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Meir Oster Answers Common Questions About Supporting Teens Online and Offline

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  • Social worker Meir Oster of Monsey, New York, shares practical guidance for parents, teens, and caregivers navigating modern social challenges.

New York, US, 22nd January 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, Meir Oster, an MSW and community-based social worker, spends his time focused on one core mission: helping people. In recent years, much of his work has centered on teens and the growing impact of online behaviour, especially cyberbullying. Below, Oster answers common questions he hears from families, educators, and young people themselves.

Q: What is cyberbullying, and why is it such a serious issue right now?

“Cyberbullying happens when harm follows a teen home through their phone,” Oster says. “There’s no break from it.”
According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 teens report being bullied online, and those experiences are linked to higher rates of anxiety and depression.

Q: How does cyberbullying affect teens differently from in-person bullying?

“Online attacks feel permanent,” Oster explains. “Screenshots last, messages spread, and teens feel exposed.”
Research shows that teens who experience cyberbullying are over twice as likely to report emotional distress compared to peers who do not.

Q: What signs should parents or caregivers look for?

“Withdrawal is a big one,” Oster says. “Mood changes, avoiding school, or sudden silence online.”
Studies indicate that over 60% of bullied teens do not initially tell an adult, making observation and conversation critical.

Q: What should a teen do first if they are being bullied online?

“Pause and don’t respond emotionally,” Oster advises. “Save evidence and tell a trusted adult.”
Blocking and reporting harmful behaviour can reduce repeat incidents by up to 40%, according to platform safety data.

Q: How can parents talk to teens about online behaviour without shutting them down?

“Ask, don’t accuse,” Oster says. “Curiosity builds trust.”
Teens who feel supported at home are 50% more likely to seek help early, reducing long-term harm.

Q: Can schools or communities really make a difference?

“Yes,” Oster says simply. “Clear policies and follow-through matter.”
Schools with defined anti-bullying programmes report significantly lower repeat incidents year over year.

Q: What role does social work play in prevention and recovery?

“Social work creates space to talk, reflect, and rebuild confidence,” Oster explains. “It’s about helping people feel seen.”
Early support has been shown to lower long-term mental health risks by nearly 30% for affected teens.

If you do nothing else

If you take only a few steps, start here:

  1. Ask teens how they feel online, not just what they post

  2. Normalize asking for help early

  3. Keep communication open and judgment-free

  4. Save evidence of harmful messages

  5. Use blocking and reporting tools

  6. Encourage offline support and balance

  7. Reach out to a qualified professional when needed

 

Call to Action
If this Q&A helped clarify even one concern, share it with a parent, educator, or teen who could benefit. Awareness is often the first step toward prevention.

 

About Meir Oster
Meir Oster is a Master of Social Work (MSW) based in Monsey, New York. His work focuses on helping people navigate personal and social challenges, with particular attention to teen wellbeing and online safety. Through practical guidance and community support, he works to create safer, healthier environments for young people and families.

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Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.

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Dr. Ariel Rad Releases Free “15-Minute Face Plan” Checklist for Everyday Decisions

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  • Dr. Ariel N. Rad, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon and co-founder of SHERBER+RAD in Washington, D.C., shares a practical resource for clearer, safer facial aesthetic decisions.

DC, US, 22nd January 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, Dr. Ariel N. Rad has released a free, public resource designed for everyday individuals who feel overwhelmed by facial aesthetic choices and the pressure to act quickly. The downloadable checklist, called The 15-Minute Face Plan, helps people clarify goals, ask better questions, and avoid rushed decisions that can lead to wasted money, time, and stress.

The resource is intentionally simple. It is meant for people at any stage, from those who are only curious to those actively booking consultations.

“A lot of people are not looking for a new face,” Rad said. “They are looking for a plan that makes sense and does not create regret.”

The checklist reflects the approach Rad is known for in his practice: evidence-based thinking, long-term coherence, and results that look believably natural.

