User:RLRicci/sandbox

Wikipedia Assignment Task Four: Engage the Social Network Due: November 22, 2018

Wiki page: Cruelty to Animals

Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that are biased toward a particular position? Wiki Page: Blackfish (film)
 * In the introduction the fourth paragraph beginning with "Utilitarian advocates argue...", presents an argument but fails to provide citations on where this evidence came from. RLRicci (talk) 19:08, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Under the Industrial Farming heading, towards the end of the first paragraph, the word miserable is used to describe farm animals. "Worldwide meat overconsumption is another factor that contributes to the miserable situation of farm animals". This presents a biased tone of language towards meat consumption, which does not follow wikipedias WP:NEUTRAL policy .RLRicci (talk) 19:20, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism?
 * Citation number 51 can not be found. This makes it hard for individuals studying this page to find where certain facts came from.

Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * I do feel as if their could have been more information on where the director got his inspiration from, and what caused him to make such a strong film on these injustices. It is only discussed in the development section, which is a very small section in comparison to everything else RLRicci (talk) 19:21, 21 November 2018 (UTC)

Social Media and Mental Health
Society's integration of social media platforms provide both negative and positive factors that contribute to the state of one's mental health. Social media consists of multiple internet mediated platforms that evolved through the creation of Web 2.0 and allows for the users to create their own content and share it with the public. Some of the more popular social media outlets are Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. The National Institute of Mental Health states mental illnesses consist of mental, behavioural, or emotional disorders that are consistently present for a considerable duration of time, making everyday tasks more difficult. The topic of mental illness has been discussed more frequently and some studies argue that social media use is a contributing factor to the mental well-being of its users. Specifically, adolescents are those that are currently effected by the association of social media and mental illness as over 90% of adolescents are currently on social media networks. Since adolescents are the main users of these platforms, this leaves them extremely vulnerable to the many influences of this new technology.

Social media use can be detrimental to an individual’s mental health as it can be associated with poor sleep quality, self-esteem issues, anxiety, depression and narcissism. With social media being a multifaceted identity and a public platform, some of its characteristics can be used as tools for positive change, to improve mental health. The circulation of hashtags allows individuals to easily find conversations surrounding mental health and video sharing platforms create a more personalized conversations where experiences and treatments can be discussed. Celebrities are very active on social media, especially when discussing mental health and this allows for relatable experiences from public figures.

Twitter
Twitter is a blogging website that allows users to post, what the site refers to as "tweets" within an 140 character word limit. These posts are interactive and allow the public to engage with these tweets by replying, liking, or reposting it on their own profiles.

Facebook
Facebook allows people to reach out and connect with friends and family online. Users can send messages, create their own updates for their profile, including photos, which provide an insight on their thoughts, interests and life. Additionally, users can upload other content from outside sources that they wish to share with friends.

Instagram
Instagram is a platform that consists of online profiles that are defined by the photos and videos that are posted to the profile. Users can accumulate friends, view other people's profiles and engage with each other by commenting and liking on their posts.

Youtube
The main tool Youtube's platform utilizes is video sharing. Youtube's demographic is ages 18-34, reaching more individuals than any other network. With an internet server, Youtube allows anyone to post videos and share feedback through commenting or liking posts

Depression and Anxiety
Depression is a disorder that individuals experience when they have intense feelings of sadness and are unable to find pleasure in their normal activities. Changes in their social, professional, and educational life may be impacted because of their depression. Depression is often characterized with suicidal thoughts.

Anxiety can be a symptom that stems from depression, or it can be a disorder on its own. There are many different types of anxiety but overall, anxiety is the feeling of having a constant worry or fear about certain situations. It becomes so excessive that individuals can not function the same way they would if they did not suffer from anxiety, due to intrusive thoughts.

A study in a journal by Computers and Human behaviour stated that using multiple social media platforms makes individuals three times more likely than those who use minimal social media platforms to have anxiety symptoms. Studies also show that individual's online presence is a contributing factor to depression, many people associate social media with feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. This is due to many factors including cyber-bullying, a fragmented view of other online users, and a feeling of wasted time by using social media. Anxiety and depression are complex disorders, so it is important to understand the feelings that arise out of online experiences.

Sleep Quality
Sleep is a part of most individuals daily routines and there are many factors that contribute to their quality of sleep. Young individuals are experiencing a lack of high quality sleep which effects their mental health. Studies show that Internet use, in general, contributes to later sleep times and rise times as well as a greater degree of exhaustion during the day. . Social media is easily accessible, as many platforms are built into phones. In addition, the nature of these platforms allows incoming notifications at all times. This contributes to the extent of the interruptions from social media, causing sleep disturbances.

