Hi everyone, welcome back to another new episode of News Bites. I'm Allie
Highsmith.

And I'm Paz Bueno.

Coming up in today's news: Study finds that 70% of kids are too reliant on
social media.

And: Businesses in the US are finding alternative ways to build homes.

And in this episode's tasty tidbit: how to say "thank you" in different
languages.
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超過70%兒童青少年 螢幕黏著度過高，且太依賴社群媒體
Study finds that 70% of kids are overly reliant on social media

A new study says that 70% of Taiwanese elementary and middle schoolers are
"stuck to their screens" (黏螢幕).

Plus, 20% of middle schoolers have a hard time concentrating （專心） and
regulating their emotions (控制情緒) because they are too dependent （依賴）
on social media.

The study comes from the Child Welfare League Foundation, and was published
right before Children's Day on April 5th.

Researchers （研究員） say, most kids watch online videos in their free time
and play games online.

The study found that the longer kids play online games, the less happy they
are.

But, physical activities like sports and exercise were not so popular, even
though kids who exercise more are usually happier.

Yeah! Exercise can reduce stress and anxiety. 運動可以減少壓力和焦慮。

And it doesn't just get rid of negative emotions, it also increases positive
emotions like happiness.

But kids want to exercise less and less as they get older.

In elementary school, 58% of kids are interested in exercising.

But in middle school, its only 48%!

A lot of middle schoolers also say, they need to be on social media for a
long time every day, and 30% of them feel physically uncomfortable because
they use it too much.

The Child Welfare League Foundation calls on parents to help kids exercise
more.

They suggest （建議）that parents take kids to participate in outdoor
activities on vacation.

They also say, schools should offer more physical education classes or hold
sports competitions （運動賽事）to encourage （鼓勵）kids to exercise more,
in fun ways.

In terms of （關於）social media use, the foundation also recommends that
parents manage the use of cell phones.

Data shows that kids that use cell phones for one to two hours a day have the
highest rates of life satisfaction, while using a phone for more than 2 hours
daily can cause physical discomfort and negative emotions.
小朋友每天使用手機1到2小時的生活滿意度最高，但超過2小時的話可能降低生活品質。

Parents are recommended to come up with an agreement with kids, so they can
track and manage screen-free time.
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美國公司尋找另類方式蓋房子
Businesses in the US are finding alternative ways to build homes

Businesses and lawmakers （議員） in the US are trying to fix the US housing
crisis (住房危機) in creative ways.

Some companies are using 3D printing （三D列印） to make houses, or making
building blocks with hemp （麻）.

Right now in the US, there are not enough affordable homes （負擔得起的房子）
for people to buy or rent.

Some people are having to pay more in rent than they can afford, but they
also can't move out of their house, because there's no cheaper option.

Alternative ways of building houses cost less and can construct the houses
faster.

One business in the state of Colorado （科羅拉多州） has made more than 500
homes since it opened three years ago.

Each house takes just 5-7 days to build.

Most of the people who live in the homes had to move out of expensive towns
but need to be close to those towns for work.

Most of the homes are on the smaller side, but can hold a family or more.

To make the 3-D printed homes, a robotic （機器人） arm puts down lines of
concrete （混凝土） to build up the walls of a home.

It can move very quickly, and make curved walls (有弧度的牆壁).

A mixture of hemp and the mineral lime （石灰） can also be used to make
houses.

The mixture, called "hempcrete," is mold- and fire-resistant and can be the
outer wall, inner wall, and insulation.
麻和石灰的混合物可以防霉又防火。還能用這個hempcrete製造外墻、?墻和隔熱材料)。

Hempcrete still needs wood to frame the walls (仍然需要木頭把牆面撐起來), but
it makes it easier to build houses.

Hopefully, this will make it easier for people to buy and rent affordable
homes.
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So, in today's news bites:

A study finds that most Taiwanese middle and elementary schoolers are overly
reliant on their phones and social media.

Plus, a lot of kids exercise less because they spend so much time on social
media, even though exercise makes people happier and less stressed.

Experts recommend that parents and kids come up with an agreement about phone
usage.
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And...

Businesses in the US are finding new ways of building houses.

A lot of homes in the US are too expensive for people to afford now.

So, people are using cheaper methods to build houses.

They use things like 3D printing and hemp.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

On a Tasty Tidbit before, we learned how to say "sorry" in French, Spanish
and Hakka.

Today, let's try learning how to say "thank you" in some other languages too!

First, let's start with Spanish.

Paz, can you teach us how to say "thank you" in Spanish?

Sure! It's "gracias."

And, if you're extra thankful, you can say "muchas gracias," which means
"many thanks."

Muchas gracias, Paz.

Next, let's try in Korean.

We will invite our other friend, Janet, to help us with this.

Janet: Hi guys! Korean for "thank you" is gamsahabnida.

Gamsahabnida for teaching us, Janet!

And, let's try one more.

French for "thanks" is "merci," or if you're extra thankful, you can say
"merci beaucoup!"
________________

That's all for today's episode!

If you have a fun fact or joke you'd like to share with us, record your
message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might
hear it at the end of an episode!

See you next time, for another new episode of News Bites!