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"In cultural studies, agency refers to a given subject’s ability to have social impact. One’s agency is one’s social power, the capacity of an individual to act independently and to make (relatively) free choices. Agency is always performed in relation to social structures that limit and shape the potential power of any individual subject. Debates about the relative power of social structure versus personal choice are at least as old as theological debates about the relation between “free will” (agency) and “determinism” (control from outside the person)."

--T.V. Reed from Digitized Lives

Citation: Reed, T. V. (2014). Digitized lives: Culture, power and social change in the Internet era.

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Mental health has more recently been an important topic for me. There are many people around the world who are struggling silently. One excellent way that new media has helped people who find themselves feeling hopeless, anxious, or depressed is online counseling. This website lists a few of the best online therapy services. These companies link you with mental health professionals that can support you via an online therapy experience.

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Compare the best online therapy services based on our detailed research and analysis. See how the leading brands differ on pricing, features and other essential factors before you choose the right online therapy site for your needs.

Top Online Therapy Providers
Most Popular Therapy Service

Unlimited sessions with a dedicated professional therapist

Therapy by phone, chat, video and messaging

Convenient and affordable

Get matched to a therapist who fits your needs

Specializes in Christian counseling

All therapists fully licensed and self-identify as Christian

Sessions via phone, video, chat and messaging

Specializes in relationship counseling

Therapy by phone, chat, video and message board

All therapists are licensed and experienced

All therapists are licensed and background-checked

Therapy by text, video and audio message

Specializing in counseling teens (13-19 years old)

All therapists are licensed and experienced

Therapy by text, phone, chat and video

HIPAA compliant

An Overview of Online Therapy

Online therapy, the digital-age version of counseling services is a more affordable, convenient and discrete method of receiving therapy. Several years ago, a few pioneers saw a large opportunity in the mental health industry. They noticed that millions of people were living without access to professional help. They also understood that more and more physical services were being replaced with digital alternatives that can save time for customers. So, these innovators decided to create online therapy platforms, which essentially connect certified psychologists and people suffering from mental health issues such as depression, stress and anxiety, among dozens of other clinically defined disorders.

While the online therapy industry is still in its early years, as it currently stands, there is no shortage of online therapy providers available to people looking for professional help. There are close to a dozen services, each offering it's own unique set of features that appeal to the needs of different types of patients. The number of providers will only grow as the demand increases over time. Therefore, we have evaluated each of the major online therapy brands, outlining all of the pertinent information one needs to make an informed decision

Main Benefits of Using Online Therapy and Counseling Services

Many believe that online therapy should not replace in-office therapy. Rather, it should complement your traditional therapy sessions, as online therapy offers a range of benefits to users. Others however, including thousands of satisfied customers already using online counseling services, boast that that level of connection they are able to make with their therapists online make in-person therapy unnecessary. Some of the most common benefits associated with online therapy are:

No Boundaries: With online counseling, there is no longer a need to seek out help within your city limits. You have the ability to connect with a psychologist that's not in your area. Best of all, should you not click with your therapist, you have the option to change therapists.

Efficiency: If you're working full-time, chances are you have very little personal time set aside. With online therapy, you can receive help 24/7, or while you are on-the-go.

Communication Channels: Gone are the days of having to set pre-arranged appointments and then receiving therapy in person. Online therapy enables you to open your therapy app and get help right away. This includes SMS/chat, video, and phone therapy options.

Stigmas: Oftentimes people don't set therapy appointments due to the stigma surrounding therapy. In fact, some people who do in fact set appointments won't show up for their session due to this unfortunate stigmatization of therapy. With online therapy, that stigma is gone.

Privacy/Confidentiality: Using online therapy provides users with complete privacy and confidentiality. For starters, therapists on the platforms are bound by strict local and federal laws, as is the case with their brick and mortar business. Your therapy sessions are protected by HIPAA. Furthermore, your chat sessions are also secured by various bank-grade encryption levels, which only you and your therapist can access. Lastly, should you still not feel comfortable with therapy, even online therapy, you have the ability to sign up using an alias and dummy e-mail account.

Pricing: Did you know that it generally costs someone roughly $200 for one therapy session? Even if you are covered by premium insurance, the co-pay on each session can be as high as $50. If you're going in to therapy once a week, that's $200 per month on therapy. On the other hand, some of the best online therapy services provide users with incredible pricing, starting as low as $32 per week ($128 per month). Moreover, some online therapy services even work with major insurance companies, which further reduce your costs.

Most Popular

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Top Online Therapy Services | E-Counseling.com

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Compare the best online therapy services based on our detailed research and analysis. See how the leading brands differ on pricing, features and other essential factors before you choose the right online therapy site for your needs.

