In today's digital age, cloud computing has become the backbone of many businesses, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands tall as a leader in this domain. As more companies shift towards cloud-based solutions, the demand for skilled AWS professionals continues to soar. If you're looking to carve a successful career path in the AWS field, you'll need to equip yourself with the right knowledge, skills, and mindset. In this blog post, we'll explore how you can become an expert in AWS.
1. Understand the Fundamentals
Before diving deep into AWS services and solutions, it's crucial to build a strong foundation by understanding the fundamentals of cloud computing. Familiarize yourself with basic concepts such as virtualization, networking, storage, and security. AWS offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and training resources through its website and AWS Training and Certification program. Take advantage of these resources to grasp the core principles of cloud computing. You can get AWS classes in Pune.
2. Gain Hands-on Experience
Theory alone won't make you an expert. Hands-on experience is key to mastering AWS. Start by creating a free AWS account and experiment with various services in a sandbox environment. Launch virtual servers with Amazon EC2, store data in Amazon S3, set up databases with Amazon RDS, and explore other services like AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon SQS. The more you practice, the more confident you'll become in navigating the AWS console and implementing solutions.
3. Pursue Certification
AWS certifications are widely recognized in the industry and can validate your expertise in different areas of AWS. Begin with the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification, which covers designing and deploying scalable systems on AWS. As you progress, consider pursuing higher-level certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, or specialty certifications like AWS Certified Security – Specialty or AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty. Certification not only enhances your knowledge but also boosts your credibility as an AWS professional.
4. Stay Updated
The cloud computing landscape is constantly evolving, with AWS regularly introducing new services, features, and updates. Stay abreast of the latest developments by following AWS blogs, attending webinars, participating in forums, and joining AWS user groups or communities. Engage with fellow professionals, share knowledge, and learn from their experiences. Additionally, subscribe to AWS newsletters and follow AWS on social media platforms to receive timely updates and announcements.
5. Dive Deep into Specializations
While having a broad understanding of AWS services is essential, consider specializing in specific areas based on your interests and career goals. Whether it's cloud architecture, security, networking, database management, or machine learning, delve deeper into your chosen specialization. Participate in relevant projects, seek mentorship from seasoned professionals, and continuously expand your expertise through continuous learning and practical application.
6. Build Real-world Projects
Put your skills to the test by working on real-world projects or contributing to open-source projects hosted on AWS. Collaborate with peers, tackle challenges, and leverage AWS services to build scalable, cost-effective solutions that address business needs. Document your projects, highlight your achievements, and showcase your expertise through online portfolios, GitHub repositories, or personal blogs. Real-world experience demonstrates your ability to apply AWS knowledge in practical scenarios, making you a valuable asset to potential employers or clients. Enroll in one of the best AWS course in Pune.
7. Never Stop Learning
The AWS ecosystem is vast and dynamic, and there's always something new to learn. Cultivate a growth mindset and embrace continuous learning as a lifelong journey. Explore advanced topics, experiment with emerging technologies, and seek opportunities for professional development. Whether it's attending conferences, enrolling in advanced courses, or pursuing advanced certifications, invest in your ongoing education to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field of AWS.
Becoming an expert in the AWS field requires dedication, persistence, and a genuine passion for cloud technology. By mastering the fundamentals, gaining hands-on experience, pursuing certifications, staying updated, specializing in specific areas, building real-world projects, and fostering a commitment to lifelong learning, you can establish yourself as a sought-after AWS professional capable of tackling complex challenges and driving innovation in the cloud computing industry. Start your journey today and unleash your potential in the world of AWS. Visit- https://www.sevenmentor.com/amazon-web-services-training-institute-in-pune.php

ADOLESCENCE-
Why Proposed Social Media Bans Won't Keep Your Kids Safe.
Social media bans ignore the need for digital literacy and self-regulation
Reviewed by Lybi Ma

KEY POINTS-
Proposed legal bans on social media for kids are based on moral panics, not research.
The preoccupation with social media use ignores the needed skills to safely navigate the digital world.
Not only will the laws be difficult to enforce but verification proposals raise serious privacy issues for sensitive information.
Lawmakers could help kids more by funding digital literacy programs.
Politicians can't get their pens out fast enough to draft laws to regulate social media use by kids. Advertised as "child protection" laws, the proposed bans show how little politicians understand about social media, kids, and interpreting research. The proposals, however, are getting lots of media coverage as politicians make frightening, exaggerated, and often unsubstantiated claims about the negative effects of social media on mental health.

There are legitimate concerns about kids' mental health, but recent reviews of multiple research studies find little direct evidence to support the laser beam focus on technology use (Ferguson et al., 2022) and or screen time (Orben & Przybylski, 2019) to the exclusion of other factors. If improving the mental health of kids is the goal, the proposed bans not only won't get the job done but can cause more harm than good by taking our eyes off what really matters: teaching our kids to be media literate, responsible digital citizens.

Politicians have always used moral panics to generate votes. However well-intentioned, these laws will do nothing to help a child more successfully navigate in a digital world. No amount of restrictions will help kids develop the skills and critical thinking to be safe and productive in the digital space, such as self-regulation, dealing with bullying, ethical behavior, identifying misinformation, recognizing manipulation, understanding social influence, and protecting their privacy. If they want to do some good, why not fund media literacy programs in the schools to teach them what they need to know to have healthy and safe relationships with technology?

