Author: Alex King    Essay topic: Green energy

Green energy has been underused for years and coal has been the biggest use for energy for most of any of our lives and i think it's time for a change and in the end it has a big payout. A greener earth is the best payout because that means more food more sun and less drought’s means big payout and a brighter future. So the question is why is green energy so under used is it because of the setbacks? Well let's look at the facts and lets decide for ourselves.

First lets look at it like this coal and oil will run out and we can't burn wood or that will run out too green energy may be our only hope as a human race. so the good part about green energy is it works off the same process as coal or oil it's all about spinning a turbine and we have found ways to do just that. Now the easiest way we have found to turn a turbine is using wind power it blows the turbine turning a gear which turns another gear that turns a motor it really is that simple. But with the use of green energy we have found ways to provide energy to any place that uses it. Sun,wind,water,heat,or even the earth we can make energy from all of these and doing this we can make energy not only for us but our children because. and even make energy for other countries like north africa and the rest of the world (except canada and sweden they already have green energy) but north africa england and even russia could get on the path to a greener form of energy. And the best part is think of it as yoga it works great it's flexible and causes a good feeling but is under used and called silly because it isn’t like other things that have worked for hundreds of years.

Like everything good in life green energy has a downside it isn't all rainbows and green grass from here it will take a long time to make green energy as big as coal or oil. And people refuse to let it be a thing because they don't understand it but some are just plain stupid. So the downsides are plentiful for starters it requires funding this is the biggest and most overlooked set back. With funding we require not only money for the forme of green energy but also funding for land and to pay maintenance. But on the upside of that we open up jobs to millions of americans as maintenance workers and energy technicians. Now solar power is the most popular form of green energy and for good reason it's (relatively) cheap efficient and can be put on a roof but it also creates carbon emissions. Now the second most popular by far is wind energy it is verticle and can be placed next to each other but it also takes alot of maitnenece since it has moving parts it requires oil and industrial turbines is 328 feet so not only do we need a guy to oil it but he cannot be afraid of heights.

So now that the facts have been presented but not only the good but the bad as well it has given us room for a decision and it may just be the biggest decision we will need to make as a human race. Is green energy worth it and by it i mean the time and effort it will take to incorporate the use of green energy into our everyday lives and slowly phase out the use of coal and oil in homes,businesses,cars,boats,and even planes and trains. Because it literally make our days brighter so let's adopt this energy into our lives whether it is solar,wind,water, or thermo eletric it good for us and the earth because global warming is real whether it snows or not there is proof and i needs to be known so please jump on the truest form of energy it is a new day and on the other side we will have a greener earth and a healthier life.

Depression

Author: Jake Steerman
 Essay topic: Depression

Depression

Everybody goes through some type of depression in their life. Some people have it worse than others. Depression usually affects younger teens ages 13-18. The reason behind that is they are growing each day, and their hormones are changing, which makes them go through very depressing moments of their life. Approximately 20 perfect of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood. Don’t get me wrong, adults go through very severe depression as well. More than 15 million of American adults go through depression. Depression happens in everyone's life. There are many ways to cure/help people who are going through depression.

Depression is a problem because it affects the physical human body. Depression can occur in association with virtually all the other psychiatric and physical diagnoses, depression is also known as a complex disease. Depending on the level of how severe the depression is, physical illness increases, and could very well get physically sick. Depression is very common in the world today. Depression can be caused by many of things; for instance: faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, medications, medical problems, etc. Many of people do not know how to handle their depression, so they find different ways to handle it. Some people get severely depressed, and do not get help. Therefore, people cut, suicide themselves, etc. Depression sometimes will even cause severe anxiety for people.

Many personal things in life could and will cause depression. Many of people get depression because of past abuse, certain medications, conflict, death or lost, genetics, major events, other personal problems, serious illnesses, and substance abuse. There are many forms of depression. Clinical depression is one, and could complicate serious health conditions such as heart disease or cancer. Regular depression can lead to problems with pain, sadness, loneliness, performance in life, no desire to do anything, and sleep. Those factors just mentioned, can lead to life impacts including cancer, etc. Depression tears down self-esteem, self-confidence, and the ability to accomplish everyday tasks in life.

Some people get to the point to where they can not handle the depression, and pain anymore. They start to find and seek the help that is out there in the world, to help treat depression. There are many ways you can get help for severe and chronic depression. One very successful treatment is depression medicine. Many very successful medicines out there for depression is: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; eases symptoms of depressed mood and anxiety, antidepressant; prevents and or relieves depression and elevates mood, anxiolytic: relieves anxiety and tension, may promote sleep. There are many ways and technologies to help with depression, never be afraid to reach out.