The constant access to social media creates pressure for individuals to always be available to catch up with their social media, due to the fear of missing out. Individuals who have a high emotional attachment to social media feel considerably anxious when their access to reply to messages and check their notifications is restricted. In effect, people go to bed later because they feel as if they must pay attention to what is happening online, at all times. Many individuals develop an emotional attachment to social media use due to many reasons including, inability to sleep, and the ability the platform has to regulate depressive and anxious moods. This is problematic because with increased social media use, individuals will develop a poor sleep quality and in turn, use social media as a coping mechanism, rather than seeking out alternative mechanisms, that may provide a more permanent solution. Studies also show that using electronics before bed disrupts melatonin production and circadian rhythms. .This is due to, the artificial light that comes from the technological devices used to facilitate these social media platforms, which can alter the human body's production of melatonin. The blue light that is released from the devices screens, is a contributing factor to the body's production of melatonin.

Social Comparison
Social media creates a public sphere where individuals lives are publicized to their online profiles This heightens the amount of social comparisons happening on a daily basis. Social comparison is the act of one constantly comparing themselves to others around them, leaving the individual to make clouded judgements of themselves. . With very little left in the private sphere because of social media use, social comparisons are often uncontrollable. Therefore, social media may manifest feelings of envy, when individuals use it as a tool to compare themselves to others. When one views another's online platforms and concludes that others live a more superior life, the individual then associates negative feelings towards themselves. A study done on 1000 Facebook users revealed that women are less happy and confident due to the comparison of their own lives, with those online. Viewing other people's successful careers and happy relationships, made women feel inadequate with these aspects in their own lives.

Body issues
Social media outlets are filled with public figures including celebrities and models, who portray an idealized image for society. This portrayed version of beauty mainly affects women because females hold physical appearances at a much higher value for their self worth, in comparison to males. By taking this into consideration, it can be argued that social media is filled with images of the female body, that create unnecessary pressures on other females to replicate these images, which can lead to body image issues. Objectification theory argues that constantly publicizing an individual's physical appearance causes people to value themselves strictly by their looks, leading to self-objectification. With social media, it seems that females are posting photos to display their physical image, in order to receive social approval from followers. Social media allows people to like and comment on others peoples post; one of the ways they can measure their self worth through, self-objectification. Another contributing factor to body image issues is photo editing tools. Technology has adapted to create applications that allow the manufacturing of images; this creates false ideals and causes females viewing these posts to think they are at a lesser value, unaware that these photos are enhanced. This is concerning because studies show that with this exposure, there is a greater amount of females struggling with body issues, including eating disorders. . Studies have shown that when women view other women who are seen as an average body size, they are more satisfied with themselves. Whereas, when they view other women who are much thinner in size, they experience body focused anxiety, and this can be increasing with photo editing tools. With this fact, it can be proven that social media content directly influences how women see and view themselves, by comparing physical appearances. The need for young women to emulate these thin women on social media, is not just specifically related to appearance. Social media creates the ideology that an attractive appearance, is correlated to attributes like happiness, popularity, and success, which makes impressionable women envy the women they see online, which can heighten anxiety or depression disorders, or create them entirely.

Narcissism
Narcissists see themselves as superior, due to the belief that they are more unique and special then others. This belief is translated into entitlement of special treatment including constant affirmations, but failure to deliver the same to others. Social media consists of platforms that encourage the promotion and enhancements of the self, which would be intriguing for a narcissist, and could contribute to their narcissistic tendencies. Accumulating friends is an aspect of most social media platforms, and a narcissist is more interested in the amount of friends they have, as it is a measure of their popularity. The culture of selfies increases the use of social media platforms for narcissists, as well as the amount of selfies posted. Since the response received from a selfie post can be a good ego boost, narcissists are more likely to post selfies for this purpose. . It can be argued that platforms like such, are increasing the amount of narcissists, as studies show that narcissism is an increasing mental illness. Since social media is a characteristic of a more modern society, researchers have hypothesized that social media could be a contributing factor. A study consisting of 12,000 participants found that narcissists have a greater amount of friends, post status updates and photos of themselves more frequently, than non-narcissists.

Social Media as an Agent for Change
Although there are many arguments that state social media is a poor contributing factor to mental health, many other scholars argue it to be a tool for positive change. Social media has features that allow users to post opinion based content, and if used correctly, this can be very helpful for spreading awareness, or giving advice. Many adolescents use social media to connect with other users for multiple reasons including, boredom, loneliness and unhappiness. Some individuals experience mental health issues such as depression and anxiety because of their inability to connect with people in their everyday life, so the use of platforms like such, can be helpful in reducing these issues. Therefore, having a public platform creates a sense of community, especially, when there is a common interest such as mental health. . Studies show that severe mental illness is found in individuals who use social media for relationship purposes and to access health information, more so then those who do not have a mental illness.