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LGBTQ+ Youth Identity development: The Influence of New Media

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LGBTQ+ Youth Identity development: The Influence of New Media

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Seemingly, most everyone goes through a process of examining personal identity. Certainly, one of the most crucial time for this reflection is in our youth. This research article explores how internet-based new media is being appropriated by our LGBTQ youth and has a great effect on their personal identity development.

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This was just too good not to share. Vice invited a panelist of LGBTQIA+ Americans to share/debate their social and political views.

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LGBTQ+ Community Debates the Meaning of "Queer", Military Bans, & More (Part 1/2)

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Teens teach smartphone technology to the elderly

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Teens teach smartphone technology to the elderly

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Teens teach smartphone technology, social media to senior citizens

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'Hamilton' Cast surprise girl on John Krasinski's youtube channel "SGN" (some good news)

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'Hamilton' Cast surprise girl on John Krasinski's youtube channel "SGN" (some good news)

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This episode literally gave me goosebumps as I watched this beautiful act of service come into play. This is a reminder that we are able to reach so many people in so many special ways through the usage of new media.

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Emily Blunt, 'Hamilton' cast surprise girl on John Krasinski's YouTube show l GMA Digital

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"Our world has never been more connected than it is today. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s population is plugged into the matrix, with over 4.4 billion internet users across multiple device types. We use these devices for work and for play—and social media has altered the way we interact both online and offline."

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Innovation can be instrumental to the success of economies, at macro and micro scales. While investment provides powerful fuel for innovation-the relationship isn't always straightforward.

The 2020 ranking from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reveals just that.

The above map breaks down the most innovative countries in each World Bank income group, based on data from WIPO's Global Innovation Index (GII), which evaluates nations across 80 innovation indicators like research and development (R&D), venture capital, and high-tech production.

While wealthier nations continue to lead global innovation, the GII also shows that middle-income countries-particularly in Asia-are making impressive strides.

Fueling Innovation

The economic and regulatory spheres within countries can have an enormous impact on their level of innovation-and vice versa, as innovation in turn becomes an economic driver, stimulating further investment.

The positive feedback loop between investment and innovation results in the success of some of the top countries in the table below, which shows the three most innovative countries in each income group.

Switzerland, Sweden, and the U.S. are the top three in the high-income group. Considering that Switzerland has the second-highest GDP per capita globally, it is not a surprise leader on this list.

Upper middle-income countries are led by China, Malaysia, and Bulgaria. Note that China far surpasses other nations in the upper-middle-income group ranking, reaching 14th spot overall in 2020. Others in the income group only appear in the overall ranking after 30th place.

Below are several income group leaders, and some of their key areas of output:

Switzerland: First in Knowledge Creation, second in Global Brand Value

U.S.: First in Entertainment and Media, Computer Software Spending, Intellectual Property Receipts

China: First in Patents Registered

Vietnam: Second in High-Technology Net Exports

India: First in Information and Communication Technology Services Exports

Tanzania: 23rd in Printing and Other Media

Shining a Light on Global Innovators

Since 2011, Switzerland has led the world in innovation according to this index, and the top five countries have seen few changes in recent years.

Sweden regained second place in 2019 and the U.S. moved into third-positions they maintain in 2020. The Netherlands entered the top two in 2018 and now sits at fifth.

Here's how the overall ranking shakes out:

Nordic countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Finland continue their strong showing across innovation factors-like Knowledge Creation, Global Brand Value, Environmental Performance, and Intellectual Property Receipts-leading to their continued presence atop global innovators.

But the nations making the biggest moves in GII ranking are found in Asia.

China, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines have risen the most of all countries, with all four now in the top 50. China broke into the top 15 in 2019 and remains the only middle-income economy in the top 30.

In 2020, South Korea became the second Asian economy to enter the top 10, after Singapore. As the first Asian country to move into the global top five, Singapore joined the leaders in 2018, and now sits at 8th place.

In another first for 2020, India has now broken into the top 50.

Innovation Input & Output: The Overachievers

While annual rankings like these confirm the importance of a robust economy and innovation investment, variations in the relationship between input and output are not uncommon.

The correlation between wealth and innovation isn't always straightforward, and neither is the connection between innovation input and output.

Below is an overview of the GII inputs and outputs, as well as several of the world's overall leaders in each pillar.

Input variables can be characterized as factors that foster innovation-everything from the quality of a country's university institutions to its levels of ecological sustainability.

Institutions
Human Capital & Research
Infrastructure
Market Sophistication
Business Sophistication

University Institutions
Regulatory Environment
Intangible Assets
Entrepreneurship
R&D Spending
Venture Capital Deals
Researchers

Output factors include innovation indicators like the creation of new businesses, and even the number of Wikipedia edits made per million people.

