The Blog We Share in MM199

By Khalil Wilson Often times what we see on social media is not a true reflection of our reality. There are even instances where people choose to be an alternate identity when they are interacting on social media platforms. Whether this poses other implications can be argued, but essentially as long as the youth keep consuming social media they will be exposed to millions of differing opinions. This idea of going 'viral' or becoming famous causes teens to go to extreme lengths just to be in the public spotlight. Emotionally, social media comes with a lot of strings attached. Youth may interact on social media and see the different lifestyle people they're age are living and may be envious. From there comes the idea of not measuring up enough, and continuing on is just a downward spiral. A small controlled study showed that young women within the ages of 17 to 25 reported a negative mood after browsing Facebook for just ten minutes. Imaging the broader effects of socia...

Listen to this podcast to listen to me talk about the app TikTok and how it has kept me busy. Quarantine Tingz Podcast

Body image obviously plays a huge part in the world, but I think that there are steps we can take to get rid of societies "standards". Here are a few steps I think we should take. 1.) Stop acting like skinny is what everyone likes & accepts. All body types are beautiful, & skinny is not the standard of everyone. 2.) Instead of posting what other people want to see, post what you like. I feel like once people get comfortable with posting what they enjoy to do, instead of what social media enjoys what they like to do, then people can overall be happy with the content they have for themselves to enjoy, not to think that everyone on your social media has to enjoy it. Overall, change is hard. The world & these standards won't change until people actually want to do it. But I believe once more people start speaking up about body image & the negative effects social media has with it, & things could start looking better.

Self-care is extremely important, especially during quarantine. You need to ensure that your body is happy and healthy. There are many different types of face masks and cleansers to use. I personally recommend anything from the brand Drunk Elephant. They have items for every single skin type. Make time for yourself to either meditate or write a journal, just so all of your thoughts can be written out in front of you. There are many apps and podcasts to help you with this. There is an app named Headspace that is helpful when trying to meditate. Make sure that you are putting you and your health first.

We all have some sort of streaming website we use. However, by this point, I believe that I have watched every single thing on Netflix. Whether it is Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, you can always find something new to watch. I know that during most of quarantine I was not working, so I had time to watch a lot of things. If you have not seen The Mandalorian by now, you have been living under a rock. Also, as of May 15, Avatar: The Last Airbender is on Netflix. There are a plethora of things to watch, even if it is on 123 Movies. Start a new series or movie, maybe even rewatch another series or movie. Something that you find intriguing and entertaining.

One of the first ways to not completely lose your mind is to social distance hangout with your friends. I saw this posted all over on the internet and it is actually not as bad as you think. What you do is you find a friend or multiple friends to hang out with. Then you drive to some sort of lot and park your cars. Then you can simply roll down your windows and chat away. However, if you have a sunroof or a spacious trunk, that works too. You are able to talk with your friends while also remaining a safe distance away.

Quarantine has not been kind to any of us. I understand that they put these rules in place for our safety, however, it is driving most of us insane. Not being able to leave our own house to escape our parents or roommates is like hell on earth. You feel suffocated and constantly watched. All you want to be able to do is distract yourself or find a way to travel outside of your own home. Well, that is why I'm here writing to you all. I'm here to help you stay busy during this unfortunate time of quarantine.

By Khalil Wilson The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about the effects of smartphones on the youth usually has something to do with the mental impacts, but the physical implications that result from mass smartphone and social media use is imperative to add to the discussion. It seems that instead of spending time outside and having in person interactions, a lot of teens use social media to stay in contact with friends and family members. This fact alone speaks to the fact that teens are doing less exercising and spending much more time on the internet. Again, this idea does not generalize to the entire youth population, but its affects are definitely observed in numbers. Building off the idea of the mental impacts from smartphone use, self-harm is a common occurrence in teenagers. A review even showed data that youth use different social media platforms to view and discuss self-harm. Interacting with other youth online that also self-harm normalizes the behavior. A...

