On Plane Bae; and Teaching Children About Mental Health

We might be a little delayed - much like a Ryanair flight - but we got there in the end. Yup, that’s a pun; we’re talking about Plane Bae. Unfolding like a modern meet-cute, the tweet story of a ‘romance’ observed by another passenger over the course of over 50 tweets-gone viral, Plane Bae soon morphed into a cautionary tale of consent, privacy and doxxing. What does this incident reveal to us, except, yet again, that the internet is misogynistic?

Also today, we discuss two news stories surrounding mental health: firstly, that mental health may be taught to children as young as 4, and secondly, that 70,000 young people including 2,000 young children, are on anti-depressants. Are we right to be cautious of becoming a pill-addicted nation; or do we need to overcome this stigma? And will children as young as 4, really absorb the nuances of mental health? Ultimately, education starts at a grassroots level and needs to be woven throughout the curriculum, focusing on positive preventative measures like exercise and healthy eating. We’d love to here your thoughts on this. If you are suffering with mental health issues or believe someone you know is, you can contact mental health charity MIND at mind.org.uk, to find out more about your local support network.

Also today, a beautiful piece on becoming 2 when you thought you would always be 1, by Hannah Betts, why you should fear ‘femtech’ and birth control apps by Olivia Sudjic and Viv Albertine’s polemic on Fresh Air.

Links

Neon Daylight, by Hermione Hoby https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neon-Daylight-Hermione-Hoby/dp/193678775X

Picnic at Hanging Rock, on BBC2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0bb6xvm

Hannah Betts, the postergirl for singletons, on coupledom for The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hannah-betts-how-the-poster-girl-for-singletons-found-love-at-last-gjxbfgtng

A letter to my friend who is getting married, by Marisa Bate for The Pool https://www.the-pool.com/life/life-honestly/2018/30/Marisa-Bate-letter-to-a-friend-who-is-getting-married

The dangers of Natural Cycle and birth control apps, by Olivia Sudjic for The Guardian magazine https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/21/colossally-naive-backlash-birth-control-app

All Saints on how to be a girl group, by Michael Cragg for The Observer magazine https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/24/all-saints-on-how-to-be-a-girl-group

Viv Albertine on a lifetime of fighting the patriarchy, on NPR's Fresh Air podcast https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2018/07/16/629365712

You can e-mail The High Low thehighlowshow@gmail.com and tweet us @thehighlowshow.