“I treat this like a systems problem,” Rad said. “If the goal is unclear, the plan will drift.”

 

The real-world cost of rushed decisions

The resource was created in response to a pattern Rad sees often: people arriving with a list of options, but no framework to choose between them.

To quantify the cost of the problem, the resource includes four simple, real-life cost markers people can calculate in minutes:

  • Time cost: Three consultations plus travel can easily total 6 to 10 hours in a single month, especially when appointments run long and schedules shift.
  • Decision fatigue: If you research for 30 minutes a day for two weeks, that is 7 hours of scrolling, comparing, and second-guessing.
  • Budget drift: Buying “one more” product each week at even a modest amount adds up to 12 extra purchases in 3 months, often without a clear plan or baseline.
  • Recovery mismatch: If you underestimate downtime by even 3 to 5 days, the cost shows up fast in missed work, canceled plans, and stress at home.

“The hidden cost is not just money,” Rad said. “It is the mental load of making a high-stakes decision without a map.”

 

What’s inside the free resource

The 15-Minute Face Plan includes:

  • A one-page checklist for defining your goal in plain language
  • A consult question script focused on safety, recovery, and long-term outcomes
  • A quick self-audit to check whether you are deciding from clarity or pressure
  • A short section on what “natural” can mean, written as practical guardrails

“If your plan cannot survive a week of waiting, it is not a plan,” Rad said. “It is urgency dressed up as confidence.”

 

Use this in 15 minutes

You can complete the checklist in one sitting. Here is the intended flow:

  1. Write your one-sentence goal (examples: look less tired, look more rested, soften one feature).
  2. Pick your top three non-negotiables (privacy, minimal downtime, no trend-based treatments, etc.).
  3. Circle your risk tolerance (low, medium, high) and match it to realistic recovery time.
  4. Use the consult script and copy the questions into your notes app.
  5. Finish with the pressure check: Are you deciding because you want to, or because you feel behind?

“The best outcomes tend to come from fewer steps that fit together,” Rad said. “Not a long list of disconnected fixes.”

 

Common mistakes people make

The resource also includes a short warning section on avoidable mistakes. Dr. Rad highlights the patterns he sees most often:

  1. Choosing a procedure before defining the goal
  2. Using someone else’s face as the reference point
  3. Ignoring recovery and focusing only on the procedure
  4. Treating skincare, lasers, and surgery as separate worlds
  5. Asking only about the best-case scenario, not the realistic range
  6. Confusing “popular” with “right for me”
  7. Moving forward while feeling rushed or emotionally spun up
  8. Not writing questions down, then forgetting them in the moment

Download the free 15-Minute Face Plan today at drarielnrad.com, set a timer for 15 minutes, and complete the checklist before you book anything or buy anything new. Then choose one of the checklist actions, commit to it for 7 days, and share the resource with a friend who is feeling pressured or uncertain.

 

About Dr. Ariel Rad

Dr. Ariel N. Rad is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon based in Washington, D.C. He is the co-founder of SHERBER+RAD, established in 2014 with Dr. Noëlle S. Sherber, integrating dermatology and plastic surgery in one practice with an emphasis on privacy and evidence-based care. Dr. Rad trained in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins and served on the faculty as Assistant Professor and Director of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. His clinical focus includes facial aesthetic surgery and microvascular reconstructive surgery, and he has performed more than 3,000 facelifts using deep-plane and endoscopic techniques developed over two decades of surgical experience.

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Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.

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Press Release

Asif Sheikh Launches Personal Pledge To Raise Everyday Standards in Client Trust and Team Mentoring

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  • Asif Sheikh, Vice President of Sales in Saint Charles, Illinois, is committing to a personal pledge focused on client trust, attention to detail, and mentoring the next generation of sales professionals.

Illinois, US, 22nd January 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, Asif Sheikh, Vice President of Sales, has announced a new personal pledge focused on one simple idea: everyday standards in business matter more than big slogans. The pledge centers on client trust, error prevention, and mentoring, and is designed as a practical response to how work gets done in busy sales and production environments.

