Too much screen time can be harmful to our health. Findings suggest that, along with unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, increased screen time is a contributor to epidemic obesity among Americans. According to the CDC, 40% of adults and 18.5% of children in the United States are obese. Obesity increases the risk of developing other health conditions like diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. But screen time isn’t all bad and can even help us get more active and track important health data. Today’s GKIS article offers recommendations for some awesome exercise apps that can help get you off the couch and on your feet for more healthy and fun fitness.
The Benefits of Exercise
Physical fitness is proven to have many physical health and mental health benefits. Exercise can improve sleep, reduce anxiety, and lift your mood, ultimately reducing the risk of depression. With busy schedules and limited access to gyms, we too often go without exercise. Luckily, there are hundreds of apps on our smart devices that make exercise enjoyable and easier, even on a tight schedule. Also, exercising with your family is a great way to teach kids important life skills and bond and stay connected!
Trending Exercise Apps that you (and we at GKIS) Love
Nike Training Club
A favorite of Dr. B’s, the Nike Training Club is a great free app that you and your family can enjoy at home. This app contains over 185 workouts for all levels including high-intensity training, yoga classes, and bodyweight workouts. Little to no equipment is required for most of the workouts, so you don’t have to stress about spending money on weights.
Here are some of the collections that are great for home:
Big Workouts for Small Spaces
For the Whole Family
Boost Your Mood
Rejuvenate with Yoga
Elevate Your Game
Other Features
In addition to the free workouts, Nike Training Club offers tips for nutrition, sleep, recovery, mindset, and wellness.
I have personally used this app, and I love it. Not only is it great because it is free, but the quality of what is being offered is fantastic. This app would be a perfect addition to your families’ devices and your daily routines!
Workouts and Exercises at Home
This fitness app is perfect for families with busy schedules because the workouts take only seven minutes. The app features a cute “Lazy Monster” character that guides you through up to 30 different exercises that require no equipment. All you have to do is set aside seven minutes of your day to try it out.
Other Features
Workouts and Exercises at Home allows you to create personalized workouts and track your progress. It currently costs $3.99 a week, but it is less than a gym membership and all of the workouts are planned for you. All you have to do is open the app. Workouts and Exercises at Home is an app that will make exercising fun for you and your family.
Gymondo: Fitness and Yoga
Gymondo is a fun fitness app that contains workouts under 30 minutes long. There are a variety of workouts to choose from like yoga, strength training, HIIT, mobility, and body weight. These workouts are available at any fitness level, so this would be perfect for anyone in your family.
Other Features
Gymondo is a free app, but the premium version gives you access to over 200 workouts, healthy recipes, and a nutrition plan. The premium version is only $7 a month, which is a good deal for all that is being offered. Get your family together and try this app out for free!
Seven
Seven is a high-quality fitness app that contains seven-minute workouts. This app is family-friendly and requires no equipment. All you need is seven minutes and some open space for a great, quick workout.
Other Features
Seven features daily challenges to keep you motivated to exercise every day. You can choose between 12 different instructors that will motivate you during your workout. You can also create workouts that are personalized for you and your family.
If you join The 7 Club, you get access to all the workouts and features on the app. One month costs $10, and one year costs $60. Seven is perfect for a quick workout in the morning, afternoon between zoom classes/meetings, or in the evening. All you have to do is set aside seven minutes for you and your family to get a good workout in.
A special thank you to Alisa Araiza for researching and co-writing this article. I hope that trying these apps will bring you closer to your family and make exercising enjoyable. For other ways to stay connected with your family, take a look at Dr. Bennett’s #TogetherAtHome Family-Friendly Activity Ideas on the GKIS website.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Ask anybody what they need more of – and they’ll say SLEEP! Surveys report that sleep deprivation among Americans is rampant. As a psychologist who treats kids, teens, and adults, I see that those who suffer the most are teens! Teens are burdened with a ton of schoolwork and the temptations of social media, video gaming, and binge-watching YouTube, TikTok, and Netflix. With crazy busy work weeks, we crave “me-time,” especially during those precious moments when we’ve settled in for bed without interruptions and distractions. Unfortunately, most people don’t know why sleep is so important. Without enough sleep, we are at risk for mental illness and overall performance decline. Today’s GKIS article goes over the reasons why sleep is so important and how to preserve your mental health and learning capacity by protecting much-needed restorative sleep.