Another great successful treatment for depression is therapy. Therapy tends to help “vent” out to someone who knows what they are doing, for instance a counselor/psychiatrist. There are also many ways of therapy, and professionally trained counselors/psychiatrists. Cognitive behavioral therapy, behavior therapy, and psychotherapy. Many people are out there, professionally trained, and want to help. They actually care about how you feel, and want to try to help you with the depression. The moral of therapy is having one person caring for you. The center of therapy is the caring relationship between a mental health professional and a patient.

Depression is very common in today's day and age. Due to stress levels, etc. Some people might even get depressed because they do not have any motivation to live life anymore! Normally because they do not have daily activities in their life to do. Each day there is more and more help for people that have depression and anxiety.

Works Cited

"Causes of Depression: Genetics, Illness, Abuse, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.  

   "Depression Complications Can Affect Many Facets of Your Life." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.  

Goodwin, Guy M. "Depression and Associated Physical Diseases and Symptoms." Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. Les Laboratoires Servier, June 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.   

Publications, Harvard Health. "What Causes Depression? - Harvard Health." Harvard Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Body Image: A Problem

Author: Jonathan  

Essay topic: Body Image

Imagine a teenage girl named Stacy. When someone looks at Stacy they see an average teenage girl, but what they don’t see is that Stacy gets bullied. See, Stacy is told everyday that she is ugly and fat. Everyday Stacy goes home, she looks at herself in the mirror and all she can see is what others see. She doesn’t see a beautiful girl, but rather she sees a girl that doesn’t live up to others standards. Just like Stacy many today are enveloped in the way others see them. They go to extreme measures to change the way they look to make others accept them. Media, and peer pressure causes teens to have eating disorders and have negative body image, but providing information to teens and spreading positivity can help combat this.

Social media is a huge part of society today, especially when it comes to teens. Often, however pictures posted on social media sites are edited in some way. When referencing a study the author of  ”Does social media impact on body image?”, Philippa Roxby, writes, “"I ask them to shut their eyes and put their hand up if they have ever enhanced an image on Facebook," Ms Nokes says. “They usually all put up their hands””. This gives an estimate of the major effects of photo editing software. Advertisements also creates an unrealistic body image for women to follow. One statistic from the NYC Girls Project 2010 study shows that models weigh 23% less than the average women. This attributes to negative body image because women compare themselves to these models. A study by the City of New York showed that “63 percent of girls think the body image represented by the fashion industry is unrealistic and 47 percent think it is unhealthy, yet 60 percent say that they compare their bodies to fashion models, 48 percent wish they were as skinny as the models in fashion magazines, and 31 percent of girls admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.”. It’s clear from this study that even though people see that the standards set by media is unrealistic, they still strive for it.  Peer pressure and bullying are also a cause of negative body image. One girl said ”Kelsey describes the bullying she experienced between the ages of 11 and 16 as "absolutely awful” the author, Philippa Roxby, also added "It was all about my body and how I looked," she says.”. This shows the impact that bullying can have on someone. These factors can cause this negative body image to increase into eating disorders. In fact there is an estimated 24 million people who suffer from anorexia binge eating or bulimia according to a 2010 study. This is a massive number of people who are likely effected by body image..

We need to fix this, and we need to fix this now! When you fix something you have to look at the root of the problem to find the solution. The root of the problem in this case is our youth's body image. In order to combat this we need to have protections in place for our youths. One way to do this is by having counselors at our schools check students for eating disorders or dangerous eating habits. This will help kids who have eating disorders find help, and allow for bad eating habits to be stopped before they turn into eating disorders. There are many tests that can be taken online that can test for eating disorders within a demographic that fits the student. Not only do these test provide referrals to professionals who can give a personal evaluation, or treatment. But they are quick and will cost schools nothing. Another step that can be taken is the furthering of the “E” in PE. PE classes would suit students much better if they provided students with information on calorie intake and healthy dieting. This would help students who don’t know where to look for good diet plans, so they don’t look at the wrong place. After a study done at Texas A&M International University a statement was made "This suggests that peer competition is more salient to body and eating issues in teenage girls.". This study showed how crucial peer pressure is in negative body image. It could also be crucial to positive body image. There could be support groups for teens who struggle with body image. This can help unify students and help the students who are struggling with eating disorders to get help and support from fellow students.