Restricting minor kids' unsupervised use of social media makes intuitive sense if you're a parent, especially when they are under the age of 13. These are critical years for cognitive and emotional development. The bans miss the mark by overlooking some fundamental factors and open the door to a host of unintended consequences.

Simply put, the bans will:
Make access more attractive to kids
Give parents a false sense of security
Do nothing to help kids make better decisions
Phones Aren't Phones, They Are Portals to a Social World
Online devices are a portal to the kids' social world. Social media is social currency—it's how kids keep up with pop culture, trends, and their friends. It's how they know what's going on in their world. Pew Research found that the three main uses of mobile devices by teens were: passing the time (90 percent), connecting with others (84 percent), and learning new things (83 percent). Being successful on social media has also become a desired career path, glamourized by the celebrated financial and social success of young Influencers (Kidfluencers) on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, many of whom are under 13, whose popularity brings earns big money from sponsors. In a 2019 survey, 86 percent of young Americans wanted to be social media influencers (Morning Consult, 2019).

You Need a Lot of Personal Data to Verify Age and Consent
To enforce the proposed laws, age and identity have to be verified. This raises serious privacy issues around the collection and use of personal information. Utah's laws could require kids, their parents, and other users to upload birth certificates and government IDs, use facial recognition technology, or provide biometric data so that social media platforms can verify age and identity. Talk about a hacker's and marketer's dream database.

Utah's bills are infantilizing to kids and disrespectful to parents. In addition to limiting access to social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. by anyone under 18, they require a parent's express consent for minors to sign up for apps like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (Evans, 2023, April 4). The bill also would give parents administrative access rights to their kids' direct messages and interactions. If the politicians had read the research, they would see how this would undermine the trust and open communication necessary for providing kids with appropriate guidance (Wisniewski et al., 2022).

User-Centered Approaches: What's Best for the Kids?
Kids' needs for personal space change as they age. Autonomy is an important part of the developmental process as kids transition from a child to an adult and learn how to navigate their world. Like it or not, these kids live in a digital world. Risk-taking is part of the maturational process. Monitoring teens online and imposing authoritarian restrictions and privacy-invasive monitoring negate the developmental needs of teens. Parents are an important source of guidance, but the ultimate goal is helping kids make smarter and safer decisions, not turning parents into police.

Kang et al. (2022) found that parental restriction and lack of privacy boundaries resulted in backlash behavior, with teens making decisions without considering the risks to themselves and without exercising critical thinking. Yardi and Bruckman (2011) also found that teens are more seek out workarounds and are likely to engage in riskier behaviors to avoid parental observation, rules, and technology constraints.

If safety and well-being are the primary concerns of parents, empirical evidence shows that a more open and trust-based approach works best. Considering the needs and desires of the kids, rewarding positive behaviors, raising risk awareness, and negotiating age-appropriate online boundaries are the most effective at preparing kids to use technology well and become good digital citizens (Wisniewski et al., 2022). Teaching media literacy and digital citizenship is, admittedly, a lot more work than hoping the government can regulate the problem away.

Parents Are Important Role Models
Don't underestimate the importance of parental guidance. A study of nearly 4,000 teens found that 65 percent of the kids had positive parental communication, and these kids were more likely to have a healthy relationship with technology, greater well-being, and a better positive body image. Parental involvement included communication, parental attention to their own technology and social media use, and rules focused on content and activity rather than screen time. The 37 percent of remaining kids deemed 'at-risk' had screentime-based rules or no rules at all and, more importantly, no parental involvement.

Whether or not these laws can be enforced, or if the number of exclusions by powerful lobbyists makes them meaningless, there is no evidence that the proposed bans will achieve the intended goals. Instead of focusing exclusively on social media platforms, we need to teach kids age-appropriate, essential skills to be safe online without risking privacy or undermining their autonomy. The answer lies in creating user-centered approaches, such as teaching media literacy, negotiating age-appropriate boundaries, and rewarding positive behaviors, to effectively prepare children to become good digital citizens.

Unity and Division on the Internet.
The Internet doesn't divide people; people divide people.
Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

KEY POINTS-
The introduction of for-profit online platforms may predict deficits in mental health.
But the introduction of the Internet more generally may predict improvements in mental health.
Moreover, we can be biased in our evaluation of societal costs and benefits.
So what we dislike about online platforms may have more to do with their design and goals (and our perceptions) than the Internet more generally.
How do social media platforms lead to unity or division? Cecilia Esteban, a student at Stevens Institute of Technology, recently sent me three questions about this. As I looked at some evidence, I found myself unconvinced that the Internet is especially blameworthy for the undesirable division we see on some online platforms. Echo chambers, polarization, and segregation predated the Internet. And, while some Internet platforms can replicate or even reinforce these outcomes, other online platforms seem to be more beneficial. Allow me to reflect on some distinctions and evidence.

Do you think the advent of the Internet and, more specifically, social media, has done more for social unity or division?

The Internet vs. online platforms. Cecilia's question is wise to distinguish between the Internet in general and its online platforms in particular. They are different. So their effects may also be different. Some evidence confirms this: the introduction of for-profit online social media platforms has corresponded with decreases in well-being (Bragghieri et al., 2022), but the introduction of broadband Internet more generally has corresponded with increases in well-being (Donati et al., 2022).