Why is sleep so important?
During sleep, our brains conduct general housekeeping and memory-strengthening duties. Housekeeping tasks necessary for brain health include the pruning, repair, and new growth of neurons and the removal of toxins.
Memory strengthening, called memory consolidation, occurs by stabilizing memory traces that were collected while awake. Memory consolidation occurs with both declarative (fact-based) and procedural (how-to) information. Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep is particularly important for stabilizing complex or emotionally charged memories.[i]When we don’t get enough sleep, our brain’s housekeeping and memory consolidation tasks remain undone, leaving us unable to efficiently acquire (onboard) or retrieve information.
Sleep deprivation not only stunts learning, but it can also cause:
mood swings,
negative mood states like depression, irritability, and anxiety,
If people regularly sleep fewer than six hours a night, research has found that they may have:
a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease,
a 200% increased chance of having a heart attack or stroke,
a 70% reduction in cancer-fighting T-cells, and
disrupted melatonin and cortisol which can lead to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes.
For those who stay awake 16 hours straight, they may lower their overall functioning to resemble somebody who is legally drunk. Furthermore, sleep-deprived individuals often fail to recognize impairment. In other words, they don’t realize the costs and keep burning the candle at both ends.
Vamping
Missing out on much-needed sleep and staying up all night on screens is called vamping.
Teens with chronic sleep deprivation have been found to demonstrate:
How might you decrease the risk of vamping and encourage healthy sleep?
Stage the room to be restful.
I know it’s nearly impossible to motivate kids to unclutter their rooms. But a soothing environment contributes to a soothed mind. Offer your support by helping your child create a more restful environment with a fresh bedroom makeover. Light paint colors, soft textures, organized closets and bedside tables, soft lighting, white noise makers, and yummy smells can turn a chaotic hovel into a relaxing paradise.
Recognize that nutrition, exercise, and screen content impact the quality of sleep.
Research has demonstrated that young children who watch violent television content have more sleep problems, particularly delayed onset of sleep, than children who view age-appropriate content.[iv] Furthermore, kids who get adequate nutrition and exercise, especially outdoor exercise because of sunlight setting your circadian rhythm, also get better quality sleep. In practice, I find that teens, in particular, benefit from the mood benefits of regular cardio and cooperative team play.
No screens in the bedroom.
Why? Because screens wake up our brains! The blue LED light from the screen stimulates the photosensors in the retina that signal the brain to suppress melatonin production (our sleep-regulating hormone) and makes us more alert. Less melatonin disrupts our natural circadian rhythms, which can lead to sleep during the day and wakefulness during the night.
Using screens before bedtime has been found to cause people to:
go to bed later,
prolong the time it takes to fall asleep,
delay the timing of REM sleep, reduce the amount of REM sleep and sleep overall,
Screens also condition us to be awake in bed. If we are often awake in bed, our bodies will automatically be conditioned to cue, or believe that the bed is an “awake-only” zone.
Alternatively, if we only rest and sleep in bed, our bodies will be conditioned that the bed is a “sleep-only” zone.
In psychology, we call this type of cued learning classical conditioning. By these principles, we must resist the urge to do anything in bed but sleep to develop good expectations and habits.
Make the No Screens in the Bedroom Rule BEFORE it’s necessary. It’s asking a lot to say no TV, video games, tablets, or smartphones in the bedroom, but vamping leads to sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation leads to impulsivity and risk-taking.[vi] Impulsivity while in intimate spaces leads to intimate gestures like sexting and viewing inappropriate online content.
Also, use alarm clocks with red-lighted numbers in bedrooms rather than screens for timekeeping.
Encourage a soothing nighttime ritual.
We are creatures of habit. Habitual activity during the thirty-minute bedtime wind-down signals the body to anticipate rest. Components of a soothing ritual may include soft lighting; quiet, repetitive, or white noise sounds; and comforting activities. Sticking to a consistent bedtime schedule is also important.
Screens off thirty minutes before lights out.
As our brains sort through our memory caches, information is prioritized to either forget or remember. Because experiences that trigger emotion are typically important, evolution has shaped our brains to prioritize memories infused with emotion. Based on cognitive science theories, looping on a troubling experience is thought to be the cause of nightmares.