The question remains, however. What can we as a society do today to help? Well there are a number of ways we can help. But in order to help fix others we must first need to be fixed ourselves. So the first step we should take is by working on our own body image. This can be difficult for some. Philippa Roxby wrote about Kelsey from Loud Education, a program that visits schools and helps students with body image, ”You put forward your best self, and that can be a bit dangerous, because you naturally compare yourself to others," she said. So while it may not be easy for some to have self confidence because of of human nature, it can be overcome. Having self confidence and positive self body image can help to spread the message to others. We can help others by spreading positivity, and using positive language. There are plenty of people out there working in harmony with this message, but they can’t do it themselves. They need your help.

24 million, that's a pretty large number. That was just the number of diagnosed people, imagine how many more people there was who didn’t have help. Body image is a major issue in today's society. It affects a very large number of people, especially because of the media and peer pressure in today's society. But if we supply our youths with tools to help remain healthy and positive we can conquer this problem. Let's talk about Stacy, just one more time. Imagine her walking into school one day and meeting her counselor. Her counselor tells her she is at risk of an eating disorder, Stacey is shocked. She attends her PE class and learns a healthy diet and exercise plan. She attends a meeting filled with other students who have issues with body image and gets encouragement to keep putting forth an effort. Do you think that Stacy will make a change? Whatever the result an effort needs to be put forward in order to thwart this problem. Don’t let this chance go to waste, as Richard Williams said “While students may be 20 percent of our population, they are 100 percent of our future.”.

"Is Poor Body Image Caused by Peer Pressure?" Secureteen.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Roxby, Philippa. "Does Social Media Impact on Body Image?" BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

"NYC Girl's Project - The Issues." NYC Girl's Project - The Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

"The Media And Body Image." RSS 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Abigail Essay topic: Eating disorders

Eating Disorders A Serious Issue

Eating disorders are a serious issue a lot of people have or have had effecting patients both mentally and physically. The issue of eating disorders matters because it causes extreme weight loss and depression leading to serious health risks. Many men and women suffer from either anorexia or bulimia. Anorexia can not only affect you mentally but can also do permanent damage to your body. With most eating disorders a lot of the problem starts in their head and is nothing more than the patient hating and wanting to change their physical appearance. The person thinks they are too fat and so they do a series of things to make themselves skinnier. Either for themselves or to please someone else.

Eating disorder can form in any stage of your life but usually appear in the teen years or early adulthood two main types of eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia two of the most dangerous eating disorders out there.  An eating disorder is an eating habit in which people use to make them look or feel prettier. Doing a series of things to make themselves skinnier. Anorexia, one of many eating disorders and one of the most dangerous one. People diagnosed with anorexia see themselves in the mirror as a heavier version of themselves and have a constant obsessive fear of being overweight. People with anorexia keep a strict diet of eating as little food as possible. Bulimia another very dangerous eating disorder involving severe binge eating, then excessive vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, or extreme exercise. Men and women with bulimia are unhappy with the way their body appearance is. This leads to a lack of control and shame. Both of these well-known eating disorders create severe injuries.

There are a ton of causes to an eating disorder, biological and psychological. Not only can a factor be psychological but can also have something to do with the environment they are surrounded by. Some of the biological factors are irregular hormones and nutritional deficiencies. Most of the psychological parts has a lot to do with poor self esteem. Environmental factors can be a dysfunctional family, issues with relationships, severe trauma, and also peer pressure into being skinny. These causes lead to serious risk and injuries caused by these eating disorders.

Eating disorders cause a lot of mental and physical problems leading to serious injuries.Psychologically it puts eating disorder patients in tons of distress most patients have a constant feeling of not being good enough, they feel as if they are an embarrassment to themselves their friends or family. Patients might suffer from extreme guilt. Eating disorders are extremely dangerous. Patients with anorexia have extreme health effects like severe brain damage, organ failure, bone loss heart palpitations, inferentially, and can lead to death. Patients with bulimia are at risk for heart difficulties, extreme weight loss, bone loss, and serve hydration. According to the National Eating Disorder Association on average People with eating disorders are half if not more than half the average weight for their height. Eating disorders can knock 15-20 years off of your life span. More statistics show that 10 million women suffer from anorexia or bulimia and 1 million men suffer from anorexia.

