Internal Study Finds 32% Of Teen Girls Say "Instagram Makes Me Feel Bad About My Body"

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Internal Study Finds 32% Of Teen Girls Say "Instagram Makes Me Feel Bad About My Body"

When it comes to the spreading "FOMO" and feelings of insecurity and jealousy among younger Americans - especially teenagers - Instagram is perhaps the worst offender in the entire social-media ecosystem.

And that assessment isn't coming from a third party, but from Facebook's own internal research (Facebook bought Instagram back in 2012) which was leaked to a team of WSJ reporters, who on Tuesday published the first of what they say will be a series of deep dives on Instagram and Facebook's impact on teen mental health, the political discourse and human trafficking.

Facebook's reasoning for releasing the information to the media is pretty clear. Its motivation was perhaps best articulated by an academic at San Diego State.

When told of Facebook’s internal research, Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who has published research finding that social media is harmful for some kids, said it was a potential turning point in the discussion about how social media affects teens.

“If you believe that R.J. Reynolds should have been more truthful about the link between smoking and lung cancer, then you should probably believe that Facebook should be more upfront about links to depression among teen girls,” she said.

The subtext here is pretty clear: Unlike the tobacco companies, Facebook is trying to get out in front of the growing mental-health backlash to Instagram and other social media platforms. Unfortunately (for the teens) this suggests that the company is trying to get out in front of the problem, not fix it.

Jen Selter, Instagram's "queen of the butt selfie"

For the past three years, Facebook has been conducting internal research into how Instagram impacts the mental health of the teens and younger users who make up an important segment of the app's user base. Their conclusion is this: for users who don't struggle with anxiety and depression, the app is relatively benign. But for the roughly one-third of users who do report these issues, Instagram clearly exacerbated them.

"Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse," the researchers said in a March 2020 slide presentation posted to Facebook’s internal message board, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. "Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves."

Another slide put it even more bluntly.

"We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls,” said one slide from 2019, summarizing research about teen girls who experience the issues. “Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression,” said another slide. “This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups.”

What's more: Among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 13% of British users and 6% of American users traced the desire to kill themselves to Instagram, one presentation showed.

At this point, some might question: why is Facebook even doing these studies considering that they're almost guaranteed to go public? The answer is that Facebook has a lot on the line here, and so it needs to be in control of the public discourse every step of the way. One WSJ source claimed Facebook makes $100 billion in revenue a year thanks to Instagram's popularity with the teenage demographic.

This research represents nothing less than a 180 from Facebook's management, who curiously decided to comment on the record for the WSJ report. WSJ notes that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has insisted Instagram's impact on teens as "positive".

“The research that we’ve seen is that using social apps to connect with other people can have positive mental-health benefits,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at a congressional hearing in March 2021 when asked about children and mental health.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has made similar statements. But speaking to WSJ before the story hit, he seems to have flip flopped.

In May, Instagram head Adam Mosseri told reporters that research he had seen suggests the app’s effects on teen well-being is likely “quite small.”

In a recent interview, Mr. Mosseri said: “In no way do I mean to diminish these issues.…Some of the issues mentioned in this story aren’t necessarily widespread, but their impact on people may be huge.”

Management's new official line is that it was "late" to realizing the tremendous psychic damage Instagram has inflicted on a generation.

Now, what is Facebook planning to do about it?

Tyler Durden Tue, 09/14/2021 - 17:05

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Dealing with the Depression of Sickness Psychosis

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Guest Post by Eric Peters

It is easy to get down when it seems that almost everyone you see looks sick. When society is ill – and you feel hopeless about it.

This happens to me, regularly. I think it is a sign of mental health to sometimes feel very down about things, given how things are. That is a normal response to a depressing scene. The sight of Freaks everywhere – who do not realize they are Freaks. Who look at you – over the crest of their Face Diapers – their eyes boggled in fear and wonderment that you don’t share their certain delusions.