For-profit vs. non-profit. Since the U.S. Department of Defense developed ARPANET, internet protocols have helped people connect and share valuable information. Later the Wikimedia Foundation used the Internet to facilitate a free, world-class encyclopedia (Wikipedia), a non-partisan news network (WikiNews), a social media platform (WT.social), and more online platforms. Wikimedia’s societal contributions harness humanity's best motivations: donating talent, knowledge, and other resources to the benefit more people. Some for-profit online social platforms, however, feed off of humanity's worst vices and vulnerabilities: ego and insecurity, tribalism and loneliness, miserliness and impulsivity, etc. So our mileage on the Internet's platforms may depend on their business model.

Many say that social media can act as a sort of “echo chamber” (specifically due to the algorithms behind these platforms), while others argue that social media actually exposes users to other perspectives/walks of life that they may have otherwise been unaware of. What kind of impact do you think both of these cases can have on a person’s beliefs, and what further implications may they hold?

Both children and adults have been observed sorting themselves into groups of similar people—and this was observed long before most people had access to the Internet (e.g., McPherson & Smith-Lovin 1987; Schrum et al., 1988). Even though this homophily can replicate online (Mele 2017), the design of social media platforms may impact the way we opt in or out of communities and echo chambers.

User experience design. Networks of people may be more segregated into echo chambers in private or closed social platforms than in open or public social platforms (Kwon et al., 2017). I’ve argued that our allegiances to the beliefs or people in our echo chambers probably biases the way we think about the world (even when we’re trying to think carefully), but I also argue that we might overcome this belief bias when our primary goal is nonpartisan rationality (Byrd, 2022). In principle, it seems possible that online platforms could be (re)designed to reinforce nonpartisan norms rather than loyalty to our preferred groups or orthodoxies. Perhaps Wikimedia's positive feedback for citing sources, admitting when evidence is lacking, and correcting errors helps users overcome belief bias more than online platforms that seem to promote things like perceptions and expressions of outrage (Brady et al., 2021, 2023).

What do you think can be done in order to mitigate the more divisive impact of social media on society? Is there anything that has proven helpful in sowing unity amongst people in settings as diverse and vast (yet simultaneously condensed) as the ones borne of social media?

My answer to the first question suggests that the goals of online platforms matter. But the prioritization of goals also matters, such as when the goal of profit conflicts with the goal of human flourishing. As Frances Haugen famously claimed, a for-profit platform often “chooses profit over safety” (Bauder and Liedtke, 2021). Wikimedia’s platform is not only less about profit, but also distributed across more people with a more diverse set of values and motivations than one corporation's stockholders.

Decentralize? Haugen is wise to remind us that “No one at [for-profit social media companies] is [necessarily] malevolent, ...But the [their] incentives [can be] misaligned”. When we can choose between only a few online platforms that prioritize advertisers over users, it is unsurprising to find so many cases of profit-over-safety. If, however, users distribute themselves across platforms that rely on different models, we can observe which models correspond to better user well-being. Perhaps user migrations from a few for-profit online platforms to a diverse set of non-profit and decentralized alternative platforms like Mastodon servers (Chan, 2023) will give scientists an opportunity to test this hypothesis.

Serve stakeholders, not just stockholders. When an online platform's model requires selling ads or user data, the platform will want users to spend more time on their platform (so the platform can monitor more user decisions and/or lure users into viewing more ads). Some platforms may become so successful at keeping users active on their platform that users become addicted to using the platform (Cheng et al., 2021)—although the frequency of this outcome probably depends at least in part on platform-independent factors (ibid.).

But imagine if an online platform instead optimized for human flourishing. Consider “time banking” platforms that show people how they can achieve mutual benefit by trading their time rather than their money, outrage, or capacity to look at ads (Goodwin & Cahn, 2018). For example, a time banking platform could analyze user data to connect an able-bodied lonely person with a differently-abled person who needs help with basic household chores to help the lonely person achieve the social connection they need by providing their fellow human with the physical labor that they need—a win-win.

Conclusion
The Internet and its platforms are tools that can be used for good, bad, or neutral goals. But even when people attempt to use the Internet's platforms for good, there may be unintended side effects. Moreover, biases about side effects (Knobe 2003) may lead to a negativity bias about the Internet, its platforms, and/or its users. By reflecting on the design and use of different online platforms, we may notice more of the Internet's helpful achievements and side effects, which could give us a more accurate estimate of the Internet's costs and benefits for society.

ADOLESCENCE-
Teens, Screens, and Mental Health.
What’s bad, what’s good, and what you can do about it.
Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

KEY POINTS-
Toxic social media is being blamed for increasing mental health problems in children and teenagers.
Social media can entice a young person into comparing themselves negatively with others, and into inadvertent bullying behavior.
When used wisely, social media and other technology can have many benefits for kids.

Dove has recently released a compelling three-minute video called “Cost of Beauty: A Dove Story,” which blames toxic social media for harming the mental health of 3 in 5 kids. It shows a young girl named Mary growing from toddlerhood to 12, when she receives a smartphone as a birthday gift. As the sweet, playful child uses her phone, she becomes obsessed with her appearance and her weight.