There are tons of ways to treat a eating disorders most of which helped patients suffering with eating disorders. One of the main treatments and most used is therapy having someone around to talk to about the issue how it started and how to conquer it. Group therapy sessions are also used a lot being surrounded by people with similar issues and talking through them and helping attack the issue. Another common treatment is being put on medication to help with anxiety and to help the patient realize they are beautiful no matter the weight or height.

Taking a slow and careful approach in treating an eating disorder is the best way to help the patient. Helping people with an eating disorder may seem difficult but is certainly not impossible. In order to help the patient you have to be able to talk Without saying anything to possibly trigger the patient into more distress but also being able to listen. Figuring out what type of treatments are best for that particular patient. Part of the cure is helping patients figure out how the disorder started and how to attack it and also helping the disorder from happening again.

Works Cited

www.cnn.com

https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/eating-disorder

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/eating.aspx

http://www.solutionsforeatingdisorders.com/

Abigail butler

Mrs. long

11-14-16

Page #1

Eating Disorders A Serious Issue

Eating disorders are a serious issue a lot of people have or have had effecting patients both mentally and physically. The issue of eating disorders matters because it causes extreme weight loss and depression leading to serious health risks. Many men and women suffer from either anorexia or bulimia. Anorexia can not only affect you mentally but can also do permanent damage to your body. With most eating disorders a lot of the problem starts in their head and is nothing more than the patient hating and wanting to change their physical appearance. The person thinks they are too fat and so they do a series of things to make themselves skinnier. Either for themselves or to please someone else.

Eating disorder can form in any stage of your life but usually appear in the teen years or early adulthood two main types of eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia two of the most dangerous eating disorders out there.  An eating disorder is an eating habit in which people use to make them look or feel prettier. Doing a series of things to make themselves skinnier. Anorexia, one of many eating disorders and one of the most dangerous one. People diagnosed with anorexia see themselves in the mirror as a heavier version of themselves and have a constant obsessive fear of being overweight. People with anorexia keep a strict diet of eating as little food as possible. Bulimia another very dangerous eating disorder involving severe binge eating, then excessive vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, or extreme exercise. Men and women with bulimia are unhappy with the way their body appearance is. This leads to a lack of control and shame. Both of these well-known eating disorders create severe injuries.

There are a ton of causes to an eating disorder, biological and psychological. Not only can a factor be psychological but can also have something to do with the environment they are surrounded by. Some of the biological factors are irregular hormones and nutritional deficiencies. Most of the psychological parts has a lot to do with poor self esteem. Environmental factors can be a dysfunctional family, issues with relationships, severe trauma, and also peer pressure into being skinny. These causes lead to serious risk and injuries caused by these eating disorders.

Eating disorders cause a lot of mental and physical problems leading to serious injuries.Psychologically it puts eating disorder patients in tons of distress most patients have a constant feeling of not being good enough, they feel as if they are an embarrassment to themselves their friends or family. Patients might suffer from extreme guilt. Eating disorders are extremely dangerous. Patients with anorexia have extreme health effects like severe brain damage, organ failure, bone loss heart palpitations, inferentially, and can lead to death. Patients with bulimia are at risk for heart difficulties, extreme weight loss, bone loss, and serve hydration. According to the National Eating Disorder Association on average People with eating disorders are half if not more than half the average weight for their height. Eating disorders can knock 15-20 years off of your life span. More statistics show that 10 million women suffer from anorexia or bulimia and 1 million men suffer from anorexia.

There are tons of ways to treat a eating disorders most of which helped patients suffering with eating disorders. One of the main treatments and most used is therapy having someone around to talk to about the issue how it started and how to conquer it. Group therapy sessions are also used a lot being surrounded by people with similar issues and talking through them and helping attack the issue. Another common treatment is being put on medication to help with anxiety and to help the patient realize they are beautiful no matter the weight or height.

Taking a slow and careful approach in treating an eating disorder is the best way to help the patient. Helping people with an eating disorder may seem difficult but is certainly not impossible. In order to help the patient you have to be able to talk Without saying anything to possibly trigger the patient into more distress but also being able to listen. Figuring out what type of treatments are best for that particular patient. Part of the cure is helping patients figure out how the disorder started and how to attack it and also helping the disorder from happening again.

