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ewingjm2

Want to live longer? Carry on laughing - 0 views

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    Laughing at Charlie Chaplin can be a serious business. Chortling at a funny film may seem to be an activity with few consequences for health, but research shows that it does more than exercise the 20 or so face muscles involved in laughing.
Maryam Kaymanesh

9 Ways Technology Affects Mental Health | Do Something - 1 views

  • Sleep. Using a laptop, cell phone, or iPad late at night can seriously mess with your sleep patterns and habits, potentially leaving you with a sleep disorder.
  • Depression. A Swedish study found that participants who felt the need to have their cell phones constantly accessible were more likely to report depressive mental health symptoms.
  • The popularity of social media and sharing everything has led to this new sensation where everyone from middle school-ers to working adults feel the pressure to attend every event and share every experience.
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  • Research has shown that with the ascent of Internet and technology use, rudeness and incivility on social media sites has also increased.
  • Social media can also cause anxiety such as fear of not being successful enough or smart enough with use of sites like Facebook and Twitter.
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    the bad side?
taheripf

Web research could give you a bad dose of cyberchondria - 0 views

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    "The internet has quickly become the whole world's largest medical library and more of us are using online sources to find out information about our health."
jurasovaib

How to recognise the symptoms of ovarian cancer | Health | Life & Style | Daily Express - 0 views

  • MOST woman in Britain can probably name the signs of breast cancer. But how many of us could identify just one symptom of an even more deadly disease, ovarian cancer?
  • In fact, the shocking answer is only three per cent - which may explain why we have one of the worst survival rates in Europe.
  • Three quarters of women are only diagnosed once the cancer has spread, so it's not surprising that, out of the 7,000 new cases every year, only a third of women will live for five years.
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  • The main problem is its symptoms: persistent bloating, abdominal or pelvic pain, urinary and/or bowel problems and difficulty in eating.
  • Taken on its own, each sign could easily indicate some other medical problem. In fact, 30 per cent of sufferers are misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.
  • For years, ovarian cancer was known as a silent killer, which really frustrates campaigners. "there are clear symptoms," says Jones. "You just have to know about them."
  • "Ovarian cancer has been overlooked for a long, long time - it's been put into the 'too difficult' box,' says Annwen Jones, chief executive of the target Ovarian cancer charity. "There has been a vicious circle: it's typically diagnosed at a late stage so we have had poor survival rates and, as a result, there's been little awareness of the disease and therefore very little funding for research. We desperately need to break that circle.
  • It's only when the symptoms are pieced together that a diagnosis is made easier.
braxtondn

Selfie-esteem: Teens say selfies give a confidence boost - Health - TODAY.com - 1 views

  • In the Ideal to Real TODAY/AOL Body Image survey, teenage girls revealed something unexpected: 65 percent said seeing their selfies on social media actually boosts their confidence. And 40 percent of all teens say social media helps "me present my best face to the world." 
  • Selfies seem inconsequential or goofy, but they can actually be incredibly important to teenagers, because they give teens a way to control the image of themselves that they’re showing to the world, experts say.
  • Still, for all that's empowering about selfies, teens — especially young women — naturally have mixed feelings about them. As long as young people are in control of the image, they are confident. But, in the TODAY/AOL body image survey, they acknowledge social media's power to make them feel bad about themselves, especially when confronted with glamorous, mostly happy, pictures of other people's lives.
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  • The key is to not get obsessed with the selfie as a genre, says boyd, "but to appreciate it as a window into teens' lives—including the good, bad, and ugly."
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    If you're going down the #selfie tunnel I have a lot of stuff at https://www.diigo.com/user/bionicteaching/selfie
kinseyem

Health Education Center - General Health - 1 views

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    Unfortunately, college students can easily become addicted to the internet because of free access and lots of unstructured time. The internet allows students to easily find the most up to date resources as well as offer a great way to take a break from studies or keep in touch with friends and family.
kinseyem

How Internet Addiction Is Affecting Lives -- ScienceDaily - 0 views

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    How internet addiction is affecting our lives and mental health
Mirna Shaban

