Starting the day with two double sausage and egg McMuffins wasn't doing Tammy Jones' bank balance any favours - nor her waistline.
More than half of start-up founders say they are launching side hustles to bridge the gap between their wages and rising bills.
Family trauma shapes a student’s affair with her teacher in this bleak and funny fiction debut from the American memoirist When it was published in 2022, Jennette McCurdy’s memoir lit a touchpaper to a nascent cultural conversation. I’m Glad My Mom Died introduced her mother Debra’s narcissistic personality disorder into a world eager to discuss adult child and parent estrangement. McCurdy had also suffered sexual abuse, and claimed her mother had contributed to her developing an eating disorder. The memoir was a bestseller, walking readers through the realities of generational trauma; a step change for the former Disney child star who had been “the funny one” on obnoxious Nickelodeon kids’ shows. In her debut work of fiction, Half His Age, McCurdy continues to shake open a Pandora’s box, shedding light on blurred parent-child boundaries and loss of identity due to over-enmeshment, with solid one-liners that feel straight out of a sitcom writers’ room. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Health secretary issues invitation in push for UK to consider copying landmark restrictions in Australia Wes Streeting has asked Jonathan Haidt, a bestselling author and high-profile advocate of banning social media for under-16s, to speak to his officials in his push for the UK to consider following a landmark ban in Australia. The health secretary has invited Haidt to address an event with staff, charities and MPs after the prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he was open to stricter limits for young people. Continue reading...
Despite some interesting visuals, not even Tony Cook and Jonny Weldon can lift this poorly produced tale of a pair of dodgy lads hiding in Greece from a gangster Here is an odd film about a couple of dodgy lads who get on the wrong side of a bona fide gangster and have to hide out in Greece. It’s not thoughtless per se; rather, it lacks the resources to bring its vision successfully to screen. Its quirks are sometimes appealing and sometimes amateurish and, while a mixture of influences swirl about, from Bond to Kingsman to Guy Ritchie and even Mission: Impossible, the film-makers don’t have the necessary budget, meaning that it feels at times like a TikTok parody of more expensive films. It is a shame, because there are some interesting visual ideas that go beyond route one filming. Example: a goon beating a man tied to a chair on a crispy manicured lawn is filmed in a lovely wide shot, with a guy in the far distance calmly clipping the hedge. But it’s the post-production that is the biggest letdown: the sound mix is poor, and it’s a real shame that the final image before the credits roll, which should be genuinely nasty, is derailed by risible FX. Continue reading...
The multi-day trail between the Cumbria and North Yorkshire coasts is one of Britain’s most popular, and now upgrades, path repairs and trail officers aim to preserve it for future generations A soft breeze tickled the waters of Innominate Tarn, sending ripples dashing across the pool, bogbean and tussock grass dancing at its fringes. From my rocky perch atop Haystacks, I gazed down on Buttermere and Crummock Water glistening to the north, the round-shouldered hulks of Pillar and Great Gable looming to the south. A pair of ravens cronked indignantly, protesting against the intrusion on their eyrie; otherwise, stillness reigned. Bless you, Alfred Wainwright, I murmured, picturing the hiking legend whose ashes are scattered around this lonely tarn. And then, surprising myself: you too, Rishi Sunak. In very different ways, both had brought me to this most spectacular of Lakeland crags. Continue reading...
If you rush it because 31 January is on the horizon you are likely to make mistakes, or not have everything you need The deadline is 31 January, but don’t put it off – try to set aside enough time over the next few days to complete your tax return for the tax year that ran from 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025. Continue reading...
Ban on private equity firms buying single-family homes in US raises concerns instututions could boost deepen housing crisis on Britain Leading US investors and private equity firms could step up their foray into UK new-build housing after Donald Trump’s move to ban institutional companies from buying single-family homes in the US, raising concerns that investors could “cut corners and increase rents”. The US president said last week that he would ask Congress to codify the measure as he tries to address concerns that families are struggling to buy or rent a home. The median property sale price was $410,800 (£305,000) last year, according to the US Census Bureau. Continue reading...