Just like the response to fright when we’re awake, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline dump into our bloodstream when we have nightmares. If we are troubled upon falling asleep, agitated dreaming and tossing and turning may result, leaving us tired, irritable, and cognitively scrambled the next day. Over time, this can seriously impair mental health.
Although emotionally triggering and arousing screen activities like gaming, texting, or viewing activating content aren’t as troubling as real-life trauma, they still stimulate the same brain regions activated with chronic stress, often for hours at a time. The hangover from chronic stress has been referred to as mental brownout. Limiting activating screen activities at night and giving your children time to soothe prior to bedtime will result in better quality sleep overall and pave the way for healthy learning during the day. Particularly, avoid eating, triggering discussions, video gaming, and intense exercise before bed.
Teach sophisticated self-soothing strategies.
The opportunity to spend time with a relaxed parent is another factor critical to self-soothing. From birth, a child’s brain synchronizes with a responsive parent. Eye contact, narrative moment-to-moment comments with emotion words, and general conversation teach kids what emotions are and how to deal with them.
We cannot provide this kind of synching and teaching if we are focused on screens instead of each other. Also, if you don’t sleep well one night, don’t stress about it. Getting anxious or angry will wake you up more, and most of us get poor sleep here and there and simply make it up later.
If you are reading this because you are taking our Social Media Readiness Course, you’re about to learn cognitive-behavioral exercises like diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, imagery, and meditation. These skills can prevent even the most persistent sleep disorders.
Exercising one’s mind to relax is critical to self-soothing. Another option for overcoming some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation is napping.
A full cycle of sleep takes about ninety minutes and provides cognitive rejuvenation that improves procedural memory and creativity with no sleep inertia (grogginess). Sixty to thirty minutes is good for slow-wave sleep, which helps with fact memory and retrieval but may still result in grogginess. Twenty to ten-minute power naps are shown to increase alertness and energy. If you have time to nap, it’s best to spend ninety minutes to complete a sleep cycle or just a power nap for ten.
[i] Xie, L., Kang, H., Xu, Q., Chen, M., Liao, Y., Thiyagarajan, M., O’Donnell, J., Christensen, D., Nicholson, C., Iliff, J., Takano, T., Deane, R., &
Nedergaard, M. (2013). Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. Science 342.6156: 373-77. Web.
[ii] Goel, N., Rao, H., Durmer, J., & Dinges, D. (2009). Neurocognitive Consequences of Sleep Deprivation. Seminars in Neurology 29.04: 320-39. Web.
[iii] Dewald-Kaufmann, J., Oort, F., Bogels, S., & Meijer, A. (2013). “Why Sleep Matters: Differences in Daytime Functioning Between Adolescents with Low & High Chronic Sleep Reduction & Short & Long Sleep Durations.” Journal of Cognitive & Behavioral Psychotherapies, 13, 171-182.
[iv] Garrison, M. & Christakis, D. (2012). The impact of a healthy media use intervention on sleep in preschool children. Pediatrics, 2011-3153; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-3153
[v] Chang, A., Aeschbach, D, Duffy, J., & Czeisler, C. (2014). Evening Use of Light-emitting EReaders Negatively Affects Sleep, Circadian Timing, & Next-morning Alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.4: 1232-237. Web.
[vi] Killgore, W., Kamimori, G., & Balkin, T. Caffeine Protects Against Increased Risk-taking Propensity During Severe Sleep Deprivation. Journal of Sleep Research 20.3 (2010): 395-403. Web.
Imagine having a personal assistant on your wrist to help you respond to messages, make calls, and track all types of fitness data. The newest wearable technology, like smartwatches, can do all of that and more. Wearable technology is advancing so rapidly that we are consumed by it. But being consumed can have its downsides for some people. Is wearable negatively affecting your health or helping your productivity?
What is wearable technology?
