TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania's prime minister said Saturday the federal government will close video service TikTok for a yr, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially amongst children.

Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and fogeys after an adolescent was stabbed by one other teenager in mid-November after an argument began on TikTok.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a gathering with teachers and fogeys that TikTok would “remain completely closed to everyone.”…There will likely be no TikTok within the Republic of Albania.” Rama said the shutdown would begin sometime next year.

It was not immediately clear whether TikTok has a contact in Albania.

In an email response Saturday to a request for comment, TikTok asked for “urgent clarity from the Albanian government” in the case of the stabbed teenager. The company said it found “no evidence that the perpetrator or victim had TikTok accounts, and actually, multiple reports have confirmed that videos resulting in this incident were posted on one other platform and never TikTok.” “

According to local researchers, Albanian children make up the largest group of TikTok users in the country.

Albanian parents are increasingly concerned after reports of children taking knives and other objects to school to use in arguments or bullying cases, promoted through stories they saw on TikTok.

TikTok's activities in China, where the parent company is based, are different and “promote how to learn better, how to protect nature… and so on,” said Rama.

Albania is too small a country to force TikTok to change its algorithm so that it does not “encourage the reproduction of the endless hell of the language of hate, violence, bullying, etc.,” Rama's office wrote in an email response The Associated Press seeks comment. Rama's office said TikTok in China “prevents children from being sucked into this abyss.”

Rama said Albania would monitor how the company and other countries react to the year-long closure before deciding whether to allow the company to resume operations in Albania.

Not everyone agreed with Rama's decision to shut down TikTok.

“The dictatorial decision to close the social media platform TikTok … is a serious act against freedom of expression and democracy,” said Ina Zhupa, a lawmaker from the fundamental opposition Democratic Party. “It is a purely electoral act and an abuse of power to suppress freedoms.”

Parliamentary elections will happen in Albania next yr.

The Effects of bullying Impacts on teen mental health are well documented. But could bullying also shape their future aspirations?

Our latest research shows that teens who’re bullied in ninth grade change into more pessimistic about their educational and profession prospects after highschool. In particular, bullying increases the danger of depression in teenagers, which causes them to feel hopeless in regards to the future.

As Developmental psychologist As an creator who studies adolescent well-being, I wanted to higher understand the long-term effects of bullying on teenagers' future expectations. My research team recruited 388 highschool students who had just began ninth grade. We asked them to finish surveys every few months for 3 years.

Adolescents who reported being bullied more often by their peers in ninth grade subsequently reported lower expectations about their future educational and profession prospects in eleventh grade. That is, bullied youth were less confident about achieving their desired level of education, finding enjoyable work, and earning enough money to support themselves after highschool. Students who were bullied more ceaselessly in ninth grade were more likely to have their future expectations decline by about eight percentage points in comparison with their peers who weren’t bullied. This decline stays significant even after controlling for aspects similar to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and prior expectations of educational achievement.

Interestingly, one kind of bullying looked as if it would have a very negative impact. The worst off were youth who experienced types of peer victimization that involved exclusion—deliberately ignoring or excluding group activities—or whose social relationships were damaged. But young individuals who were the goal of overt victimization – similar to punches and kicks or threats and direct insults – didn’t report lower expectations for the longer term.

Why does bullying, which impacts teens' relationships and social reputations, weaken teens' optimism for future success? We found that depression plays a task. Adolescents who experienced such a bullying in ninth grade were more more likely to show depressive symptoms in tenth grade. Greater depressive symptoms in tenth grade were related to lower future expectations one 12 months later. Given that Peers change into increasingly essential in adolescenceBullying that directly damages these relationships appears to be particularly insidious.

Why it matters

Previous research shows that teenagers with negative expectations in regards to the future are less more likely to accomplish that attend college And Securing high-quality jobs in maturity. Our results suggest that bullying early in highschool can trigger a vicious cycle of hopelessness and pessimism about later educational and profession prospects. Investing in proven bullying prevention strategies, similar to programs that encourage bystander intervention and offer targeted support to victims, has proven successful It has already been shown to enhance the health of young people and will also help break this cycle.

What's next?

We plan to conduct additional surveys in the approaching years with the young individuals who participated in our research as they transition to varsity and careers. In this manner, we hope to seek out one of the best intervention options to stop bullying and its effects. Our ultimate goal is to be sure that all youth trust of their potential to succeed as adults.

The Research Brief is a transient insight into interesting scientific work.

Florida has updated its School Safety Dashboard in April 2024 and is now probably the most comprehensive within the country. F. Chris Curran is a Professor of educational policy on the University of Florida, who collaborated with Safe schools for Alexa non-profit organization founded by Max Schachter after the murder of his son Alex Parkland massacre in 2018to publish the new edition of the dashboard. The conversation asked him how parents and schools can profit from the dashboard and what other states could learn from it.

