Prom just might be the biggest event of the year at NS. Thousands of students and community members show up to see students promenade. Junior boys and girls get partnered up by height, perform a choreographed dance, and get announced to those in attendance.

           The Promenade is a time for students to connect to each other and get away from our screens, but we didn’t. During the practices for the Promenade, many juniors had been looking at their phones instead of talking to their Promenade partners, consequentially missing out on meaningful connections. I’m guilty of this as well; I should have been talking to my partner a lot more than I did.

           As a society, and especially as a generation, we have developed an immense dependency on our devices, such that we cannot face new environments without our noses pressed up against a screen.

           Also, there’s been an increase of people that do things solely for the sake of posting about it on social media. So many people will go to concerts and just record the entire time, or go to a nice restaurant and take pictures of their food before thinking about eating it.

           There’s a few things that I think are at fault for this: phone-induced social anxiety (feeling dependent on our screens to get us through new interactions and situations), and a longing for perfection and to live the most “aesthetic” life.

           A study done by the CDC in 2025 showed that children and adolescents with more than 2 hours of daily screen time have an increased risk of poor peer relationships, conduct problems, and emotional symptoms. That is to say, difficulty regulating themselves and a higher likelihood of developing mental health issues.

           A dependency on our phones doesn’t help our social skills at all, it just perpetuates the cycle and slowly makes them worse and worse. Screen dependency is something that I’ve experienced, and something that occurs regularly in my life. I find myself feeling anxious if I ever don’t have my phone in my back pocket. I sometimes feel the need to check it just to make sure it’s still there, even though the weight in my back pocket hasn’t gotten any lighter. If anything, over time it’s gotten heavier.

           Growing up, a close relative of mine was a firm believer in not having phones or any other distractions at the dinner table. As he put it, “no toys at the table”. Dinner at this relative’s house used to be filled with deep conversations and discussions, ranging from how the world works to the inner workings of a TV, and taking apart that TV.

           My relative has since forgotten his own rule. Now, at dinner, he stays on his phone for most of it. Whether he is looking at the news or scrolling through Instagram, the dinner conversations have dwindled into something much rarer than they should be. The time that used to be one of the best parts of the day has become a 30 minute period of being in the same vicinity yet far apart from each other.

           The rise of influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and the like have caused regular, normal people to have the desire to become influencers. The ultra-filtered content we come across from major influencers has given many a distorted view of how real life is and how life should look like. The influencers that constantly record their daily lives have spurred many to do the same, even if they don’t post the videos they record.

           Sixteen years ago, you could go to a concert and expect to find new friendships among people that have the same music taste. You could make connections with new people, the kind of connections that could last a lifetime. Everyone in attendance would create lasting memories, and the concert would end up being something that “you just had to be there” for.

           Nowadays, if you go to a concert expecting the experience you had in 2010, you will be sorely disappointed. It’s become nothing like how it once was. Those that aren’t there can be there, and those that are there aren’t. Those that are there record the entire concert, and focus more on making sure the band is in frame than focusing on the band itself. Those that aren’t there can look up the concert on social media for free, so what’s the point of paying hundreds of dollars to go see Benson Boone live if you can just look it up?

Put down your devices, talk to those around you. Make new connections, even though it’ll be hard at first. It gets easier with time. I, for one, plan to start putting in an active effort when it comes to putting down my devices at home so that I may interact with my parents.

           There’s plenty of time to spend scrolling on our devices and recording our lives, but we only have so many opportunities to truly experience the world we live in. In 40 years, we won’t remember the TikTok we scrolled past, but we might remember the people we laughed with at prom practice despite all the awkwardness. So many things only happen once, and I pray that we aren’t too distracted to let those precious moments pass us by.


Picture of Ridley's grocery story

Terrel’s says goodbye to Sanpete County

By Tanner Mickel • March 17, 2026
Terrel’s has been an icon and community loved landmark for many years. Now that Terrel’s is being sold to Ridley’s Family Markets, the community is searching for answers on what comes next. Although some might not like the idea of Terrel’s being sold, the old management thought that it was time to sell while Terrel Seely was still here. “The owner is getting older and you know, it was just time, to make sure that, that transition happened while he was still alive,” Blake Rosenlof said. The arrangements for the sale were finished before the original owner passed away. Seely passed away last week. While some are worried about changes, the purchase of Terrel’s and the five other stores previously owned by Seely will bring opportunities for many involved in the store. “What Ridley’s actually wants us to do is help incorporate what we're doing here,” Jared Mecham said, “cause now Ridley’s has 30 stores … They're a bigger company now. And so they actually want our help from the bakery standpoint of getting some of our products into their bakeries and in all 30 stores. So they don't want to change what we're doing, because we're one of the best bakeries in the state of Utah.” Many Terrel's employees are optimistic about this new opportunity. Ridley’s wants to keep the family friendly and supportive environment that Seely has built. The employees believe that it is going to be good for the business and just a good thing overall. “I think it will be a good change for most of the employees. And hopefully for the community as well," Rosenlof said. Terrel’s is going to begin the change and transfer over starting in the beginning of April, and it is planned to be a slow change. Terrel’s is planned to stay open throughout the entire process. Small changes will begin to start one by one, starting with things like the bags and milk. “I think it's gonna take some time to adjust to,” senior Quincy Benson said, “especially because Terrel's means a lot to the community. It's a place where a lot of people shop and it's been such a staple, but especially because Terrel Seely, everyone knows him, we love him.” They are not certain when the name will officially change. And though the name is going to be changed, Ridley’s still wants to keep the atmosphere and family supported environment. They plan to keep all the same staff and traditions and carry on what Seely has built. “One thing that Terrel has always let me do is, they let me bring my little kids in here to work, just to teach them how to work…,” Mecham said. “They've all worked here, and Terrel's allowed that. Most companies would never let you bring your kids to work. So I talked to the Ridley’s owners, they say the same thing, that we don't want that to change, we value teaching kids how to work.”

