Sanju R. Wadhwa - UMHS
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Post by Sanju R. Wadhwa - UMHS on Mar 31, 2017 12:25:47 GMT -4
Today's society is very intertwined with social media; in fact, a patient that I saw at PACT Atlanta is believed to have developed mania, depression, and subsequent increased drug use a result of an incident that occurred on Facebook, aka social media. Being exposed to screens all day rather than socializing with others who may be right next to you or in front of you is the new norm. One aspect of the article that I found interesting and could relate to when I was studying for STEP was the feeling one gets when they see others posting happy, fun, and exciting moments while you are stuck indoors studying rather than enjoying. However those feelings of frustration and loneliness were compensated with feelings of motivation of the task at hand. I definitely see a correlation between social media and mental health, however there is a certain aspect of the scenario that relies on the person themselves. I do agree with the article that there needs to be a diagnosis for social media criteria and perhaps we as future doctors can implement a focus more on self gratification and assessment rather than the instant gratification of Facebook and other social media outlets.
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Post by Lisa Lin PCOM PA-S on Mar 31, 2017 19:44:43 GMT -4
I definitely agree with this article's position of how involved and obsessed our generation is with the Internet. The Internet is a wonderful resource for information regarding medical, research, and basic recipes for cooking. However, everyone these days are constantly on their phone either on social media or texting their friends. The power of the voice is less hear everyday because we don't talk as much as we text these days. The constant screening time we do everyday from the first thing we do when we wake up in the morning to the last thing we do before going to bed at night. I have to admit it is addictive to check social media every moment, which many of the patients in PACT and providers do and can, related to. However, this addiction can be self destructive especially for patients who comes in for anxiety or depression many may goes to social media everyday which may harm their cognitive behavior by comparing themselves with others and many withdrawal more from society. As future providers we have to be mindful of how social media and the Internet can cause our patients to withdrawal and it is best to recommend down time with screening as an assessment and plan in our treatment for our patients.
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Post by Chelsea Hoenes on Apr 2, 2017 10:17:47 GMT -4
I've always been an advocate for holistic medicine, which is essentially what the article is describing. It incorporates a sense of mindfulness, which can be described as a conscious awareness of your current mental state, as if your emotions were separate from you. To achieve a state of mindfulness--which, by the way, has been extensively studied to be effective for improving mental wellbeing--we have to do exactly what the article describes: unplug. We have to mentally and physically step away from the current situation and rationally assess how the situation makes us feel. If we determine that we respond negatively to the stimulus, we make the conscious decision to eliminate that negative influence from our lives. If it is positive, we continue to incorporate it. Mindfulness has been trend in mental healthcare lately, and I'm pleased that its techniques are being offered to the public as another modality for dealing with stress or depression. The article also encourages people to see a physician if their symptoms are not controlled, however, which is another aspect of "Integrative Medicine" that I really appreciate.
As an aside, this is a great example of science writing that is made applicable to the average person; it offers good, solid health advice to the public that is both freely available and interesting.
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Post by JessicaJensen on Apr 2, 2017 11:56:03 GMT -4
It’s ironic that despite how connected people are these days, so many feel enormously isolated. I think there is a real compulsion among people to appear “better” on social media; therefore, they lose the ability to open up to people. Our virtual lives are making us less human. I think it is very important to remember that “we only see what people want us to see” on social media. It is easy to get caught up in feeling inferior when it appears that everyone around us is doing or getting things that we are not. It is critical that we remember that when you have 1,000+ friends, someone is always doing something that you are not. Also, we must remember the grass isn’t always greener on the other side- many of the people we are envying have their own set of issues, none of which they air on social media. It is so easy to get caught up in always trying to know everything that is going on in the world that we lose sight of what is happening in right in front of us. While, social media can be a great way to keep in contact with friends and family around the world, it is all too easy to let the virtual world take over our lives. We must remember to maintain the most important relationships- the physical relationships we interact with every day.
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Elizabeth Nagengast
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Post by Elizabeth Nagengast on Apr 2, 2017 14:23:02 GMT -4
This article addresses an evolving aspect of behavioral medicine. There is no preexisting knowledge of the long term effects of internet usage. Whereas we can use centuries of past experience treating anxiety and depression induced by life events and physiologic imbalances, the internet poses as a new variable in treating patients. The internet is an inescapable reality of today's world that has become essential to leading a productive life. No job exists today without some association to the internet, libraries and textbooks are being replaced by the internet, and in today's developed countries it is most often assumed everyone has internet access; to be without access is considered odd and difficult to even comprehend. Using the internet for things like social media has dramatically impaired the ability and willingness to communicate in ways that have evolved and worked well for humans over centuries. Humans are evolved to be social creatures and the internet is a failed attempt of replacing the level of social interaction needed for wellbeing. We are beginning to see those ramifications on individuals' behavioral health.
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Post by Josiane Asaba on Apr 3, 2017 18:08:11 GMT -4
Social media practically runs million of American live. I wonder how many people will be diagnosed with social media addiction. It is sad to see that something that was made to enhance lives, which it does, disrupts even more lives. People are constantly on their phones, every time someone on the highway is holding up traffic, they are on their phones. So many accidents these days are caused by someone either texting or using their cell phone for one thing or the other. For mental health patients, i can imagine social media ca be a good place to find social outings with people that can help and can have social outings with, On the other hand, it is a place where bullies and cowards hide behind the screens to make people feel miserable about themselves. It is unbelievable how many children who have dies from the horrific things they were told on the internet. There are still many things and years to come for most of the experiments and social media connected diagnosis will come to light, There is already the addiction problem and people are still glued to their cell phones. This is something that we will see a lot more of in the years to come.