What can this dashboard show parents about how protected a college is for his or her child?

Parents can use the Safe Schools for Alex dashboard to check safety metrics at their child's school to district and state averages, in addition to other similar schools. The dashboard covers all K-12 public schools in Florida and over 50 school safety indicators, from fights and guns to high school bus accidents. Parents can even view information concerning the school's response and resources, akin to whether school staff are trained in suicide prevention and what the ratio of counselors to students is.

By accessing this data, parents and parent-teacher associations will know what inquiries to ask their teachers and principals to assist them contribute to high school improvement plans. It can even help parents higher support their very own children at home by talking about and addressing the problems shown on the dashboard. For example, parents could use the statistics within the dashboard to confer with their children about bullying or bullying.

With quite a few school safety measures at their fingertips, parents can seek for the symptoms that meet their individual child's needs. For example, a parent whose child suffers from anxiety or depression might compare mental health resources available at different schools.

How can schools use the dashboard?

School districts and educators can see their school safety data in comparison with other schools and districts – and the way that data pertains to standardized test scores, community violence and other indicators. For example, a college might notice a growing trend in its community of scholars living in poverty or without medical health insurance and concentrate on connecting families with outside social support resources. In contrast, a college that experiences a rise in school-related incidents despite improved community indicators might as an alternative concentrate on improving school engagement and disciplinary measures.

In collaboration with Safe Schools for Alex, also for my team Training developed which uses the dashboard to begin conversations about school safety and find solutions. School leaders can use the dashboard to discover problem areas in their very own school – akin to an increasing frequency of arguments. The dashboard and training then facilitates the conversation concerning the root causes of the issue. The dashboard's resource list provides evidence-based approaches to developing and implementing solutions. For example, school leaders could discover a recent bullying prevention program to implement or discover one other school with fewer fights to achieve out to and learn from.

Could there be unintended consequences?

Unfortunately, research has shown that data dashboards can result in a Stigma towards certain schools and result in it wealthier families leave these schools. Public rankings of faculties have been linked Increase in economic, racial and academic segregation. Lower-ranking schools, in turn, may lose enrollment and resources as wealthier parents select higher-ranking schools.

For this reason, the Safe Schools for Alex dashboard deliberately avoids classifying or labeling schools as “safe” or “unsafe”. The dashboard includes a variety of indicators so educators and fogeys can avoid a simplistic view of a college as protected or not protected. While parents often need a single indicator of a college's performance, such indicators often misrepresent safety or performance, which is frequently the case somewhat point to other aspectsakin to the poverty level of the scholars served.

What does the dashboard reveal about violence in schools today?

Schools across the country have reported Student misbehavior is increasing lately. The dashboard also shows this increase. However, while a few of the increase in safety-related incidents is attributable to violence akin to fights, a big portion is attributable to non-violent incidents – particularly e-cigarettes.

The data also shows that while the variety of some incidents is increasing, government resources akin to school safety and mental health funding are also increasing. Special, government funding per student for mental health has roughly doubled $24 per student to $48 per student in Florida for the past five years. In the meantime, Funding for implementing security practices akin to hiring school cops has increased by roughly 15%.

Ultimately, the dashboard shows that there are major differences between schools and districts. Some have high rates of violence and others low; some gain weight, others shed some pounds.

What's next?

School safety is a highest priority from students, parents and educators. Just as schools have embraced the usage of Data to enhance academic instructionThe use of information to make sure school safety can also be increasing. And yet we have now it found that 1 / 4 to a 3rd of states don’t currently make school safety or discipline data publicly available.

In addition to the Florida dashboard, Safe Schools for Alex also offers dashboards for Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire And Virginia. These other dashboards are currently expanding to incorporate more data and features just like the Florida dashboard.

A lot of other states, including Georgia, have their very own dashboards, which also include extensive data points and interactive functions. And some states, akin to Kentuckyhave integrated such measures into their broader school reports.

These dashboards don't have all of the answers, but they might help parents and college leaders know what inquiries to ask and where to seek out resources to make schools safer, fairer, and more conducive to learning.

Either Meghan Markle or her associates at William Morris thought they might show that she enjoys the support of Hollywood celebrities by revealing to Chrissy Teigen on Instagram this week that she was among the many privileged 50 who were gifted a glass from the Duchess Limited edition strawberry jam from American Riviera Orchard.

Sure, John Legend's influencer wife has long had a big social media presence, with 43 million Instagram followers. But she has also turn into a problematic celebrity as her repute never fully recovered after she was embroiled in a cyberbullying scandal in 2021.