Over time, Mary becomes seriously ill and is hospitalized with what appears to be anorexia. The video finishes with Mary, now in recovery, followed by shots of several other real-life survivors of mental health issues.

Keep It in Perspective: Toxic Social Media Is Not the Biggest Problem
The goal of Dove’s campaign is to support legislation compelling social media platforms to mitigate harm to children and adolescents. While that is an immensely worthwhile goal, it risks focusing our attention on a relatively small factor in the serious decline in adolescent mental health, and thereby ignoring the larger factors.

For most kids growing up in poverty in crowded and dangerous conditions, with poor educational opportunities and little access to mental health supports, toxic social media might push them over the top, but it isn’t the biggest reason for any problems they might have. Dan Keating argues that psychologists need to recognize the situation as a “stress pandemic” with many root causes, and work not only to support kids in coping, but also to reduce the terrible overload of stressors too many kids are dealing with. If we care about young people's mental health, we need to pay attention to the larger problems they're worried about, like social injustice, environmental degradation, and gun violence,

Maybe Social Media Isn’t the Biggest Problem, But That Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t a Problem
The Dove campaign is grounded in fact: social media can entice a young person into over-focusing on their appearance, and developing a negative self-image that leads to attitudes and practices that damage their mental health. Social media makes it almost impossible for teenagers to resist harmful comparisons to others’ appearance, possessions, activities, and popularity.

In early and middle adolescence (11-16), social media can override kids’ judgment. Their brains are developing, and they don’t yet have the maturity to resist harmful peer influences. If a cruel post gets lots of likes, your child—who’s normally kind and thoughtful—can join in, inadvertently participating in a bullying exercise that can have serious real-world consequences for the victim. Alternatively, they can find themselves the innocent victim of negative online attention and be too embarrassed to talk about it. This can deteriorate into serious mental health concerns.

And it’s not only the toxic content we need to worry about. When technology gets out of balance, kids can squander opportunities for authentic connection and relationship-building. They can shortchange other activities that promote their health and well-being. It can distract their attention from what matters most in their lives.

Technology Does Have Benefits
All that being said, when technology is used mindfully, it has many benefits. It can provide needed breaks for busy kids. Young people can learn to use social media in positive ways to initiate, develop, and maintain meaningful social connections that increase their confidence and resilience.

Kids can find online learning opportunities that expand their sense of possibility, and support the development of their interests. This can be especially important for kids who feel different than others or are marginalized, as well as kids with special learning needs, whether learning problems or giftedness.

What to Do About the Problem #1: Be a Good Role Model
Kids whose parents spend a lot of time on their devices are more negative than other kids, and less resilient. Starting in infancy, children express more distress and are less likely to explore their environments when their mothers are using their devices. This can lead to emotional disorders as time goes by.

So, do your best to keep your phone use to a minimum when you’re with your child. A child who feels seen and heard and valued is more confident and resilient, and a lot less likely to go down the technological rabbit hole that leads to trouble.

What to Do About It #2. Teach Your Child to Use Screens Mindfully

Help your child learn to distinguish between online activities that are useful or beneficial and those that waste their time or worse.

Disable location settings. Restrict your young person’s online access, and if your child is under 12, don’t allow unsupervised time online. Encourage screen use in the kitchen and living room, and other places where family members are present. Restrict bedroom use, especially for the hour before bedtime and through the night.

Teach positive online behavior. Help your child learn how to be responsible, positive, and supportive online, just like in the real world.

And also, be flexible. Each child and each teenager has their own unique personality, needs, and preferences, and these change over time. Your family’s technology rules should respond to changing demands and situations.

What to Do About It #3. Support a Balance of Healthy Activities
A healthy life balance is one of the best ways to support your child’s mental health as they approach and travel through adolescence. A balanced life can counteract the harmful effects of toxic social media. Sleep matters, and so does nutrition. Encourage your child to spend time in nature; to engage with friends, family, and extended family; and to get involved in community activities. It’s also important to help them find opportunities for creative self-expression.

What to Do About It #4. Creative Problem-Solving
Talk with your child about ways to help other kids use social media mindfully and supportively. They might enjoy working with a few friends or the rest of their class on designing an anti-bullying campaign for the school, or on a positive body image campaign for the younger kids in the school. There’s no better way to encourage mindful decision-making than to teach it to others.

And once your child gets a taste of making a difference in their community on social media concerns, they may want to get involved in the bigger issues affecting our communities and the planet.

Social media can be toxic, and it is important to be alert to its dangers. But don’t get it out of perspective or feel helpless against it. There are many ways you can combat its harms within your family and your community.

Tribalism in the Age of Social Media.
Strategies for fostering connection in the digital world.
Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

KEY POINTS-
The rise of digital technology and social media has led to an increase in tribalism.
Tribalism can foster a narrow perspective and a lack of empathy and understanding towards those who hold different views.
Overcoming tribalism requires awareness and effort.

The emergence of digital technology and social media has revolutionized our society in countless ways. However, with these changes comes a new set of challenges, one of which is the increase in tribalism. Tribalism is a phenomenon that describes the strong identification or loyalty to one's group or community. In the digital age, tribalism has become more prevalent than ever before, and its effects can be observed across different domains, such as politics, culture, and social interactions.