Works Cited

www.cnn.com

https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/eating-disorder

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/eating.aspx

http://www.solutionsforeatingdisorders.com/

Internet Privacy and Security: A Relative Term in the Eyes of Others

Holly Vose

Internet Privacy and Security: A Relative Term in the Eyes of Others

Imagine you’re signing up for a cool new website. The process is free, and you just need to put in some personal information. You happily type in your information, and click submit. You think you’ve just signed up for this cool new website, but the truth is you’ve most likely just given a company access to your personal information. In addition, they can then sell this information to other third-party companies all over the globe. No one wants this, however it inevitably happens. As the world turns towards the digital age, we take security for granted.  It is not something many people think about, and it is becoming more of an issue. The idea of “internet privacy” is a deception that most people often fall for. The belief that you truly have all of your information privately secured away from hackers and other companies is just not true, no matter how secure it may seem.

Why is this becoming such an issue now?  It turns out the cause is mostly a result of personal experience. According to a report from National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce “Perhaps the most direct threat to maintaining consumer trust is negative personal experience. Nineteen percent of Internet-using households—representing nearly 19 million households—reported that they had been affected by an online security breach, identity theft, or similar malicious activity during the 12 months prior to the July 2015 survey.” There is no doubt this is a common issue among many people; 19 million households equate to just over 15% of all households in the US. The bigger issue is the fact people who experienced breaches or theft had not been online for some time, meaning information previously given had been stored for a long time. “Forty-five percent of online households reported that these concerns stopped them from conducting financial transactions, buying goods or services, posting on social networks, or expressing opinions on controversial or political issues via the Internet, and 30 percent refrained from at least two of these activities.” (NTIA). The effect of a security/privacy breach can be devastating. It was a big fear in the days leading up to the election.  According to the FBI, both Arizona and Illinois were suspected of having their central voting databases “probed” by hackers. Though it would not be the fault of the people both voting and hosting polling places, it could have skewed or altered data which could have affected the outcome of the election.

So what’s the cause? Who is behind these problems? Though it would be nice to pinpoint an exact source, unfortunately there are many, many different sources that can contribute o a breach. When people think of online breaches, they think of places overseas such as Ukraine or Nigeria. A typical red flag that tends to stand out in the eyes of the public is the US government.  The government has been involved in many online privacy issues, but according to a report done by CBS News, “Congressional investigators say a huge majority of federal Web sites fail to measure up to the Federal Trade Commission's standards for Internet privacy, including the FTC's own site.”  The FTC promotes standards that all online websites should follow in order to ensure maximum security of online privacy.  If these standards are not adhered to, they can result in the stealing of important information. Who exactly is affected by this? It is not just limited to the general public. In a report written by NC State University, “One of [Ohio State University’s] break ins allowed [a] criminal to get 137,000 social security numbers. At Georgia Tech an intruder was able to steal 57,000 credit card numbers. Something similar happened at University of Texas in Austin when someone broke [into] a server and got social security numbers and email addresses of more than 55,000 students, former students, and employees.” Schools are a huge target of this type of privacy breach, and it can affect thousands of people in a multitude of ways.  An example of this is credit card ratings. If people are putting charges under your social security number or credit card number, your credit rating goes down. This can ultimately affect your ability to get a job, own a house or car, or buy things using a credit card; the effect starts small and then grows into a much larger problem.

How could so many people be affected? Schools are just one example of large scale breaches. In 2013, Target experienced one of the worst security breaches in history; millions of credit card numbers and information were stolen through Target, which affected not only the customers whose information was stolen, but the whole ordeal ended up costing Target a total of $162 million. The interesting part of this case was the fact that the information stolen was not from online; it was through malware uploaded to Target’s Point-Of-Sale (POS) systems that tracked and received credit card information. This malware went undetected and was able to collect 70 million customer’ information before being uncovered. According to an article by US News, “So far [as of August of 2015], 505 data breaches have targeted businesses, government agencies and other institutions, exposing more than 139 million records, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.” Another example of this was the Ashley Madison website scandal where “The 30 million users of AshleyMadison.com thought they had some privacy – until hackers last week exposed their names, addresses and credit card payments.” (US News). The scale at which this information is exposed is terrifying, and many companies have implemented numerous methods of preventing hackers from being able to take people’s information.

With so many people becoming more trusting of the internet, there is reason for caution within websites. Personal information can become public information extremely quickly- and all because someone simply wanted to sign up for a website. Sure, there are some things that do still pose concerns and are not caught by online services that protect against malware, but given the way the world is going there are plenty of things to be done about it. Multiple companies, such as Verizon, have offered tips on keeping personal information and internet safe, including occasionally attempting to “attack your own network regularly to find holes in your security posture — preferably before the bad guys find and exploit the same flaws.” It is a dangerous, digital world we live in, and therefore we need to be more alert about online privacy and security than ever before.