Wearable technology has been around for decades. In the 1970s, the calculator wristwatch and the Sony Walkman were launched. In the 1980s, the first digital hearing aids came on the market. In current times, major advances have been made in the wearable technology. From Bluetooth headphones to activity trackers to the Apple Watch to Snapchat Spectacles, wearable tech is wildly popular and keeps growing[1]
One of the most popular forms of wearable technology is fitness trackers. Fitbit is one of the leading contributors to the wearable technology industry. In 2018 alone, the company sold over fourteen million activity trackers. Currently, Fitbit has several different devices on the market including a weight scale that graphs your week’s weight, wireless headphones, watch activity trackers, and even activity trackers designed specifically for children.[2]
We at GKIS believe in smart screen use. To that end, we offer smart courses, like our Connected Family Course and our Screen Safety Toolkit, to help families dial in on the sweet spot of fun learning with a reasonable balance between virtual and screen-free activities. We recognize that screen technology can be a benefit in communication, learning, storage, and efficiency. It can be entertaining, helpful, and motivating. That is why we don’t encourage screen-free parenting. Instead, we believe that education, awareness, insight, and smart planning are behind best-used principles. The same applies to wearable tech. By considering these pros and cons, you’ll be best equipped to dial in on what’s right for you and better informed to facilitate smart management with your kids.
The Pros of Wearable Technology
One major positive aspect of wearable technology is health and fitness tracking.
Activity trackers continuously collect users’ health and fitness data including the number of steps taken, heart rate, calories burned, foods eaten, and sleep quality, among other things.[3] Health data can be important for people managing health issues because the data generated can give you a better understanding of behavioral patterns and motivate you to stay on the right track toward health and fitness goals.
Documented data can also help you communicate more effectively with your doctor.
Personal safety is another positive aspect that wearable technology provides.
Many pieces of wearable technology automatically track GPS and can notify an emergency contact if it detects something that went wrong. For example, an Apple Watch can detect a hard impact and will notify emergency services in the area and then text the emergency contact.[4] This is an important safety feature that has the possibility to save lives. While not all wearable technology has the ability, many of the activity trackers record the GPS of the device.
The Cons of Wearable Tech
One of the cons of wearable technology is product marketing, specifically persuasive upsells for further products.
Upsell refers to offering consumers additional products or upgrades after they’ve already made a purchase.[5] Wearable technology upgrades include new and improved devices and access to additional services. For example, Fitbit offers a subscription service that offers daily insights about fitness habits, access to workout programs and coaching exercises, and a wellness report developed by doctors.[6] The features of the subscription program seem intriguing, but the reality is that many people will stop using the features but continue to pay for the subscription.
Another negative aspect of wearable technology is compulsive data tracking or excessive checking and tracking of data.
Dr. Bennett says she has treated clients who suffer from behaviors characteristic of exercise addiction with wearable tech enabling unsafe patterns.* She elaborates that, not only can data tracking become too much of a priority over other life activities, but users can also fall into a compare and despair cycle. Rather than measuring feelings of satisfaction and well-being and promoting a healthy body image, some people are vulnerable to comparing their data to a “standard” data set that is general for the entire population. Seeing how their data compares to the standard may trigger chronic anxiety because the user is duped into thinking they are not performing as well as they should. Wearable tech users must seek expert medical advice instead of comparing their data to a standard that may not apply to their specific characteristics.[7]
A third negative aspect of wearable technology is the notifications that cause a distraction to the user.
On most smartwatches, notifications appear for messages, emails, and health statistics. Receiving those notifications may cause the user to get distracted from what they were previously focusing on. When tasks are constantly getting interrupted by notifications, we lose our ability to prioritize tasks. We also burn more oxygenated glucose, our brain’s fuel, when we frequently toggle between tasks. This can leave users irritable, fatigued, and less productive overall.
We at GetKidsInternetSafe believe that interrupting notifications should only contain time-sensitive information that needs to be addressed immediately rather than ads urging you to worry, stress and spend more money.[8] Dr. Bennett encourages batching notifications. This means setting certain windows of time to browse through all notifications at once instead of interrupting daily activity several times a day.
Thank you to GKIS intern, Makenzie Stancliff for alerting us about the risks of wearable technology. Check out the Screen Safety Toolkit for information on safety systems and apps and tips on building your own screen safety toolkit for your children.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
*Although exercise addiction is not officially recognized as a behavioral addiction by the American Psychiatric Association, many clinicians see impairment due to excessive fitness tracking and exercise that significantly interfere with healthy life functioning.
Photo Credits
Photo by Daniel Korpai on Unsplash
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash
Photo by Charlotte Karlsen on Unsplash
Works Cited
[1] The Past, Present and Future of Wearable Technology. (2016, November 17). Retrieved from https://online.grace.edu/news/business/the-past-present-future-of-wearable-technology/.
[4] Use Emergency SOS on your Apple Watch. (2019, September 19). Retrieved from https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206983#.
