Tag: media

Did you know that the time before bed is notorious for piquing people’s anxiety? That’s when you think about things you should have said during the day, when you start wondering about logistics, a big presentation for tomorrow, or if your kid is coming down with the flu.

Therapists know it’s a notorious time for anxiety. Plus, if you’re sleeping with your smartphone, or watching media at the end of the night, let’s hope there are lots of positive images or else all that negativity stresses your conscious and subconscious and can sent you straight to nightmares (literally).

A recent survey showed that couples who were together for 10 years or more with multiple children have great sex at least three times per week. Of those couples, 79 percent are absolutely satisfied with their sex life and wouldn’t change a thing.

Do you believe these numbers?

I made them up—but if I hadn’t told you, would you have stopped to question their validity, or simply believed that because they were in an article they were the absolute truth?

Have you ever noticed how Elmo always looks a little better in print: a little thinner, a little more buff and cut in the chest and abs? It’s the digital airbrush. Well, not really, but almost every picture you come across in print has been manipulated in some form, and the images your kids see can influence the way they see themselves and believe it or not, the issue of how ads are manipulated affects us all—especially our kids.

Body image issues—that are precursors to eating disorders—develop earlier than you think. In my dissertation 20 years ago, I looked at how kids from sixth grade through college were comparing various body images through media and found that in both boys and girls there were very defined ways of comparing their bodies to what they saw as acceptable in the media.