The rise of social media platforms and digital communication channels has made it easier for individuals to connect with like-minded people who share similar beliefs and interests. This newfound ease of connectivity has led to online communities, which can serve as a source of support and validation for individuals. However, it can also create echo chambers in which individuals only engage with others who share their views, leading to a reinforcement of beliefs and a lack of exposure to diverse perspectives. This can result in a tribal mentality, where individuals perceive those outside their group as the "other."

How does social media contribute to tribalism?
To fully understand tribalism and its effects in the digital age, it is essential to consider the psychological forces that contribute to it. One such force is the need for social identity, or the desire to belong to a group and be accepted by others. In the digital age, social media platforms and online communities provide an easy way for individuals to connect with like-minded people who share their interests and beliefs. This can create a sense of belonging and validation that can be very appealing. However, it can also lead to a narrow perspective and a lack of exposure to diverse viewpoints, fostering tribalism and an us-vs-them mentality.

Another psychological force contributing to tribalism is confirmation bias, the tendency to seek information that confirms our beliefs and ignore information that challenges them. In the digital age, social media algorithms and personalized newsfeeds can amplify this bias, as they often show us content that aligns with our interests and beliefs. This can lead to a reinforcement of our own opinions and a lack of exposure to diverse perspectives, which can foster tribalism and make it difficult to empathize with those who have different views.

The impact of social media
Communication
With the rise of social media platforms, it has become easier to connect with like-minded individuals and form online communities. While this can be positive in many ways, it can also lead to a phenomenon known as echo chambers. Echo chambers occur when individuals only engage with people who share their views, leading to a reinforcement of beliefs and a lack of exposure to diverse perspectives. This can create an us-vs-them mentality that fosters tribalism and can lead to hostility towards those who do not share the same beliefs.

Political system
In the digital age, spreading false information and manipulating public opinion through social media has become more accessible. This has led to a polarization of politics, with individuals becoming more entrenched in their beliefs and less willing to compromise or consider alternative viewpoints. This has made it more difficult for politicians to work across party lines and find common ground, leading to a more divided and ineffective political system.

Cultural identity
With the rise of globalization and the increasing diversity of our communities, finding a sense of belonging and connection has become more critical than ever. However, the digital age has made it easier to retreat into online communities that reinforce our cultural identity, leading to a need for more engagement with other cultures and a narrowing of our perspectives. This can lead to a lack of empathy and understanding toward others and a failure to appreciate the value of cultural diversity.

Mental health
Social media and online communities can be a source of support and connection, but they can also lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. In addition, the pressure to conform to the norms of our online communities can lead to anxiety and depression, particularly among young people who are more susceptible to the influence of social media.

10 strategies to combat tribalism in the digital age
Overcoming the forces of tribalism in the digital age is crucial to fostering a more connected and tolerant society. Here are 10 ways to do so:

Promote media literacy: Encourage people to fact-check information before sharing it on social media. You can provide resources and tools, such as fact-checking websites or tutorials on identifying fake news.
Encourage diverse perspectives: Attend events or forums that feature speakers from different backgrounds and encourage attendees to ask questions and engage in dialogue. You can also join online communities or social media groups with a diverse membership.
Foster critical thinking: Provide articles or videos that challenge people's assumptions and encourage them to question their biases. You can also discuss different viewpoints on issues with your family and friends.

Engage in civil discourse: Set ground rules for discussions to ensure that everyone is respectful and listens to each other. Encourage people to share their own experiences and perspectives and seek to understand those of others.
Promote empathy and understanding: Encourage people to explore different cultures and experiences by talking with people from different backgrounds to learn more about their lives and perspectives.
Challenge stereotypes: Encourage people to think critically about the stereotypes they hold and where they come from.
Encourage active listening: Provide prompts or questions for people to ask each other during conversations to encourage active listening.

Celebrate diversity of ideas and cultures: Host events that showcase different perspectives and traditions. By promoting a broader understanding and appreciation of different cultures and opinions, we can foster a more inclusive and connected society.
Encourage collaboration: Set up opportunities that encourage people to work together towards a common goal.
Create spaces for dialogue: Host virtual town hall meetings or forums that allow people to share their concerns and ideas where people can respectfully discuss important issues.

Awareness and effort
The rise of tribalism in the digital age has presented numerous challenges for our society. Nevertheless, we must remember that we can confront these challenges and promote a more connected and tolerant world. The words of Maya Angelou, "In diversity there is beauty, and there is strength," carry significant relevance when it comes to acknowledging the need for diversity of ideas and opinions in our society. By exposing ourselves to different perspectives, we can better understand the world and its inhabitants. Embracing diversity in our thoughts and beliefs can help us build a more inclusive and accepting society that celebrates differences and values open-mindedness. Through awareness and effort, we can transcend the obstacles of tribalism and work towards a brighter future for ourselves and generations to follow.

PERSONALITY-
What Does Your Selfie Reveal About You?
Taking a closer look at selfies and personality.
Reviewed by Davia Sills

KEY POINTS-
Many of the photos posted on social media platforms are selfies.
Judges rated positivity in selfies to be related to extraversion and agreeableness.
Duckface selfies were related to neuroticism.
Selfies allow the owners a degree of control over how they look.