It is hard to keep one’s equipoise given this. Given its ubiquity. Orwell wrote about it through the character of Winston Smith, in his famous novel 1984. He had Winston musing to himself about sanity not being statistical; i.e., that just because the whole world has gone crazy, it doesn’t mean you are because you haven’t.

The key isn’t so much to not get down – probably unavoidable, if you’re sane  – but rather to not let them keep you from getting back up.

As someone who often gets down I thought it might help others similarly afflicted to relate how I keep from remaining down.

One, fuck them – 

Profanity is vulgar but sometimes necessarily descriptive; no lesser word will convey the sentiment with sufficient gusto. Refuse to be beaten down by these vile people and the sad people the vile people are using as tools to try to keep you down, both literally and psychologically. Take heart in the fact that they have not turned you into one of them. It may have cost you – friends, family, your job. But you have kept your integrity as well as your sanity. Hold fast to it. And burn with resentment toward those who are trying to take it away. Anger can be a very effective muse as well as a restorative palliative.

Two, make your bed –

I instinctively did this, even before Jordan Peterson (very smart, very wise man) articulated it. I knew that by starting each day with order, the day felt less disordered. And so did I. The simple actions – getting up, making your bed, taking a shower and putting on clean clothes – help you to feel purposeful rather than dead in the water. An unmade bed, dirty sheets, clothes strewn all over the floor… makes it easier to just stay in bed or want to get back into bed.

Three, do something productive every day –

Whether it is mowing the grass or finishing  a project you started or need to get started – like my chicken coop! – or just sending out your bills. It doesn’t matter particularly, just so as you’ve done something to make some headway. It is empowering to finish tasks that need to be finished and – important – it is how you avoid things needing to be done accumulating to such a degree that dealing with any of them becomes psychologically overwhelming. If you feel overwhelmed by too many things to do, don’t try to do all of them at once. Tackle one of them at a time. Then keep on tackling. The more you do, the less you’ll have to do – and the better you will feel.

Four, exercise regularly –

It isn’t just that exercise is physically healthy. It is psychologically healthy. The better you feel, the better you will feel about yourself. It is hard to be happy when you feel awful about yourself. When you look awful. When your clothes no longer fit – and you have to buy clothes that do. If that is the case, use your not-fitting clothes as an incentive. You fit in them once; you can – you will – fit in them again.

Do not upsize your clothes to fit.

Exercise also serves to structure your life. Routines – regular things you do on certain days at certain times – are another way to help order your life, which will serve to make your life feel less chaotic and depressing. It will give you something to do and something you know you should be doing. When you know you have something to do, something you know you ought to be doing, it is harder to just sit on the sofa and be . . . depressed. Get up! Go for a run – or just a walk. Go to the gym; take a class. Ride a bike. It doesn’t matter exactly or even how much – just so long as you do and that it is regularly done.

Five, eat well –

By this I mean eat good food in reasonable quantities. The eating of bad food – even more so than too much food – is probably one of the etiologies behind the wave of depression  and physical sickness which afflicts so many people. I’ve learned – am learning more, all the time – about what has been done to food (e.g., the corruption of food, as via such things as the pervasive salting of practically all store-bought food with monosodium glutamate, a dangerous toxin; the metabolic effect upon the body of high fructose corn syrup, GMOs, etc.) and of the importance of eating as much healthy (fresh, natural, unmodified) food as possible.

I almost never drink soda or eat “fast” food. I have turned the FDA food pyramid on its apex and eat fewer grains and more meat. Try it yourself and see. You may find you think more clearly – and feel much better. This latter, in turn, will reduce your reliance upon pills – and that will make you feel much better.

There are almost innumerable resources, but as a start, I recommend (of all things) a book called No Eat Not Food. It seems like it’s for kids, but the message is for people of all ages.

