Syrians are getting the results of their first elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, which authorities hope will represent a new chapter for the war-torn country. But while Sunday’s limited vote was a “historic moment” after the oppressive rule of Assad, said Al Jazeera, the electoral process has been “subject to debate.”

How did the elections work? 
In the new People’s Assembly, a third of the 210 seats will be directly appointed by Syria’s interim leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with Sunday’s vote deciding the remainder. However, only members of electoral colleges appointed by an elections committee to represent the country’s 60 districts were eligible to vote — a total of about 7,000 people. In 10 of those districts, in the Druze-majority Sweida province and Kurdish-controlled areas in the north, the vote was indefinitely postponed due to what the central government in Damascus described as the danger posed by ongoing sectarian violence in the regions. 

Were they a success? 
With so few people eligible to vote, there were “few signs in Syria on Sunday that an election was taking place,” said The National. “No rallies preceded the poll, and there were no election manifestos or campaigns by any parties.” This was an “indirect election using a set of electors who have basically been handpicked by the current rulers,” Syria expert Aron Lund, a fellow at the Century International think tank, said to Al Jazeera. 

Sharaa admitted that the process was not perfect but said it “suited the phase Syria is undergoing.” Authorities claim that mass displacement and administrative chaos resulting from 14 years of civil war and the sudden fall of the Assad regime last December made holding a nationwide election impossible. 

Who will make up the next government? 
Given their close affiliation with the Assad regime, all existing political parties were dissolved when the interim government took power, so every candidate in the election ran as an independent. While there are no quotas for representation, the majority of seats, 70%, will go to academics and experts, underlining the aim of creating a technocratic government rather than one dominated by members of prominent families.

Digital addiction is a broad term for unhealthy behaviors related to spending too much time on the internet, in particular when a person cannot stop these behaviors despite experiencing negative consequences. The problem can take many forms and is becoming more common.

The basics
Digital addiction can come in many forms, including excessive interaction with social media, video gaming, online gambling, online shopping and web pornography. And as with gambling and pornography, the internet can amplify these addictions by increasing accessibility. Some people can be especially vulnerable to falling into digital addiction, like those with “high levels of internet use for socialization, education and entertainment,” said Psychiatry.org.

Addictive by design
It’s not surprising the internet is so addictive — it’s designed that way. Many social media apps, for example, use what’s called the hook model to keep users on their apps. With this concept, the app first triggers a person to interact, like with a notification. This, in turn, prompts someone to enter the app. Then, the app uses a variable reward system to prompt a user to remain there. 

Another way websites and apps keep people hooked is through gamification, which turns internet interactions into a game. The way the shopping app Temu prices and promotes products is “deliberate,” with the company “pushing the exact consumer psychology buttons necessary to keep shoppers shopping,” said the BBC. 

The consequences
Digital addiction can significantly affect a person’s mental health. Excessive internet use can lead to anxiety and depression. It can also cause “dishonesty, anxiety, aggression and mood swings,” said the Addiction Center. And it can affect physical health and lead to “body aches, carpal tunnel syndrome, insomnia, vision problems and weight gain/loss.” In the worst cases, it can lead to suicide.

Teens in particular may “frequently fall behind on schoolwork, stay up late and fight with parents,” said ADDitude. Adults may neglect their jobs and other responsibilities, which could lead to unemployment and even homelessness. And those with ADHD may also “spend more time on digital media and have more severe symptoms of problematic internet use.”

Breast cancer survivors don artful body paint in a performance at the Cabañas Museum in Guadalajara, Mexico. The project “A Brushstroke for Life” brings together more than 100 of these survivors to raise global awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Ulises Ruiz / Getty Images

Four authors with four points of view could be a recipe for cookbook disaster. “The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family” instead hinges on the four varied, yet complementary, stances of the members of the Leung family: dad Bill, mom Judy and daughters Sarah and Kaitlin.

Digital to analog 
In 2013, Sarah launched a blog called The Woks of Life. In the ensuing years, the site enlisted her three family members, grew to monster size and became a contemporary resource for fans of Chinese dishes. The cookbook takes on that same mission. Much like the blog, a different Leung often introduces each recipe. 

Predictably, the dim sum section is labor-intensive. For homemade pan-fried garlic, chive and shrimp dumplings, you will require three kinds of starch for the wrappers, then a whole lot of rolling and pleating. The crackling result warrants the effort, and the Leungs’ clear instructions encourage a win.

Other sections trumpet both Chinese American fixtures and more traditional regional Chinese home cooking. Sesame chicken, for example, is a sticky, comforting similitude of the takeout staple.

How to succeed in Chinese cooking
Any great cookbook needs to give you the tools to triumph. The Leungs stack the front of “The Woks of Life” with a series of guides that cover cooking tools, a nine-ingredient pantry compilation and a short primer on cooking techniques, including a four-step map to achieving wok hei, the “complex charred, savory aroma and flavor” central to the best stir-fries.