Additionally, Teigen's crash was used as a possibility by Meghan's critics to reconsider the incontrovertible fact that she, too, was embroiled in a bullying controversy. The Times UK ffirst revealed in 2021 that Prince Harry's wife was accused in a Buckingham Palace investigation of harassing royal advisers in the course of the 18 months she was a senior working member of the royal family.

“Meghan Marble and Chrissy Teigen are the two biggest bullies on the D-list! I’m excited to see them teaming up!” wrote Stephanie Sidley in response to Teigens Instagram post, wherein she used Meghan's jam in a bacon and brie grilled cheese sandwich. “This may have been one of the best bites we've eaten all year,” Teigen wrote as cheese dripped from her mouth.

By the best way, Sidley hosts a YouTube show along with her sister that capitalizes on the criticism of Meghan and Harry. Following Teigen's post, fans of Meghan and Teigen were quick to show against Sidley, telling her she was “the bully” and the “hater.”

When the bullying allegations against Meghan first emerged, her spokesman strongly denied them, calling the Times story one other “attack” on her character and part of a bigger “smear campaign.” Teigen, then again, acknowledged her bad behavior prior to now and said she was a web-based “troll,” particularly when she sent malicious messages to teen media personality Courtney Stodden in 2011.

Now, some people commenting on Teigen's Jam post clearly don't consider Meghan has moved on from the bullying allegations. Teigen's post isn't the one place where discussion of the allegations is making a comeback, either.

Just as Meghan attempts to re-establish herself as a life-style influencer, media outlets in Britain, Australia and the United States have reported speculation that the palace staff who claimed they were bullied could also be ready to return forward. reported the New York Post.

Speculation began earlier this month when a former palace aide, Samantha Cohen, confirmed in an interview with Australia's Herald-Sun newspaper that she was certainly one of 10 staffers questioned concerning the allegations. Page Six reports.

Cohen declined to elaborate on the allegations, but pointed to the incontrovertible fact that there was high staff turnover amongst those that worked for Meghan and Harry. Cohen was a long-time adviser to the late Queen Elizabeth II, but worked for Meghan on the queen's request to assist the American actor prepare for royal life.

“I used to be only imagined to stay for six months but ended up staying for 18 months – we couldn't discover a alternative for me and once we did we took them on a tour to Africa with Harry and Meghan to indicate them the ropes but they left (resigned)” “That also applies to the stay in Africa,” Cohen said within the interview.

Cohen's interview led royal writer Tom Bower to suggest that more details about Meghan's alleged bullying may come to light after Cohen speaks out.

“The trickle of information will soon become a torrent,” said Bower, the writer of “Revenge,” a critical book about Meghan and Harry’s departure from royal life. wrote in an editorial for the Daily Mail on Tuesday.

Bower said Cohen was tasked with convincing Meghan, an independent and career-driven California-born actress, to “embrace the royal family's unchanging hierarchy and rigid protocols.” He said Cohen was likely annoyed with Meghan because she either didn't agree with or didn't understand “these non-negotiable elements of royalty.” “I believe that members of Samantha Cohen’s team viewed this as irresponsible self-indulgence,” Bower wrote.

According to the 2022 book “Courtiers” by Valentine Low, the Times royal reporter who first reported the bullying allegations, Cohen privately complained that she felt she had been “treated harshly” by the couple, and compared the job to “working with teenagers.”

Originally by Low Story for the TimesHe reported that Meghan drove two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the trust of a 3rd. She is alleged to have said: “It is not my job to coddle people” after aid staff were reduced to tears and humiliated by her “difficult demands”.

The Times also noted that Meghan's problems along with her royal staff weren’t simply as a consequence of a clash of cultures and the “no-nonsense” nature of an American. A former staffer said the duchess could possibly be harsh towards anyone she let down, saying: “I had unpleasant experiences with her. “I might definitely say humiliated.”

While Buckingham Palace issued an announcement in 2021 saying it was “very concerned” concerning the bullying allegations, in 2022 the palace said it might not release the outcomes of its investigation into the allegations.

Several PR experts interviewed this week from The Telegraph said the bullying allegations could possibly be certainly one of the obstacles to Meghan having the ability to restore her public image, particularly within the United Kingdom. She has also made enemies of royal supporters who dislike the best way she disparages the monarchy in interviews.

“There is a lot to unpack and correct, and that requires honesty, courage and patience. “If you air your dirty laundry in public, it takes some time to dry,” says Natalie Trice, a U.K.-based public relations consultant who has worked with CEOs of CNN and Discovery Channel, amongst other firms.

“Meghan has a voice and a platform, what does she want to say with it?” Trice told The Telegraph. “Who is she and what does she really stand for?” I don't think anyone knows that yet. And hopefully it’s greater than just handing out strawberry jam to wealthy people.”