Jess Lahitou

Jess Lahitou

Bio

Jess is a literature lover, former teacher, new(ish) mother, and politics junkie. Currently in Miami, this Colorado native is embracing the culture shock. Art Basel? Wynwood? Ropa Vieja? Yes, please.

Jess Lahitou Articles

For teens, there's never a real "off" time.

Is The Internet Ruining Teenagers' Lives? Um... It Might Be

As the headline article (“Anxiety, Depression and the American Adolescent”) points out, depression has been replaced with anxiety as the leading mental health struggle of today’s adolescent. The one possible cause that stood out to me most was the impact of social media. With smartphone in hand, teens can be reading harmless texts, or – as was the case for one young female interviewed – they could be viewing disturbing Instagram posts, or reading about distant tragedies, or scrolling through hateful Facebook comments. Maybe even comments about them.

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Given their unfair and potentially exploitative access to the personal life details of millions of voters, in an ideal world, social media tycoons wouldn’t run at all. (Image Credit: Instagram/@zuck)

Is The Next President Coming Out Of Silicon Valley?

Americans deserve to vote without being unwittingly “nudged,” “tweaked,” or otherwise manipulated by those with the most power and most incentive to do so. Ergo, any candidate from Silicon Valley needs to be treated with an excess of skepticism.

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Why are female-voiced bots responding so passively - or even gratefully - to sexual harassment?

Sexism Programmed Into Bots Like Siri? Yeah, It's True

Digital assistants such as Siri are not people. Yet, the way these female-voiced bots are programmed to react when being sexualized or sexually harassed paints a pretty bleak picture of how Silicon Valley organizes its values.

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This lady wants you to go to college for free.

What The POTUS Candidates Are Doing For Millennials

Last week, I wrote about why Millennials face serious financial hurdles to independence. Today, I’m looking for 2016 POTUS candidates to throw us an economic-policy bone.

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Besides a cough, Clinton seems to be doing just fine. (Image Credit: Flickr/Gage Skidmore)

Hillary Clinton Health Crisis: Not Much To See, Folks

Both Clinton and Trump should be more forthcoming about their physical health, but the controversy surrounding Clinton's fitness for office looks largely media-driven.

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Mental Health Of The Underprivileged Is More Vulnerable After A Natural Disaster

For the mental health of underprivileged victims of natural disaster, navigating the aftermath can be as much a struggle as surviving the original disaster.

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Maybe it's not sexy or trendy, but foreign policy has life or death consequences for people all over the world. (Image Credit: Shaker Bison)

This Is Why Foreign Policy Matters

That’s what Syria is — our morally bankrupt foreign policy, impossible to escape, impossible to fix.

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The nightmare that is Aleppo defies description. (Image Credit: Freedom House via Flickr)

How To Help Syria

With Twitter awash in letters of goodbyes, 140-word final messages from “collateral damage,” my heart broke last night. That doesn’t mean anything, and neither does this: I want to say I’m sorry to Syria.

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My mom has been an invaluable mentor — not just to me, but to many of my friends.

A Mother's Wisdom: Why Everyone Needs A Mentor And A Friend

Back in my early twenties, I struggled financially. But more so in that much-mocked Millennial quest of “finding myself,” I made a number of questionable decisions.

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