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The Star
4 hours ago
- Health
- The Star
When habit takes a toll on real life
PETALING JAYA: Every night, Aimy Nadirah tells herself it'll only take five minutes – a quick scroll through Instagram Reels after putting her daughter to bed. The five minutes turned into 50, and before she knew it, it was midnight again. CLICK TO ENLARGE 'I lead a healthy lifestyle. I run. I care for my family. I perform at work. But lately, I can't focus. My brain feels foggy and I can't even sit through a full movie,' said the 37-year-old civil engineer. Aimy only realised she was facing short video addiction (SVA) when she stumbled upon a video about it online and recognised herself. Her seven-year-old daughter had also started sneaking screen time after bedtime and reacting angrily when denied access. Across Malaysia and beyond, adults are quietly battling compulsive use of short-form content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Xiaohongshu – often at the expense of sleep, relationships and productivity. ALSO READ: Start intervention early to curb SVA, say experts Lecturer Ezatul Marini Mohd Ghazali noticed the habit forming in her children when they were teenagers, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Curious, she began watching videos too and found herself falling into the same loop. 'What started as an observation slowly turned into a habit,' said Ezatul, who now has three adult children. 'It made me realise how easy it is to get caught up in something that feels so harmless.' She has since made efforts to reduce screen time as a family. 'It's not perfect, but we've seen small, steady changes,' she added. For Dayana, 41, the consequences were more immediate. As a copywriter, she used to scroll until 3am, convinced she could cope with just four hours of sleep. ALSO READ: Hooked on autoplay, infinite scrolling and dopamine hits However, she began missing client instructions and was eventually let go under a voluntary separation scheme. 'Just one more video – that lie repeated every night. It cost me my full-time job,' she said. Now freelancing, she's committed to a 10.30pm bedtime and has replaced night scrolling with books and yoga. For Paula, 44, an accounts manager in Kota Kemuning, it took nearly losing a major client to realise she must change. She now channels her energy into Tabata classes three times a week. 'The rush from exercise is slowly replacing the dopamine I got from scrolling. It's not easy, but I remind myself of the cost,' she said. A 2022 study titled 'Addiction on TikTok among Young Adults in Malaysia' found that social, family and lifestyle factors explained 63.4% of addiction levels to short-form video apps. Another study in the same year revealed that 48% of medical students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia were excessive smartphone users, with links to anxiety and reduced quality of life. Last year, a research by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman's Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre found that 34% of respondents aged 16-30 spent over eight hours on screens daily, while 32% used them for five to six hours and 22% for seven to eight hours. A 2024 US-based survey by Cross River Therapy found around 70% of teens and young adults, and over half of adults aged 30-49 showed signs of social media addiction, spending a daily average of one hour and 40 minutes on these platforms.
Irish Independent
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Death of Diogo Jota: Two weeks after dream wedding, Rute will attend funeral of the man she loved all her life
In the space of two months after his last goal, the mercurial, beloved Portuguese football player went on to win the Premier League and Uefa Nations League and marry his long-time girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, in his home city of Porto. 'Yes to Forever,' he wrote on Instagram just 11 days ago, underneath a stream of pictures from the ceremony. It was, it appeared, the best summer of the 28-year-old's life. But at 12.30am local time yesterday morning, that life was cut devastatingly short in a car crash on the motorway in Zamora, a province in north-western Spain. As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both occupants died In images captured by Spanish media, a blackened twist of shredded metal is all that remains of the Lamborghini in which he was driving with his brother, Andre, also a footballer, with the Portuguese second division side Penafiel. In a statement, the Spanish guardia civil outlined the apparent cause of the crash on the A52, which links northern Portugal to Spain. 'The investigation points to a road accident due to a burst tyre while overtaking. As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both occupants died,' it said. Officials in high-visibility jackets knelt by the scene of the crash, taking photos of the unrecognisable vehicle and shards of a grey metal barrier smashed through by the force of the accident. Jota was due to report back to Liverpool on Monday for the start of pre-season training. Reports emerged yesterday that he was travelling back to England by car as he had recently had lung surgery and was told by doctors not to fly. As the news spread, a shockwave of grief engulfed the sporting world, with fans leaving wreaths up against the brick walls of Anfield, the stadium he had sent into raptures since joining the club in 2020. At the time, his £45m transfer from Wolves appeared something of a gamble for Jurgen Klopp's side, which had just won the Premier League for the first time in 20 years. But then the mazy dribbles began, the ball pinging between Jota, Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah, and the goals started to bang into the net, 85 of them in total in 165 appearances. 