For those of you who use Twitter, did you know that the Amber Alert System is available on Twitter as well. Just go follow @Amber_Alert and you can get updated on the latest US Amber Alerts as they are issued.
Also, feel free to follow me @mikemac29 and get the latest tweets, including new blog posts.
This week sees multiple UK TV programmes about child sexual abuse; the review of one drama will follow shortly, but here are the rest; Tuesday 29th September, 22.35 (1hr), ITV1: To Catch A Paedophile (Part 2). This documentary follows London’s Metropolitan Police’s as they attempt to catch sex offenders in London and the general South…
Now that we are in to 2012, I want to remind folks reading here that while CBK and I try to post news items and book/TV/movie reviews that are of interest to abuse survivors, we also openly admit that there is more out there than we could ever keep track of. Given that submissions of…
I stumbled across this review from Verushka on Twitter yesterday. (Hey, it’s still good for something, sometimes!) Her description got my attention, and I thought it might also interest some of you:
What is this about?
Burn out; the different types — from carers to COVID and more. And some straightforward advice you probably already know, but might need a reminder of. I know I did.
What else is this about?
Mental health in today’s COVID, online, WFH world.
I think that second quote is really the key. We’ve seen studies that are reported as showing that kids who use social media get more depression and anxiety, but those studies do not address the question of whether there’s any proof that the causality is in that direction and not the other. In other words, do teens who use social media a lot develop depression, or do depressed teens use social media more. This study seems to indicate it’s the latter. As we continue with a lot of social distancing, and activities being canceled and in person gatherings are very limited, we know everyone will be relying more on social media to stay connected, so this is an important question, and I think what this study, and others, really shows us is that there are ways to use social media as a positive influence on our mental health, and a way to use it that will not be a positive influence on our mental health.
In the physical world, we have these same choices. Do we interact with people who are toxic? Do we spend all of our time comparing ourselves to others? Do we isolate? Or do we find out tribe, our group of supportive friends/family that can interact socially in ways that help our mental health?
We all make those same choices on social media, but the key difference here is that if we simply don’t choose, and make no effort to make conscious decisions about who we follow and interact with, social network algorithms will make the decision for us. Anyone already struggling with mental health is maybe more likely to not spent much time thinking about these things, and just let the app show them what it wants to show them, and that is not necessarily going to be good for our anxiety. Especially right now.
So, if you find yourself feeling more anxious, angry, irritated, etc. every time you hop on Twitter or Instagram, maybe instead of just being that way, spend some time thinking about who you follow, and what they are bringing in to your life?
For any of my social media using readers, can you share some of your favorite positive accounts that you interact with to HELP your mental health?
The hiatus for the Carnival Against Child Abuse is over, and on the first day of Fall, Marj has posted the latest version. I’m so glad to see it back again, and look forward to digging into these posts, and more in the months to come. Go take a look and welcome it back, thanks…
Kate1975 is the host this month and has all the details on submitting a blog post to this month’s edition over on her blog. Since the topic is Self-Care, I’m looking forward to reading all about it, and I hope you’ll consider submitting something on the topic, or on the standard topics from your own…