[5] Upsell. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Upsell.
[6] Langley, H. (2019, August 28). Fitbit Premium: How the new subscription service will get you fit and healthy. Retrieved from https://www.wareable.com/fitbit/fitbit-premium-guide-how-it-works-7534.
[7] Keller, B. (2014, November 12). Self-tracking, to the point of obsession. Retrieved from https://www.invivomagazine.com/en/corpore_sano/tendances/article/66/self-tracking-to-the-point-of-obsession.
[8] Spinks, R. (2018, October 8). One simple thing you can do for better mental health: turn off your push notifications. Retrieved from https://qz.com/quartzy/1416069/turn-off-push-notifications-for-better-mental-health/.
At one time or another, many of us will think about becoming vegetarian. Cutting out meat, especially red meat, has environmental and nutritional benefits that have the average person considering changing their eating habits. “Going vegan,” where anything coming from an animal is removed from one’s diet, is seen as the ultimate step in curbing wasteful eating and improving health. Making the change to eat vegan can be hard. Young people look to social media, especially Instagram, for inspiration and advice on the best ways to lead a vegan lifestyle. Influencers are proposing diets that impose such high standards and strict regimens that the influencers themselves are unable to sustain them. These influencers have such a large reach, that followers often inaccurately perceive them as experts with true credibility. Should we trust Instagram influencers with dietary advice?
#Vegan
A casual Instagram search of #vegan brings up 77,937,967 posts.[1] Vegan images boast recipes meant to look and taste like delicious, non-vegan dishes like pizza, cupcakes, and brownies. This wide array of beautifully photographed options makes veganism seem desirable. However, with so many niche recipes, it can be overwhelming and confusing when selecting who really knows their stuff.
After all, veganism isn’t just a nutrition plan for most influencers. It appears to be a lifestyle. Doting followers scrutinize and memorize each carefully crafted post to share the vegan identity. However, even the most popular influencers are proving that pure veganism is hard to maintain long-term.
Another One Bites the Dust
Influencers are increasingly coming under scrutiny for straying from the vegan ideals that they’ve branded their image around. For instance, one notable vegan influencer lost all credibility and popularity after abandoning a dangerous “water-only” diet that lasted a whopping 35 days.[2]
Another popular vegan blogger received an outpouring of online hate after a video showed her eating fish.[3] Her supporters quickly turned against her, despite her pleas that she needed to quit being completely vegan to restore her health. In the world of vegan bloggers, there is no room for cheating. Only the most committed survive.
Where are the experts?
These influencers failed, not because being vegan is impossible, but because their fad diets were not sustainable. There’s significant danger in following diets created by somebody without expert nutritional training. Only a licensed professional can give accurate, informed nutritional advice.
As vegan influencers cultivate more and more followers, the risks become increasingly clear. Nutritionists are seeing more cases of malnourished teens due to unsafe vegan eating practices.[3]
Where is influencer credibility? There often isn’t any. The Internet is a buyer-beware digital marketplace. Teaching kids and teens how to assess expert credibility and defend themselves against unfair marketing techniques is crucial to good judgment and healthy eating choices.
Instagram: The Platform Your Kids Trust
Teens are genetically programmed to intensely focus on identifying and building their tribe. Looking to friends for uniquely identifying features, like dress, music, and slang is a vital part of growing up. Identification with popular food practices is often overlooked as an aspect of adolescent development.
A 2014 study explored the way peer relationships affect kids’ eating choices and attitudes toward food. When exposed to a peer they did not already know happily eating foreign food, children as young as preschool age began to show a liking for that food. This social referencing and modeling behavior can be conceptualized as children perceiving this peer as a “hero,” or someone to idolize.[4]
Instagram influencers carry this same appeal. Although strangers, they are similar enough to our kids to be perceived as peers. They carefully craft their brand to be perfectly positioned for influence, inspiration, and, ultimately, profit.
It isn’t simply a case of monkey-see, monkey-do. Teens may have good reasons for making dietary lifestyle choices. The trouble begins when unsafe dieting practices are blindly followed without realizing the risks.
A 2019 articledubs “Dr. Instagram” a threat to millennial health, citing that 38% of millennials have greater trust in their peers when it comes to health concerns than they do for actual medical professionals.[5] This highlights a legitimate concern that our kids may be dangerously ill-informed when it comes to health decisions.
