social media career.

Before starting university two years ago, the 19-year-old content creator from Toronto had the idea to stitch together all the videos her dad filmed of her descending the stairs in the family's home on the first day of school.

"It's the first day of what grade?" DelGiudice’s dad can be heard asking her in each clip recorded from kindergarten onward.

DelGiudice posted what she thought was a cute homage only her small TikTok following would see — and it went viral.

Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota on Tuesday joined a wave of states suing TikTok, alleging the social media giant preys on young people with addictive algorithms that trap them into becoming compulsive consumers of its short videos.

“This isn’t about free speech. I’m sure they’re gonna holler that," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. "It’s actually about deception, manipulation, misrepresentation. This is about a company knowing the dangers, and the dangerous effects of its product, but making and taking no steps to mitigate those harms or inform users of the risks.”

The lawsuit, filed in state court, alleges that TikTok is violating Minnesota laws against deceptive trade practices and consumer fraud. It follows a flurry of lawsuits filed by more than a dozen states last year alleging the popular short-form video app is designed to be addictive to kids and harms their mental health. Minnesota's case brings the total to about 24 states, Ellison's office said.

Many of the earlier lawsuits stemmed from a nationwide investigation into TikTok launched in 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from 14 states into the effects of TikTok on young users’ mental health. Ellison, a Democrat, said Minnesota waited while it did its own investigation.

Book Review: ‘Algospeak’ shows just how much social media is changing us

How much has social media changed the way we talk and behave?

That’s the question linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic sets out to answer in his debut book “Algospeak.”

If you already know what words like “yeet,” “rizz,” “brainrot” or “blackpilled” mean, some of this information might not come as a surprise to you. Still, Aleksic’s analysis reaffirms how this language came about and why it continues to proliferate. For those unfamiliar, it acts as an accessible entry point into social media slang and its evolution.

“Algospeak” touches on a wide array of topics, including in-groups and out-groups, censorship, language appropriation, extremism online, microtrends, clickbait and generational divides. The chapters build on each other with a textbook-level attention to vocabulary.

CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and pregnant women may get COVID-19 vaccinations, removing stronger language that those groups should get the shots.

The change comes days after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

But the updated guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website sends a more nuanced message, saying shots “may” be given to those groups.

“The announcement from earlier this week sounded like CDC was going to fully withdraw any statement that could be construed as a recommendation for these vaccines in these populations,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher. “It's not as bad as it could have been."

Nearly one in three non-profit workers burnt out and food insecure, survey suggests

A survey of 1,116 employees at non-profit organizations across Canada indicates more than one-third of workers regularly feel burnt out and exhausted.

The Changemaker Wellbeing Index, published Thursday, says 36 per cent of workers said they were struggling with issues such as anxiety, poor job satisfaction and insufficient household incomes.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 21 and March 14 by Toronto-based Environics Research on behalf of media company Future of Good.

Thirty-four per cent of respondents at community non-profits said they were food insecure, and 20 per cent said they were likely to quit in the next six months.

Le recrutement s’en vient

Les recrutements pour composer l’équipe manitobaine des prochains Jeux de la francophonie débuteront le mois prochain. Des camps de recrutement s’érigeront un peu partout au pays afin de représenter au mieux la francophonie canadienne.

Les camps de recrutements pour les jeux de la francophonie 2025 se profilent. Ces derniers devraient se dérouler dans le courant du mois de novembre un peu partout dans la province.

L’objectif de ces camps est assez évident, ils visent à trouver les jeunes francophones qui composeront l’équipe manitobaine pour les Jeux.

Du 15 au 19 juillet 2025, les Jeux se dérouleront dans la ville de Laval au Québec.

Some doctors sneak education into their online content to drown out misinformation

TORONTO - When Dr. Siobhan Deshauer makes online videos, her primary goal is to demystify medicine. Her secondary goal?

"I call it 'smuggling in education,'" said the physician and YouTuber, who boasts nearly a million subscribers on the platform. "You're coming for this mystery and this excitement, but I'm smuggling in some topics that I think are really important and that I'm passionate about."