By Khalil Wilson Although smart phones are reliable, fun and seem to be the best thing since sliced bread they do have detrimental effects on the youth and how the grow up. Not every child in the world is affected the same by phones or social media some break the "habit' believing to be followed by most. In this same way, it is hard to directly establish a cause-and-effect relationship between mental health and technology usage in youth.     Studies have shown that more than 80% of teenagers have smartphones and acquire their first by the age 11 and younger, all the while numbers of admitting's to hospitals for attempted suicide is doubling simultaneously. Researchers were able to collect evidence that supports the idea that when young people use social media it affects their sense of self. There are also tons of other research that was conducted that support the overreaching idea that social media use is associated with depression and suicide in youth, holding t...

https://soundcloud.com/user-308695368/body-image-m4a I think it is crazy that a whole bunch of people do things to make them fit into a "standard" that the world, & even social media set. I believe that nobody should fall into anyone's standard, & that you should do things that you want to do, not because social media told you to do it. But anyways, there's my podcast about body image & what I think it means.

By Khalil Wilson       Over the past decade technology has evolved tremendously. As the dynamics of the social world change and become more complex, we find that youth populations stand as the main consumer of technology and social media. Teens use their cell phones every day even more so its been calculated teens spend an average of seven hours and twenty-two minutes on their phones a day. Flip phones used to be the coolest cell phone or one that had a keyboard slide out, today however smartphones have taken over the way that humans interact with one another. Phone applications such as Facebook is still the most used social media among teens ages 13 to 17. Not to mention the tons of other apps that have been gaining a lot of users such as Instagram, Twitter and the latest, Tik -Tok. As more of this technology becomes readily available to adolescent and youth audiences, researchers have begun to see a range of observational effects on the youth. Whether it is mental...

There are a lot of factors that play into body type and even if a person goes on a diet and workout everyday, they still may not look like the way social media portrays the perfect body. Two people can be the exact same weight and height, yet still have completely different body types.  Most times, it is impossible to have someone else’s body because everyone is not built the same. On social media, everyone can have the same body.  All it takes is simple photoshop. Some people do this to make their bodies look “perfect” and some people just naturally have the bodies that other people want. It can be extremely hard for some people to tell the difference between what is real and what is not. When everyone seems to have the perfect body, it can create a mindset that they need to have this body too in order to be perfect and have everyone like them, as social media portrays. People start to hate the body that they are in and dream of a day where their body looks like someone they ...

Looks play a huge role in social media because people only like and follow what they find attractive or funny. For a very long time, the media has taught us that beauty has one look. This look consists of someone who has a “perfect face,” this is usually a symmetrical face. This look also consists of someone with a perfect body. A body that is skinny, with curves in “all the right places." Although it is easy to put on makeup and sculpt your face to look like someone else's, it is much harder to trick people that your body looks different then what it is.  This causes people to feel like they cannot be successful because they cannot fully achieve the look of the people they look up to who have these glamorous lives.  So, as a result, they do everything in their power to look like these people. This usually results in losing weight, and when people want to lose weight they usually resort to not eating. There are a lot of cases of eating disorders in the world, along with depres...

On social media, anyone can be whoever they want to be. They can make themselves seem as if they are a completely different person who lives on the other side of the world. In this day and age, social media is a very big part of a lot of people's lives.  Although these apps are designed to give people a platform to be their true authentic selves, it is hard for some people to get over the fear of rejection. When you put yourself on social media, you prepare yourself to be judged by everyone, including your friends and family.  Therefore, most people put the appearance on social media that they are perfect and are living their best lives. Social media is an app of popularity, and the easiest way to become popular is to follow everyone else’s lead.  A lot of celebrities on these apps, who have millions of followers, make posts that are usually altered to make it seem that they are perfect. They do this to attract others, so that they can keep gaining followers and earn mone...