Ai kort

By Kortney Mitchell • March 17, 2026
A group chat filled with teenagers from all across the globe bonding over common interests. These people, who in any other circumstance would have never met, become best friends because they decided to play the same online games. With growing worldwide access to the internet, it has become common for teenagers and young adults to have online friendships. These connections can mean a lot to a person. “The relationships I have online are closer to my heart than those in real life,” junior Brittlyn Church said. With a generation who has been online their entire lives, online friendships are less taboo than ever. The results from a NS Times survey showed that 47 percent of students have had an online relationship, whether that be platonic or romantic. These relationships can have similar benefits to in-person friendships. “I feel like I am a lot more confident around people that aren’t seeing me face to face constantly. It's just easy to talk to them about something,” Church said. While there are some benefits, the biggest concern around online and AI relations is the increased number of social issues and lawsuits. ABC News and BBC News have both covered issues involving AI users replacing human contact with AI. “My concern is that, much like how pornography is pyrite of intimacy, I worry that these AI relationships will be pyrite for actual human connection,” behavioral health teacher Sterling Whipple said. “And people chase them because it feels good in the short term, but it leaves them unfulfilled in the long term.” According to the Britannica, the first AI chatbot was created in 1966 as a test to see if a computer could gain sentience. The responses given were often jumbled but it gave a baseline to work off of. With AI advancements, chatbots can now respond in real time to any conversation or prompt that the user puts in. These bots can have pre-set personalities or even mimic celebrities or fictional characters when given the right directions. “At some points it did kind of feel like they were more of a real person when I was talking to them, like a real funny person,” junior Nolun Neilsen said. “Then I realized, ‘Oh yeah, this is just a computer. This is just a bunch of other things compiled together to create this.’” Even with how realistic AI has gotten, there are still bugs that make it feel like exactly what it is, a computer trying to be a human. “I feel like just a real human experience will always be better,” Nielsen said. “I don't think it's ever gonna get quite as perfect because it's always better to just talk to someone in person and that feels more real.” The essential need for human connection is why these new developments with AI and online relationships should be taken seriously. “AI needs to be taken seriously,” Whipple said. “The effects on the human mind need to be taken seriously. I just hope that doesn't push us too far into a knee-jerk fear response, a panic response, because I think there's a lot of potential for good as well. But on young minds, we have to be really careful because they are so easily shaped.”

Speech and debate places 2 at region

By Jennifer Solis • March 17, 2026
On Feb. 21 the NS speech and debate team placed 2nd at region with 88 points. “I was very proud of our team,” advisor Alex Bailey said. “This was the first year where we've had enough people or a large enough team to be more competitive.” Juniors Andrew Madsen and Hannah Holbrook placed 1st in public forum, senior Katie Jones placed 1st in Informative Speaking, senior Ethan Mendicino placed 1st in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking, Holbrook placed 2nd in National Extemporaneous Speaking, Wyatt Bills placed 2nd in Student Congress, Jazmin Solis and Sage Ivory tied for 2nd in Interpretive Performance, and Bills placed 3rd in Original Oratory. Preparing for region took a lot of practice, preparation, and effort from the team. In the weeks leading up to the competition, students dedicated time after school on Thursdays working on their speeches, practicing their performances, and making improvements. The advisors gave feedback to ensure that students could be ready to compete at region. The regional competition was a great experience for the team, as it allowed students to challenge themselves, learn from other competitors, and reflect on how hard they had come during the season. Competing against other schools gave the team the opportunity to see new performances and see what they can change so that they could do better moving forward. “Speech and debate provides a lot of positive opportunities, and I have learned a lot about myself through speech and debate,” Madsen said. “I think anyone who does speech and debate discovers something new about themselves.” The regional competition involved four schools from across the area, and because of this students knew they would face experienced competitors that required them to step up and practice harder. The team felt both nervous and excited to see how the region would turn out. “For me, [competing] is pretty easy just because I've been doing it for four years,” Jones said. “But when I started out, it was terrifying.” The team felt confident in their performance, even if they didn’t take first. “I feel good, but it's always a tough competition every year,” Ivory said. “Sometimes you can do really good at region and then there's just a school that'll just wipe you out.” Despite challenges that come with the events, most members tend to look on the positive side and see this as an opportunity to learn. Preparation helped these competitors feel more confident when it came to competing. Many students found that placing in region gave them a great sense of joy and showed the effort that they put in throughout the season. “I'm just so proud of everything they've all individually accomplished, and then what they've accomplished as a team as well,” Bailey said. “No matter how we do at state, I feel like we've already won to some extent.” As the season begins to come to an end, the speech and debate team is now preparing to move on to the state competition, bringing with them months of practice, dedication and the hope that all of their hard work will help them perform well. “My hopes for state is that myself and my teammates will have a successful weekend,” Bills said. "I hope that all the hard work we have put in this year pays off and hope that we can take home a lot of medals this year.”