Start Talking, Stay Healthy
Everyone should have the right to make dietary choices that make them happy and healthy. If your child is curious about going vegan or already is, consider these steps to ensure they remain healthy and safe.
Stress that Instagram content is entertainment only.
Help them set up a relationship with an informed adult to help them make good decisions when it comes to online influences.
If your child is considering a radical nutritional shift, require that they see a licensed nutritionist for healthy planning.
Encourage your child to prioritize personal health over popular fads.
Thank you to our GKIS intern Chelsea Letham for reminding us that teaching our kids how to accurately assess expertise and credibility is a critical life skill. To help your kids use good judgment online and not fall victim to risky diets and lifestyle choices, pick up your quick-and-easy supplement How to Spot Marketing Red Flag Supplement today.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
[1] https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/vegan/?hl=en
[2] Libatique, R. (2019, February 20). Ex-vegan Tim Shieff dropped by vegan clothing company ETHCS. Vegan News. Retrieved from https://vegannews.co/
[3] Horton, H. (2019, March 24). Instagram vegan diets are risking malnutrition among millennials, Harley Street nutritionists warn. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/
[4] Houldcraft, L., Haycraft, E., & Farrow, C. (2014). Peer and friend influences on children’s eating. Social Development, 23(1), 19-40. doi: 10.1111/sode.12036
[5] Jackson Gee, T. (2019, April 7). Is Dr. Instagram ruining your health? The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/
When did men become as fussy about their looks as women? Since marketers have scoped in on us as a buying audience, that’s when. The multi-billion dollar health and fitness industry found our vulnerable spots, and they’ve targeted us expertly. Men buy in for costly gym memberships and nutrition formulas, we get our eyebrows “done,” and we even pay for cosmetic surgery. Don’t get me started about specially conditioned beards and man buns. Marketers have successfully sold us thru body shame.
As much as the focus on body image marketing centers on teen girls, boys are increasingly effected. Dr. Bennett’s How to Spot Marketing: Red Flags Supplement is designed for parents of any child to recognize the signs of dangerous marketing. In media we often see images that insinuate how men should look and what products we need to buy in order to get the job, the fortune, or the girl. Every man wants to be a stallion. When other men threaten our image, we want to improve. How is the 2016 man affected by shame?
Six-Packs Everywhere
We are in the era of the six-pack. Abdominal bulging is everywhere; in supplement commercials, movies, toys, and advertisements. Consider the multi million-dollar movie, Twilight. Millions flocked to theaters to gawk at Taylor Lautner’s stellar abs (#TeamJacob). Let’s face it, it wasn’t his intellect or dazzling wolf battle strategies that made the ladies swoon. And I’m embarrassed to say that when I saw the movie, I felt extremely self-conscious about my baby belly.
I’m not alone. Research has demonstrated that muscular male figures in the media cause body dissatisfaction in men (Leit, 2002). The hundreds of images we see on our screens everyday of six-packed actors and models make us feel inferior. Despite the realization that those types of bodies are only attainable with digital enhancement, dietary supplements, or extraordinary fitness programs, we aspire to it and feel disheartened when we fail to measure up.
“Do You Even Lift Bro?”
Sorry to break it to you ladies, men are not becoming sexier to impress you. It is often about, “Do you even lift Bro?” We are constantly competing with each other. No guy has ever said, “I am going to do an extra squat, because the ladies are digging tight butts.” It is all about the pressure to lift more than the guy next to you. And frankly, it doesn’t hurt that the ladies are attracted to the dominant male in the room. The best compliment is a beautiful woman purring about how strong we look.
You Too Can Look Like This
Unfortunately, our quest for strength and fitness does not always lead us to healthy choices. Many men use expensive and untested fitness supplements to speed up the muscle-building process. Some powder proteins already have enough ingredients that are bad for your body, and some men are using it in combination with steroids. When I go to the gym, I often see these steroid using pretty boys. I myself have used protein and been tempted to use steroids to gain faster results. Luckily I never have and never will, but the pressure is always there.
Increasing numbers of men are so concerned about their appearance that they develop a psychological condition called muscle dysmorphia (Mosley, 2009). This is when a man sees himself thinner and weaker than he actually is. He begins to hit the gym and use substances to gain more mass, but he will never get there because he sees a delusional result in the mirror. He focuses so much on attaining his ideal image that he begins to put everything aside to hit the gym. This disorder is fairly new and there are no clear estimates of how many men are affected (Choi, Pope, & Olivardia, 2002).
