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Social media, body image and cognition

Being a millennial living in the 21th century comes down to two things: Internet and technology. No less than 86% of internet use is dedicated to social media, while 30% of these users are between the age of 16 and 30. But, how reliable is what we see on social media? And most importantly, how does it impact those growing up and their view on life? One of the most alarming sites we can find online are those called “Pro-Ana (Anorexia) and Pro-Mia (Bulimia)” favouring and doing apology for the eating disorders. Just between 2006 and 2010 there was a 470% increase in the number of these websites. How does this affect teenagers going online and potentially receiving these types of messages? It has been proved in scientific literature that there is a correlation between being exposed to these kinds of messages and developing or presenting a negative evaluation of one’s body and body dissatisfaction. Even so, messages like #Thinspo or #thispo promoting the ideal of thinness kee...
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The Psychological Importance of Kindness

"Three things in life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind." (Henry James) As we all know the topic of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is Kindness. A topic which has special importance in human life in general and has become even more relevant in the past few months during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Being kind to others and ourselves is something we experience the need for now maybe more than usual. As written in the introduction of the Mental Health Foundation’s website: “Kindness is a cornerstone of our individual and collective mental health.” But w hat lies behind its importance? What can be said about kindness through the lens of psychology?    What is behind the importance of kindness Kindness has become a major topic in psychology and several types of research are focusing on its characteristics alongside associations spreading the word about its power. The current attention on the topic could be a r...
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Animal Companionship

“Sometimes, the best therapist has fur and four legs” - Unknown The above quotation is something that one may see frequently on social media, often captioning a photo of a pet with its owner. In the following article, we will be looking into just how true this saying is through the lens of science! Pets have been around for a while … Archaeologic studies have shown that some animals, mostly dogs, have been man’s best friends for a very long time - around 12,000 to 14,000 years in fact! This is evident in the way that these furry family members were buried with their masters to provide companionship and protection in the afterlife, according to Morey, 2006. The same study shows that cats were also especially important in Ancient Egypt and that birds were the second most popular choice of domesticated animals after dogs in Ancient Greece - probably because of their ability to sing.  Pet Therapy In 1969, Boris Levinson was the one to introduce the idea of i...
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