Hashtags
The hashtag is a feature of blogging that is widely used amongst Twitter users, but has also been a feature that has travelled amongst other social media platforms. To create a hashtag, one must create a tweet and apply the # sign before any word or phrase. By looking at the hashtags within a tweet, other users will be able to decipher the purpose of the tweet. It is also a way for individuals that are interested in a certain topic, to locate content regarding those issues.

A study containing hashtags was done by a researcher who was interested in finding out why people discuss mental health problems through social media platforms specifically hashtags. The hashtag #WhyWeTweetMH was posted for the purpose of the study and was circulated through twitter by different charities, researchers and advocates. The results revealed that the individuals who were using this hashtag either experienced issues with their mental health or worked in the mental health field. The words that were most common within tweets that had this hashtag were stigma, support or supporting, alone, connect, awareness, others, and share or sharing. The results from the study show that the use of a hashtag on social media platforms can be helpful in creating a community of support through individuals' shared experiences. By analyzing the words used, researchers concluded different themes they found within the use of the hashtag. The first theme was tweeting about mental health created a sense of community. It served the purpose of relating to other individuals online and being able to communicate about these shared experiences, which in turn reduces the loneliness certain people may feel from their mental health issues. Tweeting about mental health raised the theme of combating stigma and raising awareness. Tweets that had this theme received the highest amount of engagement with "likes" and "retweets". People saw this as a way to publicly voice their opinions on mental health and the stigma that surrounds it. This would help those struggling currently, and those that do in the future. . Expression was another concluding theme. The anonymous feature of Twitter, gives users the feeling of a safe place, where they can share their experiences, free from judgement. The last theme was seen as tweeting as being a coping mechanism. Tweeting allowed for self-reflection, as people can tweet and recognize the certain thoughts or feelings they had. The results of this study show cased the ways in which social media can be a positive agent for mental health issues as it is a public platform that allows for the circulation of important topics.

Video Sharing Platforms
Surveys show that 25% of internet users seek out online video content about health issues. Youtube is the largest online platform that encourages video sharing. With such a wide demographic, Youtube allows groups of people to create communities that are built off of a shared experience or interest, and it becomes extremely personable since it is in video format. People that struggle with mental health can seek out video content if they have questions regarding this topic, interested in other people's experiences or treatments, as well as seek out professional advice with a much greater range of opinions Uses and gratification theory argues that audiences are active participants in filtering out media choices that serve their needs. This is relevant as having mental health as a topic in some media outlets, will allow audiences to seek out these resources if it matches their needs. Research shows that these pages are helpful in providing information, encouraging words, convenience, and psychological support.

Celebrity Mental Health Advocates
Mental health in the past was seen as a topic that had a lack of public discussion, which can cause those suffering to feel embarrassed to seek outside resources. There is a large amount of stigma surrounding mental illness, meaning that mental illness is associated with discrimination and negative attitudes Studies show that one in five individuals do not pursue the things that they want to do, due to stigma, which contributes to the feeling of loneliness, that is often associated with mental illness. Today, with the help of social media, an open dialogue has been created on mental health from popular celebrity figures

Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato is someone who has been very vocal with her mental health struggles and often uses her voice to speak about these issues. On November 12 2014, Lovato tweeted "It's time we start taking mental illness as serious as physical illnesses. "The brain is an important organ too...." - Patrick Kennedy". She uses Twitter as a platform to encourage an open dialogue and promotes organizations that do the same.

Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has spoken openly and honestly about his experiences with mental health and how it affects his everyday life. Being a celebrity requires a lot of pressure to do certain things for other people, and this takes a serious toll on his mental health. Justin went on social media to announce the cancelling of his meet and greets on his tour due to feeling "drained and unhappy". . He went on further to state that he feels "mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression

Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is someone who has recently used her large following and platform to discuss her mental health struggles. Her latest album "Sweetener" has received massive attention online, due to its relation to symptoms of anxiety. One song "Get Well Soon" describes her experiences with anxiety attacks, as she states she feels outside of her body at times. She went on to tweet, ""felt like i was floating for like 3 months last year & not in a nice way. like i outside my body? was v scary and i couldn’t breathe well. so it’s ab that. & lots of voices in my head singin." She states that she opens up about these struggles because she feels liberated knowing that her fans resonate with these messages as well, and both she and her fans feel less alone due to this. She has been vocal with her coping mechanisms, specifically, therapy, which can act as a reinforcement for individuals to seek out the same medical attention.

Reference List