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Requesting students to use social media platforms for its benefits rather than wasting time scrolling aimlessly. To be safe, you need to think. Social media is the new idiom of communication. Follow good creative pages, engage in social media platforms for learning creative arts and educating yourselves rather than aimlessly scrolling and not getting the most out of it. Students should be encouraged to double check before sharing any information on social media platforms.

Guwahati Police Commissioner Harmeet Singh on Friday urged youth to engage responsibly on social media and only with its positive aspects, underlining that they cannot be expected to remain off it altogether as networking sites are the new means of communication.

He also requested students to use social media platforms for its benefits rather than wasting time scrolling aimlessly. "To be safe, you need to think. Social media is the new idiom of communication. We must navigate to stay safe," Singh said at the launch of a digital literacy and awareness programme for adolescents and youth in Assam.

Technology Company Meta, erstwhile Facebook Inc, partnered with the Assam Police to roll out the initiative with an aim of creating a safer online environment, a release said. "Follow good creative pages, engage in social media platforms for learning creative arts and educating yourselves rather than aimlessly scrolling and not getting the most out of it," the senior officer said. Singh added that the Assam Police would always lend support to people reporting cybercrimes. Speaking on the occasion, Ghanshyam Dass, Secretary, IT Department of Assam, said

In a similar vein, Satya Yadav, Head, Trust and Safety, Facebook India (Meta), said, "When it comes to young people, our platforms are designed to ensure responsible empowerment along with age appropriate safeguards."We are constantly innovating technology to ensure that youth benefit from our platforms while they continue to feel safe.

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Youth must engage responsibly on social media - The Hans India

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If youve ever considered taking a break from endlessly scrolling Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, recent research confirms its a smart choice. And it can be especially beneficial for athletes. But exactly how much time is enough to experience the mental health advantages of putting a pause on social media?

Researchers of a recent study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, found participants improved their well-being (defined as their level of positive affect, life satisfaction, and sense of purpose) and decreased levels of depression and anxiety after taking a week-long break. Heres what makes the pay-offs even easier to obtain: Participants werent given orders to cease all social media usage.

We wanted to learn whether or not people would stick to the one-week break and whether this would also predict changes in mental health, Jeffrey Lambert, Ph.D., professor of health and exercise psychology at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom and lead researcher tells Bicycling.

To find out, Lambert says he and his colleagues analyzed the social media usage of 154 adults. At baseline, each participant was asked to fill out a questionnaire to assess their mental health and social media usage. They found, on average, participants were spending about eight hours a week on social media. (Imagine how your cycling would improve if you swapped those hours for time spent in the saddle!)

After filling out the baseline survey, participants were divided into two groupsintervention and controlled. The intervention group was asked to stop using social media for one week, though they werent checked on during this time. Instead, they were given tips on how to unplug, such as downloading an app blocker, disabling social media notifications, and deleting social media apps.

Meanwhile, people in the control group were simply asked to remain using social media as normal.

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After a week, everyone completed a follow-up survey to assess their mental health and submitted their screen time analysis to researchers.

In the end, researchers found not only did people in the intervention group drastically decrease their social media usagedropping it down to just 28 minutes per week, as compared to that eight-hour averagebut they also experienced improvements in well-being and reported lower levels of depression and anxiety.

Lambert says reflecting on your social media usage and possibly taking a break from social media sitesTikTok, Facebook, even Stravacan be a relatively easy way to help manage your mental health.

Jarrod Spencer, Psy.D., sports psychologist, and author of Mind of the Athlete: Clearer Mind, Better Performance, agrees: The nature of social media is that its designed to give you dopamine [a chemical substance that plays a role in how we feel pleasure] and the problem is that were meant to get dopamine from doing something hard.

Spencer says taking a break from social media will allow you to stop overthinking and get dopamine from other activities, including exercise. That means time spent cycling can boost your mood and mental well-being even more than it already does. And without spending all that time on social, you have even more free time to hit the road.

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Social Media and Mental Health: Why You Need a Break - Bicycling

Social media is not unavoidable. What started as just a means for entertainment and fun, now encapsulates several useful factors. It has become one spot where people are sharing their life events, and on the other hand, it has become a tool for businesses big or small to gain and maintain recognition.

The easy access to a stable internet connection has played a major catapulting role in mainstream social media. People now have the option to choose the best internet service providers as the likes of CenturyLink. Users can get affordable CenturyLink internet plans yet high speeds so they do not have to face any lagging speeds.