“For me, success is how well the people around me are doing, not just my own numbers or title,” Sheikh has said, describing how he measures his impact over time. He has spent more than three decades in the Sales industry, building long term relationships with clients and colleagues.

He traces the pledge to the reality of a long career inside one company. “If you cut corners, those choices will come back to you. If you treat people well, that also comes back,” he has explained. That view has shaped his belief that consistency, not quick wins, is what keeps trust intact.

Attention to detail is another thread running through the pledge. “In our business, small errors are expensive,” he has noted, pointing to the cost of mistakes in print runs, mailing schedules, and client expectations.

Mentoring has also become a key part of his definition of success. “When I look at a year, I do not just look at revenue. I ask myself which people are stronger now than they were twelve months ago,” he has said.

Together, these ideas form the backbone of his new personal pledge.

The Personal Pledge – 7 Specific Commitments

As part of the announcement, Sheikh is making the following seven commitments as concrete, daily behaviors:

  1. Respond to every client and internal message within one business day, even if only to acknowledge receipt and set a time for a full reply.

  2. Use a written checklist for every complex project, covering specs, quantities, approvals, and handoffs, and review it before anything goes to production.

  3. Schedule one mentoring conversation each week with a colleague, focused on a real project or challenge, not abstract advice.

  4. Review at least one “near miss” or mistake per month with the team, focusing on what the system can learn, not on blame.

  5. Block two hours a week for deep planning time, away from email, to review pipeline, quiet accounts, and emerging risks.

  6. Say no to any client commitment that cannot be delivered reliably, even if it means losing a short term opportunity.

  7. Invest in at least one structured learning activity each quarter, such as a course module or workshop, and share one key takeaway with the team.

 

Why This Issue Matters Now – Key Stats

This pledge comes at a time when client trust and execution quality are under pressure across many industries:

  • Studies show that more than half of customers stop working with a company after a single bad experience, often linked to poor follow through or errors.

  • Surveys consistently find that trust and reliability outrank price for many B2B buyers when choosing long term partners.

  • Research on workplace mistakes suggests that a large share of costly errors are preventable, often tied to skipped checklists or rushed communication.

  • Employee engagement data shows that people with a mentor at work are more likely to stay and to feel their work has meaning, which directly affects service quality.

These patterns mirror what Sheikh has seen over decades in sales and project work, where one missed detail or unreturned call can undo years of steady effort.

 

Do It Yourself Toolkit – 10 Actions Anyone Can Take

Sheikh is inviting others to adapt the pledge in their own way. The following ten actions are designed for individuals and do not require any paid services or tools:

  1. Create a simple daily “promise list” of three commitments you made to others that must be closed by end of day.

  2. Adopt a project checklist template for complex tasks and keep it in a shared folder for your team.

  3. Set a standard response time for yourself, such as “respond to all emails within 24 hours,” and track it for a month.

  4. Run a monthly “error review” where you write down one mistake, what caused it, and one change that would prevent it.

  5. Pick one person to mentor or support, even informally, and schedule a recurring 30 minute check in.

  6. Block recurring calendar time for focused work, protecting at least one uninterrupted hour twice a week.

  7. Write a short personal definition of success, including how it affects others, and keep it visible at your desk.

  8. Ask two key clients or colleagues each quarter, “What is one thing I could do better for you,” and note the answers.

  9. Take one short course or training each quarter, even a free one, and apply a single idea to a real project.

  10. End each week with a five minute review, listing one win, one lesson, and one thing to improve next week.

 

30 Day Progress Tracker

To help individuals stay accountable, Sheikh suggests a simple 30 day progress tracker:

Week 1

  • Define your personal pledge in one paragraph.

  • Choose three of the ten toolkit actions to focus on.

  • Track daily whether you met your response time standard.

Week 2

  • Add one more toolkit action.

  • Run your first error review and write down one system change.

