by | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
More people are avoiding ‘boring’ or ‘depressing’ news for scrolling social media, but accurate reporting has never been more vital
The other night I broke a long-cherished habit. At home in time for the BBC News at 10, I could only manage a couple of headlines before I turned it off, flicking through the channels instead for something that would make me smile, a comedy or anything about dogs.
News of the
of a little girl, followed by reports from yet another seemingly intractable conflict, had turned me into one of the biggest threats to my own profession, if not democracy – I had become a news avoider.
Jane Martinson is a Guardian columnist
by | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
Instability is growing, Putin’s hybrid war in Europe is heating up and for fear of escalation we have encouraged global nuclear proliferation
There are human activities in which both sides can win. War is not one of them. Either Ukraine wins this war or Russia does. Ukraine’s former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba says bluntly that unless the current trajectory is changed, “we will lose this war”.
To be clear: this is still avoidable. Suppose the roughly four-fifths of Ukrainian territory still controlled by Kyiv gets military commitments from the west strong enough to deter any further Russian advances, secure large-scale investment in economic reconstruction, encourage Ukrainians to return from abroad to rebuild their country, and allow for stable, pro-European politics and reform. In five years, the country joins the EU, and then, under a new US administration, starts the process of entering Nato. Most of Ukraine becomes a sovereign, independent, free country, firmly anchored in the west.
Timothy Garton Ash is a Guardian columnist
by | Dec 21, 2024 | The Guardian
As a foreign correspondent, home was never a fixed location. I’ve finally learned it’s about who you share it with
- In our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at home
The first time it happened I wrote it off as inexperience. By “it” I mean lying on a concrete floor covered in cow shit and wondering how many bones had been broken by the cow I’d been trying to milk. Great skill is needed for the apparently simple task of attaching suction cups to a cow’s teats – especially if she has painful warts.
The cows hated me (rightly so) and I hated them. Maybe I mean feared rather than hated, but it amounts to the same thing. And the more experienced I became, the more I was forced to admit that my idea of a farm in Wales becoming the home I had always longed for was ill advised if not utterly stupid.
by | Dec 20, 2024 | The Guardian
Parents of a deaf child should not feel pressured to choose between implants and signing, writes Dr Wyatte Hall, while Simon Gair agonised over implants for three of his children. Plus letters from Ruth Holt and Jenny Froude
As a deaf researcher focused on language deprivation among deaf individuals, I am often asked about cochlear implants and their role in the lives of deaf children (
). While cochlear implants are a technological tool that provides access to sound, the critical issue is not the implant itself, but the decision to exclude signed languages from a deaf child’s upbringing.
Language is a fundamental human right and the foundation of cognitive, social and emotional development. For deaf children, access to a visual language – such as American Sign Language or British Sign Language (BSL) – is essential, particularly in the early years when the brain is most receptive to language acquisition. Without this access, many deaf children can face significant delays in language development, which leads to lifelong challenges in education, employment and mental health.
by | Dec 20, 2024 | The Guardian
Nonagenarian Tim Watson on why no one, including adults, should be using smartphones. And Carole Gray found her enjoyment of the Van Gogh exhibition impeded by the crowd holding up their phones to take photos
Channel 4’s Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones deserves a medal (
). Its emphasis on the pathological effects of smartphone use was convincing. And yet something was missing: that adults are themselves infected by the disease. No one should be using smartphones. They distract those who should be talking naturally with children, helping youngsters’ intellectual development. Intelligent conversation will soon die out. Only really old people will notice, for only they will remember.
Tim Watson (nearly 94)
Worcester
• Your article on phones being banned in nightclubs (
) leads me to wonder if this could be extended to art exhibitions. I recently visited the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery in London. The exhibition was so crowded that it was impossible to stand back to view the paintings, and it was exacerbated by the huge number of people holding their phones up to take photos of the paintings or selfies in front of them. Perhaps there could be phone-free sessions available to book?
Carole Gray
Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
by | Dec 20, 2024 | The Guardian
