There’s good news for middle children. Although they were previously thought to feel neglected and resentful, the book “The Secret Power of Middle Children” says birth order affects them in much more positive ways. Supposedly, middles are both outgoing and flexible. They are motivated more by fairness than money when making life decisions and have a deep sense of family, friends and loyalty. Middles are also meant to be risk-takers and trailblazers. In spite of all that, middle children are said to suffer from low self-esteem. Do Bill Gates and Madonna really suffer from low self-esteem?
There’s bad news for many cell phone users – they are addicted to their phones. According to a 2011 national survey of 514 cell phone users, 70% (almost equally split between men and women) would give up alcohol for a week instead of give up their phone. Thirty-three percent (overwhelmingly women) would give up sex for a week. Twenty-two percent would give up their toothbrush and 20% would give up their computer. Almost 50% said they slept with their cell phone next to them - which might explain why 33% of the respondents were willing to give up sex.
There’s good news and bad news for people driving on public roadways. The good news is 66% of drivers in a 2011 Allstate survey said they were very good drivers. The bad news is 40% of them had driven more than 20 mph over speed limits, 45% had driven while very tired, 15% had driven while intoxicated and 34% had sent text messages or e-mails while driving. Of the more than 50% of drivers who had gotten a ticket for a moving violation, 44% had gotten 3 or more. Considering over 30,000 people die yearly in motor vehicle crashes, very good drivers aren’t good enough.
Finally, new words could be good news or bad news. In 2011 four hundred new words were added to the 12th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, which is the abridged version of the Oxford English Dictionary reflecting today’s culture. One of the new words is “jeggings” – women’s tight-fitting stretch pants that look like jeans. Another word is “retweet” – to repost another Tweet user’s message. “Textspeak” is the abbreviated language used in cell phone messages. Then there’s “woot” – an exclamation, especially in electronic communication, to express elation or triumph. Hmmm, is it possible for new words to leave you speechless?
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