Are iPhones Ruining Our Lives?

When I was younger, I remember drawing with crayons and playing with Thomas the Train in our playroom, and watching shows like Dragon Tales on our clunky box tv. Now when you see young children out in restaurants or anywhere, they are playing games on iPads, completely in their own world. My little cousins, who are only 7 and 5 years old, play on phones and iPads more often than playing the way that I remember from my childhood. For us older people, technology is becoming more of an issue of addiction. If any of you ever go to concerts, then you know that when you look around at the crowd, all you see are phones in the air, recording the music instead of listening to it and being in the moment.

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Being a millennial means many things, but something that seems to define our generation is technology. Smartphones, iPads, and laptops have taken over our lives, and it has led to issues you might not think existed. We all use our phones a generous amount of time every day, but we probably think we use it less than we actually do. Average usage time is about three hours a day, with the average user picking up their phone 39 times a day. This issue has been coined the term "technology addiction" or "Internet use disorder". Although this isn't recognized as an actual disorder yet, this common issue has been on doctor's radar since about the 1990s.

According to Microsoft, the attention span of the average human has declined to about 8 seconds, which is 1 second less than the goldfish. Technology addiction is so common that Dr. Jerald Block, who writes for the American Journal of Psychiatry, says that it "merits inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is the primary source to categorize mental disorders.  Technology addiction, like other types of addiction, can come from a combination of things like mental health history, personality, and environment.

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Along with technology addiction comes other health affects, like depression, anger, fatigue, and social isolation. And these are not just mental health issues; sleep is being affected in a huge way. Blue light is what tells our body to wake up, like the sun or lights in your house, and red light, like the sunset, tells our bodies it is time to sleep. When you lay in bed on your phone in the dark, your body is ultimately very confused because the blue light from your phone is waking your brain up.

I go on my phone the same as the next guy; scrolling through pinterest or taking snapchats definitely take up some time in my day, but I always try to remind myself of the things I can do without technology. Summer is the best time to me because I spend all my time either in the ocean, reading, or playing cards with my cousins. I know being in school can be so busy, but trying to find other activities that don't involve your phone or computer are important; many times people reach for their phone when they need a break from whatever stressful thing that have going on, like school. Whether its a longer activity, like visiting the Palmer Museum, or a smaller one, like getting ice cream with friends, or even taking an hour at the gym to distract yourself, these small things can be crucial in helping the constant need for the internet. Not only is this scientifically better for you, I'm sure you will feel better too.

The Hunting Ground: Sexual Assault on College Campuses

For most of my teenage life, I was always told to always be aware of my surroundings, and always be cautious of anyone you don't know. Coming from a suburban town, I never felt like I was in danger at any point. College is different; I have never felt unsafe on this campus which is very lucky, but there is always a chance that something could change in an instant.

The other day, I finally got around to watching this documentary called The Hunting Ground, a documentary on Netflix about college campus sexual assault and the schools' inability to take action and get justice for the victim. My mom has been begging me to watch this for months, and I just wasn't interested at all. However, recently in another class of mine we discussed briefly sexual assault on campus and it inspired me to watch. Needless to say it was the most shocking and captivating documentary I have watched. 

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The documentary covers all sorts of ground about sexual assault on college campuses, and begins with showing the aspects of college we all remember from the beginning; getting acceptance letters, hearing the president and professors speak, and moving into the dorms. Girls and boys in the movie begin to describe their college experiences leading up to their attacks; while their assaults are obviously horrible, the treatment they receive after is the worst part. Only ten percent of sexual assaults and rapes that occur in college are reported, therefore it takes a lot of courage for victims to even talk about it. After reporting the incident to campus police or administration, many of these cases are simply put on the back burner, never to be looked at again. Many of the victims are blamed for their actions, being told they drank too much or led them on. The effects of sexual assault take a large toll on the victims, especially when they are treated like it doesn't matter. This is because the school's main concern is to keep students applying, and if that school has a history of sexual violence on campus, the applicants will diminish over time. It also matters when it comes to situations involving fraternities and athletic teams because of the amount of money and publicity they bring to the school. 

One of the specific cases in the documentary was about a girl that was raped by a Notre Dame football player, and ended up committing suicide because the stress and anxiety of the whole situation became too overwhelming when she realized he was going to get away with it. Another girl was raped at Florida State by another football player, and although they had DNA evidence to convict him, the prosecution never did. Although they never officially said why this happened, its quite obvious; convicting the star football player would take a major toll on the school. Because this assault involved this athlete, the whole school knew about it, and no one believed her. The detective assigned to the crime told her "This is a big football town, think long and hard if you really want to press charges." The backlash of this event was so big that she ended up dropping out of school because of bullying, and the students actually celebrated, still convinced that she was lying. People felt bad for the football player, because it was "harming his opportunities". Now he is currently playing the NFL, even when there are numerous amounts of evidence proving he is the attacker. 