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Post by Mythri Samboju on Apr 5, 2017 1:01:22 GMT -4
I thought this was an interesting article on many levels. I think our concept of connection has changed so much and maybe not in the best of directions from other generations. From going to no internet and handwritten mail to now receiving a mail within 30 seconds of writing it is completely insane. I think that has a lot to do with of course technology. I think it's important to reevaluate on what a true/authentic connection is if we are to make any of those. Especially youtube being such a huge social media and "vlogging" I think people may be a bit confused on what a true friendship looks like. Which makes it all the harder to develop true authentic relationships, which leads to loneliness. I think social media has distorted how to be vulnerable and how to love people in a true way and it kind of trickles down to the much younger generations, which could cause so many other bad effects. For me personally, I think it was such a huge benefit that my parents put restrictions on my usage of internet so that way I can do more things and I think its more important than ever now as children and adults to make those boundaries. As I see in the more younger generation cyber bullying has become so prevalent now even for adults, that it's making people less sympathetic, empathetic, overall concern and it has come to a point where it is maybe even far worse than physical bullying. All in all though with every advancement we make in technology or any other field I think it's important to teach boundaries and how to apply them and this article among many is a start.
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Post by Mythri Samboju on Apr 5, 2017 1:02:08 GMT -4
I thought this was an interesting article on many levels. I think our concept of connection has changed so much and maybe not in the best of directions from other generations. From going to no internet and handwritten mail to now receiving a mail within 30 seconds of writing it is completely insane. I think that has a lot to do with of course technology. I think it's important to reevaluate on what a true/authentic connection is if we are to make any of those. Especially youtube being such a huge social media and "vlogging" I think people may be a bit confused on what a true friendship looks like. Which makes it all the harder to develop true authentic relationships, which leads to loneliness. I think social media has distorted how to be vulnerable and how to love people in a true way and it kind of trickles down to the much younger generations, which could cause so many other bad effects. For me personally, I think it was such a huge benefit that my parents put restrictions on my usage of internet so that way I can do more things and I think its more important than ever now as children and adults to make those boundaries. As I see in the more younger generation cyber bullying has become so prevalent now even for adults, that it's making people less sympathetic, empathetic, overall concern and it has come to a point where it is maybe even far worse than physical bullying. All in all though with every advancement we make in technology or any other field I think it's important to teach boundaries and how to apply them and this article among many is a start.
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Post by Syed Ali Karim on Apr 6, 2017 22:10:02 GMT -4
Social media is another double-edged sword that exists in our livelihood, and primarily because it's a useful tool to raise awareness and promote positive activity; however it's also a nasty place where people can hide behind user names with no avatar and send vulgar, degrading insults towards others without regarding how it might impact one's mental health in the short or long term. This article is fascinating in the sense that it gives us the reader tips and tricks on how to utilize the internet to it's maximum efficiency, while also telling us that it's okay to put down our phones and not worry about who updated their profile on facebook. As time passes and the newer generations emerge, it's an increasing trend that more and more kids are gravitating towards social media and texting as forms of communication instead of sitting across from the other and having a typical conversation like it was done back in the day. Me personally, I've never been hung up on social media because to me they're luxuries, not necessities. I get more out of actually talking to another person rather than creating an elaborate post on instagram or facebook, only to see my phone blow up with likes and get a sense of self-satisfaction. Like the article said "Remember that social media isn't real life", and I agree with that to the umpteenth degree.
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Post by Amir Mullick on Apr 9, 2017 18:25:49 GMT -4
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and then the whole plethora of online forums and video games do nothing but make a person feel they are busy. The mass of notifications my phone collects while i drive 40 minutes is 7, and it feels like I have so much work pending. I uninstalled Snap and IG, because they had too much to explore and I would often end up spending more than 3 hours of time every day, throughout the day. The information is useless, and does not really help me become a better person or more intelligent. Social networks have become the bane of existence and socializing has changed all around. The internet does not help improve mental health, if anything, it burdens us and forces us to have a larger load of due work than we already have.
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Post by Seanne Facho on Apr 10, 2017 2:59:29 GMT -4
This article is very interesting because it is easy to become dependent on our phones and laptops. It convenient to look up anything on our phones in a matter of seconds then pulling a book from somewhere and finding it out. Having a set amount of time away form the internet is important to help appreciate the fun in other places. There is basically an app for everything now so getting distracted with tracking and analyzing everything in our lives can affect us if we want to achieve that perfect score on the apps. Social media can be a great way to keep in touch with friends but can also be addictive so sometime detoxing from social media is a good idea.
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Post by Shanice Worrell on Apr 14, 2017 1:11:11 GMT -4
This article shows how the society looks at social media for a sense of "acceptance". Technology continues to evolve and there are advantages and disadvantages to social media. However the harsh reality is society has become so engrossed in the world of social media we forget about reality. If our lives were solely based on social media, we as a society would lose ourselves in hope for gratification, individuals suffer from depression as a result of the negativity which is placed out their on social media.
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Post by Sneha Reddy on May 5, 2017 10:33:38 GMT -4
I feel social media is a 2 pointed sword. On the one hand it brings the world closer together and more aware of what is happening around us. However i also creates a false sense that we are socializing when in reality we have become more isolated. People on social media put out a false sense of constant happiness and success in life. It is only natural to compare oneself to what you believe are peers fairing better in life, especially when the social platform becomes a daily reminder of it. This can significantly affect anyones mental health and lower their self esteem. People have started to co-relate the significance of a memory or experience directly to the number of views or likes on social media, a form of wanting to be accepted by others first before deeming yourself happy. Face to face interactions are very stimulating experiences and impactful on the mind. My favorite line from the article was “there’s currently no recognized diagnosis for social media addiction” and "Remember social media isn't real life"
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