Research has found that having a good moan about young folk makes the elderly feel better and boosts their self-esteem. "Far from feeling down about the younger generation's lifestyle and behaviour, the elderly actually revel in their misfortune," reported The Daily Telegraph. "For when given a choice, older people prefer to read negative news, rather than positive news about young adults."
The phenomenon - dubbed "the Victor Meldrew effect" by the paper - was measured by boffins in the US and Germany. A bunch of older people aged 50 to 55 were shown a mocked-up online magazine, which included a mix of positive and negative stories about young and old. The older people were more likely to click on negative stories about young people and questionnaires revealed that reading those articles made them feel good.
So next time you hear a curmudgeonly adult ranting on about feckless youths, leave them to it. Think of all those positive outcomes for older people: increased confidence, higher self-esteem, better mental health and genuine enjoyment.
Remember the agony of the school disco? It seems that loitering nervously at the edge of the hall isn't such a problem for children nowadays.
In a poll of eightto 12-years-olds by the Disney Channel, two-thirds said dancing made them feel happy, more than three-quarters liked dancing and more than half reckoned they were good at it. Mind you, there were still a few wallflowers - 17 per cent said they felt shy when they danced.
It would appear children are inspired to dance by music videos, TV shows, friends and family, revealed Disney Channel's press release.
Despite the fact that dancing is an important feature in young people's lives, 27 per cent of children thought Britain's national dance was, not Morris dancing, the Highland fling or Riverdance, but ballroom dancing.
We suspect Australian head teacher Garry Martin is ruing the day he decided to tweak a classic children's song by removing the word "gay".
The principal at Le Page Primary School in Melbourne found himself at the centre of a media storm after he instructed pupils to substitute the line "fun your life must be" for the original "gay your life must be" in classic campfire ditty Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree. Martin, who said he'd only made the change to stop children giggling in class, was bombarded with angry emails and forced to defend the move. "Some people think I'm the devil incarnate," he told the Associated Press.
Faced with complaints from gay rights campaigners and the company that owns the song, he admitted he'd made a mistake. "I wasn't trying to incite or insult gay people, or trying to violate the copyright," the 75-year-old told the Sydney Morning Herald. "It was just a decision at the time that I thought would minimise a disruptive atmosphere." He said he would get pupils to sing the original version of the song. But he added: "We might not sing it that often now."