Interested in diet culture? how you can combat it? This podcast conducted by Serina Weathers gives some food for thought about the ins and outs of diet culture. https://soundcloud.com/serina-weathers/diet-culture-post-5

By Kris Wood Image by Kris Wood In any sport, a passion or a love for the sport is very important for success. In pole-vaulting, a love for the sports brings a few different things to the table. When someone loves pole vaulting, they go into practices with an attitude that is positive and willing to learn and do better. In practice, having a proper mental state is important because it can dictate whether or not you will make silly mistakes. If an athlete does not like a sport, they will not be willing to fix mistakes in their specific sport. In the case of pole-vaulting, constant mistakes will lead to injuries at times. This is why loving the sport will lead to a safer experience and a more enjoyable experience when they pole-vault.

By Kris Wood Image by Kris Wood At a glance, it seems all the equipment that is needed for is a pole . The bare necessities for pole-vaulting is just the pole and yourself, but there are a few more things that the athletes should use to keep them safer. The first piece of equipment that is commonly used to keep an athlete safer is a bike helmet . Yes I said it, a bike helmet. The reason is a very straight forward, to protect your head when jumping. I personally have not every jumped with a helmet because I think it looks silly and it would get in the way. This is probably a bad excuse for why I never worn one, but that is why. The most important piece of equipment that a pole-vaulter uses is their pole. When jumping, the athlete is putting full trust into the pole and hoping it does not break. The quality of pole is important because the force that is put into the pole is immense and if it is not good quality, it will snap. I have personally had this happen to me, a pole brea...

By Kris Wood Image by Kris Wood Pole-vault is an extremely physically demanding sport. When I pole-vault I am always physically exhausted afterwards and it always reminds how much exercise is needed for the event. Not only do you need to have the right training to be successful in the event, it also keeps you safer. While I was in high school, I never had the proper training that is required. Because of this, I almost fully tore my hamstring while I was pole-vaulting. Luckily I didn't have any other injuries from when I did it, but it could have been prevented completely from proper training. When I came into college, I realized my training was not sufficient and we started to train property. I have not had any injuries since I have come to college because of proper training. If you do not know what proper training is, there are countless resources online that show what good training looks like.

By: Kris Wood By: Kris Wood Coaching in any sport is one of the most important aspects to an athletes success. The coach is the one to teach everything that there is about the sport to the athlete. Pole-vault is an extremely difficult event where technique is very difficult but is every important. I have luckily been blessed to have an amazing coach, Rick Attig , to help me through college. Pole-vaulting is at its core, against human nature. Just think about it, the goal of the event is to run as fast as you can and then use a pole to jump as high as possible. The poles that an athlete uses can either make or break the jump. An inexperienced athlete never knows what pole that they should use. Because of this, it can be very dangerous for someone that does not know what they are doing to just hop right in, injuries could easily happen. This is where a coach comes into play, if you have a good coach, they will be able to guide you to what is the right pole to use. There is a l...

By: Kris Wood Image by Kris Wood Pole-vaulting is an event in the track and field where the athlete uses a fiberglass pole to propel themselves into the air as high as possible over a bar. At a glance it seems like a fairly simple event, but there are countless variables that play into the jump. From an outsider's perspective, it would seem that only people that have a screw loose in their head would participate is this event. This may be partially true, it takes a special kind of crazy to do this event, but there are measures to lower the risk. From my personal experience in this sport in high school at at Washburn University , I have learned these different ways to lower the danger of this sport. The different aspects and steps that an athlete can take to make the event safer and still have fun with it. Some of these aspects are good coaching, proper training, proper equipment, and simply a love for the sport. Each one of these different aspects of the sport play into the...