Egypt's Spring: Causes of the Revolution | Middle East Policy Council - 0 views

  • eemed that nearly all of the 90,000 people who had responded to the Facebook request to demonstrate on Police Day had filled the square, crowded into central Alexandria, and confronted the security forces in Suez City
  • An accidental president, who came to power because of Anwar Sadat's assassination on October 6, 1981, Mubarak initially calmed the public, stressed the rule of law, released political prisoners and encouraged parliamentary elections. However, as soon as he began his second term, in 1987, he refused to reform the constitution, extended the state of emergency, promulgated laws to exclude opposition parties from local councils and tightened the grip of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) over parliament. He denounced opposition groups for criticizing his policies and asserted, threateningly, "I am in charge, and I have the authority to adopt measures…. I have all the pieces of the puzzle, while you do not."1
  • after the Islamist groups renounced violence in 1997, emergency and military courts continued to operate. They prosecuted civilians charged with nonviolent infractions, such as Muslim Brothers who met to prepare for professional syndicate elections or journalists who "slandered" regime figures. Police increasingly harassed people on the street, demanding bribes from shop owners and minivan drivers and free food from vendors and restaurants. They seized and beat people in order to coerce false confessions or to pressure them to become informers. They harassed people who came to the police station to get IDs or other routine documents, and they nabbed those who "talked back" to them. Amnesty International concluded that torture was "systematic in police stations, prisons and [State Security Investigations] SSI detention centers and, for the most part, committed with impunity…. [Security and plainclothes police assault people] openly and in public as if unconcerned about possible consequences."
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  • 3 Even the government-appointed National Council on Human Rights, in its first annual report (2004), expressed deep concern about the 74 cases of "blatant" torture and 34 persons who had died in police or SSI detention that year.4 A U.S. diplomat cabled in 2009 to Washington that Omar Suleiman, director of the Ge
  • neral Intelligence Directorate, and Interior Minister Habib al-Adly "keep the domestic beasts at bay, and Mubarak is not one to lose sleep over their tactics."5
  • All aspects of public life were controlled, ranging from censorship of cultural and media production to the operation of labor unions.
  • Workers were banned from striking and, since the change in the labor law in 2003, were often hired on short-term contracts, under which they had no medical — or social — insurance benefits. The monthly minimum wage had not been raised since 1984, when it was set at LE 35 (in 2011 the equivalent of $6).6 The ETUF enforced government policy rather than represented its millions of members.
  • Private-sector workers suffered even more, as the 2003 labor law failed to provide any protection to employees negotiating length of contract, salary level, hours at work, overtime compensation, vacation or lunch breaks. Workers often lacked health and injury insurance. Many private-sector firms forced new hires to sign, along with the contract, Form No. 6, which allowed the employer to fire them without warning, cause or severance pay.
  • The exclusion of opposition forces from the political arena in fall 2010 was accompanied by systematic crackdowns on the media, cultural expression and university life. The regime wanted to prevent critical commentary from being aired in independent newspapers and on private satellite stations. The government closed down 19 TV and satellite channels, hacked or blocked several websites, and pressured private businessmen to cancel outspoken critics' positions as editors, opinion writers and talk-show hosts. The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) concluded: "The Ministry of Mass Media and Communication has tightened its fist over all media channels to markedly reduce the space for freedom of expression, especially [during and] after the last parliamentary elections."13
  • Already, press and cultural output were managed through myriad control boards. Journalists were beaten, jailed and/or fined if they investigated corruption or police brutality and were charged with incitement or libel when they criticized government policies or political leaders. AFTE also reported heavy-handed censorship of movies, plays and books.
  • The crackdown on university life accelerated after the 1979 student charter was amended in 2007 to give administrative bodies — and, behind them, the SSI — the right to bar students from running in university elections. By th
  • en, the SSI was interfering deeply in university operations: approving the appointment of rectors and deans, exercising a veto over teaching-staff employment and promotions, vetting graduate teaching assistants, determining the eligibility of students to live in dormitories, and interfering in scientific research, textbooks choices, and faculty permissions to travel abroad to participate in conferences.14 The SSI presence was overtly threatening; guards stood at the gates and at each building. Plainclothes SSI officers quelled demonstrations as well as threatening and arresting student activists. Then, in October 2010, the government refused to implement the Supreme Administrative Court ruling that banned SSI guards from the campuses and also blocked anti-regime candidates from contesting seats in the student-union elections.15