My Classmates Changed Me
Body shaming can start young but peaks during the vulnerable developmental period of adolescence. According to researchers Aslund, Starrin, Leppert, & Nilsson (2009), both males and females engage in body shaming, but they tend to do it differently. Males tend to be more directly aggressive, while females shame through passive aggressive means like gossip.
When I was in high school, I remember feeling shame because of the way I dressed and my physical appearance. I was smurf’s size and wore clothes out of fashion. Students would often attack me with bad remarks. In my senior year, I changed my appearance and grew a little more to become a larger smurf. People started to notice me and praise my better looks, and I even started to date girls. This made me care more about my appearance, because I did not want to be shamed again. My point is that shame can really change a man. Even though men want to appear tough, we are sensitive teddy bears on the inside.
How can we protect our sons from body shame?
Teach them to understand that we all have different body types. Obtaining a body that looks exactly like somebody else’s is impossible.
It is a good thing to want to be the best, but make sure that you are doing it for yourself and not for others.
Eating healthy and getting plenty of restorative sleep will earn the fastest and healthiest fitness results.
Before considering supplements, research their ingredients. Nothing beats a healthy diet and hard work.
Ensure you have a realistic understanding of what a “healthy” body actually looks like. That means a keen awareness that most images have been digitally enhanced.
Be vigilant not to body shame others with critical or hurtful comments.
Protect kids from frequent exposure to inappropriate images designed to sell products.
Set a healthy example of what is healthy and cool.
Remember, “SHAME IS LAME.” Because you are an extraordinary parent, you won’t want to miss, The Secrets to Happiness and the Creation of GetKidsInternetSafe, It’s an awesome personal blog written by Dr. Tracy Bennet. She is an extraordinary person willing to help those in need.
Congratulations and thank you to Cristian Garcia, CSUCI intern, for authoring this awesome GKIS article!
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Aslund, C. , Starrin, B. , Leppert, J. , & Nilsson, K. (2009). Social status and shaming experiences related to adolescent overt aggression at school. Aggressive Behavior, 35(1), 1-13.
Mosley, P. (2009). Bigorexia: Bodybuilding and muscle dysmorphia. European Eating Disorders Review : The Journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 17(3), 191-198.
Leit, R. , Gray, J. , & Pope, H. (2002). The media’s representation of the ideal male body: A cause for muscle dysmorphia?. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31(3), 334-338.
Choi, P. , Pope, Jr, H. , & Olivardia, R. (2002). Muscle dysmorphia: A new syndrome in weightlifters. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(5), 375-377.
Imagine paying someone to body shame you every hour of the day. Shame! Shame! Shame! … Introducing the Fitbit! This device is a constant reminder of just how unfit you are. Many of us resist stepping on that scale, because we really don’t want to know our day-by-day weight. But we are willing to buy a shame generator. Why do we need a Fitbit to tell us that our jeans don’t fit anymore?
What is a Fitbit?
A Fitbit is a small electronic device you wear on your wrist that tracks your daily activity, exercise, food, weight, burned calories, heart rate, and sleep.
A Fitbit syncs wirelessly to your smartphone or computer. Fitbit software then provides customized graphs and charts that show your progress. Each time you reach a milestone, you get an achievement badge notification, which you can share with friends. You can also sync with other Fitbits to have a group challenge. You can taunt, cheer, and message your friends to make it more competitive.
Why do we want a Fitbit?
Fitbits are selling like hot bread on a rainy day. According to the Fitbit reports, 4.5 million devices were sold in the second quarter of 2015. The company expects to gain revenue in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion for the whole year.
A Fitbit can make us feel like we are finally doing something to improve our health. I have a friend that pesters me to get one. He wants me to be as fit as him, but in reality, I’m in a better shape. Since he bought this device, his self-esteem has shot through the roof. The device sends him daily notifications to let him know how great he is.
The Fitbit is fashionable, and it’s the latest technology in the fitness industry. It comes with different colors to match your clothes and looks like a watch. As we see more people purchasing it, we feel like we need one.