By: Haleigh McDonald Music Cities Everybody listens to music and everybody knows Nashville is music city, known for country music, New York is home to Broadway and Los Angeles is where popstars live; However, these three cities have a huge impact on music history and control a majority of the music industry today. So if you want to learn about music in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, listen to my podcast! Soundcloud  

Photo Credit: Angie Wang  It is seen through many great artists, inventors, entertainers, and philosophers that sleep comes off as almost a prominent antagonist to them. With insomniacs like edison or aggressive sleepers like mathematician Abraham De Moivre there seems to be an almost an oxymoronic inconsistent pattern within the great creatives sleep cycles throughout hi story. Which begs the question: Where does sleep com e into play when it comes to creativity? And the answer is not a concrete one, but more of a personalized method to reach the mental flow that the particular creator prefers. Not only are they inconsistent with the amount of sleep they get, but the methods they use when going about sleep. For instance, Leonardo Da Vinci was known for only sleeping for fifteen minutes of every hour and Salvador Dali was recorded to hold a key in his hand as he drifted off into a sleep state with a metal plate underneath so when he fell asleep the key would drop conseque...

Photo Credit: rudall30 When it comes to the masters of creation, we oftentimes overlook the time and effort that not only is put into their craft, but also into their minds. With advances in technology and robotics nowadays it seems so simple to throw away the appreciation that should be valued when it comes to originality and quality of creation. Robots of course have made it too easy to fall under the category of derivative. In addition, studies have shown a separation from screens has shown a peak in activity in the right side of the brain, also known as the creative side of the brain. This plays into the process of flow. Flow is a variation of mindfulness, but more in the aspect of creativity. It is the idea/mindset of doing without thought or creating without intentional thought and letting our minds do what they want to without forcing them to go a certain direction of creating. People typically underestimate how much boredom can facilitate this mindset even though many tim...

Photo Credit:  Encyclopædia Britannica Since the formal recordings of man’s existence, it has been in his nature to create. From the pyramids in Egypt to the philosophies in Greece, even to the Sistine chapel that is literally based on the catalyst creation of everything(Now that's meta!). Creation is ubiquitous throughout the world and humanity and it's not only unlimited, but infinite. But not till recently has man really started to dive into the different aspects of creation; such as, the creative process, the mindset of many gifted creators, and the eccentric atmosphere and routines that they put themselves in to try to create a more fulfilling creation within their industry of creation, whatever that might be. All though the quality of creation can be argued through subjectivity, I will be telling you about a few of the masters within their specified field, a few of their routines/ eccentric environment and the patterns between them, along with a mindset that c...

New York City By: Haleigh McDonald  New York City is one of the best places to go to school for performing arts, that is why some of the best musicians and artists come from NYC. The city is where Punk and Hip-Hop was started and it also has a rich R&B and Pop culture. A majority of Pop and Soul hits in the 1950's were written at Tin Pin Alley in a one room office in New York City by the same 6 song-writers. New York is obviously the home to Broadway Musicals and famous music venues like the Fillmore and CBGB. New York City has brought us some of the most famous musicians and song-writers of all time like Bob Dylan. R&B artists like Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige and Mariah Carey. Pop artists like Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Joel, and Lana Del Rey and all of these artists have claimed that they only made it in music because of the musical influences they had growing up in New York City. The genre of Punk was started in New York City where bands like the Ramones a...

Nashville  By: Haleigh McDonald On every content in the world countries have their own versions of Pop, Hip-Hop, Rap and Rock music, but Country music is only associated with America and Nashville is the state most well known for Country music. Even though Los Angeles is home to a majority of famous artists and has a wide range of music present in the city, Nashville is knows as the Music City of America.  When you think of Nashville you probably think of Honky Tonks, Cowboy boots and hats and country music artists like Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Luke Byran and Carrie Underwood, which is an accurate representation of Nashville, but the city plays a bigger part in music than all of that. The best song-writers for all genres of music live in Nashville because of the rich history of country music song-writing that was born in Nashville. A lot of pop artists like Halsey, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran write and record their music in Nashville because of the famous son...