Knowledge & Technology
Creative

Registered patents
Creative goods and services
Scientific publications
National feature films
Entertainment and media
High-tech manufacturing

1. Switzerland
2. Sweden
3. United Kingdom
4. Netherlands
5. U.S.A.
6. China
7. Germany
8. Finland
9. Denmark
10. South Korea

Countries with impressive innovation outputs compared to input levels include:

China: 26th in inputs, but sixth in overall innovation outputs

Netherlands: 11th in innovation input, but fourth across outputs

Thailand: 48th in overall input, first in business R&D

Malaysia: 34th in overall input, first in high-tech net exports

Innovation Fuel Reductions Up Ahead?

Although financial markets have ignited, the economy as a whole has not fared well since lockdowns began. This begs the question of whether a steep decline in innovation capital will follow.

In response to the 2020 pandemic, will spending on R&D echo the 2009 recession and aftermath of 9/11? Will venture capital flows continue to decline more than they have since 2018?

Because innovation is so entwined with the economic growth strategies of companies and nations alike, the WIPO notes that the potential decline may not be as severe as historical trends might suggest.

No Stopping Human Innovation

Thankfully, innovation opportunities are not solely contingent on the level of capital infused during any given year. Instead, the cumulative results of continuous innovation stimuli may be enough to maintain growth, while strategic cash reserves are put to use.

What the GII ranking shows is that inputs don't always equal outputs-and that innovative strides can be made with even modest levels of capital flow.

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Visualizing the Social Media Use of Each Generation

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Innovation can be instrumental to the success of economies, at macro and micro scales. While investment provides powerful fuel for innovation-the relationship isn't always straightforward. The 2020 ranking from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reveals just that.

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ICT "Information and Communication Technologies"

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ICT "Information and Communication Technologies"

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T.V. Reed explains this term extremely well...

"ICT is shorthand for Information Communication Technology and refers to all the digital devices (computers, cellphones, tablets, digital music handhelds, etc.) that play a role in the creation of new media modes of interaction between people. The move from the term IT to ICT exemplifies the increasing degree to which communication between people, rather than mere information storage and retrieval, has come to define the world of new media technology."

Citation: Reed, T. V. (2014). Digitized lives: Culture, power and social change in the Internet era.

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Because I am a family science major, I'm always interested to learn how families thrive, and/or what puts families at risk for relationship stress. I really enjoyed this article because although new media has provided us ways to make family life more functional, does it sometimes hinder our responsibilities as parents?

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Working at home can seem like a dream to parents who struggle on a daily basis to balance their personal and professional responsibilities. Losing the commute and working from the comfort of home may seem like the ideal solution to life's inevitable chaos. The reality is, though, that working from home, like anything else, has its advantages and disadvantages. And it very well could be fraught with a bit of chaos.

The work-at-home life isn't for everyone. Some people need more separation between their personal and professional realms. Others thrive when the things they care about most care are in the same place. It takes a certain personality to manage everything in one place and still enjoy it.

For each potential advantage of working at home, there are drawbacks as well. Which particular ones carry more weight vary by individual. Look over these pros and cons and think about the impact they would have on you.

What We Like

You get to spend more time with your children.

You may be able to eliminate or reduce child care cost.

Chatty coworkers and unscheduled, unnecessary meetings are greatly reduced.

Working at home saves on commuting and other costs.

You can work from anywhere.

The added flexibility may enable you to make positive lifestyle changes.

What We Don't Like

The extra time you spend with your kids may not be relaxing for anyone.

Eliminating outside child care may make you less productive at work.

Home-life distractions creep into your professional time.

In order to work at home, you may have to take a salary reduction.

Career advancement could be curtailed.

A feeling of isolation can lead to unhealthy habits.

Time Spent With Your Children

Clearly, most work-at-home parents count more time with the kids as a huge plus. The con here is more of a cautionary note than a reason to stick with the office commute. Work-at-home families spend a lot of time together, particularly in the years before children enter school and during the summer. This can lead to burnout. It's the old issue of quality versus quantity of time.

Be thoughtful about how you spend your time together and build in breaks for yourself and the children. Kids of work-at-home parents can be especially good at playing independently, but parents have to lay the groundwork in order for that to happen. You need to set work-at-home ground rules and a work schedule so that all know what is expected of them.

Child Care Costs

The question of whether work-home parents need child care is a complicated one with no simple answer for all. If you are a telecommuter, your employer may require that you have outside child care. Call center companies in particular often require it, but for any employment position, it may be part of your telework agreement. However, if you are a home business owner you may think you can do without. And perhaps you can, it all depends on your goals for growth in your business and income. When you multitask, you are giving nothing your full attention, so expect the outcomes to reflect that.