Some experts say one of the best ways to fight a rising tide of medical misinformation on social media is to drown it out with captivating content backed by science, and Deshauer, an Ontario-based internal medicine and rheumatology specialist, is among a growing cohort of doctors and researchers doing just that.

Take one of her medical mystery videos, for example. In it, Deshauer tells the story of a woman who had lead poisoning. Doctors took ages to figure out what was causing her symptoms, but ultimately realized they were a result of lead in the Ayurvedic supplements she was taking.

Esports competitions motivating force for First Nations students, educators say

Esports clubs are allowing First Nations students to play against peers from other on-reserve schools without the costly and time-intensive trips required for basketball, hockey and other traditional extracurriculars.

For teacher Karl Hildebrandt, one of the many motivators to grow Manitoba’s online gaming community is giving youth in rural and remote areas more competitive opportunities to represent their schools.

“When you tell kids they can play video games at school, their eyes open and when you tell them you can compete against another school in the province, their mouths drop,” said Hildebrandt, director of rural and northern esports for the Manitoba School Esports Association.

A handful of members of the Manitoba First Nations School System, including Lake Manitoba, Brokenhead, Fox Lake, Roseau River and York Landing, have started developing cybersport programs. Some teachers have also started integrating online games into their everyday lessons.

The joke’s on us as social media capitalizes on our base impulses in race to the bottom

The most important thing we can teach ourselves, and our children, about how to navigate social media is this: the algorithms want you to be angry. They want you to be angry, because it is good for business.

Teenage artist finds creative process helps her tap into emotions, find sense of self

Faiza Malik found more than peace and safety when she and her family arrived in Canada from Afghanistan nine years ago — she also found art.

The 16-year-old credits art and creativity with helping her transition to a new life. Now she wants to work with local kids to give them access to resources she never had growing up.

“I started painting when I first arrived in Canada when I was in Grade 2 or Grade 3. We had those little art projects in school and I was always excited to do those things because I was using my hands and creating something new,” Malik says. “Art wasn’t really a thing that was available in Afghanistan.”

She admits the culture shock was all-consuming when she and her family, including her mom, dad and three siblings, first arrived here.

Nature prescription could be just what the doctor ordered

Take a hike in the forest and call me in the morning.

Instead of prescribing just a pill or ointment, doctors could soon tell patients to head to the great outdoors.

PaRx, a national nature prescription program, has launched in Manitoba to help address mental and physical health problems and to encourage people to get outside to exercise.

Anna Cooper Reed, a social worker and doctoral student who is helping bring the program to this province, said she grew up being able to go to the family cottage in a provincial park in Manitoba so she knows first-hand the benefits of spending time outdoors.

Biking to the Viking (statue) a great way to burn off tasty local treats

GIMLI — There are many things I enjoy about travel: learning about different cultures, seeing historic sites, experiencing varieties of natural beauty and meeting people from around the world, to list just a few.

Cost of keeping junior(s) busy

Get them off the couch and screens… and keep them busy.

It’s a mantra many parents have had during 18-plus months of pandemic when in-person school and extracurricular activities were often off the child-care time-table.

Now parents are piling kids back into after-school programming, public health advisories permitting.

While doing the mental math regarding health risks, many parents are also engaged in basic budgeting arithmetic when enrolling progeny in swimming lessons, dance, Girl Guides, soccer, football, music and art lessons and, last but not least, the cult of hockey.

Legendary wheelchair basketball player embraces new role with Manitoba Wheelchair Sport Association

When Joey Johnson tells his story, he describes it as the most devastating part of his life. He was eight years old when he sat in the doctor's office and found out that he had a degenerative hip disease.

"I remember sitting there and being like 'OK, what does that mean? When can I get back on the rink? I want to go play with my buddies.' And the doctor said 'No, there will be no more hockey for you,'" Johnson told the Free Press Wednesday.

"I literally sat in his office crying on my mom's lap for an hour before we got out of there."

Johnson, now 46, was an active child who grew up wanting to play in the NHL and represent Canada on the biggest stage. The diagnosis ruined his dream of one day hoisting the Stanley Cup over his head, but it did, however, open up a path for him to wear the red and white and be a trailblazer along the way.