Works Cited

Goldberg, Rafi. "Lack of Trust in Internet Privacy and Security May Deter Economic and Other Online Activities." Home Page. U.S. Department of Commerce, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Risen, Tom. "The Illusion of Online Privacy." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

"Web Privacy." Web Privacy. NC State University, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

@LifeHealthPro. "The 10 Most Expensive Data Breaches." LifeHealthPro: Life & Health Insurance News & Sales Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Sanger, David E. "Five Possible Hacks to Worry About Before Election Day." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Picture Link: https://www.fraudtechwire.com/how-do-security-breaches-affect-brand-reputation/

Bullying the Silent Killer

Author: Taylor Mancuso
 Essay topic: Bullying

You are sitting there crying in the corner nothing to say, nothing to do. You feel nothingness, isolated from the world. The sadness has overcome you. You do not trust anyone. What do you do? You are just a young naive kid just starting to enter the young-adult world. Nothing but loneiness. You wait and wait for someone to save you, but no one is ever there.

  I want people to see what bullying truly does to a person.  I believe bullying has awful effects on people and most times it goes unnoticed by parents, teachers, and even the persons friends.

These following reasons are why a specific group of kids are targeted, and the repercussions. The most targeted victims of bullying are, LGBTQ, Races, seen as a minority in the given environment, those with disabilites, and appearance, these students are being bullied because according to society they are the easiest targets. Bullying effects both the bully and the target of the bullying. “Those targeted are twice as likely as non-bullied peers to experience negative health effects such as headaches and stomachaches.”(Gini and Pozzoli, 2013). Most kids who are bullied usually are overcome with depression and they tend to isolate themselves. They believe that people are constantly out to get them. Most victims of bullying self-harm themselves in order to take away the pain, and most victims contemplate suicide as an option for stopping it all.

The statistics of bullying and how unnoticed it truly is, people need to know the large amounts of people bullying affects. Over 3.2 million people are victims of bullying each year. At least 160,000 students skip school everyday due to being bullied. “17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester.”(Valerie, Strauss. "New data on bullying: 17% report regular abuse." The Washington Post. Accessed February 10, 2014).Statistics surrounding the low percentage of how often it is noticed and an intervention instituted. One in four teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will involve themselves only 4% of the time.  Over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying. Students believe that adult help is ineffective and pointless.

The different types of bullying. Verbal, Physical, Cyber, Social and how the effect a person in different ways. The two main types in this day and age is Verbal and Cyber. Verbal bullying consists of name calling, taunting, and the spreading of rumors. Cyberbullying is a whole other story, it involves using the Internet, texting, email and other digital technologies to hurt others. This type of bullying is more widespread and devastating. It is also less controlled and most times out of the schools hands. With all the technology these days cyberbullying can become more anonymous and harder to track down, these kids think that just because they say stuff online that it doesn’t affect another person. My experience with bullying is one of thousands occurances that is causing awful pain and being completly ignored.

Take action by going on social media, newspapers, maybe radio stations, even do some public speaking in front of different schools to get the message across, about the real consequences of bullying. Talk about other people’s stories and how it affected them. Kids and teens don’t get the message when adults talk about it, they really get the message when someone their own ages start talking about it and explaining just how important it is and how it truly affects people. All of the reasons I talked about are more of the reasons to talk about bullying, always be kind to people and, constantly be aware of what is happening around it. Get people talking, tell people why bullying is such a bad thing a maybe, just maybe you could change someones life.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-8255
Available 24 hours everyday

Just know you are never alone!

Works Cited:

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/stats.asp

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-bullying

http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/facts-on-bullying.html

Hip-Hop and Rap Music is Hurting Teens

Author: Kendal Sund
Essay topic: Hip-Hop and Rap Music is Hurting Teens

Hip-Hop/Rap Music Negatively Impacting our Youth

According to the New York Times, teens listen to an average of 2.5 hours of music everyday. Studies have shown that music improves mood, decreases risk of depression and also releases dopamine, the chemical in your brain that makes you feel happy. So what is the problem then you might ask? The problem is nearly 80% of all music teenagers listen to on a daily basis contains references to substance abuse, alcohol abuse or explicit sexual behaviour. 65% of the music in question contains references to all three. A shocking statistic put out by ABC News states that not only do 77% of teens listen to the genre of Hip-Hop/Rap, but that 96% of this genre contains more than one reference to either substance or alcohol abuse! With the extreme frequency that this kind of music is exposed to our nation’s highly impressionable youth, their behaviour is being negatively influenced whether it be conscious to them or not.