This generation of parents have gone above and beyond to make childhood safer: using location-tracking apps, thinking carefully about sleepovers, knowing who their children are with and where they are going. Risk in the physical world is now managed with unprecedented care. Yet at the same time, many children are being given unrestricted access to a digital world that is largely unregulated, commercially driven, and developmentally mismatched to their needs. As a child and adolescent psychotherapist, this is the contradiction I see daily: we monitor our children’s movements, but often not the environments their phones take them into. Social media’s impact on the teens I work with Adolescence is the period when young people form identity through peer feedback and social comparison. Social media amplifies this process dramatically. Large-scale studies link heavy social media use with increased rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness, particularly among teenage girls. What’s striking in therapy, however, is that many young people don’t come in saying “social media is harming me”. For them, this level of visibility feels normal, it’s simply the water they’re swimming in. They often describe the pressure to respond, to stay connected, to manage friendships online as “just how things are”, rather than something that can be questioned. It’s usually only when we slow things down that the impact becomes clearer. Young people begin to notice how tiring it is to always be reachable, always aware of how they appear, always slightly on edge about what might be said or shared next. Conflict no longer ends at the school gate. It follows them home, into their bedrooms, and onto their phones late at night. In clinical work, certain themes recur with striking consistency: Cyberbullying that feels inescapable because it follows children home Early exposure to sexual, violent or disturbing material Rising body dissatisfaction driven by filtered, idealised images Online communities that normalise self-harm, eating disorders and extreme beliefs Contact with adults who do not have children’s safety in mind. We would never allow a child to wander alone through a city at night, yet many are navigating the digital equivalent daily, often without guidance. Should the UK ban social media for under-16s? There has been much talk, of late, about the UK following in Australia’s footsteps and banning social media for under-16s . A petition has garnered 14,000 signatures (at the time of writing) with hopes for the UK to follow suit. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she’ll stop under-16s from accessing it if the party comes into power. Prime minister Keir Starmer has also revealed he’s now open to the idea of a similar ban in the UK . I’d broadly support a social media ban for under-16s, as it is likely to reduce early exposure during a particularly sensitive period of emotional and social development. However, on its own it risks being a blunt tool. Children are developmentally curious and highly socially motivated, and without parallel changes in parenting practices and wider cultural norms, bans can simply push use underground rather than remove it. For a ban to be effective, it would need to sit alongside age-appropriate regulation at platform level; clear societal messaging that later access is protective; and strong parental guidance around boundaries, supervision and real-world connection. It’s also important to recognise that for many young people, social media is already embedded in how they relate to peers, so an abrupt removal could be difficult for some to adapt to without careful scaffolding and adult support. When limits are introduced alongside meaningful offline alternatives, they are far more likely to support healthy development. What can parents do? 1. Delay access to social media Studies consistently show that later access to social media is associated with better mental health outcomes. Emotional maturity develops far more slowly than technology. Waiting is not depriving children, it is giving their brains time to grow into the responsibility. 2. Keep phones out of bedrooms This single change is one of the most evidence-backed interventions. Research links nighttime phone use to poorer sleep, higher anxiety and greater exposure to harmful content. In families I work with, removing phones from bedrooms often leads to rapid improvements in mood and regulation. 3. Prioritise real-world connection Face-to-face friendships, sport, clubs and unstructured play remain some of the strongest protective factors for mental health. These experiences build resilience, identity and belonging in ways digital interaction simply cannot replicate. 4. Supervise honestly and openly Children don’t benefit from secret monitoring, they benefit from clear, consistent boundaries and open conversations. That means: Family rules about apps and screen time Regular, curious discussions about what they’re seeing Normalising parental involvement as care, not control. The message should be: “This world is powerful, and you don’t have to navigate it alone.” A wider shift is needed Parents often tell me they feel they are fighting this alone. But this is not just a family issue, it is a public health issue. We have invested an enormous effort in making the physical world safer for children, while underestimating the psychological risks of the digital one. What gives me hope is how responsive children are to change. When families introduce small, steady boundaries; I see anxiety fall, sleep improve, attention return and confidence grow – not because technology disappears, but because it finds its proper place. Laura Gwilt is a child and adolescent therapist at Swift Psychology . Related... I'm A Therapist Who's Seeing More 'Cocooned' Kids In Clinic – It's Heartbreaking I Work With Teens – Banning Smartphones In Schools Isn't Enough 'Flip The Cam' Trend Seems Harmless, But You Need To Talk To Your Teen About It
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THE final before the final? That is the feeling in Rabat as tournament hosts Morocco clash with an unstoppable Nigeria side in the AFCON semi-finals. This is the heavyweight bout of the tournament. Nigeria have been flawless, winning all five of their matches and scoring a tournament-high 14 goals, including a decisive 2-0 quarter-final win...
KLARNA has revealed a huge change from today which means customers will be able to send each other cash through the app. The buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm will enable customers to send money to their friends and family if they are registered Klarna customers, including letting them split bills or simply gift them cash. They will...
THE Carabao Cup semi-finals take centre stage this Wednesday night as Chelsea welcome London rivals Arsenal to Stamford Bridge for the first leg of their blockbuster tie. It is a baptism of fire for new Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, who takes charge of his first home game against the Premier League title contenders. With a...
Michael Carrick will take charge of Manchester United for a second spell and will be their interim boss until the end of the season - with his Middlesbrough stint offering hints as to his style
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