MakeUseOf: Good News! 5 Places to Read or Hear Positive and Uplifting News. “Turn on the TV, pick up the newspaper, or hop on to social media, and it seems like there is nothing but bad news. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a ton of positive, good news that you are missing, and these sites and apps want to fix that.”
mental health
Science Daily: Social media use increases depression and loneliness, study finds
Science Daily: Social media use increases depression and loneliness, study finds . “Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram may not be great for personal well-being. The first experimental study examining use of multiple platforms shows a causal link between time spent on these social media and increased depression and loneliness.”
Lifehacker: Cope With Midterm Election Anxiety Better With This Meditation App’s ‘Politics Pack’
Lifehacker: Cope With Midterm Election Anxiety Better With This Meditation App’s ‘Politics Pack’. “None of the exercises are expressly political, nor do they cater to a specific political position. Instead, they offer ways to cope with some of the feelings you might experience when reading political news.”
The Atlantic: Facebook Groups as Therapy
The Atlantic: Facebook Groups as Therapy. “Over the past year, the company has been consciously emphasizing groups—part of an effort, per Mark Zuckerberg, to ‘give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.’ These groups cover interests ranging as widely as the human imagination. Many are ‘closed,’ which in Facebook terminology means they are findable, but only members can see their content. Some are ‘secret’ and unsearchable, and membership is by invitation only. It’s not surprising, then, that Facebook has turned into a gathering place for strangers sharing their deepest secrets.”
EurekAlert: Database funded to help researchers understand bipolar disorder throughout adult lifespan
EurekAlert: Database funded to help researchers understand bipolar disorder throughout adult lifespan . “Under the grant, [Dr. Martha] Sajatovic and her colleagues, aided by a steering committee of other bipolar experts, will aggregate and standardize data from more than 1,000 bipolar patients worldwide who have been previously studied. But most findings from these studies are based on research samples of no more than 50 participants from a relatively narrow geographic and age representation. By creating a single comprehensive data set, the scientific team aims to overcome these shortfalls and increase knowledge about BD, its symptoms, and changes in behavior at different stages of life.”
Phys .org: Social media buffers depression among older adults with pain
Phys .org: Social media buffers depression among older adults with pain. “With a few finger strokes or swipes on a computer or cell phone, seniors with pain reduce the risk of depression when visiting social media sites. In a newly published University of Michigan study, researchers reported that using social media can reduce the negative health effects of curtailed social contact that comes as a consequence of pain.”
Lifehacker: Use Firefox’s ‘Election Bundle’ Extensions to Manage Facebook’s Political Powers
Lifehacker: Use Firefox’s ‘Election Bundle’ Extensions to Manage Facebook’s Political Powers. “It’s politics season on Facebook. With the midterm elections only a few weeks away, there’s a good chance you’re seeing targeted ads on Facebook based on your activity both on the platform and around the web. For those of us who are looking for ways to limit Facebook’s ability to influence what we say and do online, Mozilla recently launched an ‘election bundle’ of extensions for Firefox designed to curb Facebook’s ability to affect your political decision-making.”