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This process that those assaulted have to go through is bad enough, especially when the institution meant to support and help its students doesn't take them seriously. Many of these students suffer afterwards with depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and many other related issues. In the documentary, a few of the girls mentioned that they self harmed, couldn't attend classes anymore, couldn't sleep, or even tried to commit suicide. Their lives have been ruined; for some, they get back on their feet, begin advocating for change like some girls in the movie do, but others can't continue in college because it has been robbed of them. Their safety and trust in the school has been compromised, by the attacker and by the institution itself. 

Sexual assault on college campuses is something that many of us know is an issue, but something that is less known is how it is handled afterwards. This documentary completed shocked me, as I had no idea how bad really was. Universities put crime statistics as a priority before the justice and well being of the survivors, and it is still being done to this day. You may think that your school, that Penn State is a safe school that doesn't ever have issues with sexual assault; because of the level of reporting mixed with the way it is handled, it seems like nothing happens. There are so many unanswered questions regarding this nationwide epidemic, and while it is far fetched to think we can stop sexual assault all together, we can change the ways it is handled. 

What do you guys think about this issue? Please comment how you feel about it or how you think it should be approached. 

The Hunting Ground

A Different Perspective on Mental Health

Mental health is a huge span of things, ranging from schizophrenia to depression and everything in between. Something that may get lost in that is mental disabilities. Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability; 1 in 68 children are born with autism (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls). More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined. Autism is a mental disorder characterized by the difficulty in communicating, and can involve repetitive behaviors. It usually appears during early childhood. The reason I bring this up is because autism concerns mental health,  and I believe autism is a mental disability, and with autism often comesOCD and other mental disorders. This past week, there was also the movement #Spreadthewordtoendtheword, which refers to spreading the word about ending the word "retarded". Like any other mental disorder, special needs has stigma around it, and perhaps always will.

Because autism is a spectrum, no two people with it are exactly alike; for example, my sister is severely autistic, and can't do normal things alone like go to the bathroom, brush her teeth, or make herself food, while some of the students in her class can do all of that. Aspergers is on the spectrum as well. Many people think that if someone has autism or Aspergers, they automatically have some sort of incredible talent that makes them a genius. While this is true in some cases, it is definitely not all. My sister Jamie is a good example of that. While she may have the mind of a child, there are some things she does that continue to shock me; she can solve puzzles extremely fast, most likely from memory. She also has obsessive compulsive tendencies, which makes her flick the lights on and off a billion times, close all the doors, and put things back a certain way.

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Autism is something that has affected my life immensely. I am the middle child, so I grew up having an older sister that seemed normal to me. However, as I got older, I realized just how different she was. There comes a time when you grow up that you begin to notice how people view you; for so long none of my friends cared about how my sister made noises all the time and I talked about her like she was any average sister. Once you hit maybe fourth grade, that starts to change, and everything seems to embarrass you. I thought everyone thought I was weird, that my family was weird for having a girl in the family be autistic. My own sister embarrassed me; it embarrassed me how she wore pull ups to bed, and how she made too much noise so she couldn't be in public, and how she watched Sesame Street as a teenager. But just as quickly as the embarrassment comes, it leaves. I made solid friends, the kind of people that couldn't care less that my sister was loud and that I had to take her to the bathroom or the fact that she gets food in her hair.

Autism is also something that can change over time. Jamie learns new things all the time, and to think about how far she has come is incredible. She went from a girl that was upset so often, making it difficult to be around her, to someone that everyone loves, even strangers. She is so happy 90% of the time, and people love to be around her. Although you can't have full conversations with her, and there are things some people won't be able to understand ever, like how she doesn't understand what a favorite color is or know what clothes she likes, it doesn't change the emotional connection you can make. All children and adults with autism are unique is all ways, and it can affects more than just mental health.