  • Have one mentoring or support conversation.

Week 3

  • Review your checklist usage on at least two projects.

  • Ask one client or colleague for feedback on your reliability.

  • Protect two focused work blocks and note what you achieved.

Week 4

  • Take a short learning module or read a focused article and apply one idea.

  • Review your month: where did you keep the pledge, where did you fall short.

  • Adjust your pledge for the next 30 days based on what you learned.

Sheikh is inviting professionals across industries to adopt their own version of this pledge. He encourages readers to write down a personal commitment to client trust, detail, and mentoring, use the toolkit for 30 days, and share both the pledge and the toolkit with colleagues and peers.

 

About Asif Sheikh

Asif Sheikh is Vice President of Sales and is based in Saint Charles, Illinois. He has spent more than 30 years in the industry, focusing on revenue growth, client relationships, and new business development. His career centers on attention to detail, long term client partnerships, and mentoring colleagues. He has completed professional coursework through Harvard Online and eCornell and volunteers with Feed My Starving Children.

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Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.

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Press Release

David Crownborn Urges Entrepreneurs to Redefine Success Through Patience, Curiosity, and Long Term Thinking

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  • Investor highlights the rising need for better founder education and realistic expectations in a shifting global economy

New York, US, 22nd January 2026, ZEX PR WIRE, Venture capitalist and hedge fund operator David Crownborn is calling for greater awareness around the pressures facing new entrepreneurs and the growing need for realistic guidance in early stage business building. Drawing from his own experiences across London, New York, and global markets, Crownborn is advocating for a more grounded understanding of success that focuses on learning, timing, and mental clarity.

In recent comments, Crownborn noted that many founders carry misconceptions about what success looks like in the early years. “Most success comes from small steps that grow over time. It is not about one moment. It is about careful progress and patience,” he said. His message comes at a critical time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20 percent of new businesses fail within the first year, and nearly 50 percent fail within five years. Crownborn believes education and mindset play a major role in these numbers.

He pointed to his own early ventures in London as an example. “I ordered too much inventory and had no idea how to market it. I learned fast that success is built on steady learning and not on perfect execution,” he shared. His message encourages founders to embrace curiosity as a tool for long term growth. Research from Harvard Business Review supports this idea. Companies that score high in curiosity-driven culture show better decision making and stronger innovation.

Crownborn also stressed the importance of timing, something he learned from a failed early investment. “We pushed a product before the market was ready. The idea was strong, but the timing was wrong. That experience taught me to respect market conditions,” he explained. Studies from CB Insights show that 35 percent of startups fail because there is no market need, making timing one of the most critical factors for survival.

Beyond strategy, Crownborn wants founders to understand the role of personal balance. “Travel and music keep me centered. When I am grounded, I make better decisions. Entrepreneurs need to build habits that protect their clarity,” he said. Mental health concerns are rising across the startup world. Data from Startup Snapshot shows that 72 percent of founders report struggles with mental health. Crownborn believes that grounding practices help leaders stay focused and avoid burnout.

 

What People Can Do Today

Crownborn is urging entrepreneurs, students, and early career builders to take simple steps to strengthen their path forward:

  • Study the timing of your market. Look at real demand, not just interest.

  • Break goals into smaller tasks. Crownborn credits this method with helping him stay calm during high pressure stages of his early career.

  • Ask tough questions about your idea. “Good ideas stand up even after you question them from every angle,” he said.

  • Build your own form of balance. Whether it is music, travel, or quiet time, Crownborn says clarity improves decision making.

  • Stay curious. “Curiosity is the strongest guide you have. It shows you what matters,” he said.

 

About David Crownborn

David Crownborn is a venture capitalist, hedge fund operator, and entrepreneur working across New York, Atlanta, Miami, London, and Sydney. Born in London, he began building businesses early in life and now focuses on long term investing, founder guidance, and market strategy. His work centers on helping ideas grow through patience, analysis, and clear thought.

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Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.

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