  • They sold significant portions of the public sector for their personal benefit and decreased public investment in agriculture, land reclamation, housing, education and health
  • Nearly half the residents of Cairo lived in unplanned areas that lacked basic utilities, sometimes living in wooden shacks
  • the World Bank reported that, by 2006, 62 percent of Egyptians were struggling to subsist on less than $2 a day
  • Given the overwhelming power of the state, the severe restrictions imposed by the State of Emergency on public gatherings, and the unchecked violence by police and security forces, people were fearful of protesting in the streets. Nonetheless, there were many efforts to expose the conditions. Novels and films highlighted corruption, police brutality, urban poverty and sexual harassment.29 Some art exhibits displayed in-your-face paintings depicting torture and military repression. Human-rights groups reported on poverty in the countryside and cities, deteriorating environmental conditions, harassment of women and activists, restrictions on the press, police coercion, and thuggery during elections.
  • There was public outrage at the very public beating-to-death just before midnight on June 6, 2010, of 28-year-old Khaled Said, seized as he entered an internet café in Alexandria.35 Late that night 70 young men and women gathered across from the police station, demanding that the police be brought to justice. They received the usual response: beaten, dragged along the street, attacked by police dogs, and arrested. Protests continued throughout the summer: funeral prayers at Sidi Gaber mosque, attended by 600 mourners who spilled out into the street afterwards; a vigil outside the Ministry of Interior headquarters in Cairo; a silent protest along waterfronts and bridges throughout Egypt; and numerous violently suppressed protests in downtown areas not only involving well-known politicians and protest groups but also people who felt that Khaled Said could have been themselves, their son, or their grandson. A teenager reflected this perspective, saying: "This is an extraordinary case. This guy was tortured and killed on the street. I did not know him but I cannot shut up forever."36 "For the sake of Khaled! For the sake of Egypt!" (ashan Khalid, ashan masr) became a rallying cry, voiced in fear as well as in the determination to restore individual and collective dignity (karama). On the fortieth day commemorating his death, people shouted outside the High Court: "Our voices will not be silenced… We've waited for 25 years, but our condition has not improved. Tomorrow the revolution will come."37
  • Dozens of Facebook groups supported the cause, of which "We Are All Khaled Said" became the most famous. They circulated reports about poli
  • ce brutality, many of which had been posted in the past but had not received such intense scrutiny. These included the video of police sodomizing a 21-year-old minivan driver in January 2006. Filmed by police officers in Boulaq al-Dakrour station, the police mailed it to the cell phones of other van drivers to intimidate them. "Everybody in the parking lot will see this tomorrow," they boasted.38 Hafez Abu Saeda, head of the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights, noted: "Police brutality is systematic and widespread… The humiliation of the simple citizen has become so widespread that people are fed up."39 Their anger, he warned, could spark a rebellion.
  • Nonetheless, the protesters themselves agree that it took the swift removal of Ben Ali to make them think that, if sudden change was possible in Tunisia, it might be possible in Egypt.
  • Even when people broke the barrier of fear on January 25, played cat-and-mouse with security forces on downtown streets on January 26 and 27, and withstood the onslaught all day and night on January 28, they faced a formidable regime, supported by the security forces and the entrenched NDP. The revolution would have been much bloodier if the armed forces had stood by the president. President Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib al-Adly hastened their own demise by unleashing extreme violence on January 28, followed by Adly's abrupt withdrawal of all police forces that night. Enraged, the public created neighborhood watches to ensure the safety of their communities.
  • Mubarak miscalculated by ordering the armed forces into the streets, even though their loyalty was to the nation — not to the person. He further miscalculated that he could offer minor concessions — such as appointing a vice president, changing the prime minister, and saying that he would not seek another term — on January 28 and again on February 1 and yet follow those placating words by unleashing fierce attacks on February 2. Over the next week, protesters held their ground, thousands of people flooded to city squares to call for dignity and freedom, labor strikes spread, employees in public institutions joined the movement, and lawyers, doctors, and professors marched in their professional garb. Finally, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ended its silent watch and forced Mubarak's hand. When Mubarak resisted leaving, the generals compelled the newly-appointed vice president to inform the president that, if he didn't step down, he would face charges of high treason.
  • Suddenly on Friday, February 11 — as millions of people surged angrily through the streets — Mubarak vanished. Anger transformed into tears of joy and celebration. And the next morning, young people cleaned up the public spaces, symbolically starting the huge task of cleansing Egypt of the corrupt regime and rebuilding the country. How they would rebuild Egypt remained uncertain, but their mobilization instilled a new and powerful pride, coupled with determination to take control over their future and not be cowed again by any authoritarian ruler.
bdm1chael