We may think that the type of photos posted on social media can give us some clues as to the photo owner’s personality characteristics. For example, we may infer that extraverted individuals post photos in which they are surrounded by friends, whereas those who are more conscientious may be more likely to be seen in environments that are neat and tidy. In addition to this, we often infer personality characteristics from facial expressions or body posture. Furthermore, there is research that suggests a link between the number of photos uploaded on Facebook and the account holder’s personality (Eftekhar, Fullwood & Morries, 2014).

Today, many of the photos posted on social media platforms are selfies, and therefore Lin Qiu and colleagues sought to investigate firstly what types of personality cues are communicated via selfies and, secondly, how others might infer personality characteristics from viewing selfies (Qiu, Lu, Yang, Qu, & Qu, 2015).

The participants in their study completed the Big Five Personality Inventory (John, Donahue & Kentle, 1991), which measures five distinct dimensions: extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
The researchers then downloaded selfie profile photos of the participants and coded them according to a pretested system of 13 cues:
Duckface
Pressed lips
Emotional positivity
Eyes looking at the camera
Camera height
Camera in front
Face visibility
Amount of body
Alone
Location information
Public location
Private location
Photoshop editing
Finally, independent judges viewed each selfie and reported their impression of the personality characteristics of the selfie based on the Big Five Scale outlined above.

What they found
First, the researchers compared participants’ own personality ratings with their selfies and found that extraversion was unrelated to any of the 13 selfie cues listed above. This is possibly due to the selfie owners displaying positive emotion by carefully managing the impression portrayed in their selfies. They did, however, find that agreeableness was related to emotional positivity but negatively related to camera height, meaning that more agreeable participants were likely to take pictures from below. Conscientiousness was negatively related to displaying a private location in the selfie background, maybe indicating participants’ caution regarding their privacy. Finally, duckface selfies were related to neuroticism, whereas openness was associated with selfies displaying emotional positivity.

Next, the researchers looked at the relationship between the independent judges’ ratings of the personality characteristics of the selfie owners based on the selfie cues displayed by participants: in other words, how the judges used the cues in selfies to infer personality characteristics. They found that ratings of extraversion in the selfie owners were related to emotional positivity, which suggests that extraversion is related to facial expressions such as smiling. Judgments of agreeableness were related to emotional positivity and eyes looking at the camera, maybe implying that the direct eye contact communicated by this made the selfie owners look more agreeable.

Conscientiousness was judged to be related to emotional positivity and negatively associated with a duckface. Neuroticism was judged as being negatively related to emotional positivity but positively related to a duckface and face visibility, which suggests that showing a duckface and not showing a full face are perhaps related to moodiness. Neuroticism judgments were also attributed to those who zoomed in on their faces; in other words, neuroticism was negatively related to the amount of location and body information displayed in the photo and judged as being positively related to being alone. Judges attributed lower levels of openness to selfies displaying normal faces and faces with pressed lips. Finally, attributions of openness were also given to selfies showing emotional positivity, perhaps suggesting that smiling is an indicator of openness.

Accuracy of judgments
The independent judges who assessed the personality characteristics of the selfie owners were accurate only for assessments of the selfie owner’s degree of openness. The low level of accuracy in judging participants’ personality characteristics may be because the judges used the wrong types of cues in assessing selfie owners’ personalities. For example, the judges reported using emotional positivity to judge all five personality traits and, in addition, also utilized some newer cues, such as duckface, pressed lips, and background location. In sum, then, it seems that it is only openness that can be accurately detected from viewing selfies.

Why is it difficult to make accurate personality judgments from selfies?
It is obvious that selfies allow the owners a degree of control over how they look. In other words, selfie owners can decide exactly how they present themselves via their selfies and manipulate them accordingly, even though this may not reflect how they normally look. Selfies posted on social media generally present the owners in the most favorable way possible. Therefore, the real-life associations between extraversion and positivity, for example, may cease to be valid. Furthermore, selfies typically feature only faces, which means that cues such as clothing and body posture, which may also communicate personality characteristics, are absent.

The findings from this study have implications for other social media-related applications and platforms, such as online dating sites, for example, where people make dating decisions based on what they view from a person’s profile picture. This may be concerning given the current findings, which suggest that those viewing selfies generally tend to make inaccurate inferences regarding the personality characteristics of selfie owners.

Body Image and Social Media.
Why some social platforms can create the “perfect storm” for young people.
Reviewed by Davia Sills

KEY POINTS-
Young people have long been bombarded with messages and images focusing on appearance and status.
Highly visual and quantifiable social media platforms can amplify the negative impact of these messages.
Developmental changes during adolescence make youth especially vulnerable to body image concerns.
Just deleting specific apps won't solve the problem. Teens need us to engage them in conversation and action.

Being bombarded with messages and images focusing on appearance and status is not new to this generation of young people. Indeed, decades of research demonstrate that exposure to narrow beauty standards is correlated with body image concerns (this includes how young people think about their physical appearance, including bodies, faces, hair, eyes, etc.). Whether through print, TV, or advertisements, the reality is that girls, in particular, have long been bombarded with messages and images convincing them that the most important thing about their identities is their physical appearance.

Just because it's been a longstanding toxic trend doesn't mean that we should throw up our hands and surrender with, "This is just the way things are." Indeed, the design attributes of specific social media platforms like Instagram can exacerbate upward social comparisons. Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley, who studies gender and adolescent mental health, notes that overall time on social media, in general, is not consistently connected to body image issues. But we see a much stronger relationship when we zoom in on upward social comparison in highly visual media.

