CNET: More time on social media linked to increase in teenage depression, study finds. “For years, experts have pointed a finger at phones as a possible factor in depression and other mental health problems. A study published Monday from researchers at Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital found that increased social media and TV use predicts an increase in symptoms of depression in teenagers. “
mental health
New York Times: The Horrible Place Between the Apps
New York Times: The Horrible Place Between the Apps. “Everyone has that one app. The one that mocks you from your home screen. The app that lures you to the folder where you’ve tried to hide it. The app you’ve signed out of and deleted — only to download again the next morning. The app you can’t quite quit.”
Lifehacker: Help Your Anxious Kid Prepare for an Event With Youtube Videos
Lifehacker: Help Your Anxious Kid Prepare for an Event With Youtube Videos. “Nowadays you can find a video for just about anything your kid is about to experience, whether it’s go through TSA, ride the subway in New York City or visit the dentist for the first time. Pictures and maps can help, too.” Why limit this to kids? Recently I traveled alone by train for the first time in over ten years. I watched several YouTube videos of Amtrak rides and vlogs so I’d have some idea of how things worked. Recognizing much of the process as I experienced it made me more comfortable.
New York Times: Instagram Therapists Are the New Instagram Poets
New York Times: Instagram Therapists Are the New Instagram Poets. “Despite appeals from the so-called therapy generation, a lot of mental health care remains prohibitively expensive and moderately stigmatized in the United States. Of the nearly 1 in 5 adults in this country who experience mental illness, just over 42 percent received mental health services in 2017. Mental health professionals are seeking to address this issue, in part by doling out advice online.”
The Verge: Bodies in Seats
The Verge: Bodies in Seats . “In May, I traveled to Florida to meet with these Facebook contractors. This article is based on interviews with 12 current and former moderators and managers at the Tampa site. In most cases, I agreed to use pseudonyms to protect the employees from potential retaliation from Facebook and Cognizant. But for the first time, three former moderators for Facebook in North America agreed to break their nondisclosure agreements and discuss working conditions at the site on the record.” I want you to read this article. At the same time I don’t want you to read this article because just reading it made me nauseated.
Newswise: Facebook Posts Better at Predicting Diabetes, Mental Health Than Demographic Info
Newswise: Facebook Posts Better at Predicting Diabetes, Mental Health Than Demographic Info. “Language in Facebook posts may help identify conditions such as diabetes, anxiety, depression and psychosis in patients, according to a study from Penn Medicine and Stony Brook University researchers. It’s believed that language in posts could be indicators of disease and, with patient consent, could be monitored just like physical symptoms. This study was published in PLOS ONE.”
NBC News: I swapped social media for meditation — and it turned me into a monster
NBC News: I swapped social media for meditation — and it turned me into a monster. “I believe in making big changes in my life only after I’ve made big mistakes. I know that’s not the most logical way of handling things that aren’t going so well, but as someone who is inherently stubborn, it’s nearly impossible for me to wake up and smell the roses, until, of course, the flowers are completely wilted. And that’s how it happened with my social media addiction. I started to realize I had an extreme reliance on social media when my boyfriend asked me a question that made my insides tingle.” NOT THAT KIND OF QUESTION! Geez, y’all.
