A WSU professor conducted several studies focused on the impacts of social media on adolescents and young adults, and found a connection between excessive social media use, and anxiety and depression in certain people.
Chris Barry, an associate professor of psychology, organized a study where both parents and adolescents reported the adolescent’s social media activity. In addition, the adolescents reported on their self-worth and the parents reported on the child’s behavioral and attention problems, anxiety and depression. Barry said the most interesting finding from this study was that parents who reported their teens had a high number of social media applications also reported they had higher levels of anxiety and depression. However, this was only true when the teen had fear of missing out, or FOMO. If the teen had several social media accounts, but didn’t have a high level of FOMO, they usually didn’t experience increased levels of anxiety or depression. Likewise, high FOMO and a low number of social media accounts didn’t result in heightened levels of anxiety or depression. “There’s something about not just being on it,” Barry said. “Lots of people are on it. It’s how you sort of attach stress about belongingness or being connected to other people. Social media, for some people who really don’t want to miss out, or don’t want to be left out, can be a stressful thing.” Barry said without that attachment of stress, social media doesn’t seem to affect levels of anxiety or depression. He found the same results for loneliness. He said lonely teens who were active on social media had higher levels of anxiety and depression, while teens who remained inactive did not experience those same symptoms. Barry said feelings of isolation can cause people to drift toward social media, but then it becomes stressful. Teens active on social media can become lonely after seeing images of other people enjoying their lives. Barry said social media becomes problematic when users place too much importance on it, especially if they value it more than interpersonal interactions. “It’s really not [that] social media’s bad,” Barry said. “It’s about how people interact with it.” Barry discouraged attributing too much merit to social media, especially how many likes a post gets, as likes can be disingenuous. “I’ve watched [my high-school aged nieces] on their Instagram, and they like everything,” Barry said. “It doesn’t mean anything — they just like everything.” Social media doesn’t seem to affect self-esteem, he said. Posts on social media aren’t a clear representation of a person’s self-perception. There are reasons people create posts that have nothing to do with self-image, such as events or posts about their followers. “Self-esteem didn’t really do a whole lot [for the results],” Barry said. “Someone’s self-esteem is just sort of how they evaluate themselves. It’s not really as caught up in how other people praise them or insult them like narcissism is.” Barry said narcissism — the belief that you’re better than other people — played a role in whether people posted a high number of selfies, but only if they had a substantial number of followers. He said that because they have many followers, they know they may get a lot of likes or positive feedback on their post, which motivates them to create the post. Barry said people who were narcissistic, but had fewer followers, posted fewer selfies. Having fewer followers meant fewer likes, which made people less motivated to post. “It’s not even about what the image looks like,” Barry said. “It really is about that interface between post and audience.” Social media posts aren’t necessarily a clear reflection of the user’s personality, he said. “People’s social media posts have a lot behind them,” Barry said. “It’s not just a window into personality.” Social media can sometimes have a positive impact on health, Barry added, because social media is sometimes used to promote health-related messages.
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Pups & Cups Dog Cafe will host a Cup Decorating Extravaganza on Saturday, where students and their moms can create something concrete to take home from the Palouse.