Apps like Instagram may present specific challenges because they are:
Highly visual: Many people, especially celebrities and influencers, carefully curate their images on highly visual social platforms and even manipulate images to adhere to light skin, straight hair, thin (or muscular), able-bodied, and wealthy beauty standards.
Quantifiable: Young people don't have to imagine how popular someone or something is; they can see it for themselves in likes and shares.
These attributes make it difficult for any of us to resist the urge to engage in social comparison online. But early adolescence is a uniquely vulnerable time when it comes to social media and body image. Adolescents are going through specific developmental changes, including:

Physical changes: Changes in body size and weight. For most kids, this makes them less like the beauty standards pushed by social media.
Social changes: Teens are much more susceptible to peer opinion.
Cognitive changes: The capacity to think in abstract ways includes the ability to consider "imaginary audiences."
Identity changes: Social comparison is a natural process, but as young people explore their own identities and start to answer the question, "Who am I?" social comparison goes into overdrive.

The costs of being camera-ready.
The challenge is that platforms like Instagram weren't designed with these developmental strengths and vulnerabilities in mind. They were designed for clicks, shares, scrolls, and sales. They were also designed so that a young person's photo could be shared widely at any moment. According to Dr. Choukas-Bradley, this mismatch can create the "perfect storm" for some young people who spend hours a day on highly visual social media.

This storm can intensify when teens become preoccupied with producing highly curated and edited images themselves. A team of researchers recently introduced a new construct to explain the psychological impact of constantly being "camera-ready." They have found that "appearance-related social media consciousness" predicts body image concerns and depressive symptoms over time.

It's not all bad, all the time.
Does this mean that social media is the sole cause of body image issues or disordered eating? No. Many young people benefit in important ways from the connections and community they find on these platforms.

Beauty ideals are culturally constructed, and many young people curate their feeds to seek the healthy representation of their identities. This can be especially powerful to kids who don't see themselves reflected in their communities or in mainstream media. Others may proactively follow influencers that depict a broad range of beauty ideals and authentic representations of their bodies and lives.

We also shouldn't discount other well-known risk factors for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in a narrow focus on social media. These include stress and trauma, racism, and food insecurity, among others. For many teens, social media may be magnifying and reinforcing existing vulnerabilities we should not ignore.

What can we do?
Right now, there is a lot of important discussion about platform accountability and designing platforms with adolescent health and development in mind. More research on the specific ways that race and gender interact to shape young people's self-worth and body image online and offline will help us better design platforms that center around young people's diverse needs.

In the meantime, though, we can talk to teens early and often about aligning their online activities with the things that make them feel better about themselves and each other. This kind of "values-aligned" media use can buffer young people from the more negative effects. Curating feeds for body-positive influencers, creating body-positive content, and practicing critical media literacy all matter.

Stay curious. Keep talking.
Let's be clear. Not all teens are eager to sit down with us to formally reflect on their digital lives. But just deleting apps without talking about these issues is likely to backfire. The onslaught of messaging about worth, value, and appearance does not begin and end on Instagram. Ongoing conversations with kids about these topics are protective across both online and offline activities.

Most of us know that social media doesn't reflect real life. But it often takes ongoing conversations and reflection to really know it. And part of growing up is getting to know ourselves and our self-worth well enough to be able to protect it.

MINDFULNESS-
Activating Hope, Truth, and Better Conversations.
Three practices to lead us out of the malaise and redefine our conversations.
Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

KEY POINTS-
People can shift how they observe the onslaught of misinformation and mistruths by adopting an insightful bird’s-eye view, or meta-perspective.
Society's reliance on science, facts, and expertise is critically important.
Shifting from conflict avoidance to the art of dialogue rebuilds conversational skills and allows for more respectful conversations.
Over the last six years, whenever conversations with friends and family moved into politics, the mood quickly spiraled into frustration and hopelessness. The country’s political malaise has divided us and frozen us into inaction. And today, while the expelling of two black representatives out of the Tennessee congressional chamber is discouraging, it is also possible that the anti-woke mob so fearful of change is sparking awakened reactions.

I put my faith and hope in three practices that can lead us out of the malaise and powerfully shift our perspective so we can embrace the truth and redefine and refine our conversations.

First, we can shift the way we observe the onslaught of misinformation and mistruths. By understanding the greater evolutionary context from which humans emerged, we can adopt a mindset with a higher meta-perspective—a zooming-out, or an insightful bird’s-eye view.

The second practice is remembering how critically important our reliance on science, facts, and expertise is. Misinformation, ignorance, and nihilistic rhetoric erode public trust and confidence. Better conversations are not possible until we understand the valuable role facts, expertise, institutions, and public trust play; that is if our desire is to create sustainable democratic societies.

The third practice is rebuilding our conversational skills, shifting from conflict avoidance around difficult topics to the art of dialogue, where tolerance and open minds are the heart of collaborative and creative conversations, and wise decisions flow from those respectful conversations.

A Meta-Perspective
In the book Spiral Dynamics, Don Edward Beck and Christopher Cowan present a model of human development based on the theories of Clare W. Graves. Beck and Cowan discuss the evolution of our brains, systems, cultures, and behaviors. Their work provides a perspective of our ancestors’ revolutionary journey, a progressive march of human consciousness.