Distractions

Many people who work from home find that they are more productive in their home offices than they ever were in their cubicle. In an office environment, many of the decisions about how you spend your time are made by, or greatly influenced by, other people. When you are intensely working on a project, you have to stop and acknowledge the person standing next to your desk. At home, you can delay reading an email or taking a phone call.

The flip side to this is that distractions, when you work at home, are more personal. When you are at home and your time is much more your own, it is up to you to use it wisely. It takes self-discipline and those work-at-home ground rules.

Besides the commuter and potential childcare cost savings, work-at-home parents may save on clothing costs and lunches out. All of these add up. However, there is definitely the potential for lost income by working at home. If you can convince your boss to let you work from home at your current job, this is the best option for maintaining your income while at the same time lowering your costs.

If you have to find a new job, the pool of jobs that you are qualified for and allow you to work from home could be much smaller or there might not be as much full-time work. If you don't work in a career that lends itself to telecommuting, you may have to change careers or start your own business. All of these things can mean a short-term (or possibly long-term) hit on your income.

Geography has less impact on those working at home. If you live in an area where jobs are not plentiful, telecommuting can open new opportunities for you and possibly even offer a higher salary.

However, there is some truth to the old adage: Out of sight, out of mind. Telecommuters are disadvantaged when it comes to networking. They have to make an extra effort to stay in touch with both coworkers and supervisors. And there are some jobs, particularly to advance in management, that may not lend themselves to telecommuting. This can force a choice between the work-at-home lifestyle and professional advancement.

Lifestyle and Emotional Health

Gaining that time you used to spend commuting can allow you to exercise more or pick up old hobbies. It might give you the opportunity to volunteer in your child's school or in your community. Perhaps you spend more time cooking healthy dinners for your family. All of this can lead to a healthier, happier lifestyle.

On the other hand, the refrigerator is beckoning for a snack anytime you like. The chaos of everyone home 24/7 can cause stress. And frankly, not everyone can effectively deal with the isolation that working at home can make you feel. Knowing yourself is the most important thing to ensure that a work-at-home life if a happy one.

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Pros and Cons of Being a Work-at-Home Parent

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Working at home can seem like a dream to parents who struggle on a daily basis to balance their personal and professional responsibilities. Losing the commute and working from the comfort of home may seem like the ideal solution to life's inevitable chaos.

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It's no doubt that COVID-19 has changed many aspects of life, including the ways of education in many different countries. Major efforts are being made by school systems, parents, and students to achieve academic success, regardless of the circumstances.

Some countries are able to adapt quickly due to higher technological advances, while some countries "that lack access to good teaching in remote areas try to use this capability for education improvement, both by using the older and proven technologies such as radio and television broadcasting, and leveraging the potential of ICT"

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Can technology help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on education systems in Europe and Central Asia?

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With the need to contain the virus, many countries are implementing measures to reduce gatherings of large crowds.

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According to this article, there are approximately one million people in the United States who are functionally deaf.

The author, Dan Gingiss, points out a few ways that new media has improved lifestyles of the deaf. I recommend reading this article; however, for convenience, I've decided to bullet point a few ways that new media, more specifically, social media has effected this population in a positive way.

-More connection with others
-Allows a platform for the deaf to demonstrate their capabilities, thus proving the stigma that they are less intelligent, wrong
-A way to clarify and portray individual points of views and communication
-Provides a deeper way of relating with others
-Power to build a sense of community

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It's no secret that social media has changed the way people communicate with each other. Compared with just a decade ago, we know more about people's lives (and their kids' lives) than ever before. We've also become more adept at written and visual communication vs. purely verbal communication.

But there's one group for whom the advent of social media was literally life-changing, and that's the Deaf community.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there are approximately 1 million "functionally deaf" people in the United States, with more than half of that number being over 65 years of age. In addition, millions more have experienced some level of hearing loss.

Those who grew up without the ability to hear or speak have always faced significant difficulties communicating with the outside world, even if they learned sign language.

"While growing up, it was made clear from the beginning that I would not be accepted as an equal - condescending attitude from teachers, perplexing stares from retail employees, and my peers making fun of my sign language during recess," says Ryan Commerson, 41, media strategist for Communication Service for the Deaf. "And because of the circumstances, my confidence and identity took longer to develop. Therefore, I couldn't figure out how to leverage myself in terms of communicating ideas with others who didn't know sign language."

Technology was slow to adapt. In the 60s, a device called TTY - or a teletypewriter - was invented, but it didn't become mainstream until the late 80s to early 90s. The TTY allowed one caller to type a message, with the other caller either receiving the "text" or a "relay" of the text by a person speaking, depending on whether the person on the other line could hear or not.

