Oct 13, 2017

Consumed By Technology

The advancement of technology is crippling society. It’s like an infectious disease in desperate need of quarantine. We check our phones more than 100 times a day, watch countless episodes of our favorite series on Netflix and scroll social media blindly for something to engage in. We feel more connected through our devices than we do in reality. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at a social gathering where they care more about talking to people who aren’t there, than those who are. We’ve become consumed by entertainment so much that we can’t realize the world of information we have access to. Technology is a mirror reflection of our own potential. It is its’ own entity and has the power to progress beyond our knowledge because we feed into it rather than allowing it to feed into us. Technology has taken the lead over our own intelligence and capability as human beings. Instead of using it to our advantage, we’ve used it more as a crutch to lean on. There is no doubt that we have come a long way in making great use of technology and the internet to benefit many aspects of our lives, but today we’re reflecting on the negative impact toward society.

One of the most important thing that has been compromised due to the progression of technology is privacy. As you should know, everything is online in some shape or form. From your personal interests, to your address and social security number. Businesses are resulting to electronic correspondence in order to successfully keep track of data and eliminate paper waste. Although a lot of this information is confidential, it doesn’t necessarily make it impossible to access. After all, even our Federal Post Office has been subject to being hacked. The data from apps or websites on your electronic devices are actually soled to third parties in order to generate personalized advertisements. If you ever take the time to read Terms and Condition contracts before you sign them, you may begin to think twice. At this point in the evolution of technology, we are more vulnerable than we realize.

As human beings we have a natural desire to connect with others and be able to showcase who we are. In addition to that, we also have our own sense of identity we’d like to embody. With Social Media, that has become overwhelmingly possible. In the click of a button you are instantly connected with someone who may live thousands of miles away from you. Just as easy as that, technology has given you the ability to reach out within the comfort of your home and present yourself however you’d like. With easier access to information and tools, we can also share the things we identify with personally on several levels. This ability changes the way we interact in our physical reality. We create an image of ourselves on Social Media that has its own effect on both our subconscious and those who follow us. We indulge in the life we have on the web more than we indulge in the life we have in the spirit and flesh. The effect technology has is as infinite and boundless as our own consciousness. The power of the subconscious is that it’s constantly underestimated due to the fact that it’s impact can go unnoticed, making it easier to become progressive. When we indulge in various aspects of life differently it creates cognitive dissonance. Human beings can not function properly with cognitive dissonance, they have to begin to create illusions in order to remain mentally intact. This is just to give you an idea of the lengths people may go to on the internet when it comes to obsessing over different things. Parents gift their children electronic devices at younger ages as time goes by, not realizing the influence that comes along with it. The children are our future and on a constant basis they are bombarded with information and access they have no idea how to handle properly. Of 1240 interviewed in a poll conducted on Common Sense Media, 50% of teens, aged 12-18, feel they are addicted to their mobile devices and social media. There has been a progressive increase of suicide in teens over the last 5 years and more deaths due to distracted driving directly related to the impact of technology and internet usage.

Like I said earlier, technology and the internet is a mirror reflection of our potential. If we dedicated our time to using it to our advantage rather than something to keep us comfortable or pass the time, we’d tap into the greatness that lies dormant within it. The benefit of those advantages can become just as habitual as the usage if we commit ourselves to being more conscious of how and how often we use technology in our daily lives. I hope that this article opened up your mind to see the areas in need of attention and improvement in regards to technology/ the internet, while simultaneously presenting the boundless potential we have as human beings. You are the device in which the infinite potential resides.

Oct 2, 2017

STDs On The Rise!

As the years go by we have more of an external influence, than an internal influence with our youth about sexual intercourse/health. Everywhere you look there is a subliminal message seeping into our subconscious influencing us sexually, while our peers are too uncomfortable to relay the proper messages directly. We have an increase of activity within our estrogen receptors thanks to the processed foods and the materials we eat those foods in, causing hormones to spiral rapidly at younger ages than usual. Needless to say we are bombarded with the idea of acting on such hormones without sufficient education to be aware of the risks, (i.e. STDS). In 2016, Americans were infected with more than 2 million new cases of gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia, the highest number of these sexually transmitted diseases ever reported according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Beside those three, along with HIV cases which are required to be reported to the CDC each year, they’ve estimated that there are more than 20 million new cases of STDs in the US. At least half occur in young people ages 15-24.

