Best of Web: Man, 100, weds woman, 93...

Man, 100, marries partner, 93...

(AP)

ENGLAND: A 100-year-old man and a 93-year-old woman in the US are said to have become the world's oldest couple to tie the knot following a 28-year courtship.

Forrest Lunsway and Rose Pollard of California wed at the Dana Point Community Centre on March 19 at a combined age of 193 making them the world's oldest couple to marry on record.

The loved-up couple, who are both keen dancers, met on the dance floor of a community centre in 1983.

They became dance partners and 30 years after meeting they have tied the knot finally on Forrest's 100th birthday.

Rose said she initially told him she'd never marry him but she finally succumbed when he popped the question last year.

She said, "I told him up front I had no intention of getting married. But, then one day he asked me 'how come we never got married?' and I said 'because you never asked me'.

"So he got down on one knee and said, 'Well I'm asking you now, just set the date'. I told him 'I'll marry you on your 100th birthday'. And I did."

Forrest added, "She never thought I'd ask her and I never thought she'd say yes, but here we are. We've got many happy years left as I intend to stick around until I'm at least 110. You've got to use it or lose it."

The wedding took place in front of friends and family of the couple who have both been married before.

They have now beaten the previous record for oldest newlyweds held by Harry Corton and Edna Holford from England, who wed with a combined age of 183. 

Need a taxi in Mumbai on Wed? Good Luck

(AFP)

MUMBAI:  If you live in Mumbai and are looking for a good excuse to stay home on Wednesday and watch the match, here it is.

The union of taxi drivers in Mumbai has warned that at least 60 per cent of all cabs will not run. Taxi drivers say they want to stay home and enjoy the India vs Pakistan match.

They also expect fewer commuters to be on the road, so their services are unlikely to be in high demand.
 
Add 'Facebook depression' to list of health woes

(AGENCY)

CHICAGO: Add "Facebook depression" to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors' group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.

Researchers disagree on whether it's simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the online site.

But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already dealing with poor self-esteem, said Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines.

With in-your-face friends' tallies, status updates and photos of happy-looking people having great times, Facebook pages can make some kids feel even worse if they think they don't measure up.

It can be more painful than sitting alone in a crowded school cafeteria or other real-life encounters that can make kids feel down, O'Keeffe said, because Facebook provides a skewed view of what's really going on. Online, there's no way to see facial expressions or read body language that provide context.

The guidelines urge pediatricians to encourage parents to talk with their kids about online use and to be aware of Facebook depression, cyberbullying, sexting and other online risks. They were published online Monday in Pediatrics.

Abby Abolt, 16, a Chicago high school sophomore and frequent Facebook user, says the site has never made her feel depressed, but that she can understand how it might affect some kids.

"If you really didn't have that many friends and weren't really doing much with your life, and saw other peoples' status updates and pictures and what they were doing with friends, I could see how that would make them upset," she said.

"It's like a big popularity contest - who can get the most friend requests or get the most pictures tagged," she said.

Also, it's common among some teens to post snotty or judgmental messages on the Facebook walls of people they don't like, said Gaby Navarro, 18, a senior from Grayslake, Ill. It's happened to her friends, and she said she could imagine how that could make some teens feel depressed.

"Parents should definitely know" about these practices," Navarro said. "It's good to raise awareness about it."

The academy guidelines note that online harassment "can cause profound psychosocial outcomes," including suicide. The widely publicized suicide of a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl last year occurred after she'd been bullied and harassed, in person and on Facebook.

"Facebook is where all the teens are hanging out now. It's their corner store," O'Keeffe said.

She said the benefits of kids using social media sites like Facebook shouldn't be overlooked, however, such as connecting with friends and family, sharing pictures and exchanging ideas.

"A lot of what's happening is actually very healthy, but it can go too far," she said.

Dr. Megan Moreno, a University of Wisconsin adolescent medicine specialist who has studied online social networking among college students, said using Facebook can enhance feelings of social connectedness among well-adjusted kids, and have the opposite effect on those prone to depression.

Parents shouldn't get the idea that using Facebook "is going to somehow infect their kids with depression," she said.
 
Women feel old at 29, men at 58

(AGENCIES)

LONDON: "You are as old as you feel", goes an old saying. A study now says women consider themselves old at 29, half the age of men who feel old only at 58.

A quarter of women say they feel old as soon as they spot their first grey hair. Men, however, tend to think the same only when they can no longer perform in the bedroom, according to the Daily Mail.

The study by Avalon Funeral Plans found 10 percent of women say they feel old when they think their once-youthful skin has started to sag. A further 50 percent say they feel youthful until their "assets" start to droop - often caused by childbirth and breast feeding.

And three percent said behaving like their mother was a definite sign of old age.

Two-thirds of men feel old only when they could no longer perform in the bedroom. Around 22 percent admitted it was when they thought music had become too loud in bars.

Psychologist Cary Cooper from Lancaster University said: "In our society the attractiveness of women is quite important. Men don't have to be good looking but, for some reason, it's important for women to look presentable."

"Magazines are all about youth and are filled with young, attractive women. Women then start to perceive themselves as old when they no longer feel like this, when they don't feel trendy or fashionable."

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