Six, disengage –

Stop watching the TeeVee. It is radiating soul poison. No sane person can withstand being assaulted daily with hours of horror, almost all of it exaggerated but no less horrible for being so. The less you watch, the more you will see – of reality. That the world isn’t cracking apart. Death isn’t in the air. It’s nice outside; the sun is up and the weather is fine. Go outside – and turn that thing off. Go see a friend. Not on the screen of your smartphone. Go actually see your friend. Connect with people of like mind. See their faces.

It will affirm that sanity is not statistical – and that you are not alone.

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All it takes is 1: This is how tyranny ends

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"One is the loneliest number," Three Dog Night famously sang over five decades ago. But all it takes is one brave soul fighting against the tide to inspire 10. Ten become hundreds. Hundreds become thousands. Thousands become millions. Millions become a new majority.

Riverside County, California, Sheriff Chad Bianco is one.

On Monday, Sheriff Bianco announced he "will not enforce the (COVID-19) vaccine mandate on Sheriff's Department employees.'' In response to a cascade of draconian state directives and the Biden administration's overt war on the unvaccinated, Bianco asserted his constitutional duty to protect the public "from the criminal element, as well as being the last line of defense from tyrannical government overreach." Local media and establishment public health "experts" have condemned Bianco, but he refuses to back down:

"In November 2018 the residents of Riverside County elected me as their sheriff. I stood before God and swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of California. … As your sheriff I have an obligation to guard your liberty and freedom.''

Chicago police officer and Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara is one.

Catanzara is leading the charge against heavy-handed Mayor Lori Lightfoot's vaccine mandate. Speaking on behalf of the rank and file, he declared two weeks ago that his union is "100% against mandated vaccines for our members" and blasted the dearth of studies for long-term side effects or consequences. "To mandate anybody to get that vaccine, without that data as a baseline, amongst other issues, is a 'hell, no' for us."

The multiplier effect is real: "It ain't just our guys. It's the sergeants, lieutenants and captains," Catanzara points out. "This is a united front."

New York public school teacher and founder of Teachers for Choice Michael Kane is one. He has been a tireless advocate for parents and educators in the Big Apple. His group is "100% against forced medical mandates for any American to keep their job, especially educators." On Monday, Kane was joined by several hundred public school employees, families and city workers who overtook Foley Square in opposition to Mayor Bill "The Bully" de Blasio's authoritarian vaccine mandate with no testing opt-out alternative. Those who claim religious or medical exemptions will be barred from teaching in the classroom; school employees have until Sept. 27 to get the jab or lose their job.

Kane is not alone. He helped inspire thousands of protesters to join a march on Monday night across the Brooklyn Bridge as they waved signs taunting "Come and Make Me," "Let Me Call My Own Shots," "My Body, My Choice" and "No Medical Apartheid." The fight has just begun. As Kane warns, "There are many other medical mandates that are coming soon, and we stand in opposition TO ALL OF THEM!"

Broadway star Laura Osnes is one.

Last month, she quit a one-night benefit concert after the venue required all actors to get the COVID-19 shot and no option to provide a negative COVID-19 test was extended to her. She walked away from the performance opportunity because "there is so much that is still unknown" about the experimental jabs. "I stand by the decision my husband and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning and our future," she wrote on Instagram. "I believe individuals have the right to do the research, consult a doctor, and come to their own conclusions before deciding whether or not to get any injection."

Emily Dahl is one. Hannah Redoute is one. Bailey Korhorn is one. Morgan Otteson is one. Together, they are the four members of the Western Michigan University soccer team who banded together to sue the school over its mandatory vaccine policy citing their First Amendment-protected religious liberty. Last week, a federal judge granted their motion for a preliminary injunction against WMU, blocking the university from kicking them off the team after their requests for religious exemptions were denied by school officials.

