Here’s what we know about kids and long covid

Welcome to TikTok's endless cycle of censorship and mistakes  

Sponsored by Salesforce The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Long covid in kids 07.13.21 Good morning! Today: everything you need to know about kids and long covid, TikTok's problems are starting to form a pattern, in defense of "solutionism", and a member of the diaspora talks about how watching China's ascent conjures mixed feelings. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Here’s what we know about kids and long covid   The risk to children: When it comes to covid, kids have largely been spared. They can get infected and spread the virus, but they have little risk of becoming seriously ill or dying. Yet, just like adults, they can have symptoms that persist well beyond the initial infection. This condition is often referred to as “long” covid. Symptoms in kids mirror those seen in adults: fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, loss of taste or smell, respiratory problems, chest tightness or pain, and heart palpitations. What we know: Even in countries with high vaccination rates, the virus is still circulating among children, the vast majority of whom are either yet to be vaccinated, or ineligible for vaccination. There are only a handful of studies to draw on for kids and long covid, but data from the UK suggests that 10-13% of kids who test positive for covid have symptoms for more than five weeks. Rates from studies in other countries are lower. What we don’t know: Lots! We don’t know what causes long covid. And we don’t know which kids are more susceptible to it either, although there’s some indication that older kids are at greater risk. There are some anecdotal reports suggesting that vaccination can help to curb long covid, but there’s no data specific to children yet. Read the full story. —Cassandra Willyard Welcome to TikTok’s endless cycle of censorship and mistakes  A worrying example: Last week, TikTok creator Ziggi Tyler noticed something disturbing about how creator bios were being automatically moderated on the app. When he tried to enter certain phrases in his bio, some of them, such as “Black lives matter” and “supporting Black success”, were flagged as inappropriate content. But “I am a neo nazi” and “I am an anti semetic” were acceptable. The bigger picture: Although TikTok apologized for the “significant” error, caused by an automatic filter set to block words associated with hate speech, it’s far from the only such incident to take place on the platform. A pattern repeats on TikTok: a creator flags a bizarre and potentially harmful issue with its moderation or algorithm, a journalist asks the company to explain, and the issue is fixed. TikTok then releases a statement saying that the problem was the result of an error. What’s needed: Part of the answer is one of the most longstanding stories in tech: TikTok needs to hire, and listen to, people from a diversity of backgrounds. But greater transparency also has to be part of the solution. Read the full story. —Abby Ohlheiser Why I’m a proud solutionist Are you an optimist or a pessimist? It’s tempting to choose sides. But while it can be rational to be optimistic or pessimistic on any specific question, these terms are too imprecise to be adopted as a general intellectual identity. Those who identify as optimists can be too quick to dismiss or downplay the problems of technology, while self-styled technology pessimists or progress skeptics can be too reluctant to believe in solutions. We can see this play out in debates over covid and lockdowns, over climate change and energy usage, over the promise and peril of nuclear power, and in general over economic growth and resource consumption. To embrace both the reality of problems and the possibility of overcoming them, we should be fundamentally neither optimists nor pessimists, but solutionists. Read the full story. —Jason Crawford China’s path to modernization has, for centuries, gone through my hometown Yangyang Cheng grew up in Hefei, a medium-sized city in central-eastern China. The Hefei of her childhood was a humble place, known for ancient battlegrounds, sesame snacks, and a few good universities. She spent the first 19 years of her life there and left in 2009 to pursue her PhD in physics in the US, where she now lives and works.  In a piece for the latest issue of our print magazine, Cheng writes about how watching her birth country’s ascent conjures up mixed feelings. While she's glad that the majority of Chinese people enjoy a higher standard of living, she's also alarmed by the hardened edge to China’s new superpower status. The Chinese government has become more authoritarian and its people more nationalistic. Read the full story.  This story is from the latest issue of our print magazine, which is all about change. Read the full thing and—if you're not a subscriber already, what are you waiting for?! You can join us for just $50 a year. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + Some amazing optical illusions.    + Tis the season for pasta salad. Try these recipes. (WP $)   + A heart-warming card from a child to a veterinarian.   + Far from putting the pandemic behind them, some people are actually getting tattoos to commemorate it. (NYT $)   + The story of Louis Armstrong's last tape.   + There's something uniquely mystical and exciting about sleeper trains.   + On the role of food in fantasy fiction.   + A baby beaver has been born in Exmoor, England for the first time in 400 years. Sponsor Message Evolving to a more equitable AI AI can be a powerful tool in ushering in a post-pandemic normal—but it must be deployed and used in a way that’s fair to all. Learn more here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 We're inching closer to breathalyzers for covid No more tear-inducing sticks up noses, hopefully. (NYT $)   + A woman died after covid after contracting two variants simultaneously. (NPR) 2 Israel has become the first country to approve third "booster" shots For immunocompromised adults. (Times of Israel)   + But public health officials say third doses are unethical when so much of the world is unvaccinated. (Ars Technica)   + Donate spare vaccine doses instead of using them for boosters, says the WHO. (Axios)   + France says all health workers must be fully vaccinated by September 15. (Axios)   + Free giveaways aren't boosting vaccination rates. (NYT $)   + The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is linked to rare cases of an autoimmune disorder. (CNET) 3 England's soccer players are being racially abused online Truly awful. (Vice) + Facebook and Twitter are under fire for failing to act. (CNBC) 4 Drought is stressing California’s power grid A vital clean energy source is running dry. (The Verge)   + The American west is stuck in a vicious cycle of ‘heat, drought and fire’, experts warn. (The Guardian) 5 The pandemic is forcing us to rethink the causes of asthma attacks Attacks plummeted in the last year, which suggests viruses and colds play a much bigger role than environmental factors. (The Atlantic $) 6 What's the best day to go into the office? There is no one-size-fits-all answer. (Wired UK)   + Is remote work bad for younger workers? (Axios)   + What happened when Iceland tested shorter working weeks? (Wired UK) 7 Facebook wants to lure creators. Good luck.  TikTok and YouTube got there first. (NYT $) 8 Elon Musk "rather hates" running Tesla Well, that explains quite a lot. (BBC)   + Tesla's $16,000 quote for a $700 fix tells you why the ‘right to repair’ matters. (The Drive) 9 Amazon wants to watch you sleep 🛌 No thanks. (Gizmodo)   + It's unclear if sleep tracking works anyway. (TR) 10 Stop doomscrolling, start gaming 🎮 One is way better than the other for your mental health. (Wired $) Understand the promise of technology.  Make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for thought-provoking insights, analysis, and news about the world of technology. Get unlimited access when you subscribe today. Quote of the day “I’m happy with my life the way it is now, and I’m a hundred times more productive. They can turn the campus into a museum as far as I’m concerned.” —An employee of a major tech company tells Vanity Fair they are resisting any and all bribes and threats to go back to working from its Silicon Valley base.  Top image credit: CHRISTOPHER FURLONG | GETTY IMAGES Please send pandemic-themed tattoo ideas to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up today Leading with Innovation. Join us virtually September 28-30. Register now Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142    *Manage Your Email Preferences or *Unsubscribe  Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog  *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally