One newspaper reported on the Abbott of Downside’s public apology to historical abuse victims over the weekend. That report is here. The Daily Telegraph updated the blog on this topic, covering some possible innaccuracies in a Times report, which is probably behind the regular paywall by now, so you can read the disputed sections here.
– CBG
Cross-posted from my Sports Blog. I was looking at some of my online news sources for thing to share on my various sites when I came across an article written by a student interning as a sportswriter, Megan Armstrong, taking her battle with depression public. The part of the article that got my attention as…
Sadly, I think Erica is right about this. I too take part in a lot of raising awareness, online and off, and I’m glad to see some of those campaigns go viral and really help people feel less alone in their struggles, but we have to also come to grips with what changing our society…
It’s not directly child abuse-related but one story that stuck around during the start of the year is that of homeless man Billy Ray Harris who returned an engagement ring to someone that placed it in his cup by mistake when giving change. It’s an understatement to say that the story became a worldwide phenomenon…
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?
“It would be a mistake, however, to focus our anger on one ignorant bigot. Bristow was giving crude form to attitudes which, for many male survivors, are all too familiar. The expectations that males – even young boys – can and should be able to fight off attackers is every bit as prevalent and as…
I think the folks at Horowitz Law have got this right: “Most sex offenders, therefore, don’t fall into some easily-identifiable, logical category. They can be young or old, shy or outgoing, tall or short, and of course rich or poor. We wish this weren’t the case, of course. Because this reality leads to a disturbing…