Twelve other WMU athletes have since joined the quartet's lawsuit: Taylor Williams, Jake Moertl, Maxwell Huntley, Kaelyn Parker, Annalise James, Reilly Jacobson, Kia Brooks, Aubree Ensign, Sydney Schafer, Danielle Natte, Nicole Morehouse and Katelyn Spooner.

In June, 153 health care workers in the Houston Methodist Hospital system quit or were fired for refusing to submit to mandatory jabs as a condition of employment.

Two weeks ago, 30 maternity ward nurses and staffers resigned in protest of the upstate New York Lewis County General Hospital's vaccine mandate with no religious exemptions – forcing the facility to close the maternity department.

On Saturday, six Los Angeles police officers filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking to overturn the department's vaccine mandate. They are not alone. More than 2,300 LAPD employees have filed notices seeking religious exemptions, and another 300 officers and staff have filed for medical exemptions – together constituting 20% of the workforce.

Remember: All it takes is one. Ten become hundreds. Hundreds become thousands. Thousands become millions. Millions become a new majority. This is how tyranny ends.

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Texas Hospital Faces Closure Over Vaccine Mandate, CEO Says

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Texas Hospital Faces Closure Over Vaccine Mandate, CEO Says

By Becker Hospital Review

Nearly 140 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, and the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate could force at least one more to shut its doors. 

President Joe Biden's administration is taking steps to require millions of American workers, including certain healthcare workers, to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The plan requires those who work at hospitals and other types of medical facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding to get a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Brownfield (Texas) Regional Medical Center, a rural hospital, will lose up to 25 percent of its employees if the vaccine mandate is enforced, CEO Jerry Jasper told KCBD.

Losing those workers would probably shut down the hospital because some nurses have already quit to take jobs with nursing agencies that offer higher pay, according to the report. 

Not complying with the vaccine mandate and losing Medicare and Medicaid funding isn't an option for Brownfield Regional Medical Center. About 80 percent of the hospital's funding comes from Medicare and Medicaid, Mr. Jasper told KCBD. 

The vaccine mandate puts Texas hospital leaders in a complicated position because Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning public hospitals from enacting COVID-19 vaccine mandates. 

"How's Governor Abbott going to take this? He hasn't complied with anything federal laws have done so far," Mr. Jasper told KCBD.

"So, we're going to have to, here in Texas at least, we're going to have to wait and see how it plays out." 

Mr. Jasper isn't the only hospital chief in Texas grappling with how to respond to the vaccine mandate. 

"I've got President Biden telling me he's going to mandate it, but I have Gov. Abbott who says I cannot mandate it," Adam Willman, CEO of Clifton-based Goodall-Witcher Healthcare, told the Texas Tribune Sept. 10.

Tyler Durden Tue, 09/14/2021 - 21:05

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MEDICAL BUREAUCRATS THREATEN DOCTORS

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The bureaucratic shit weasels in control of the Medical Specialty and State Licensing Boards are threatening Doctors with suspensions of specialty certification and licensure if they don’t follow the prime directive regarding the coof.

Then there’s this multi page Psyop talking points shit show from the AMA

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NBA Won't Impose Vaccine Requirement On Players After Union 'Refused To Budge'

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NBA Won't Impose Vaccine Requirement On Players After Union 'Refused To Budge'

What do NBA players, Congress and US postal workers have in common? None of them will be subject to vaccine mandates that up to 100 million Americans face following last week's Executive Order.

According to ESPN, NBA players have become the latest 'exempted class' from the mandates, after their union (the NBPA) "refused to budge on its demand that players not be required to take the vaccine."

The NBA and NBPA continue to negotiate aspects of COVID-related protocols and procedures for the upcoming 2021-22 campaign, but the NBPA has refused to budge on its demand that players not be required to take the vaccine, sources say, and any proposal that mandates vaccination remains a "non-starter."

NBA referees and most NBA staff will be required to take the jab, according to the report.

Roughly 85% of players are vaccinated, a league spokesman recently said, and, in a preliminary memo obtained by ESPN in early September, the league outlined a set of strict protocols for unvaccinated players.