Substance abuse has always been a critical issue that America and our world as a whole has struggled with for many years. CBS News conducted a survey focused on US teens, asking whether or not they had tried drugs or alcohol in their lifetime. 78% answered in the affirmative that they had in fact consumed alcohol in their lifetime, while 42% of those teens also have consumed illicit drugs such as but not limited to cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. By itself this number would leave most in awe, however when these modern day statistics are compared to the same question asked in 1980 the results are shocking. Since 1980, teen drug and alcohol use has risen nearly 25%. Another, extremely eye opening statistic put out by Complex. Music, is that Hip-Hop/Rap music has increased from 17% of all music heard by teens, to nearly 40% in the past 30 years. I find it very interesting that teen substance and alcohol abuse has increased hand in hand with the percentage of Hip-Hop/Rap music heard by today’s youth. Hip-Hop and Rap music is a direct cause of the hideous increase in drug use by teens that plagues our world today.

The world we live in today is a progressively more and more violent place. We live in a country divided by hatred, negativity, ignorance and politics. The terrible truth is that drugs and violence sells. Many artists and rappers have realized this and are quick to capitalize. Rappers such as 21 Savage, OFWGKTA and many more directly condone and promote violence, with lyrics telling stories of shootouts with police, gang violence and even rape. Music is so readily available to all, young and old, why would we expose our teens, or anyone for that matter, to even more violence in a world already set ablaze by burning hatred and negativity? Rap music promotes violence as a way to create a more masculine identity and gain respect from one’s peers. Unnecessary violence is never, and will never, be justifiable under any circumstances especially towards women and yet a majority of artists today feel it is perfectly fine to put these ideas in their work because “It’s just a song...” according to artist T.I. in a 2014 interview by All Hip Hop, when asked about some questionable lyrics on his songs.  Research by Violent Rhymes Blogs, has shown that 22 percent of rap music deals with violent and misogynistic lyrics.

An interesting case is that from 1994 in Milwaukee, where two 17 year olds shot a police officer with a long ranged rifle while he turned the corner is his car. Both teens had acquired an extensive lists of crimes over the years and when questioned about the murder, they stated a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, had inspired them to kill the innocent policeman. A week prior Tupac had been in the same city, rapping his songs and even at one point flashing a gun he was carrying in his waistband to the crowd of young fans. Over the years the popularity of rap music has exploded alongside that of teen substance abuse and violence amongst US citizens. Hip-Hop and Rap promotes ideas to our youth which they absorb, (knowingly or unknowingly) degrading and desensitizing them to very serious issues.

Hip-Hop and Rap might never lose its cult following of young and energetic teenagers, waiting tirelessly for the new Kodak Black album to release. However parents need to understand the risks associated with listening to these genres of music. We as a people need to educate our youth about the critical issues that are drugs and violence. We need to teach them how to grow up safe and with respect towards others so that when they come of age they can continue these teachings to their children and so on. If you do your part, you might just save someone in need.

The scary truth about this increase of violence and substance abuse in teens is unconsciously brought on by Hip-Hop/Rap music. Children and teens idolize these artists and rappers, modeling their behaviour after them whether it be negative or positive. Every time a new song is published with lyrics containing violence or substance and alcohol abuse it desensitizes our impressionable youth to the severe reality that plagues so many in their everyday lives.

Works Cited

"10 Things Rap Haters Say-And How to RespondSampling Is Cheap, Easy, and Essentially Just Stealing Someone Else's Music." Complex. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Parker-pope, Tara. "Under the Influence Of…Music?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Feb. 2008. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Preidt, Robert. "1 in 3 Hit Songs Mentions Substance Abuse, Smoking." ABC News. ABC News Network, 23 Mar. 1970. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

"Survey Reveals Shocking Levels of Teen Drinking, Drug Abuse." CBSNews. CBS Interactive. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

"Violence & Rap Music." Violence & Rap Music. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Body Image in Kids and Teens

Author: Jaidyn Mueller    Essay topic: Body Image

On November 5, 2016, I was babysitting for a coworker of my mom's. These children were fairly young. We were sitting at the table eating dinner, which was pizza. The older child, a boy at the age of 7, wasn’t eating all of his pizza. He had only 2 slices on his plate that were about ½ of the size of a normal price of pizza. The little boy looked at me and said, “I don't want this, it's not in my diet.” when I asked him why he felt that he had to be on a diet he said, “because I'm fat.” But there was a problem, this little boy was far from fat. He is thin and fairly tall. But still, “80% of children who are 10 years old are afraid of being fat (Armstrong).” This can be caused by many reasons.