Courtesy of The Daily Mail

Chlamydia is one the most common diseases easily transmitted through all forms of sexual activity; vaginal, oral, and anal—as well as through childbirth. Most people have no symptoms, meaning it usually goes untreated, ultimately causing a pelvic inflammatory disease that can scar and affect fertility in women. In men, it can cause testicular pain and swelling. Gonorrhea can also be a silent infection but usually is accompanied with burning during urination and vaginal or penile discharge. If caught anally, it can create itching, bleeding and painful bowel movements. If not treated, gonorrhea can cause severe and permanent health problems, including long-term pain and infertility. Although Syphilis was once less prevalent in our country, it has now become once again a harmful, potentially deadly disease on the rise. It can easily be mistaken for other disease due to its wide range of symptoms which include rashes and chancres, or sores, fever, swollen lymph glands, sore throat, headaches, muscles aches and fatigue. As the disease progresses, the symptoms go away, and progress silently to it’s most deadly stage.

What makes matters worse is that sexual education is on a decline in the US, according to an analysis of survey data from 2006 to 2013. “The declines in formal sex education we observed since 2006 are distressing, but unfortunately are part of a longer term retreat from sex education, especially instruction about birth control methods,” said lead study author Laura Duberstein Lindberg of The Guttmacher Institute in New York. The researchers used interviews taken from nationwide household surveys administered continuously between 2006 and 2010 and between 2011 and 2013, focusing on respondents aged 15 to 19 years. The analysis included responses from about 2,000 teen boys and 1,000 teen girls in each wave of surveys.In the 2006 to 2010 surveys, 70 percent of girls and 61 percent of boys said they had received formal instruction about birth control, which dropped to 60 percent and 55 percent, respectively, in the 2011 to 2013 surveys.Girls also reported less formal education on STDs, HIV and AIDS prevention, and saying no to sex over time. Both girls and boys reported more formal education in saying no to sex without instruction about birth control in the second survey wave, the researchers report in the Journal of Adolescent Health. As of 2013, fewer than 5% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students aged 13–21 reported that their health classes had included positive representations of LGBT-related topics.

We have an increase in sexual interest and activity due to many reasons, yet we also have funding cutbacks for prevention, education and healthcare programs, and an overwhelming amount of social media influence that have all contributed to the rise. Young adults are not only less educated on the topic, but more influenced by it, causing an increase of vulnerability. Adults on the other hand, should learn to be more pro-active when it comes to their own indulgence and advocate for their offsprings’ sexual health as well. It’s time to start having the conversation and being more conscious about who we lay down with so that we can start utilizing prevention methods.

 

Featured photo credit: medicaldaily.com

May 22, 2014

I Cut Myself To Feel & I Suffer In Silence……Help Me

Can you imagine hearing these words come out of someone you love mouth? What if it was your child, or a niece, nephew, cousin, grandchild, neighbor, family or church member, coworker or friend. How would you feel and what would you do? I know what you’re thinking….”This doesn’t happen in the African American culture”. Whelp, you’re wrong as two left shoes because it does. Truthfully “Self Harm, Self Mutilation, & Self Abuse is a form of “Mental Illness” that DOES NOT have a respecter of person. Just like mental illness this too is kept a secret and is what I deem the “Silent Soul Killer”. I was shocked as I began my research on this topic because it opened my eyes to something that has set out to destroy our youth and adults in our families. First, lets get rid of the myth that self harm is just cutting because it ISN’T. What about having unprotected sex with multiple partners and being addicted to sex? Isn’t this considered “self harm” or being addicted to pills, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, crack, lean, Xanax, & cigarettes?  All of these things are ways we harm ourselves, which is “self harm”.  We cover up our brokenness, hurt, rejection, & self demons while we medicate ourselves with what makes the flesh feel better at that time.  While others take blades and knives and cut their body parts to make them feel better at that time. Could you imagine hurting so bad, the only way to let out the hurt or to express the hurt is by harming self? We’ve all heard of “Mental Illness” and we all know someone who suffers from this disease. But, do you know that there are over 300 manifestations of mental illness according to DSM-IV “Diagnostics & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”? I didn’t either!! We’ve become familiar with the top 5 common mental illnesses which are bipolar, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, & mood change disorder.  That we missed the other  255 PLUS mental illnesses that haunt our communities daily.  People we see everyday…. our family members, friends, coworkers, mailman, teachers, Pastors and people we worship with are suffering and hurting in silence. Many are ashamed because they don’t want the stigma attached to them. Many go undiagnosed because of other issues such as addiction and molestation. You may not literally “CUT” yourself with a blade, but what is your tool of choice to “CUT” with? Is it food, people, sex, drugs, gambling, or self hate? It’s time that WE TALK ABOUT IT because it’s knocking on all of our front doors. Whether, it’s a school shooting, mall attack, naval shooting, DC sniper, or a private melt down that turns public…..It’s REAL!! Join The Tyra Hill Show Sunday 5 pm EST on www.wpbnetworks.com as we take this discussion further because “If You’re DEALING With It, We’re TALKING About It” on The Tyra Hill Show. Download the WPBRADIO App or watch us Stream LIVE!! #LetsTalkAboutIt

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