Los Angeles By: Haleigh McDonald The most famous music city in America is Los Angeles; it is where all genres of music are played and created. All of the biggest record labels are based in L.A., like Capital Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Atlantic Records. Los Angeles is where a majority of famous musicians and artists reside. Hollywood is where you go to "make it big" in the entertainment industry, for acting, modeling and in music. Even though all types of music is made in L.A., the city is most known for the Rock N' Roll of the 60's, Disco in the 70's, Hip-Hop from the late 80's to now and Pop music. Rock artists like Janis Joplin, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers are all rock legends that have made music in Los Angeles and played at famous music venues in L.A., like  The Fonda, The Troubadour and The Roxy. Hip Hop groups like N.W.A , and Rap artists like Snoop Do...

  Photo By: Haleigh McDonald Music Cities By: Haleigh McDonald There is currently over one hundred genres of music from Hip-Hop and pop to Alternative and country and as music continues to evolve, it still has its roots in the begging few genres that existed only 70 years ago. African slave instruments and tribal music involved into blues, blues involved into Soul, Jazz, Pop, Country and R&B, and from Country and R&B, Rock N' Roll was formed and from Rock N' Roll, genres like Hip Hop, Punk and Metal music were invented. Over the years, many cities around the United States have had an influence in starting a new music scene that would eventually spread through out the country and around the world. For example, Nashville is the Country music capital, Hip-Hop was started at the same time in both New York and Los Angeles, Jazz is most prevalent in New Orleans, Blues was started in the Mississippi Delta and  Alternative Rock and Grunge music started in Se...

Diet culture is a dangerous part of society not only for adults, but also for children who see its messages plastered over tv screens, grocery stores, and worst of all their own schools. Whether you’re a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, nanny, babysitter there are ways to combat these messages sent to children.   Reaffirming the child with positive affirmations, telling them how valuable they are.  Maria Paredes  a counselor suggests using affirmations such as “Your body is just what it’s supposed to be and I’m so glad for that.” Reminding the child, they are valuable assets to yours and others lives no matter size gives them the reassurance they need to be positive about their bodies themselves.           Explain to the child that no matter what someone tells them, they make the decisions about their body and they respect that body and listen to it telling them they are hungry and full, not what others and the TV tells them. ...

 In the united states the most impressionable age is children, meaning they are most susceptible to influence from advertising and the culture around them. So, how is diet culture effecting children in the states?  Where is this happening?  Whether or not a parent is talking to their small child about dieting does not mean it is out of the child’s sight. Many children’s TV channels advertise diets during commercials, these are targeted towards the parents, but the children are also picking up on these, “I need to lose weight” mantras. Children beginning from a young age begin to demonize certain foods, and question their weight when able to comprehend what they saw as a young child, creating an unhealthy relationship with food.  Not to mention grade school cafeteria food pyramids telling these children what is bad and what is good, rather than promoting moderation and understanding nutrition value of food. This being in schools is also insensitive ...

 Living in America diet culture is plastered anywhere and everywhere there seems to be no escape. While the promotion of diet culture is everywhere, the harm that diet culture creates is not as widely spread. This post will delve more deeply into the harmful effects produced by diet culture. Diet culture compares size to health  Studies have shown that a person’s weight does not always reflect their health, while diet culture insists that the bigger you are the less healthy you are. The problem with this comparison is that it is based off the BMI which is completely numbers based and does not actually indicate health at all. Scientists in studies have shown that dieting and weight loss are not the answer to the health problems of those who are considered larger. That given the same regime as someone who is smaller, the same health improvements on problems such as high blood pressure, eating and activity habits. This means that the size of a person does n...

As a humungous fan of the sport, what initiated my interest? Why don't you give it a try too, there is tons of free content on YouTube alone! You could be surprised and might enjoy it just as much as I. https://soundcloud.com/darian-collins-888858320/mma-podcast