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Natural Awakenings North Central New Jersey

SUMMER STRUGGLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Jun 25, 2019 09:29PM ● By Isabella Dussias

Summer is here, and so are all the exciting adventures that come with it. Along with having beach days and attending concerts, teens are highly active on social media during the summer months. Posting a picture of the sunset or a video of Fourth of July fireworks is surprisingly important to capturing the essence of summer in a teen’s eyes. However, social media can negatively affect teens that aren’t involved in the fun activities they view on their friends’ accounts. When interviewing a few of my peers, we came to the conclusion that social media is a great tool to connect with friends over summer vacation, but also can be detrimental to our confidence.

        Let’s talk about Instagram. For those that are unaware, Instagram is a popular social media site that allows users to post pictures that their followers can view and comment on. When asking a friend of mine about how Instagram has affected her, she explained that she often finds herself comparing her lifestyle and physical appearance to those of celebrities and models that are active on the site. She also mentioned that during the summer she finds herself doing this more often because of the types of posts that surface during these months. Pictures that feature celebrities’ perfect bikini bodies and expensive vacations can make teens feel the pressure to have those things as well. From a male perspective, a friend of mine explained to me that he feels he can only post certain types of pictures on Instagram that showcase his talents and physique, keeping “sappy posts” or anything too “emotional” to a minimum. This just shows how prevalent toxic masculinity is on social media. Although Instagram can be a unique tool to connect with people of the same generation, teens have to be careful of how seriously they take the content on the site.

        VSCO is another social media site that is similar to Instagram, but the majority of the users on this app are females, and the content is more geared toward photography. When ask how VSCO has impacted her confidence, my friend explained that it makes her feel insecure about being single. A lot of posts on VSCO are related to couples, whether it’s a screenshot of their text messages, or pictures of their romantic dates. There’s nothing wrong with these posts, but when girls start questioning their own lifestyles and begin to alter themselves to be deemed as more appealing, a problem arises.

        Is there a set answer to help solve these social media-inspired confidence issues teens face? No. But there are definitely ways we can help prevent them. The first step is realizing that on social media, people put their best foot forward. They don’t post the pictures that are unflattering. They don’t talk about their struggles, but only emphasize their achievements. For all you know, your favorite celebrity’s smile in that picture with a million likes is completely fake. Take a step back and sign out of your account for a little bit. The key to confidence is focusing on your assets and being the best version of yourself.

Introducing Isabella

Isabella Dussias is a 16-year-old composer of classical and contemporary music from New Jersey. She writes, produces and sings her own original songs, which often reflect on issues that are important to today’s youth. She performed her first original piano solo at Kids Helping Kids with Cancer at age 11, and she has performed original classical piano works at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and in Vienna, Austria. Her original orchestral works have been performed locally, as well as by the Orlando Symphony Orchestra in the Walt Disney Theatre. Dussias also enjoys scoring music for film. She has been a finalist in the Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Competition for the last three years, as well as been involved in local contemporary music competitions. She is most passionate about writing music with messages that reflect the issues of today’s society.
Look for her music on Apple Music, Spotify and at IsabellaDussias.com.

 

5 Top Tips to Finding Your Next Doctor

1 Keep an Open Mind! Healthcare has come a long way. Today, you have access to practitioners that branch outside of traditional medicine and aim to identify the root causes of conditions while using alternative treatments that may help you get the relief you need. Just because it’s not a pill, doesn’t make it pseudoscience.

2 Build Your Health Care Team. There is no one doctor that can be the be-all-end-all for your health needs. Be sure to have a team of practitioners with different “lenses” and areas of expertise who will treat the root cause and not just the symptom(s).

3   Environment Influences Healing. Health is multi-factorial. Your mental and emotional environment plays a pivotal role in your healing potential. Your doctors and their staff should create an office atmosphere filled with positivity so you can get the most out of your care.

4 Your Story Matters.  Before you begin any treatment, be sure to have a comprehensive consultation to discuss your health concerns. Find practitioners who welcome questions and will take the time to listen and treat you with respect.

5 Report of Findings. When it comes to our health, we often make decisions without understanding the risk versus benefits. Knowledge is an important part of the healing process and is essential to make conscious, informed health decisions. Find practitioners who take the time to explain their exam findings and the recommendations for treatment in ways that make sense to you.

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