The complex and contentious evolutionary journey—from the cognitive revolution 70,000 years ago to the agricultural revolution about 11,000 years ago, to the scientific revolution 500 years ago, to our current biotechnical revolution—is marked by transformational progressions of conscious beings at the physical, psychological, cultural, societal, and governmental levels.

Each reformation birthed new ideas, morals, and social and governing systems, where ideas about right and wrong were forged, religious wars fought, and nations rose and fell. Each upward push of human consciousness created hostile, reactionary forces. Forces fearfully clinging to the known, rejecting the unknown, and sounding alarms of Armageddon: “Life will never be the same!”

Progress continued in the last century as liberal democracies evolved to promote citizen participation, including diverse racial, economic, religious, and ethnic groups. Within this brief time, much progress has been made (lots more to do) toward rejecting racism, embracing marriage equality, lifting voting restrictions, and, most recently, reconsidering gender stereotypes. As in the past, these reformations have set off strong adverse and fearful reactions.

A meta-perspective reminds us that life is a package deal. Biological, psychological, and sociological change, coupled with activism, are the engines of progress. And with progress comes resistance. Awakening to the upward march of progress and the danger of resistance informs the way we act. Accepting life’s complexity and pluralistic nature requires individuals, communities, and governments to take actions that enhance the arc of progress and to stay the course of building a better, more tolerant, and expansive future. The arc of history demonstrates that being awake is far superior to being asleep at the wheel.

Re-engaging Reality
Unscrupulous forces have hijacked the internet and social media platforms. They disregard facts, data, science, and expertise, making virtually every story, opinion, or pronouncement equally relevant. Podcasts, punditry, and conspiracy theories are no substitutes for trustworthy and knowledgeable expertise. When I was diagnosed with leukemia years ago, I wanted the best minds and most experienced docs by my side. There’s simply no excuse for rejecting expertise and experience.

While our understanding of the truth might vary, depending on our religion or spiritual beliefs, our shared democratic society relies on facts and common sense rooted in experience and documentable observations. Throughout history, when the truth and freedom of speech were eroded, societies and governments fell into the hands of chaotic authoritarianism.

What is a society without a solid foundation of factual information? On the surface, facts and truth may seem obvious, but when doubt is weaponized, our conversations have no solid ground to stand on. There’s no such thing as alternative facts. Ignorance and blind servitude are no excuse. We have an individual responsibility to educate ourselves. Current systems need to be improved to hold social media companies, cable news outlets, politicians, and institutions accountable. Perhaps, the dominion case against Fox News (entertainment) can lead the way.

Individuals, communities, and politicians must re-engage with reality and re-embrace science, expertise, and the authority of institutions. Trust is the foundation of democracy, and rebuilding it requires expertise, honesty, and reliability. It also requires each of us to make wise choices about what voices and opinions we listen to.

More Tolerant, Respectful Conversations
In contentious conversations, we accept our stories and opinions as the truth, fearfully clenching prejudices like racism, bigotry, and misogyny. This stance creates immovable conversations. With our hearts and minds closed, we become prey to untruths and conspiracies—a pattern of protecting rather than questioning our attachment to our beliefs.

David Bohm, a theoretical physicist and philosopher of the mind who is intensely interested in the unfolding of society, developed a process called the Bohm Dialogue. His dialogue offers a radical guide for transforming confrontational and adversarial debates into conversations of deconstruction and synthesis.

Bohm's process asks individuals to loosen the grip of their firmly held stories/opinions and deconstruct their roots, which consist of four archetypal: desires, concerns, power issues, and standards. Revealing and exploring these elements in conversation is the heart of collaboration. Any effort to deconstruct the hold our opinions have on us is like entering a conversation with a closed fist ready for battle fist vs. an open hand willing to be wrong, to have all the answers, and learn from others.

Desires
In conversations, our desires lurk in the background of our minds. We must be more aware of how desires shape our opinions and judgments. They can be a significant blind spot, locking us in unproductive conversations.

Concerns
In working with others and facing challenging issues, we all have concerns about what might happen. You may be worried about what might go wrong, or you might not want tomorrow to end like today. Our unconscious concerns are emotionally triggering and stressful.

Power Issues
In conversations, the question of authority is ubiquitous. Whether you’re a leader, colleague, teacher, parent, or friend, issues of power and control are always playing out, consciously and unconsciously.

Standards
Our standards play an outsized role in our conversations. Our opinions, judgments, preferences, and prejudices are driven by the standards, morals, and scruples we’ve consciously or unconsciously adopted through our families and culture of what is right or wrong, good or bad, pretty or ugly, wise or stupid.

In dialogue, as we share the thinking behind our opinions without others critiquing, a space for listening opens up. As we absorb other perspectives, our minds and hearts can change through synthesis. And as ideas are shared and compared, collaboration shifts into creativity. In a creative conversation, fresh, previously spoken ideas and solutions bubble up, as if by magic.

All three practices ask a lot of us. These are not easy tasks, but given the current situation, we have no choice but to muster up the energy to keep marching forward.

With the upcoming 2024 election heating up and fearful anti-change reactions on full display, we can all affect the outcome by aligning our actions with the evolutionary march upward. We can also hold politicians, social media platforms, and the press accountable by insisting on facts, trusting expertise, and practicing collaborative and creative conversations.