"In the 90s, I was able to make my first 'relay call' where I could call up a classmate from school through the use of TTY and a 'relay operator' would take my TTY calls (text-based) and relay my messages via voice to the other end," explains Commerson. "It was awkward asking a girl out on a date through an interpreter."

Fast-forward a decade or so, and social media was born.

Derek Troy, 39, owner of Derek's Bikes and a Committee Member at Chicago-based Deaf Planet Soul, says that he first became aware of social media "many years ago when I saw MySpace and LinkedIn," but that he "really never thought about using either one [because] I got nothing out of them." It was only when a friend convinced him to join Facebook in 2010 that he first experienced what would be a total game-changer for how he communicated with the rest of the world.

Today, Troy posts almost every day, and Facebook has helped him grow his business by buying and selling bicycles and other items, while engaging with both hearing and Deaf customers.

"My customers usually don't know that I'm deaf," Troy said. "I'm good with words and would like to use that to my advantage."

Commerson says he uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn "for social networking, sharing ideas, self-promotion, and planting ideological seeds for social change." He notes that social media changed not only his life, but everyone's around him as well.

"Social media has changed the way people interact, and their notions of how they relate to each other," he said. "And more people prefer texting over talking on the phone, which is definitely advantageous for me and other Deaf people."

Social media has also "given the Deaf community the tools we need to mobilize, to reconnect, and organize," Commerson said, and perhaps most importantly, it's changed how the community is perceived by others. "One of the biggest things for Deaf people is the stigma that we're intellectually inferior - because the assumption is that if you don't speak and hear, you can't develop intellectually," he said. "Social media changed that for us, giving us the platform to demonstrate our capabilities."

One result of this is a thriving Deaf community in the United States and elsewhere. Indeed, the capitalization of the word "Deaf" is meant to "claim ownership of the word" as a source of pride, says Commerson.

"Today, at age 41, with much more confidence, I communicate with non-signing people better than they can amongst each other," Commerson said with a (written) chuckle. "I've learned that communication is more about articulating your ideas clearly. Armed with an iPhone, several apps, mad gestural skills, a high-speed typing skill set, and well-formed ideas, communication is effortless. And now there are new developments in the pipeline, [that] will take the relationship building between people to a whole new level."

Last year, Facebook unveiled a new corporate mission statement: "To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together." It's hard to find a community that has been more positively impacted by the advent of Facebook and other social tools than the Deaf community.

Troy sums up the massive change social media has made on his life with a simple admission:

"I used to be embarrassed to use sign language. I'm not today. I'm proud to be Deaf."

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How Social Media Became a Game-Changer for the Deaf Community

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It's no secret that social media has changed the way people communicate with each other. Compared with just a decade ago, we know more about people's lives (and their kids' lives) than ever before. We've also become more adept at written and visual communication vs. purely verbal communication.

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How the digital revolution has changed the music industry forever

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How the digital revolution has changed the music industry forever

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The Economist's description of this video states, "The music industry has come a long way since Radiohead allowed fans to pay what they wanted for an album. But there is still plenty of digital disruption going on. Tech companies such as Kobalt provide an alternative route for musicians to find fans and manage their money—without having to rely on a record deal. Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7

The Disrupters is an original series exploring how major industries—from music and cars to hospitality—are currently being disrupted by the latest wave of digital innovation.  As well as enjoying privileged access into the world biggest tech start ups we show how industry giants respond when faced with such tech-driven innovation. Do they adapt—or die?"

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The music industry and the digital revolution

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"Outrage over TikTok videos mocking disabled people, calls for strict action"

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"Outrage over TikTok videos mocking disabled people, calls for strict action"

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Something that we need to realize is that new media will always need to figure out ways to provide safety from discrimination to all people, throughout the world.

This article speaks to an unfortunate occurrence that has recently happened by people using their social agency. Some videos, created by TikTok users, went viral after many more people have been on lockdown from the COVID-19 crises. These videos portrayed non-disabled people acting as they had a disability, in a way of mocking them.

As TikTok is an up and coming popular social media platform, they will have to enact certain policies and procedures to provide more equality and protection to all people.

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Newz Hook - Changing Attitudes towards Disability

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Recently, videos of non-disabled people faking disability in a mocking manner made the rounds on popular video-sharing app TikTok. The videos have outraged the disability community who are calling for the strictest possible action.
TikTok, the popular video-sharing social networking app, has been in the spotlight many times for not showing respect to people with disabilities. Now they are facing the heat for the same reasons. This time for showing videos of non-disabled people pretending to be disabled. This is apparently done in a spirit of fun but what it has generated is huge outrage.

TikTok faces heat for mocking disability yet again

Last December, TikTok was criticised for preventing disabled users' videos from showing up on feeds. The company later apologised but clearly there has been no change in policy. The new videos that are doing the rounds seem to have been shot in India.