The event costs $25 and owner CJ Robert said this purchases a 16-ounce coffee cup, a chocolate-covered spoon and a pack of Thomas Sawyer coffee. She said an additional mug can be purchased for $5. Robert said attendees will use oil-based markers to decorate, because this allows the art to last on the cup after it’s baked. Participants will bake their cup at home, she said, and will be given instructions on how to properly do this. After that, the cup will be both dishwasher and microwave safe. They will display Pinterest inspiration for decoration ideas, Robert said, and some will include memes. An example she gave of a meme, which also adorns the shop walls, is “Coffee: Because anger management is too expensive.” Robert said she wanted to hold this event to offer a hands-on activity during Mom’s Weekend. She said she remembers doing this type of craft with her mom, despite her not having much of a talent for it. “My mom is like the least artistic person ever,” Robert said with a laugh. General manager Steven Mislosky said Robert and her mother have embraced their creative side to make unique cups for the cafe. “They’re the ones who did a lot of our mugs,” Mislosky said. “Almost all the mugs in the entire shop are all hand-decorated.” Robert said opening the Cougar Entertainment Center also helped her grow her creativeness, because she painted things for the laser tag and mini golf areas. Mislosky said they wanted to host an event that would be very inclusive, something he said is lacking during Mom’s Weekend. “We’ve noticed, especially around Pullman, that a lot of Mom’s Weekend events are geared toward or focused [on] sorority events, or fraternity,” Mislosky said. “We wanted to have an event where everybody is welcome, that you don’t have to be affiliated with any organization to be able to participate.” Robert said she hopes the event will attract moms to downtown Pullman, to really see what Pullman has to offer. She requests that anyone who wants to attend call the shop to reserve a spot, to ensure they have enough materials for everyone. Mislosky said they will have live acoustic music from 3-7 p.m. If weather permits, one musician will play outside and one inside. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Pups & Cups Dog Cafe. WSU’s Hospitality Business Management Organization is hosting the 34th annual Winefest to promote Washington wineries and students in the viticulture major.
Organization adviser Jenni Sandstrom said eight to 10 wineries will pour their current wines for attendees to taste. They can try a few samples, eat some food and listen to music. Several WSU students are coming together to perform the music for the event, said Nicholas Fairchild, a senior hospitality business management major and event coordinator. “It’s a couple friends of mine,” he said. “It’s just kind of a trio that’s getting together, they don’t have an official name.” Fairchild had his friend Bougie Main, a Seattle rapper, create the poster for the event. Sandstrom said the organization sends invitations to wineries asking them to participate in the event. She said they target wines by Cougs and Washington wineries. Fairchild said his educational background prepared him for planning this event, and it is helping him move toward his career goals. “I’ve studied abroad in Italy and France, studying wine and food pairing,” he said. “So this is kind of the direction I’m going in, working with wine and running events.” Fairchild said this event raises money to help cover costs for students to attend a hotel conference in New York City. “It’s an excellent conference to kind of see about how the industry is changing,” said Fairchild, who went to the conference last fall. “A lot of people are showcasing new technology, and there’s a couple different panels you get to listen to.” Sandstrom said she enjoys trying wines from different regions and experimenting with food pairings. She said she appreciates that no matter how much she researches wine, there’s always more to learn. “It’s so diverse, you can’t ever get to the bottom of it,” Sandstrom said. “Every time you taste a glass of wine it’s different.” The first tasting event will take place from 5-7 p.m. today, and the second from 8-10 p.m. in the Marriott Foundation Teaching Center in Todd Hall Addition, Room 268. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 at the door, and can be purchased online at winefest.wsu.edu. Fairchild said they are close to selling out. The event is for those 21 and older. Despite this week’s snowfall, spring officially sprung on March 20. The season can be an exciting time for some people. The weather gets warmer, summer plans and graduation creep closer and flowers and plants of all colors are blooming.
However, for other people, the blooming season in Pullman can cause allergies. Lisa Morse, a pharmacist at the Palouse Mall’s Rite Aid Pharmacy, said allergies can get worse for some people during the spring because of flowers, shrubs and grasses. She said this is because some people are more receptive to histamines in the air. This susceptibility can be as unique as a person’s fingerprints. According to the Healthline website, histamines are chemicals found in the human body that have several important functions. Their duties include acting as a neurotransmitter and sending messages to the brain. They also help digest food and are part of the immune system’s response when the body experiences an injury or allergic reaction. Although histamines are necessary to the functions and health of the body, it’s possible for too many to build up and result in histamine intolerance. Symptoms can be similar to the ones associated with allergies, but can also include headaches, fatigue, hives, digestive problems, irregular menstrual cycles, nausea and vomiting. According to the Diagnosis:Diet website, what you eat can also affect how your body responds to histamines. The website states that histamines are present in aged, fermented, cured, cultured and smoked food. The website noted this includes aged beef, ripe cheese and red wine. Morse said the most common symptoms of allergies are a stuffy or runny nose, and red or runny eyes. Troy Cole, a pharmacy intern at Shopko Pullman Pharmacy, said other symptoms include swelling of the face or lips and rashes. Allergies can be treated without a prescription. Morse said nasal spray, which required a prescription until recently, may provide some relief. She said there are several over-the-counter options for treating allergy symptoms, but she recommended a non-sedating antihistamine, like Allegra, Zyrtec or Claritin. Non-sedating can be a better option for many people, including busy college students, because it won’t cause drowsiness. She said Benadryl is effective, but can make users tired. Morse said although most spring allergies come from the outdoors, it’s important to monitor the indoor environment as well, since dust or pets can cause allergic reactions. Cole said many people are also allergic to plants and pollens, as well as nuts and clothing. For those wishing to get their early flower fix this spring, one Pullman business that will be flower-filled is Stratton Cutting Garden.
