In my day to day life social media plays an important role at home and in the classroom. And throughout the past decade a focus on mental health and things that harm and benefit our mental health has increased. I learned more about this topic by reading an article that analyzed a study that tested how Facebook was affecting mental health. I learned that despite the negative connotation social media has to do with mental health it is usually harmless. In a managedhealthcare.com article I learned that “He found that active internet and social media users are 63% less likely to experience serious psychological distress, associated with depression or other mood and anxiety disorders”. I was shocked to learn this because recently there has been a negative association with social media and how it affects your mental health. Overall average doses of social media throughout your day will not damage your mental health.
Walker, Tracey. “The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health.” Managed Healthcare Executive, 12 July 2019, http://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/news/impact-social-media-mental-health.

Music is a big part of daily life everywhere whether we notice it or not. Some people even believe that music can shape our behavior and actions. I pursued my search for evidence on this on CNN.com. I learned that despite music often being used a scapegoat reason for and increase in crime, it can not be pinned as the direct cause of this trend. I found that although research may conclude that violent music can lead to violent actions, there is still other factors to consider. “Studies have very mixed evidence, and mostly use observational data instead of controlled experiments that can take into account people’s personality. People who are already prone to violence might be drawn to violent music, Levitin explained. But that doesn’t mean everybody who enjoys that music is violent” I found it most interesting that classical musician also be used to discourage people from participating in violence.

Avramova, Nina. “How Music Can Change the Way You Feel and Act.” CNN, Cable News Network, 20 Feb. 2019, http://www.cnn.com/2019/02/08/health/music-brain-behavior-intl/index.html.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.