The videos were shot after the lockdown was declared during which people have been asked to stay indoors. Those who appear in the videos can be seen walking or standing on the roadside. As soon as the police alarm is heard, they pretend to fake a disability just to escape from the cops.

Members and experts from the disability community is not letting this insensitivity go unnoticed. They are gearing up to take action under the Indian Penal Code as well as Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) 2016 Act.

Section 92 of the RPWD Act, 2016 states that intentionally insulting or intimidating with intent to humiliate a person with disability in any place within public view is a punishable act.

Call for quick action

TMN Deepak, a disability rights activist and Founder of 3 December Movement from Chennai highlights on the need for quick action.

"For someone who hails from a progressive society, such videos are sickening. It clearly shows the insensitivity of the society towards people with disabilities in spite of experts talking about need for awareness. Concerned officials must look into this because the dignity of people with disabilities must be respected. The society has not changed in spite of so many legal advancements. These videos shows the rotten attitude of the society", he says.

Deepak further adds the need for stricter guidelines, "There are no guidelines for TikTok in handling such things. Such videos must undoubtedly be contained. Apart from those featuring in the videos, TikTok is also a culprit", he says.

Akeel Ahmad Usmani, a disability rights activist says, "The United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities lays down the principles, respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy, non-discrimination and full effective participation, equal opportunities to disabled people. Article 21 of Indian Constitution guarantees the right to live with dignity to all citizens. Such derogatory acts on TikTok hurts the dignity and self-respect of people with disabilities. A detailed complaint will be filed with all the concerned departments including the Delhi police".

Reactions on social media

Shockingly, a large number of people have widely shared the videos.

Arman Ali, Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People also took to Facebook to slam the insensitivity shown.

"We the people with disabilities of this country, are horrified and appalled at this grossly insensitive and crass video that is doing the rounds and reaching millions of people. Using sadistic and twisted humour and invoking the misuse of one's disability is not just cruel and inhuman but also extremely violative of our rights as citizens of this country".

The insensitive videos on TikTok calls for immediate action. The people who appear in the videos must face legal action too.

Watch in Sign Language

Also Read:

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Outrage over TikTok videos mocking disabled people, call for strict action - Newz Hook - Changing Attitudes towards Disability

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Recently, videos of non-disabled people faking disability in a mocking manner made the rounds on popular video-sharing app TikTok. The videos have outraged the disability community who are calling for the strictest possible action. TikTok, the popular video-sharing social networking app, has been in the spotlight many times for not showing respect to people with disabilities.

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E-Waste. What is it? And how is it affecting third world countries?

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E-Waste. What is it? And how is it affecting third world countries?

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www.techopedia.com described it as such: "Electronic waste (e-waste) refers to the disposal of broken or obsolete electronic components and materials. E-waste materials may be valuable and recyclable, such as random access memory and reusable laptops... Common discarded electronic products include computers, televisions, stereos, copiers, and fax machines."

E-waste can be damaging to our environment. This type of waste holds strong toxic chemicals.

So what is the solution? Well, the first thing to do is to be aware of the issue. Next, do your research on where donated electronic devices go to. Many times, charities will collect these items and send them to third world countries. Because many third world countries don't have the proper ways to dispose of them, they end up going into landfills and the streets causing toxic chemicals to seep into the soil and water, thus causing contamination.

My sister, Coco Berryessa, spoke to this concern using her unique voice, photography (see below).

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New media connecting people to ancestors

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New media connecting people to ancestors

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Due to COVID-19 and the amount of extra time I have on hand from social distancing, I've been doing a lot of family history through www.familysearch.org.

I am currently studying Family Science, so this type of work has been intriguing to me. While I was working on it today, it dawned on me how this website has helped me appreciate my culture and background. I was was able to see all the way back to my ancestors that came to the United States,, from Iceland. They migrated down to our small town (growing increasingly), Spanish Fork, Utah.

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Technology                                      

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Technology                                      

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On www.dictionary.com we learn that the definition of technology is "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry." This means that it doesn't always mean that it is digital, although we often think of it in this way.

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Difference between social groups & social categories?

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Difference between social groups & social categories?

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"A social group is a collection of people who interact with each other and share similar characteristics and a sense of unity. A social category is a collection of people who do not interact but who share similar characteristics. For example, women, men, the elderly, and high school students all constitute social categories. A social category can become a social group when the members in the category interact with each other and identify themselves as members of the group. In contrast, a social aggregate is a collection of people who are in the same place, but who do not interact or share characteristics."
Derived from Cliffnotes: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/social-groups-and-organizations/social-groups

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As I am a student seeking higher education (HE), I thought it would be interesting to include a journal article about the ways that digital technology is shaping HE. In this journal, they talk about a case study done at a University in Sweden. Read their findings here about how new media is affecting not only the student's learning; but it has an effect on material aspects, social aspects, teaching, organizations & connections of concepts.