The Power of Social Media to Affect Our Health and Fitness - 3 views

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    "Did you Instagram it? No, but it is on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest... Social media is the new "social life" but has its proliferation changed our once-healthy habits? One billion people couldn't possibly be wrong, right?"
bdm1chael

Using interactive technology to improve health : is weight loss just a mouse-click away? - 2 views

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    "Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults has more than doubled, accompanied by increases in chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. This high prevalence and associated disease burden continues to be a threat to public health. Despite years of efforts to stem the tide of obesity, successful weight loss has proven difficult to achieve and sustain."
Maryam Kaymanesh

Social Media Has Good and Bad Effects on Kids: Experts - 1 views

  • and nearly one-quarter of teens say they log on to their favorite social media sites 10 or more times each day.
  • "Facebook is geared toward teen age and up. There are ads and cont
  • ent on the site for an older group.
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  • he report found that social media encourage kids to connect with each other and to express their creativity.
  • They also provide an opportunity for learning,
  • Bullying was around before the Internet, but cyberbullying makes it easier,"
  • "Kids have always wanted to look at nude pictures, and today, taking and sending a picture can be done in a second,"
  • "We need more technology infrastructure, and pediatricians need to be ready to intervene and help educate young people and their parents on how to be more media literate, and how they can evaluate the types of things they're exposed to,"
  • "Facebook depression."
Maryam Kaymanesh

Social Networking's Good and Bad Impacts on Kids - 1 views

  • Teens who use Facebook more often show more narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies.
  • Daily overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders, as well as by making them more susceptible to future health problems
  • Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, hig
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  • school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades
  • Young adults who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing “virtual empathy” to their online friends. 
  • Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, ranging from a two-inch smartphone to a 17-inch laptop.
  • Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.
ewingjm2

Laughing to Live Longer - 0 views

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    Story Number: NNS020610-02 Release Date: 6/10/2002 2:29:00 PM YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Laughter research (yes, there is someone out there researching this) has shown that humor and especially laughter can help keep our bodies strong and disease resistant. Humor is equally helpful to our mental health and the way we deal with stress and worry.
kinseyem

Social Anxiety and the Internet: Is the Internet Helpful or a Hindrance? - 1 views

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    Eileen Bailey Health Guide Social anxiety is "an intense, persistent fear of being scruitinzed and negatively evaluated by others in social or performance situations." According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), 15 million adults in the United States suffer from social anxiety, avoiding situations or face-to-face contact because of their fear of doing something that would cause them embarrassment.
ewingjm2

Does Laughing Make You Live Longer - 0 views

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    Ultimately laughter is good for your health. Laughter protects your heart by improving the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow. This can help prevent you from a heart attack or other cardiovascular problems. Laughter boots your immune system and improves your body's ability to fight off diseases.
braxtondn

7 Telltale Signs Social Media Is Killing Your Self-Esteem | Alternet - 1 views

  • Yet what often begins as a harmless virtual habit for some can fast-track into a damaging, narcissism-fueled habit which negatively impacts our self-worth and the way we perceive others
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      Can this be fixed? Does it have to have such a negative impact? Is it really the media or the people on the social networks that are causing the media to have this kind of effect on people
  • Of 298 users, 50 percent said social media made their lives and their self-esteem worse.
  • According to psychotherapist Sherrie Campbell, social media can give us a false sense of belonging and connecting that is not built on real-life exchanges. This makes it increasingly easy to lose oneself to cyberspace connections and give them more weight than they deserve
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      People go on the social medias knowing what to expect. Its up to the person to control whether or not to let the things they see, effect their lifestyle or what they thick of themselves. There are things on many social networks that allow people to edit their photos so they can loo a certain way, in order for it to be acceptable to society and the media. This is another reason how the media is becoming harmful to self-image.
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  • “When we look to social media, we end up comparing ourselves to what we see which can lower our self-esteem. On social media, everyone’s life looks perfect but you’re only seeing a snapshot of reality. We can be whoever we want to be in social media and if we take what we see literally then it’s possible that we can feel we are falling short in life,” Campbell told AlterNe
  • Women who spent longer periods of time on Facebook had a higher incidence of "appearance-focused behavior" (such as anorexia) and were more anxious and body conscience overall. What's more, 20 minutes on social media was enough to contribute to a user’s weight and shape concerns
    • braxtondn
       
      It is amazing how only 20 mins on a social network can have that effect on one's life.  People are more focused on trying to be accepted into society that they will let a social networks and media tell them how to eat, look, and live.
  • It is important to remember that what you are viewing is only a small sliver of someone’s life, which for the most part, is heavily embellished and mostly rooted in fantasy. When such images are starting to poison the way you look at your own life it may be time to step away from the screen.
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      This is one way to fix the effects that media has over people's self image. Just because you see models looking all glamorous on the tv screens, instagram posts, Facebook, or magazine covers, doesn't mean that their life is technically better than your own.
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