Would you consider this radio station as "Traditional Media"?  If you said yes you are correct. ( but we still consider ourselves a little "untraditional" in our approach!) Traditional media is all the "old-school dinosaur stuff", pre-internet and pre-hi-tech.  You know, things like books, music, network television and terrestrial radio like us.

Social Media Has Potential Harmful Side Effects

On the other hand, we have new media and social media like cable, satellite, streaming, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, tik tok, and more and social media is under scrutiny because of the harmful effects it has on people, especially children.

Dr. Lisa Strohman is a Psychologist widely known for her advocacy and education around mental wellness as it relates to our digital lives...and is the founder and director of Digital Citizen Academy, one of the first organizations to address the global issue of technology addiction and overuse.  From her website.

5 ways social media is hurting kids

It is making them grow up too soon. Because there is no age-appropriate filter on social media, it means there is no censorship of what’s being posted and who is seeing it. 

Their neurochemistry is negatively affected. Social media has been shown to increase anxiety and depression in kids, as well as reduce empathy. 

It decreases a child’s self-esteem and self-concept. In a world where people are being constantly inundated with negativity and bullying, a child’s internal concept of themselves is altered because of social media. 

Social media increases FOMO. Fear of missing out is a very real thing and kids experience it thanks to social media. Because social media is 24/7, kids are constantly living their lives and watching others' lives online. 

Kids experience celebrity fallacy. Celebrities have large followings on social media, and kids take note. Often, because youth follow celebs, they begin to mimic posts in an attempt to get tied into the lives of celebrities and increase their own following. 

So Many Sitting, Tweeting, Texting Ducks

The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments. According to the Pew Research Center, 69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media. This puts a large amount of the population at an increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over their social media use.

Wait, what?

Indifferent Is The Opposite Of Bad?

Consuming traditional forms of media  – including books, music, and television – has little effect on short-term adult well-being, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports.

The researchers found that those who consumed books, magazines or audiobooks had similar happiness and anxiety levels to those who did not, while those who engaged with music, television, films, and video games tended to have lower happiness and higher anxiety levels than those who did not. However, those differences were small and not causal.

As the scientists say "Together, the findings suggest that the overall impact of consuming traditional forms of media on short-term well-being are negligible."

My conclusion: When your social media use has you down, and someone says to feel better, go read a book or watch a movie, it may work in the short term, but that's about it.  At least now you know!

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