Jane Stratton, who owns the garden, said daffodils and tulips usually start blooming first. She predicts these flowers will begin to fill her garden at the end of April, while other species will appear June to September. This means any student who is leaving for the summer may have to wait until they return in August to see the garden in full bloom. Stratton said she has been raising flowers since 1986. She started out by working with what she called “dry flowers,” which she described as flowers that are hung upside down to dry after being cut and can therefore last forever. She said she would arrange them in bouquets. For anyone interested in gardening, Stratton recommends reading about what will grow well in the area. She said it’s helpful to start with a small garden and then add to it. Stratton said her favorite kind of flower varies from season to season. For the springtime, she said she enjoys planting peonies, but when fall comes around she makes room in her garden for sunflowers. “We can grow a wide variety of flowers here on the Palouse,” Stratton said. She grows 150 varieties. Her favorite part about running the business, she said, is seeing people come out and enjoy picking the flowers. For $8, pickers can fill a children’s sand bucket of flowers, which Stratton said is enough to make a couple of bouquets. Customers usually pick flowers for themselves, but she said they can do it for the disabled or people who otherwise can’t pick them. When the ground freezes and the flowers die, Stratton Cutting Garden shifts to selling pumpkins. Stratton said the pumpkins are usually planted in May and sold in October. College students, and young people in general, may scoff at gardening as a hobby reserved for the older crowd. But according to an article on Greatist, “Garden to Improve Mental Health,” planting a garden can be good for lowering cortisol and therefore stress levels. Planting vegetables likely increases the grower’s exposure to the food, which makes them more likely to eat vegetables. According to the article, those who grow food organically are reducing their exposure to pesticides. It also said homegrown food can potentially yield a higher nutrient content. According to the article, gardening can also reduce the severity of depression. Stratton Cutting Garden is located at 1653 Old Moscow Rd, Pullman and can be reached at (509) 332-2306. Beer lovers and runners can rejoice — Mark Tolman of Paradise Creek Brewery created a club that combines the two.
Because WSU will be on spring break, the Taproom Trail Runners’ first run will be unofficial. Tolman said the break poses some limitations and they don’t want to launch the group on a date when so many members are unavailable. He said the idea of the group is to go on a collective run and then reunite at the taproom to share a beer together. Logistical aspects of the club may change as time goes on, including the distance and times of each run. “It’s going to be an organic first few runs,” Tolman said, “where we figure what the personality of the group is [and] what people are running distance-wise. I don’t want to set a time, necessarily. That’s just too far beyond what people are gonna want to stick around for.” Tolman said he considered setting up time suggestions, as opposed to distance, for the runners. “That was my feeling,” he said. “To try and [organize] something that we come back together at roughly the same time.” Jesse Clark, a member with experience in the beer industry, lobbied for a distance suggestion instead of a certain time frame. He said this would allow people to run at their own pace, and would be easier on the bartenders at the taproom. “When everybody comes back at once,” Clark noted, “it bum-rushes the taproom.” Dogs were present at the meeting and the club discussed including them on the runs. Some are drawn to the club because they can run with their dogs, member Matt Mietchen said. He said his friends and colleagues seemed hesitant to join the club, but were much more interested when he mentioned a potential dog route. However, not all members shared interest in dogs joining the runs. “I personally would rather not emphasize the dog thing,” member Joe Hewa said. “I hate running with dogs.” Tolman said he hopes the trails selected will be conducive for members to run with their dogs without posing problems to others, though he understands why the idea could make some uncomfortable. Members are looking into the possibility of food trucks hosted outside the taproom on meeting nights for any hungry runners. Though Pullman is a small community, Tolman said he hopes the run club attracts many members. Some suggested creating T-shirts and a reward system. Tolman said he wants anyone to feel comfortable joining, regardless of their running abilities. Members will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Monday evenings at the Paradise Creek Brewery Trailside Taproom. The group has met the past two Mondays to hash out a plan for the club. The first unofficial run will take place Monday, and the first official run will be the following Monday, March 19. “The key is beer, not the running,” Tolman said. “Your pace, or how fast you are, or all that stuff, is a personal choice.” Dogs get sick with many of the same illnesses that affect people, including mental disorders. A pet’s illness can then cause chaos in an owner’s life.