Since it is an integral part of everyones lives now, there are constant changes. This certainly makes you wonder what does the future of social media looks like. So if you are as keen on knowing what to expect from social media shortly, then keep reading to find out.

Even though virtual reality communication has been available for a while, it has yet to become mainstream. However, this could change soon. Metas being one of the worlds largest social media companies and its Metaverse is going to be a game-changer. Part of the reason behind the companys rebranding was to better match its ideas for a virtual reality metaverse. Horizon Worlds, the companys virtual reality platform, is designed to bring people together and foster a feeling of community online.

This method includes utilizing a headset to immerse a person in a virtual environment. It has a lot of potential and could become a standard social media feature in the not-too-distant future.

The overlaying of virtual items into real-time video or photographs is known as augmented reality or AR. This is commonly done with a smartphone or an augmented reality headset, with social networking apps relying on the camera on the users smartphone. In the sphere of internet purchasing, such technology has a bright future.

As weve already mentioned, both Facebook and Instagram feature marketplace areas. Apps are increasingly attempting to include e-commerce into their user experience, and augmented reality-based buying is a potential prospect for these online spaces.

With the ever-growing popularity of social media platforms, its only logical for more businesses to offer a high dollar for an ad that would be seen by millions. If anything, social media provides a more profitable advertising platform than print or television ever could. As a result, in the future months and years, you can expect to see adverts in even more places on your favorite social networking platforms. While this might help discover new products, it is also one of the least favorite aspects of social networking for many users.

Long gone are the times now that people would sit back and wait for you to reach your point. Now everything has become short and sweet. This can be seen with the rise of reels and short videos that are no longer than a minute. Staying relevant will be important now. Even businesses will become more adept at utilizing social media. They will establish powerful content strategies and have unique plans for each social channel, only functioning on the relevant channels, rather than yelling about their awesomeness.

Algorithms on social media platforms track your unique activity, including your searches, engagement, frequently visited pages, dwell time, and more. This enables the algorithm to present you with comparable content to keep you interested. These algorithms make sure youre interested in the stuff youre seeing. And, with social media businesses constantly attempting to enhance user activity, theres a constant push to refine these algorithms so that they can better track your activity and extrapolate which content you want to view in the future. As they figure out how to better tap into your attention, social networking apps may become increasingly difficult to get out of.

We are already witnessing several of these factors on social media. Whether it is the rise of augmented and virtual reality, or you talk about the consistently changing algorithms that intend to keep up with peoples interests. However, if we look at social media as a whole, we know it is here to stay and it will continue to change but most are not likely to die out ever.

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What Does The Future Of Social Media Look Like? - The West News

BeReal app is the latest photo-sharing app to go viral after the success of Instagram and Snapchat among Gen Z. However, this app features a twist where it forces users to actually stay real while posting without filter pictures, and you can only post once a day.

If you havent heard about this app from any of your friends yet, chances are youll hear it soon. I also heard about it from a friend first and then decided to explore it. Later, it turned out to be truly unique and impressive. Thus, Im writing about it here to let all the readers know.

BeReal is not like any other social media platform where you can post whatever you like, no matter how true or fake it is. Instead, this app only allows you to stay real. The users have to share an unfiltered look at their life on this app every day.

Check out everything about the BeReal app in this guide that also explains using it if you are a new user.

BeReal is a new social media application, available for both Android and iOS devices, that is getting viral rapidly these days, especially among Generation Z. This app is exactly what the name suggests- you have to be real on the platform, and not live in the online persona that you have on Instagram or other social networking apps.

It allows people to be the authentic version of themselves in the online world. BeReal app is created by Alexis Barreyat, a French app designer. This app was launched in 2020. However, it is becoming known recently as it goes viral after the pandemic.

According to Social Media Today, the downloads of the BeReal app have surged by a whopping 315% since the beginning of this year. It is the fourth most downloaded social media app of 2022 in the Apple App Store, only bettered by Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.

The app store description of BeReal states, encourages people to show your friends who you really are, for once, by removing filters and opportunities to stage, over-think, or edit photos.

The BeReal app promotes users to take a picture within a time-limited frame of two minutes and post it every day. It will simultaneously take the picture from both the front and back camera to show you and your life. The prompts are random and do not appear at a fixed time.

This gives users no time to fix anything and just share the reality. These pictures are called BeReals just like Snapchat calls its pictures Snaps. You can also retake them but the application will tell your friends how many times you re-took them.