While there is no cure for autism, there are ways to significantly improve the lives of those affected. This includes education, medical assistance, and other effective interventions. It takes people like us to help people with autism, and other special needs. Educating the public about how to approach autism and how to help is important; my high school did a great job of incorporating students willing to help with the students with special needs, and it was amazing to see. I have worked with so many students that are all different, and I have seen how happy my sister is to be around people.

http://www.autism-society.org
https://www.autismspeaks.org
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml?utm_source=rss_readersutm_medium=rssutm_campaign=rss_full

A Cell Smaller Than a Dorm Room

When thinking of mental health, criminals might not be the first thing you think of. Or maybe you do, if you know how crime and mental illness can go hand in hand, or how prison life affects inmates every day. As a criminology major, crime, criminals, and the criminal justice system is my (future) life. Part of that is looking at crime from the other side. Last semester, in one of my crim classes, we watched a documentary about the Maine State Prison solitary confinement, and it shocked me to my core. I am usually someone that can handle gory or disturbing images, but this was another level. I won't share any of the details because of the content, but it opened my eyes to the issues within the prison systems, and how mental health is a constant.

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                                     One of the prisoners in the documentary that started off feeling ok, 
                                            but eventually the solitary confinement affected him in horrible ways. 

Mental health is a huge factor in crime, as many criminals have extreme mental health issues, ranging from personality disorder to schizophrenia. These topics may seem more relevant for criminals like Ted Bundy and Charles Manson, but many less violent criminals with mental illness struggle in prison. Prisoners with anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and many others, are put into the prison system instead of a mental institution, where they can get better help. This can be for a multitude of reasons, like lack of funding or just the justice system at play. While no one is denying that these men and women have committed extreme crimes to end up in prison, there are many arguments concerning the procedures within a prison.

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                                                             Solitary confinement cell

Many prisoners may be ok once entering prison, and may continue to be okay for some of their stay, but something may trigger anxiety or depression. One of the biggest causes of these issues is solitary confinement. Prisoners are put into solitary for misbehaving, or being a danger to themselves and other inmates. The effects of solitary confinement are shocking; not only does it take a psychological toll, but a physiological one. Solitary confinement is complete isolation, from guards and other inmates, visitors and supervisors, in a six feet by nine feet cell (or smaller), for usually 23 hours a day with one hour for isolated exercise. This restricts social contact, which is vital to humans. This isolation also leads to panic, anxiety, depression, claustrophobia, and aggression, and it is not uncommon for inmates to experience thoughts and actions of self harm and suicide. Physically, the inmate can experience insomnia, indigestion, sweaty palms, headaches, lack of appetite, and trembling. The list of possible effects goes on and on. The solution to this issue is difficult; while some prisoners may have made a mistake to get in solitary, others are too dangerous to be around other inmates, so the cycle continues.

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Many prisons around the country have gotten rid of solitary, or are trying to. The evidence against it is staggering, and it is obvious that it should never be a solution unless absolutely dire. While prison may just seem like a place to hold people accountable for their actions, many of them will be released eventually, and some of them will be released after being in solitary. This means many of them will be physically and mentally changed forever, and entering the world in this state is dangerous. The more we do to rehabilitate the inmates, rather than deteriorate them, will only be good for everyone. If you are interested in learning more about solitary confinement from a prisoner's point of view, here is the link to the documentary.

Maine State Prison documentary
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365229709/

Stand Up to Stigma

As college students, we experience many things all at the same time. Balancing school work with clubs, organizations, THON committees, sports, friends, a social life, eating, working out, taking care of our room, showering, etc. However, one thing seems to always fall behind; our mental health. As students and teenagers in general, the stress of balancing all of these things can take a toll. There is pressure to do well from everyone, from family, friends, your teachers, counselors, and wanting to be as successful as the students around you. This kind of stress and pressure leads to anxiety commonly and sometimes depression as well.

Mental health has touched everyone's life at some point, whether personal or someone you know.
It is a topic that has come a long way in our society, especially for millennials. One of the major issues that continues to be prevalent is stigma. For many people, if they cannot see the issue, then it is difficult for them to grasp. Being educated is one of the most important things we can do as a society to help stop the stigma and spread awareness for help. And while this topic may seem redundant because it has come up more recently than in the past, it is still important to emphasize.

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Being a criminology major, issues like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have always interested me; how they happen, how it affects a person, what can be done to treat it, etc. But even the mental issues that some people tend to overlook because of the stigma like depression and anxiety also grabbed my attention. Why does this happen? Why does a mental health issue suddenly make people want to run the other way? While many celebrities that have mental health disorders, like Demi Lovato, have come forward to let fans and other people know that they are not alone, this still does not seem to be enough. People will still look at others with these illnesses as "crazy" or "weird", which can make the individual themselves feel embarrassed or ashamed, therefore making improvement difficult. So, as mental health illnesses go, there is a lot to talk about, but the basis of stigma is an important place to begin.