[ticking time watch]
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CARL AZUZ: Breaking news, Fridays are awesome.
That is all.
OK, that's fake breaking news.
There are other events to report this October 1st.
And that begins with major problems in the global supply
of the things we buy.
We've told you how there are labor shortages, truck driver
shortages, not enough workers to move things around at a time
when demand is through the roof.
Now, those who are working to move goods globally
are sounding the alarm that if their conditions don't improve
supply chains could collapse.
Near the Port of Los Angeles, the largest seaport
in the United States, there are cargo ships floating off
the coast with hundreds of thousands
of shipping containers waiting to be unloaded.
The backups gotten so bad that no one knows how long
it'll take to get that done.
It's not just a shortage of workers that's the problem,
it's bureaucracy.
Different local, national, and international government
rules for who can work where.
Seafarers, truck drivers, and airline workers
have seen delays sometimes lasting for months
before they can make pickups and deliveries.
It's all been complicated by the COVID pandemic.
An international shipping official
says because different countries have different vaccine
requirements, one seafarer he knows has been inoculated six
times getting three different vaccines,
while some others haven't been vaccinated at all.
So there's confusion over that and
there's confusion over testing.
Those rules differ from place to place.
Earlier this year, truck drivers were stuck at Germany's borders
when the country required them to have a COVID test that
takes days to get results from.
More recently, one ship's officer
says her crew had to have 10 COVID tests in seven days
before they could get repairs at a shipyard in Singapore.
She says because of different COVID rules,
some sailors have been stuck at sea for more than a year.
And because of port shutdowns and constantly changing travel
restrictions, a shipping company leader
says seafarers may be hesitant to commit to new jobs
because they can't know for sure if they'll
be home by Christmas.
So what's the solution to all this?
Well, some transport officials say COVID related travel rules
need to be relaxed or they need to be
suspended for transportation workers
so they can easily move goods.
10 Second Trivia.
Which of these US government agencies
was created the most recently--
FDA, FED, FCC, or SEC?
The Federal Communications Commission was
established the most recently.
And today, it's looking at ways to curb robocalls.
- In 2018, more than 47.8 billion
robocalls were made in the US.
- And it's only getting worse.
So how do these calls actually work?
[phone ringing]
To make the call, a phone isn't actually being used.
A computer is.
Robocalls are made using what's called
voice over internet protocol, or VoIP for short.
It's the same technology used in popular apps
like FaceTime and Skype.
And it's important because no international phone
bill means robocalls are incredibly
cheap and easy to make.
And while the computer generates a random number to call,
it's also generating a false number
to show up on your caller ID, disguising its identity.
A process called spoofing.
And with neighbor spoofing, the number on your caller ID
is meant to look almost identical to yours
to increase the likelihood that you pick up.
But if you called that number back,
your local pizza shop might answer instead,
because these computers are often spoofing
with real phone numbers.
Now according to the FCC, your best bet is to not answer calls
from unknown numbers in the first place since answering
a robocall lets the computer know you might engage.
In that case, get ready for even more robocalls
now that you're on the hot list.
You'll also be prompted to connect with an actual person
who will either try to sell you a product or worse
yet, trick you into a scam.
ROBO CALL: To inform you that the IRS is
filing a lawsuit against you.
- Now, in the United States, the majority of these calls
are illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
But because robocalls can originate
from anywhere in the world, it's extremely
difficult to enforce the law.
Though, heavy fines have been slapped
on robocallers in the past.
In the meantime, phone companies are working
on systems that more effectively identify
and block illegal robocalls.
But for now, robocallers will likely keep on calling you.
[phone ringing]
CARL AZUZ: Instagram announced this week
it was pausing its effort to develop
a version of the service for kids under age 13.
Instagram says its product gives users a voice
and helps them stay connected with friends and family.
But critics say the app would hurt children's well-being.
And that those concerns should come before profits.
Social media questions also extend to older teens.
HANNA KURDZIEL: I do think there is like a certain dependency.
I've noticed this behavior in myself.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: Do you ever find yourself doomscrolling,
I think it's called?
NOAH ROBERTS: Yes, just scrolling forever
and not doing anything, not any school you need to do.
Yeah.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: High school seniors Hanna
and Noah have no time to waste.
They're just weeks into their final year of high school,
juggling schoolwork, clubs, and college applications--
and social media.
HANNA KURDZIEL: I think a lot of it
is just a fear of missing out or not being
as involved with your friends.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: Hanna is a Student
Union president, a job she says she
couldn't do without Instagram.
She runs the Union account.
And yet, last winter she did delete TikTok.
HANNA KURDZIEL: I would just constantly
be sucked into these videos that were really appealing,
but didn't particularly help make me happier as a person.
I think overall it has been a net positive.
I think I've stopped worrying about the way
my body looks a lot.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: These teenagers are aware of the mental health
risks of social media.
And as "The Wall Street Journal" recently reported,
so is Facebook.
The paper said Facebook's own research in 2019
showed one in three teenage girls with body image issues
felt Instagram made those issues worse.
News that didn't come as a shock to teachers here.
IAN MORZAN: So we were noticing ill effects of oversaturation
with regards to social media, students
reporting sleeplessness, all kinds
of other kind of social, emotional learning challenges.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: School Dean Ian Morzan says the pandemic
brought things to a head.
Last year, he began running regular classes
teaching students to take charge of their online presence.
IAN MORZAN: So that they can really have an open discourse
about what's good, what's bad, and then
how do they protect themselves.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: For Hanna and Noah,
18 months of virtual school did prompt a reckoning.
NOAH ROBERTS: Yeah, it made you more in control of yourself
because you had to be or else you would
get completely lost in it.
I think I limit my social media to a lot of healthy stuff,
actually.
You follow people that inspire you, your friend.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: You guys were born in the same year
as Facebook was.
Do you ever worry about the long-term implications
of never having known a world without social media, of how
it might have shaped you?
NOAH ROBERTS: No, I don't because the way
you guys described before social media doesn't
sound like a fun place at all.
You get to see more people and learn more cultures
much quicker than you would.
HANNA KURDZIEL: I do worry sometimes about what it means
for not only things like my attention span or something
that I think we're facing generationally,
but on a more personal level, I do worry that I've become
preoccupied with maybe the way I'm being perceived
by other people online.
And I know that's not a healthy thing to worry about a lot.
CLARE SEBASTIAN: Clare Sebastian, CNN in Queens,
New York.
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: What do you get when you take 13,000 live orchids
and suspend them from the ceiling?
A whole mess of upside down orchids.
And they're pulled higher and lower on wires to make it seem
like they're moving around you.
This was put together by a company that aims to immerse
people in art and technology.
The title of this exhibit is floating flower garden.
Flowers and I are of the same root.
The garden and I are one.
It's now on display in Tokyo.
It'd be a fun date unless people are allergic.
That's not a blooming good time.
They might find it a pollen.
They might ask are you, are you "orchkidding" me?
And wonder why you'd "achoo" pick a destination from which
their "desneeze" stems.
Don't be surprised if they get the itch to follow
their nose by running.
Hey, we're happy to be running with the students
of Essex High School today.
It is in Essex Junction Vermont.
Thank you for watching.
I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.
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