Phyllis Erdman, professor of counseling psychology, was a former chairperson of the American Psychological Association’s Human-Animal Interaction section. She said a dog’s illness can affect an owner even more than if a family member gets sick because of how often the dog and owner interact. Clinical Instructor Leticia Fanucchi runs WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital behavioral specialty and said her job involves behavior medicine and treating behavior cases in dogs. She works with dogs suffering from mental disorders and their owners. She said owning a dog with a mental disorder can have a negative impact on an owner’s life because it can cause environmental changes and disruptions in family relationships. Fanucchi was inspired by her own dog to get into this line of work. “I had [a] dog that had separation anxiety and there was no help,” Fanucchi said. “There were not too many behaviorists available.” Fanucchi said she’s encountered couples with marital issues resulting from their dog’s mental disorders. She said this can happen when one person favors the pet or excuses its bad behavior. Another issue people experience with their dog is biting, especially if it bites a child. Fanucchi said some owners decide to rehome or euthanize their dog if they bite a child, which results in emotional distress for the person who has to make that decision. Fanucchi said she has clients who have been hospitalized due to bites from their pet, but still can’t find it in their heart to let the pet go. Fanucchi discussed dogs having conflicts with owners, but also instances where conflict occurs with other animals. She said owners can experience stress if they have multiple pets who fight often and have to be split up. Owners may be put into a position of choosing one pet instead of another. Fanucchi said this is particularly difficult if there are multiple owners and they favor different pets. If problems persist and owners have to get rid of their pet, they may feel grief. Erdman said she noticed that a person with a sick or recently deceased pet feels disenfranchised because some people don’t understand their grief is the same as when a family member is ill. Before rehoming a pet, owners may seek treatment of both the dog’s mental disorder and poor behavioral patterns. Fanucchi said treatment for behavior improvement includes three components: behavior modification, where bad behavior is trained to be replaced with good behavior; environmental management, where the dog’s environment can be altered to ensure it’s appropriate and promoting of the dog’s success; and, if necessary, giving an especially anxious animal medicine. “If we don’t treat the anxiety, we don’t see progress in anything else,” Fanucchi said. “We can fix the environment, we can teach them to do something different, but if their brains are not equipped to do that, then no amount of training will fix a dog that has a mental disorder.” Fanucchi said treatment starts with a two-hour consultation between her, the owner and the dog. They go over a 10-page questionnaire, which she uses to help her understand what is going on. The next step is diagnosing the dog, recommending treatment and teaching the owner how to train the dog. She then schedules a second appointment to see if the treatment seems effective or needs to be adjusted. She said these two appointments are normally enough, but sometimes it takes more. “What we do is … fix the human-animal bond,” Fanucchi said, “by working with the humans in order to treat the pets.” In 1912, students created an organization meant to represent a unified vision for women at WSU. Originally called the Association for Women Students, the name changed in 1993 in order to represent the different student groups involved.