The risks of the Fitbit
Shame generator: Although the Fitbit provides positive inspiration for some users, it creates shame and anxiety in others. It’s intended to incentivize you towards a healthier lifestyle. However for many, instead of feeling rewarded by Fitbit data for a life well-lived, many feel punished instead for not living up to goals and expectations. What happens when you didn’t reach your daily steps or when you did not receive that accomplishment badge you were running for?
For me, the Fitbit is a shame generator. When it grasps on to your wrist, it sends subliminal messages that we may interpret as, “Are you not working out because you are too lazy?” or “Isn’t your friend doing better than you?” Some of us with a more self-deprecating way of thinking will interpret the messages as, “You are not completing your daily goals because you are fat!” Just think about the amount of times you’ve stepped on a scale and made a bad remark about your physique.
And if it’s not enough to shame you real-time on your wrist, Fitbit will also link to your social media accounts. No longer do you need to soak in shame or self-approval alone. The Fitbit’s social media options allow you to announce to friends and family each daily failure or accomplishment. Compulsive fitness wrist checking with a side of compulsive checking for social media likes. Delicious!
Compulsive data tracking: I first decided to write about this topic when Dr. Bennett told the story during our meeting about a friend who bought their 5 and 7 year olds FitBits. She felt that teaching a child to compulsively track data about their bodies sends the wrong fitness message. Good health is more about enjoying activity in the moment rather than chasing data points on graphs.
But the Fitbit is designed to create compulsive use. According to Dr. Bennett, the Fitbit uses randomized “chatter” messages at a variable ratio of reward to keep people locked on Fitbit data in the same way video game developers and other marketers sell their products. A variable ratio of reward means that the consumer gets rewarded at irregular intervals during use. This method is proven to inspire compulsive use. Using a variable ratio of reward on slot machines is how casinos make money. The hope of an occasional payout keeps gamblers gambling even when they are losing their bottom line.
Privacy and data theft: Like other consumer products that make up the Internet of Things, The Fitbit is collected very personal data that is being stored and analyzed by unknown eyes. At first one might think the data is meaningless. However, consider what kind of information that could be extrapolated from your email address, heart rate, weight, sleeping patterns, and exercise patterns, including your GPS history. It’s one thing for a corporate entity to have that kind of personal data, but there have been several malicious hacks to Fitbit users to date. Fitbit says they are working on a more secure system but also admit that staying ahead of hacker attacks is a bit of a cat and mouse game.
I have to admit, even with my knowledge of the risks, I’m still tempted to get one because I think is a remarkable piece of technology. But two things keep me from paying for one, I am cheap and I’m majoring in psychology. This combination makes me feel like the Fitbit is unnecessary and potentially harmful to my privacy and self-concept. I refuse to pay more than a hundred dollars to know how many steps I take. If somebody gifted me the Fitbit, I would kindly accept it. But truthfully I think I’d find myself resenting the compulsion to consume unnecessary fitness data.
How to be fit without a Fitbit
By buying this device your fitness habits are unlikely to change. You need to take initiative. If you know that you need to sleep more, then do it. I believe that we already know how much sleep, food, and physical activity is necessary for optimal health. Why do not need a hundred dollar device to tell us what we already know?
If you buy a Fitbit because you think it will make you lose weight, the truth is you are only buying a trackingThe Fitbit provides data, but you must do the work.
What is the point of keeping track of your steps? Stop stressing about the amount of steps you didn’t walk and instead enjoy the walk real-time by practicing mindfulness exercises. As you walk … observe, listen, and feel your surroundings. Don’t let technology distract you from the real-time rewards of a beautiful walk in the sunshine.
Let the mirror and the fit of your clothing inform you about your progress. Why do you need artificial intelligence to tell you how good you look?
If you want a group challenge, why not plan a date with your friends. Go out and actually interact with them. Taking the time for a fun activity with your friends is far more fun than online competition.
Take control of your life and research what is good for your health. Avoid paying money for something you can get for free.
Most importantly, this device is basically a notebook. Why not get an actual notebook to record your progress? It is more accurate and less expensive.
Remember, SHAME IS LAME. What do you think? Scroll down and leave a comment letting us know if you love your Fitbit for rewarding good fitness or your are building resentment from the shame factor. 🙂 If you want to read more about the Internet of Things, check out Dr. Bennett’s article, “Why I Think Hello Barbie is Not a Smart Toy to Buy.”
Thank you to Cristian Garcia, CSUCI intern, for authoring this awesome GKIS article!
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
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