Being involved in sports is great for you as a whole. You get to be in shape, make new friends, compete, and have fun. Occasionally there are cons to being in a sport. In sports you are encouraged to be thin, or be at a specific weight. If you are not at that weight, or don't have the exact body type, it can make athletes feel self conscious and will cause devoted athletes to take any measure to look how they need to look. “Dancers are one such example. Ballet dancers must meet strict requirements for weight and body shape and therefore they think about how they appear. The current ideal body is one that is long and lean. Dancers, therefore, do everything possible to look long and lean. Garner and others reported that 25% of 35 professional ballet students in the Canadian Ballet School had developed anorexia nervosa and 14% had developed bulimia nervosa (Casper, Reed).” Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder where you refuse to eat, and Bulimia Nervosa is also an eating disorder where you overeat, this is then followed it fasting, self-induced vomiting, and depression. “Although the stronger, more muscular body can facilitate sport performance, some female athletes feel that it is a disadvantage with regard to attaining/maintaining society’s thin ideal (Thompson).” ”Research indicates that female athletes in judged sports have a 13 percent prevalence of eating disorders, compared to just 3 percent in the general population (Staff of Timberline Knolls).”

Nowadays most kids and teens have access to the internet, social media, and magazines. They are constantly exposed to seeing the stick thin models with the makeup that has been caked on like they are barbie dolls. These models are being admired by kids and teens. They are considered “beautiful.” This not only makes kids and teens that are at a healthy weight feel inferior to them, but it also makes kids and teens unhappy with their own body.  “Of American elementary school girls who read magazines, 69% say that the pictures influence their concept of the ideal body shape. 47% say the pictures make them want to lose weight ("Get The Facts On Eating Disorders." NEDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.).” Models on social media and magazines also have a larger effect on teenagers. “69% of girls in 5th – 12th grades reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape (Strickland)”

As a kid and teen, no matter what school you go to, there is always going to be bullying and judgement. Whether it's on the clothes you wear, or the color of your skin. This has a large effect on kids and teens self esteem and body image. “The reasons for being bullied reported most often by students were looks (55%), body shape (37%), and race (16%). ("Bullying Statistics." PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. N.p., 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.)” For some reason kids and teens still think it is okay to put others down to make them feel higher. Just because a student doesn't look or act the same as them. “84% of students observed students perceived as overweight being called names or getting teased during physical activities. ("Bullying Statistics." PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. N.p., 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.)” “90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying. ("11 Facts About Bullying." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.)” These statistics show that kids and teens not only think bullying is okay, but they also think that it is fun.

Negative body image can cause major issues and habits that are harmful to your health. Having a negative body image can lead to eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. This is very dangerous to your health. “This can lead to muscle loss and weakness, high or low blood pressure, reduction of bone density, heart and kidney failure, and even in extreme case, death. ("Health Consequences of Eating Disorders." NEDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.)”  “Among high school students, 44% of girls and 15% of guys are attempting to lose weight. ("11 Facts About Teens and Self Esteem." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.)” Not only does it cause dangerous eating habits, but it also contributes to depression. “Depression increases a teen’s risk for attempting suicide by 12 times. ("Teen Depression." I Need A LightHouse. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.)” “30 percent of teens with depression also develop a substance abuse problem. ("Teen Depression." I Need A LightHouse. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.)”

All in all many factors affect a kids and teens body image. From the models in magazines, to the judgement at their own schools. Kids are unable to be comfortable and confident with themselves.

1. Armstrong, Stephanie J. "Statistics on Body Image, Self Esteem & Parental Influence." Heart of Leadership. N.p., 5 June 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
2. Caper, Regina C., and Ellen Reed. "Statistics on Body Image, Self Esteem & Parental Influence." Body- and Self-Image in College Athletes. N.p., 1998. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
3. Thompson, Ron A. "Athletes and Body Image Issues." Eating Disorder Hope. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
4. Staff of Timberline Knolls. "Girls Gymnastics: When a Bright Spotlight Casts a Dark Shadow." Eating Disorder Hope. N.p., 8 July 2012. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
5. Strickland, Jennifer. "Self Image/Media Influences." Just Say Yes. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
6. "Get The Facts On Eating Disorders." NEDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.

"Bullying Statistics." PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. N.p., 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.