Runners’ high: School opens rubberized track

The burgundy race track Marlee Bragg's phys-ed students run on is unique in north Winnipeg.

Teens pounded Garden City Collegiate's 400-metre rubberized track, with Bragg's whistle sounding in the background, as city councillors Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan) and Brian Mayes (St. Vital) viewed the new upgrades they had helped spur.

"We feel very privileged," Bragg told the councillors Wednesday.

The Jefferson Avenue high school is one of three rubberized full-size tracks in the city. The University of Manitoba and Victor Mager School, in St. Vital, host the others.

Athletic excellence in the genes of Geekie family

STRATHCLAIR — It's a hot day in August and the Geekie brothers are home together for a change.

That doesn't happen much anymore.

Morgan, the eldest, has packed a lot into summer. After playing 36 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season, the 23-year-old centre was chosen by the Seattle Kraken in the NHL expansion draft.

Less than two weeks later, he married his high-school sweetheart, Emma Coulter.

Winnipeg teen representing Canada at World Amateur Long Drive Championship

A Winnipeg teen known for her prowess on the tee box will be launching bombs on behalf of Canada next month in Chicago.

Hannah Penner, 18, will don the red and white as part of a contingent of 20 golfers set to represent the nation at the 2021 World Amateur Long Drive Championship, set for Sept. 11-19.

She's headed to the Windy City but doesn't require a strong breeze at her back to routinely crush the ball well over 250 yards or, occasionally, eclipse the 300-yard mark.

Penner, one of four women in the group, said she's thrilled about the chance to compete against others with the same unique skillset.

Manitoba youth concerned about mental health: survey

Young people surveyed by Manitoba's children's advocate say they need better mental health and addiction services, as well as anti-poverty programs.

The advocate, an independent office of the Manitoba legislature, consulted with almost 300 young people who live in various regions of the province. A report based on their feedback, “The Right to Be Heard”, was published Thursday.

Generally, youth in the north were more likely to say they are concerned about poverty and substance abuse, while those living in Winnipeg were more likely to select racism and mental health issues.

“A report like this allows us a really incredible opportunity to sit down internally and think about how the projects that we have underway, how the projects that we’re maybe considering embarking on, align with what youth want us to be focused on,” said acting children's advocate Ainsley Krone said.

Ultimate test of sportsmanship: no refs, players resolve game disputes

At the World Masters Ultimate Club Championships being played this week at Little Mountain Sportsplex, the idea of respecting your opponent and promoting the integrity of the sport is not given lip service. Participants talk about respecting the spirit of the game and they mean it.

Following a round-robin men's division game between Winnipeg's Torque and Quantum of Quebec City, both teams convened for separate "spirit circles," as they are called.

These group sessions involved a discussion of the game and improvements that might be made for the upcoming match. Next, players from both teams locked arms for another spirit circle — a place where quality of play, any lingering disagreements over matters such as rough play or interpretations of the rules could be handled.

Spirit circles are part of all World Flying Disc Federation-sanctioned events.

Life at the speed of sound

I was only five years old when the Beatles broke up and yet their music has been the overarching soundtrack of my life.

Families department criticized for 2024 cyberattack

The Manitoba ombudsman is criticizing the families department’s service provider and security policies after data involving vulnerable Manitobans was accessed in a 2024 cyberattack.

Paramedic team to focus on overdoses in city’s core

With opioid-related emergencies overtaking alcohol-related calls for service in Winnipeg, the province is investing more than $1 million to ease pressure on front-line responders and improve overdose care.

The funding includes $802,000 for a three-month pilot project that will see a 24-7, two-person paramedic team respond to overdose calls in high-demand areas, including the downtown core, where many of the city’s shelters and support agencies are located. The pilot will start this month, the province said.

The province will also spend $150,000 on approximately 20 oxygen delivery devices to be managed by Main Street Project, which help when overdoses don’t respond to naloxone. Another $100,000 will be given to provide first aid and overdose response training for workers through St. John’s Ambulance and Manitoba Harm Reduction Network.

“We’ve been meeting quite regularly with the front-line organizations and this really came from them, and what they wanted and they need,” Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith told the Free Press Tuesday. “This was something that we could immediately respond to.”