Such protocols include having lockers far from vaccinated teammates and having to eat, fly and ride buses in different sections. These protocols are not final and are still subject to talks with the NBPA. -ESPN

Earlier this month, the NBA informed teams that vaccine requirements in both New York and San Francisco will be enforced for members of the Knicks, Nets and Golden State Warriors - including all players - unless there are approved medical or religious exemptions, according to a memo obtained by ESPN.

And late last month, the NBA informed teams that anyone who came within 15 feet of players or officials during games would be required to be fully vaccinated by October 1.

Tyler Durden Tue, 09/14/2021 - 20:51

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Hot mic: Israeli official makes startling admission about vaccine passports

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Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz was caught on hot mic before a Cabinet meeting (Video screenshot)

The health minister of Israel – which has experienced a spike in COVID cases and deaths after becoming one of the most-vaccinated nations in the world – was caught on a hot mic admitting so-called "Green Pass" vaccine passports were not being implemented for scientific reasons.

Unaware his conversation prior to a Cabinet meeting was being broadcast live on Israel's Channel 12, Nitzan Horowitz told Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked there is no epidemiological justification for the COVID passport, and it is only intended to pressure the unvaccinated to vaccinate.

Horowitz said Sunday, reported Jewish News Syndicate, that Israel should lift the requirement that a Green Pass be presented for entry to outdoor swimming pools as well as restaurants.

"Epidemiologically, it's true," that they are not justified, Horowitz told Shaked. "The thing is, I'm telling you, our problem is people who don't get vaccinated. We need [to influence] them a bit; otherwise, we won't get out of this [pandemic]."

The health minister acknowledged the vaccine passport system wasn't being enforced in most venues.

Israel initially touted the Green Pass as an "early vision of how we leave lockdown." The country has one of the world's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates, with about 78% of the population ages 12 and older fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine.

However, Israeli Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said Tuesday that the country is experiencing a wave of coronavirus infections surpassing previous outbreaks, the Times of Israel reported.

Ash told the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee that more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed the previous day and the positive test rate was climbing.

"That is a record that did not exist in the previous waves," including the massive third wave at the end of last year, he said.

In June, daily infections were down to little more than a dozen a day.

On Sept. 4, Israel’s national coronavirus czar, Salman Zarka, called for the country to prepare for a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Israelis over age 60 began receiving a third dose on July 30.

"Given that that the virus is here and will continue to be here, we also need to prepare for a fourth injection," Zarka told Kan public radio.

He said the next booster shot may be modified to target variants such as the highly infectious delta strain.

"This is our life from now on, in waves," he said.

Meanwhile, a study by Israeli researchers found that natural immunity from a previous coronavirus infection is 27 times more effective than the COVID vaccines.

Another 15 studies found also natural immunity to be superior.

See the exchange between Israeli cabinet members:

NEW - Israeli Ministry of Health (right) recorded saying to the Minister of Interior (left) "there is no medical or epidemiological justification for the Covid passport, it is only intended to pressure the unvaccinated to vaccinate".pic.twitter.com/c3oAOpZdEE

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 13, 2021

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The Masking of the Servant Class: Ugly COVID Images From the Met Gala Are Now Commonplace

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), appears at the 2021 Met Gala maskless in her highly fashionable and subversive gown, as masked workers and servants surround her, ensuring her safety and a smoothly running party, on September 13, 2021 in New York City.

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Delta Airlines official says 4,000 unvaccinated employees got shots after surcharge announcement

Delta Airlines’ chief health officer announced last week that 4,000 unvaccinated employees got inoculated after the company announced that it was adding a $200 monthly surcharge on its health care plan for employees who were not vaccinated.

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“September 11, 2001 marked one of the most tragic days in American history. Fifteen years later, the events of that day continue to have a visceral and even traumatic impact on many Americans.

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