PSY-5301 V4: Foundations of Health Psychology NCU
Week 2 – Discussion: Discuss Research
The Impact of Social Media on Young Healthy Adults
The world of social media is only getting larger. It is used to update us on recent events. Whether that be a family member, friend, celebrity, or an influencer. It keeps us entertained. It keeps us informed. And during the time of COVID, people were looking to stay occupied. Some went as far as trying to change bad habits they may have formed or even try to change their lifestyle to better themselves through the help of social media. However, lots of research has come out about the topic of the overuse of social media and the impact it can have on young healthy adults.
COVID was a hard time for everyone. Staying at home, not being at work, and not seeing friends or family members. It got a lot of people out of their normal routine and into a new one. Athletes have some of the strictest schedules and must balance their everyday lives. Thus, with a new routine because of COVID some fell out of it and have spent a lot of time on social media as their escape from unfortunate circumstances. Regarding psychological well-being, it should be noted that excessive involvement in the Internet (more than 4-6 hours a day) significantly reduces physical activity, affects the motivation of training activity, and provokes cognitive-emotional arousal, accompanied by a change in sleep, escalation of social isolation, and impaired self- esteem (Hudimova, Popovych, Savchuk, Liashko, Pyslar, & Hrys, 2021). The overall well-being of a person goes down. Social media can have some positive and negative effects on people. It can help make connections. The most important factor is the time spent on the Internet (Hudimova, Popovych, Savchuk, Liashko, Pyslar, & Hrys, 2021). It can be hard getting back into a routine or a different one. It may take time to figure out what some of your priorities are that you need to accomplish that day, which can lead to more time on social media. With athletes being isolated, they continue being on social media more than necessary and not continuing to move their bodies like they should, their overall well-being of their body and mind goes down. At the same time, those young athletes who maintain a physical activity regimen and combine indoor and outdoor sports spend 1-2 hours a day on social media and do not experience negative changes in psychological well-being (Hudimova, Popovych, Savchuk, Liashko, Pyslar, & Hrys, 2021). Our overall well-being, not just athletes, comes down to having a routine that includes physical activity to keep us focused on the here and now rather than admiring someone else and how great their life may be.
When you look good you feel good. The quote that is said to make us feel empowered, to help us believe and make ourselves a priority, but what if someone doesn’t believe it? What if we look in the mirror with our best clothes on, our hair all done up and wish we looked like this person instead? Social media has become part of the problem with this idea. Highly visual social media is associated with body image concerns and internalizing symptoms among both male and female adolescents (Monks, H., Costello, L., Dare, J., & Reid Boyd, E., 2021). Seems we are always comparing ourselves to someone else which can lead to more problems. It may encourage some to start engaging in healthy behavior, however most sources are coming from social media which can be misleading. Thus, most health professionals are trying to compete and reinforce food and nutritional behaviors. SM content is poorly regulated, and food and beverages organizations are known to exploit young adults’ social vulnerabilities using image-based marketing tactics, including peer ambassadors and celebrity endorsements designed to sell an illusion of health, beauty, and success from the product offering (Rounsefell, K., Gibson, S., McLean, S., Blair, M., Molenaar, A., Brennan, L., Truby, H., & McCaffrey, T. A., 2020). With these false advertisements and promises it could lead to a case of disordered eating. Eliminating, restricting, and calorie counting madness. Overall poor health choices in what our bodies need to function every day and for us to feel our best. Social comparison theory suggests that people are inclined to compare themselves to others as a means of self-evaluation and this predisposition to compare is stronger when the comparator is considered similar to oneself (Rounsefell, K., Gibson, S., McLean, S., Blair, M., Molenaar, A., Brennan, L., Truby, H., & McCaffrey, T. A., 2020). Social comparisons are no way to live and can be devastating to our well-being and our overall outlook about ourselves. Taking the time to look in a mirror and loving what our body can do and what it has done for us is psychological well-being and self-love.
For some people social media is a place to escape, whether that can be from a hard day at work or because the world has turned upside
down and it is the only readily available at that moment. However, being on social media for an excessive amount of time has been shown to decrease our productivity and can damage our view of ourselves and our bodies. Taking the right steps, starting a new routine, changing bad behaviors, and continuing to love who we are is the greatest thing we can do for our overall well-being. Psychologically and physically.
References
Hudimova, A., Popovych, I., Savchuk, O., Liashko, V., Pyslar, A., & Hrys, A. (2021). Research
on the relationship between excessive use of social media and young athletes’ physical
activity. (“(PDF) Research on the relationship between excessive use of social…”) Journal of Physical Education & Sport, 21(6), 3364–3373.
Rounsefell, K., Gibson, S., McLean, S., Blair, M., Molenaar, A., Brennan, L., Truby, H., &
McCaffrey, T. A. (2020). Social media, body image and food choices in healthy young
adults: A mixed methods systematic review. Nutrition & Dietetics, 77(1), 19–40.