Since then, the Coalition for Women Students has developed into a sprawling campus organization, which now includes six other campus groups. According to the coalition’s website, the Association for Pacific and Asian Women, Black Women’s Caucus, Men for Social Change, Mujeres Unidas, the Native American Women’s Association and the Young Women’s Christian Association of WSU make up the coalition. They also financially support the Women’s Transit Program and the Leadership Summer Institute. Coalition Chair Elsie Cree, a senior majoring in elementary education, said she wanted her current position before even attending WSU, though she’ll have to relinquish it in May when someone else is elected. Cree said the coalition chair changes every year. That makes it hard for the chairs to know what they should be doing, but she tries to make what she does for the coalition more personal. She said she was drawn to WSU because it has a Native American Women’s Association, which she said isn’t common. “It creates a space for Native American women, specifically here at WSU,” Cree said. “I only knew other Natives [growing up] and I was nervous going into higher education because I didn’t know if I could find that somewhere.” March has been National Women’s History Month since 1987, so Cree and the six organizations that make up the coalition have been busy planning and producing events. Cree said the events began on Feb. 26 and will continue over the next few weeks. Each organization is responsible for planning their own events, Cree said, and she lets people choose what they want to do. Cree said last week the YWCA hosted an event called “Her Story,” during which they brought in speakers meant to empower women. The Native American Women’s Association held a talking circle to help encourage self-care. Cree said last Friday the Association for Pacific and Asian Women had an event for women in higher education. “[The coalition] does target a lot of women of color,” Cree said. “I [think] they often feel like they’re not supported in higher education.” Cree said the Native American Women’s Association and the Black Women’s Caucus are having a women of color in higher education workshop, where women will be encouraged to speak to each other about ongoing issues. Cree said Mujeres Unidas is showing the movie Dolores from 6-8 p.m. March 8th in Butch’s Den. This week, Men for Social Change are arranging a feminine product drive, Cree said. The coalition is tabling today, Wednesday and Thursday in the CUB to advertise the upcoming International Women’s Day events. At the tabling there will be a bulletin board with the words “I am woman.” Cree said she hopes everyone will take a Polaroid photo in front of the board and write what they think is powerful about being a woman. According to the coalition’s website, other events celebrating March will include Women’s Safety on Campus, a talk given by Administrative Sergeant Dawn Daniels from 4-5 p.m. Tuesday in the International Student Center, Room L46. There will also be the Women’s Art Show: Press for Progress, which will display local art from noon-3 p.m. Thursday in the Women’s Center on the ground floor of Wilson-Short Hall. The Coalition for Women Students is a registered student organization and is located in the Women’s Resource Center. The Naughty Dog Coffee Shop, which closed multiple times within the past couple weeks for logistical reasons, has reopened under new ownership as Pups and Cups Dog Cafe.
CJ Robert, who now owns the café with her husband Quincy, said the name change was the result of questions and concerns from community members who didn’t understand the word “naughty” described a misbehaved dog, and thought the name implied the shop used bikini baristas. CJ, who also co-owns the Cougar Entertainment Center with her husband, said the complaints began before the shop’s original opening in November. One day, while painting the interior, she said, “A lady comes in, like barges in and she [says] ‘I need to speak to the manager.’ ” After introducing herself as the manager, CJ Robert said the woman told her a bikini barista shop was “completely inappropriate for the area.” CJ Robert plans to maintain the shop as it was before, though she changed the name to add clarity. She will also include more gluten-free options on the menu and decorate with more local art. She said encouraging others to live a healthy lifestyle is important to her, which is why she wants to make sure the menu offers alternative options. She wants to keep the original themes of “naughty” and humor. She said one way she plans to do this is with humorous wall decor, like paintings of dogs and ironic phrases. The goal is to add personality without disrupting the conversation in the shop. Pups and Cups embraces constant collaboration with other local businesses, she said. For instance, the shop’s tea is supplied by Craig Brown, owner of SAM’s Apothecary. “The tea variety here seems to be a huge hit,” Brown said. “People come in,” Robert added, “and they’re like, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever been able to even drink tea without having any sweetener.’” Robert said she believes this is because of the shop’s brewing methods. Brown said he values the connections he makes with local businesses, which is why he offered his tea to Pups and Cups. Steven Mislosky, who was involved in developing the original