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On www.dictionary.com you may find this definition:

The theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual.

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Women struggling to conceive find fertility apps useful

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Women struggling to conceive find fertility apps useful

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What I love about the internet is that through different avenues of online communities, you can find support through the difficulties of life. One difficult thing that many women struggle with is infertility. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states, "About 10 percent of women (6.1 million) in the United States ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant." This article talks about a couple who found success using a fertility app, called "Ava", to help grow their family.

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Nicole Roberts with her daughter, Amelia, at home in North Stonington, Conn. Mrs. Roberts used the Ava device to help improve her odds of conceiving after a miscarriage. Credit... Jessica Hill for The New York Times

When Nicole and Christopher Roberts of North Stonington, Conn., decided to start a family in 2016, Nicole quickly became pregnant, but then miscarried three months later.

Getting pregnant a second time became far tougher than they expected. Mrs. Roberts, 32, started taking neonatal vitamins, tracking her menstrual cycle carefully, taking over-the-counterovulation tests, and even trying a few wacky internet suggestions, such as putting her legs up in the air after sex and not moving for half an hour.

"It didn't work," she said. "As the months dragged on, there was a feeling of desperation because we wanted it so badly."

Then she saw an ad for Ava, a Fitbit-like device that's worn on the wrist at night and uses sensors to identify the five fertile days in a woman's monthly cycle to improve her odds of conception. "It almost felt too good to be true," Mrs. Roberts said. She started using the device in March 2017, was pregnant by June, and gave birth to Amelia this year on March 19.

Mrs. Roberts is among a growing number of women who are seeking out fertility apps and wearable devices, like Ava, to help grow their families.

"We're now living in a society where there is a cultural influence that everyone can get pregnant after five glasses of tequila in one night. That's what Hollywood shows us all the time," said Lea von Bidder, co-founder and president of Ava. "But the reality is very different."

Busy lifestyles have made it tougher for working couples to find the time to track menstrual cycles, take ovulation tests, measure their daily temperature, and then make that all-important physical connection at just the right time in the cycle to create a baby.

Also, many women, especially among millennials, are focusing on careers and putting off marriage and children until later, which poses additional challenges as conception rates are lower in older women. "For a 28-year-old woman, roughly 10 of the 12 eggs she releases each year are viable," Ms. Von Bidder said. "But for a 38-year old woman, perhaps only two of the 12 eggs will be viable." So pinpointing those fertile days becomes even more critical.

The birthrate among women under 30 has been falling steadily since 2010 while the rate among women in their late 30s, 40s and 50s has been rising, according to National Center for Health statistics.

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Ava helps women precisely identify their five most fertile days each month.

"In my mind, if you had [unprotected] sex, you got pregnant and that was it," said Kate Campbell, a 32-year-old Nashville resident, who was measuring her body temperature and taking ovulation tests twice a day for months to try to conceive - without success. "I wasn't getting any positives. I was really shocked. How do people get pregnant by accident?"

After purchasing an Ava bracelet in April 2017, she discovered she had been missing her fertility window by about a week because her cycles were longer than normal and regular period-tracking apps didn't pick that up. By August, she was pregnant, and her son, Canaan James, was born on April 27, 2018.

The internet is filled with women on forums, Facebook and videos seeking fertility advice. They say the problem is highly misunderstood and deeply underestimated.

"For someone, especially a family member, to say, 'Well, are you doing it right?' or 'Do you know what you're doing?' - I know they're joking - but it's not funny to me. It's just rude," said a woman who identifies herself as Jolene Grizzle in a YouTube video, as she described her struggle with fertility, which included using Ava. (It didn't work for her.)

The Ava bracelet collects data on nine parameters, including skin temperature, resting pulse rate, breathing, sleep movement, and stress levels, while the woman sleeps. Once the bracelet is synced to the person's phone in the morning, Ava's proprietary algorithm achieves an 89 percent accuracy rate at detecting 5.3 fertile days each cycle, according to the company.

By measuring temperature and other variables, Ava is able to track changes in both progesterone and estrodial levels, Ms. Von Bidder said.

"I didn't have to worry about peeing on a stick and stressing out," said Krystal Noon, a 30-year old Branchville, N.J., resident, who struggled for months to conceive before using Ava. "I would just put this bracelet on at night and it does all the work," said Mrs. Noon, who conceived two months after using Ava.