Monks, H., Costello, L., Dare, J., & Reid Boyd, E. (2021). “We’re Continually Comparing
Ourselves to Something”: Navigating Body Image, Media, and Social Media Ideals at the
Nexus of Appearance, Health, and Wellness. Sex Roles, 84(3/4), 221–237. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s11199-020-01162-w
The articles highlighted trends in health psychology. The articles selected, study covid related stress and burnouts in the workforce as well as systemic racism. After following the facebook society for Health Psychology Apa Division 38, it was not hard to find an abundant amount of resources, and articles trending in health psychology. We are currently still experiencing a pandemic that has a lot of people stressed about self care, finance, and challenges with working from home and accepting the new norm. Over the last year we have also been drawn to current events going on around the world related to but not limited to the Death of George Floyd, and having to experience watching the trial play out amongst colleagues who all come from different backgrounds. These two current trends lead me into picking the articles that I chose for this article post.
The ethical imperative of self care.
The facebook society for Health Psychology APA Division 38 has an article The ethical imperative of self care. In the current era of social media and health psychology, some health providers are viewing self-care as an ethical and moral imperative for the profession. Health psychologists are subsiting with the challenges of working with clients from home and managing proper treatment methods. The impact of covid has put an increasing amount of stress and pressure on Health psychologists are also experiencing their own challenges with working from home as some treatment plans are more difficult to execute via remote. “There’s so much new pressure on us that now more than ever it’s important that we support ourselves, especially if we have limited external support.” (Rodriguez, 2020).
The article then dives into the current climate of therapy causing a burnout amongst psychologists. “ There is a trend of common stressors related to the growing concern of covid-19. Experts are evaluating solutions with limited resources. According to Dattillo (2022), “Patients presented with diverse problems; now, there’s not as much variety, and there are constant reminders about how difficult life is for everyone.” This article began to get a little in depth about black practitioners being at a higher demand now more than ever. I found this interesting because there has been a stigma against mental health in the black community but with recent events related to racism and police brutality people of color are looking for ways to cope. As a fellow African American woman, I can relate to this because growing up , Therapy was not accessible to people of color due to finance and status. African Americans in my family were told to practice religious beliefs or stay strong. If you were to mention seeing a therapist, you were looked down on. There is also a trend of caucasian Americans seeking support to work through these issues of racism brought up by current events.( Abrams, 2021). I have a few colleagues that are caucasian americans seeking support of the current issue of racism. These colleagues are disconnecting from family members that they once respected and loved but due to the common and unfortunate circumstances of the systematic climate of the world, they are choosing to take a stand against their family’s racist and insensitive values.
Developing a workplace Ally:From Friendship to Social Justice
The next article that I came across titled Developing a workplace Ally:From Friendship to Social Justice, sparked my interests regarding the current trends going on around the world related to systemic racism in the workplace.This article focused on two women of color whom come from different background history related to culture , generations and whom are in different stages in their health care career path.
These women came together to advocate for a meaningful change in their work environment.
“ As an early career psychologist in a medical setting, I wondered about my power and ability to make systemic change in my workplace. As a woman of color, that doubt loomed even larger. However, my interests and training compelled me to want to make improvements in the system to which I belong. I began by casually checking in and connecting with my resident and attending physician colleagues. As specific racially charged events occurred in the country, the checking in became more intentional” (Smith, 2020).
This check in lead to a friendship with another colleague, Dr.Krithika Malhotra who is in the early stages of her career and comes from a different culture. After the death of George Floyd, They realized that they could utilize their relationship to make a lasting change in their work environment. As Malhotra (2020) noted “We started as two individuals caring for one another who reached out to each other when examples of systemic racism were put on display in the news.” It amazes me that these two extraordinary women began holding virtual conferences which created a safe space for people to express their growing concerns about the ongoing trends related to racism in their community and dialogue about ways to make their department at work more equitable. These women were able to create a team of a 22-person committee including physician and non-physician faculty, residents, nurses, and staff, who are dedicated to improving our department by emphasizing DEI values.The article then list helpful tools for individuals seeking a workplace ally or want to be one:
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Identify an individual who is already doing something in an area you are interested in or has a shared value.
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Ask yourself if you would feel comfortable giving feedback and being vulnerable with the individual.
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Be equally willing to listen and negotiate in this two-way relationship
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Identify common ground and develop mutual goals, both short- and long-term
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Collaborate to develop shared language and strategies before approaching key stakeholders.
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Leverage privilege of each individual in the system to effect change, be that discipline, seniority in the organization, and/or leadership positions
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Don’t be afraid to dream big and check in with each other.
References
Abramson, A. (2021, April). The ethical imperative of self-care. Monitor on Psychology,52(3).
Rodriguez, Dr. (n.d.). Meet Ana – About Dr. Rodriguez. Retrieved from https://www.
Natalie C. Dattilo, PhD – Brigham and Women’s Hospital. (2020.). Retrieved from https://physiciandirectory.
Malhotra Krithika & SmithMargaret(2020) Developing a workplace Ally:From Friendship to SocialJustice