concept of the store in May, recently came back on as Pups and Cups’ general manager. In addition to the tea selection, CJ said the shop is the only place in Pullman where customers can get coffee from Spokane brewer Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer black coffee will come from a different country each month. The coffee for March is from Columbia. “He won’t let any other person in Pullman now ever have his coffee,” CJ Robert said. Sawyer’s handprint is painted on the wall behind the register, along with the handprints of everyone else who helped develop the coffee shop over the past few months. CJ Robert said she wanted to include local art that would represent some of the assistance she received from community members. She said she hopes to start a mug club. If she does, customers who purchase a mug from Pups and Cups, and then bring the mug back when they buy a drink, will receive a discount. The concept of the original Naughty Dog was to be completely pet-friendly, and CJ Robert said under their ownership it will remain so. She said she is heavily involved with Pullman 2040, an initiative by the Pullman Chamber of Commerce and City Council to plan Pullman’s future in the year 2040. CJ Robert said an important aspect of the initiative is making downtown more vibrant. This was a key factor in her decision to open the shop downtown. “You sit here now and you just see empty business after empty business as you’re walking by,” she said. “We want to drum up the number of people walking.” She said she hopes more restaurants and businesses choose to come to the vacant areas. CJ Robert acknowledged running a business is hard work, but described herself as a “workaholic” who is up for the challenge. “I like working 12 hours a day, six days a week,” she said. Pups and Cups Dog Cafe is open from 12 p.m. – 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Being single on Valentine’s Day can feel like walking around with a bull’s-eye on your back. Even grocery stores seem to mock you, with at least one aisle dedicated to Valentine’s Day since New Year’s. But if you can look past the unfriendly reminders of your loneliness, you may find a potential cure hidden in the pink and red depths: chocolate.
Julie Keller, a nutritionist at Health & Wellness Services, said biting into a piece of chocolate triggers the release of serotonin, a happiness hormone that can also block out pain. The same hormone causes runner’s high, a release of endorphins that gives a calm or happy feeling when you continue to run after your body starts to feel sore and tired. According to an article posted on Martha Stewart’s website, a good kiss also results in heightened serotonin levels. Basically, your body will end up feeling the same way if you spend your day eating chocolate instead of kissing somebody, so really there’s no need to sweat being single. Not to mention, kissing on Valentine’s Day involves the swapping of germs during flu season. So choosing chocolate kisses over real kisses could save you from getting sick, and you’ll feel even better. Keller said the darker the chocolate, the healthier it is. She warned darker chocolate tends to be bitterer, which can be divisive among chocolate lovers. According to a post from Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health Blog, part of the reason darker chocolate is healthier is because it contains more flavanols, which are nutrients found in plants. The first benefit the blog states is that flavanols can improve memory. So chow down, and hope it helps you remember all your great character traits and how there’s nothing wrong with you for being single. The blog adds that there are also flavanols in red wine, which just so happens to pair well with chocolate. Flavanols can be destroyed in the chocolate production process, according to the blog, and the exact amount present can vary by manufacturer. Keller said the flavanols in chocolate help fight cancer, and that this ingredient can aid in keeping your brain healthy as you age. She said some research shows flavanols protect your heart. When asked for clarification, Keller said she meant flavanols possibly protect from heart disease, not from heartache or break. If you want to really treat yourself, ditch the cheap grocery store chocolate and swing by Palouse Country Candy. Owner Pam Dabolt said the chocolate she sells is made from a better part of the cocoa bean. It is mixed for longer, which gives it a creamier taste, and she said the higher cocoa content also makes it taste richer. Sadly, Keller didn’t recommend binge-eating chocolate. She said the health benefits peak at consuming an ounce a day, and eating too much is unhealthy. Keller concluded by saying she loves chocolate and is happy it is at least somewhat healthy. In other good news, Valentine’s Day chocolate may be sold at discounted prices starting Feb. 15. This means you can get that serotonin boost and save money. Or forget saving money, buy three times the chocolate you normally would and really reap those serotonin benefits. |
AuthorThis section is a sample of some articles and columns I have written. They showcase my ability as a writer and my understanding of AP style. The majority of these pieces were also published in the Daily Evergreen-the student newspaper at Washington State University. Archives
April 2018
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