'It doesn't make sense,' Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese captain, wrote in a tribute on social media. 'We were just together in the national team.' Having overcome injuries, it was hoped he would return to his best form this season In the 49th and final appearance Jota made, he was sent on at the interval in extra-time during Portugal's penalty shootout victory over Spain. It was the second trophy he lifted with his country, and added to the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Championship trophies he already had at home. This season, it was hoped he would return to his best form, having overcome a series of rib, hip and muscle injuries that saw his game time carefully managed. In the stands, he would have been watched by Ms Cardoso, and perhaps some of the high-school sweethearts' three young children, Denis, Duarte and a daughter born last November. In 2022, Ms Cardoso released a proposal video of Jota bending down on one knee under a pine-wreathed canopy in the garden of a holiday villa. When the couple moved to the English Midlands in 2017, with Jota joining Wolves from Atletico Madrid, she revealed that they had settled in for long binges of Peaky Blinders, the TV crime series set in the region. A player who sometimes looked like he was being controlled by a PlayStation, Jota revealed in 2021 that he was equally adept at online sports as the real thing, reaching the number one position worldwide in Fifa's Ultimate Team Championship Leaderboard during an injury lay-off. Appearing in a podcast with Liverpool's performance psychologist Lee Richardson last year, he said he tried not to bring the 'stresses' of his career into his family home. 'You want to be the best father you can be,' he said. 'You try to lead by example… even though sometimes you want to get a bit more rest in the afternoon.' He continued: 'I had this yesterday after the game. I wanted to get a bit of rest. One of my kids wanted to play some football and you need to be on it.' Jota's body was brought, along with his brother's, to the Zamora Forensic Medicine Institute, where the post-mortem examinations were to take place. Less than two weeks after they were married, posing in front of the gold-and-white altar in a Porto church, Ms Cardoso will have to prepare to attend the funeral of the man she had loved all her life.
Irish Independent
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Death of Diogo Jota: Shockwave of grief as football left devastated by loss of newly married Liverpool star and brother
In the space of two months after his last goal, the mercurial, beloved Portuguese football player went on to win the Premier League and Uefa Nations League and marry his long-time girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, in his home city of Porto. 'Yes to Forever,' he wrote on Instagram just 11 days ago, underneath a stream of pictures from the ceremony. It was, it appeared, the best summer of the 28-year-old's life. But at 12.30am local time yesterday morning, that life was cut devastatingly short in a car crash on the motorway in Zamora, a province in north-western Spain. As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both occupants died In images captured by Spanish media, a blackened twist of shredded metal is all that remains of the Lamborghini in which he was driving with his brother, Andre, also a footballer, with the Portuguese second division side Penafiel. In a statement, the Spanish guardia civil outlined the apparent cause of the crash on the A52, which links northern Portugal to Spain. 'The investigation points to a road accident due to a burst tyre while overtaking. As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both occupants died,' it said. Officials in high-visibility jackets knelt by the scene of the crash, taking photos of the unrecognisable vehicle and shards of a grey metal barrier smashed through by the force of the accident. Jota was due to report back to Liverpool on Monday for the start of pre-season training. Reports emerged yesterday that he was travelling back to England by car as he had recently had lung surgery and was told by doctors not to fly. As the news spread, a shockwave of grief engulfed the sporting world, with fans leaving wreaths up against the brick walls of Anfield, the stadium he had sent into raptures since joining the club in 2020. At the time, his £45m transfer from Wolves appeared something of a gamble for Jurgen Klopp's side, which had just won the Premier League for the first time in 20 years. ADVERTISEMENT But then the mazy dribbles began, the ball pinging between Jota, Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah, and the goals started to bang into the net, 85 of them in total in 165 appearances. 