Filtering by
- All Subjects: Social Media
- All Subjects: engineering
- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
A brief history of the Mediterranean diet and its geographical origins as a meeting point for cultures will guide understanding of the construction of this specific dietary pattern. The nutrients and foods typical of the Mediterranean diet will be outlined as well as their health benefits, allowing for a deeper analysis of the ways in which the Mediterranean diet is associated with reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases. The lifestyle choices and physical activity practiced adjacently to the diet will establish the positive synergistic effects of conviviality and moderate exercise on general human health. Contemporary movements in the Mediterranean region, like Slow Foods, aim to preserve traditional dietary and lifestyle choices. In comparison, the U.S. food system seems to be most shaped by the influences of globalization and industrialization. Economic and health-cost perspectives as well as the role of modern-day media in diet trends, body image, and food marketing will establish and deepen the complexities of food choices and health disparities in Western societies. The diagnosis of the Mediterranean Diet in the U.S. as a solution to poor general population health will be challenged and holistic perspectives on eating will provide an exploratory lens for understanding health and food choice as a modern-day consumer.
Social media has become a prominent part of people’s life worldwide. It allows for easy communication and connection between family, friends, and even complete strangers. It has provided for an increased global interconnectedness and allows people to form new relationships. Despite these positives, there are also negative effects of social media, including its danger to mental health. With increased social media use, it is possible to develop an addiction, similar to any substance addiction. People may also experience various mental health disorders, like depression and anxiety disorders. The purpose of this review was to identify a clear relationship between social media use and the development of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders is a general term, encompassing the different types, but the main types focused on in this review are generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety. This review also incorporates information on age in order to clarify if certain age groups are more affected by social media use than others.
This study aimed to see how social media influences parents’ decisions to have their child(ren) vaccinated against the yearly influenza season. The literature review outlined the risks of influenza for children, the use of social media, and influenza vaccination rates. A survey was conducted to assess parents’ frequency of social media use, the information they saw about influenza and its vaccine on social media, their concerns about the influenza vaccine, and how social media influenced their decision-making to vaccinate their child(ren) against this virus. Overall, the sample population did not believe that social media platforms influenced their decision to vaccinate their children for the seasonal influenza. However, the data was insufficient to provide meaningful conclusions on whether there was a significant association between social media use and its influence on parental decisions about the influenza vaccine. Furthermore, data about the poor reliability of health information on social media platforms and the importance of the influenza vaccine was found in this study. Limitations of the study included responses from individuals with advanced educational levels and a background in the health sciences. This may have resulted in a pro-vaccine bias that would affect the results. Lastly, due to the small sample size, we only report preliminary findings for this topic. Future research should be conducted using a large and diverse sample to study the association between the use of specific social media platforms and its influence on parental decisions for influenza vaccine uptake.
Influencer culture has, within the last few decades, evolved into a distinguishable subset of social media, as well as the entertainment and business worlds. This project seeks to highlight core aspects of what makes an influencer and what distinguishes the role from traditional celebrities through the experience and thoughts of Hannah Palmer, an influencer most popular on Instagram in the fashion and lifestyle market. Using her as a case study, this project seeks to analyze how Hannah exists in the culture and the unique approach to the culture that she takes. The core concepts Hannah interacts with, as most influencers do, include self-branding, parasocial relationships and communication, the concept of authenticity, the role of labor (both aspirational and invisible), and gender dynamics of the entertainment industry.