Since its introduction in 2016, Ms. Von Bidder said, 10,000 Ava customers have become pregnant and at least 1,000 have given birth. Sales are on track to triple this year, she added.

But Ava isn't for everyone. It's limited to women with cycles between 24 and 35 days, and is not for those with PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, who face hormone imbalances and highly irregular cycles.

And Ava has some competitors.

Some are free apps, like Glow, Clue, Period Tracker Lite, and Flo, which are generally period trackers that rely on a woman to input her cycle data, then estimate the fertile time based on a calendar or rhythm method.

There are also fertility monitors, like Kindara/Wink and Daysy, that come with an app and thermometer. And there are a few wearables, like Bellabeat's Leaf pendant, Duo Fertility's sensor that's worn under the arm, Yono's in-ear sensor, and Tempdrop's underarm sensor.

But none track all of the parameters that Ava does, Ms. Von Bidder said. "Because we measure more physiological parameters than just temperature, we can actually detect the fertile window earlier and with a higher accuracy.".

One wearable, OvuSense, is worn like a tampon and measures temperature and other factors. Its readings are considered more accurate than those taken by external devices and can even predict ovulation days for people with PCOS. However, the device is more intrusive than wearing an Ava bracelet.

"I would be a little bit more leery of it because that sounds a little more invasive," said Tara Perez, a 34-year-old Cartersville, Ga., resident who used the Ava bracelet to help conceive.

A big Ava perk is its wildly popular Facebook groups, where 25,000 registered Ava users ask questions, share experiences and encourage each other. "That community of women is unlike any you've ever seen before," said Mrs. Perez, who credits the group with helping her through her fertility struggles. Mrs. Perez said family members had told her she likely would never be able to have children because she was Type 1 diabetic. But the Ava community helped and encouraged her through the loss of one baby to heart failure at 34 weeks and another through a form of early miscarriage, or "chemical pregnancy," at five weeks - before giving birth to a healthy baby girl, Selene, on May 30, this year.

Still, Ava has its skeptics. On Reddit, some questioned Ava's efficacy, given that it had been tested on only 41 women in its original trial.

Then there's Ava's $249 price tag. "While it was expensive, it was a whole lot less expensive than trying to look into something like in vitro or trying to ovulate via medication," Mrs. Perez said.

Some critics noted that none of the fertility apps and devices have proven data that shows they significantly shorten the time it takes for a woman to become pregnant. "None of them have undergone time-to-pregnancy studies," said Dr. Victoria Jennings, director of Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health. "But it won't stop women from using them or the developers from promoting them."

Ava has raised $42.3 million in financing.

And Pascal Koenig, chief executive and co-founder of Ava, said three studies were underway, including one with more than 430 participants, on expanding Ava's use to include detecting infections during pregnancy, helping women with highly irregular cycles and helping perimenopausal women.

Dr. Zev Williams, chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at Columbia University Medical Center, sees value in both fertility apps and wearables. Even a basic app can help a woman see if her cycles are seriously irregular and require medical attention, he said.

But he's particularly interested in Ava.

"It seems pretty sophisticated," said Dr. Williams, who is in talks with the company about doing a more extensive joint study on the device. "We have an overarching goal of trying to make fertility treatment easier for women and couples going through it, and if this worked out, it would have the potential to do that."

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Women Struggling to Get Pregnant Turn to Fertility Apps

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When Nicole and Christopher Roberts of North Stonington, Conn., decided to start a family in 2016, Nicole quickly became pregnant, but then miscarried three months later. Getting pregnant a second time became far tougher than they expected. Mrs.

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Wow, this is a MUST SEE. The choreography paired with this song was very moving for me. Here are some of the lyrics to the song "The Internet" by Jon Bellion. "Life became dangerous the day we all became famous. No one cares if you're happy, just as long as you claim it, oh...How can we change this? The day we all became famous. No one cares if you have it, just as long they think you do..." I will let you come up with your own thoughts on this, but I will just say one thing... I think the lyrics and choreography combined are trying to warn us of caring too much of what other people think of us online.

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Jon Bellion - THE INTERNET - Choreography by Sean Lew - #TMillyTV #Dance

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In this short, 10-minute video, Oda talks about a study done in Norway regarding how new media is affecting our youth's perceptions and outlooks on life. When children are spending around 3.5 hours every day online, do they understand the difference between media reality and actual reality? One example she provided was from the study explained above. It showed that Norwegian girls who were frequently consuming media, held lower levels of self-worth, self-image and even negative thoughts about their own gender.

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How the media affects youth | Oda Faremo Lindholm | TEDxOslo

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"New media are the mass communications that rely on digital technologies such as social media, online games and applications, multimedia, productivity applications, cloud computing, interoperable systems, and mobile devices. New media are part of mass media." --Deana A. Rohlinger