'It doesn't make sense,' Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese captain, wrote in a tribute on social media. 'We were just together in the national team.' Having overcome injuries, it was hoped he would return to his best form this season In the 49th and final appearance Jota made, he was sent on at the interval in extra-time during Portugal's penalty shootout victory over Spain. It was the second trophy he lifted with his country, and added to the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Championship trophies he already had at home. This season, it was hoped he would return to his best form, having overcome a series of rib, hip and muscle injuries that saw his game time carefully managed. In the stands, he would have been watched by Ms Cardoso, and perhaps some of the high-school sweethearts' three young children, Denis, Duarte and a daughter born last November. In 2022, Ms Cardoso released a proposal video of Jota bending down on one knee under a pine-wreathed canopy in the garden of a holiday villa. When the couple moved to the English Midlands in 2017, with Jota joining Wolves from Atletico Madrid, she revealed that they had settled in for long binges of Peaky Blinders, the TV crime series set in the region. A player who sometimes looked like he was being controlled by a PlayStation, Jota revealed in 2021 that he was equally adept at online sports as the real thing, reaching the number one position worldwide in Fifa's Ultimate Team Championship Leaderboard during an injury lay-off. Appearing in a podcast with Liverpool's performance psychologist Lee Richardson last year, he said he tried not to bring the 'stresses' of his career into his family home. 'You want to be the best father you can be,' he said. 'You try to lead by example… even though sometimes you want to get a bit more rest in the afternoon.' He continued: 'I had this yesterday after the game. I wanted to get a bit of rest. One of my kids wanted to play some football and you need to be on it.' Jota's body was brought, along with his brother's, to the Zamora Forensic Medicine Institute, where the post-mortem examinations were to take place. Less than two weeks after they were married, posing in front of the gold-and-white altar in a Porto church, Ms Cardoso will have to prepare to attend the funeral of the man she had loved all her life.
The Star
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Childhood friends tie the knot after 50 years apart
Compiled by CHOW HOW BAN, RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM AND R. ARAVINTHAN LOVE knows no age limit, a sentiment beautifully embodied by 77-year-old retired civil servant Azizah Alias, who recently married her childhood friend, Prof Datuk Dr Md Sham Kassim, 81. Their heartwarming story, reported by Sinar Harian, unfolds after a half-century separation. Azizah and Md Sham reconnected through her nephew who was a former student of the professor. The couple's simple wedding ceremony took place on Saturday in Kampung Lada, Rembau. According to Azizah, accepting Md Sham's proposal to rekindle their friendship felt natural. 'I got a message from my nephew saying that his lecturer wanted to get to know me. When I saw his name, I realised we had known each other since school days.' She accepted him as her life partner with confidence, believing he was the best man for her. 'My siblings and nephews also encouraged me to accept him as my husband,' Azizah said. Despite having other admirers in her youth, Azizah said her heart wasn't open to a relationship at that time. Azizah said she never felt pressured living alone and always believed that her soulmate would come at the right time. Meanwhile, Md Sham, a former paediatrician and lecturer, said they lost contact after he went abroad for further studies. However, after the passing of his wife six months ago, he thought of reconnecting with Azizah. Md Sham, who has four children and six grandchildren, said he was drawn to Azizah's warm and kind-hearted personality. He admitted that initially, his children were not fully supportive of his decision to remarry. 'But I told my children that at my age, I need a companion.' > In the glitzy and glamorous entertainment industry, which is often consumed by the complexities of love and romance, actress Shiqin Kamal, 34, has chosen a different path – preferring to dedicate her love to her two horses. 'Right now, my heart belongs to my horses. If you check my Instagram, you'll see plenty of posts about my horse-riding activities,' the star of Martabat: Misi Berdarah told Berita Harian. Shiqin also admits to having a strong, adventurous side and even harbouring big ambitions. She said horse-riding was initially a form of therapy, but it has now become a passion as she is planning to compete in the SEA Games before turning 40. 'I made a commitment last year to take horse-riding more seriously. God willing, I'll be participating in my first competition in Sendayan, Negri Sembilan,' Shiqin said. 'Through my horse-riding journey, I've fallen many times. This experience has taught me that every time you fall, you need to rise again,' she added. (The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.)