You will also have to tell the app a reason if you decide to not post the picture after clicking it or when you are deleting it. Your friends will also receive a notification if the two-minute timer gets over.

The BeReal app also allows you to react to your friends BeReals using RealMojis. These are not the generic emoticons but your own picture showcasing a reaction. Youll have to capture it within the app and use it. Your RealMojis will appear at the bottom of the post.

Remember that you can only post one BeReal every day, and not more or less than that. However, there is no streak or score like Snapchat. If you decide to not post a BeReal on any given day, you wont be able to view your friends BeReals.

The BeReal app is pretty simple and straightforward to use. However, users are habitual in using apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Thus, they may feel a bit confused while starting on this app.

Follow these steps to start using the BeReal app and learn how does it work:

These are the basics of the BeReal app. Now lets take a look at how the app is different from other social media apps.

BeReal is a photo-sharing social media application that eliminates the shine and glamour that people are used to on traditional platforms. This app asks users to post an unfiltered look into their lives every day. You can only post one photo of what you are doing in real-time.

There are no filters or effects, and theres no time available to edit the picture either. After capturing a photo, a two-minute timer will start and you have to post the picture before it ends. Your photo will be shared with your friends. You can also share it with everyone by making your account public.

If you decide to not post a picture, youll have to choose a reason from the available options. Also, if you are late in posting your daily unfiltered look, then your friends will receive a notification that possibly shames you a bit.

On traditional social media platforms, you see people with lighter and clearer skin, sharp jawlines, no fat, and other unrealistic traits. You also see them on vacations having expensive food in a luxurious location. All of this is unavailable on BeReal. The users must be real on this app.

Yes, BeReal is a safe and genuine application available on Android and iOS devices. It is intended for users at least 13 years of age or older. Theres no pressure of gaining likes, views or follows contrary on other social media platforms. Users cant even text each other.

This makes it safer than Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. However, some points that raise certain eyebrows are:

Apart from these factors, there is nothing to worry about using the BeReal app. You should still use it with care. Safer Schools recommends that people shouldnt post too many personal details on the app to stay safe.

Yes, I believe the BeReal app is worth trying if you are too anxious or feeling FOMO after watching people have fun on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. This app will let you know that others are also having a normal life. They too have work and assignments to complete.

There are imperfections attached to everyone and no one is living a near-perfect lifestyle. This may make you feel good about yourself. Another advantage of the app is you can see your old friends in reality and know what they are actually doing.

Theres no compulsion to talk with each other. Just see each other living their lives and nothing else, like the early days of the Internet. If you havent tried the app yet, you must give it a shot once.

Afterward, let us know your experience and opinions about the BeReal app in the comments section.

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BeReal: How to Join and Use this Viral Social Media App - TheTealMango

Picture this: You've just got home from work and check the clock as you flop down onto the sofa. It's 6:05pm. 'Just a quick scroll through TikTok before dinner' you tell yourself, bargaining five minutes of free-time before putting your pasta on to boil. Scroll. Scroll. Double Tap. Like. Scroll. Scroll. You blink and notice it's dark outside. 7:45pm. 'Where the F did the time go!?'

If the above scenario sounds familiar, then you're not alone. In fact, of TikTok's (at least) 1 billion monthly worldwide users, 6.4% (or 64 million people which is almost the same population size as the UK, per Nations Online, if you can believe it) are categorised as being "at-risk" of developing an addiction to the app, according to a new study, while 25.4% are at a lower risk, but a risk nonetheless.

But when does mildly (or perhaps mindlessly) enjoying an evening scroll turn into a full blown TikTok addiction? And, more importantly, what can you do if you think you've got one?

While there isn't an actual 'quiz' to test if you're addicted to TikTok, a recent scientific study, published in the Addictive Behaviours Journal found that there are signs you can look out for if you think you've developed an unhealthy relationship with the social media platform.

"After jokingly telling my wife that she is obsessed with TikTok and WhatsApp, I spoke to two persons that described their interaction with adolescents who they deemed to be 'addicted' to social media or the internet," study author Troy Smith of the University of Trinidad and Tobago told PsyPost.

"One person highlighted that their son seemed nervous, refused to eat and even tried to lie to get access to Social Networking Sites (SNS) when he was restricted," the expert added. "I wanted to know how common these addiction-like behaviours associated with TikTok use were, and deepen my understanding of the underlying mechanisms."

Explaining what the study found in terms of signs to look out for if you're concerned about being addicted to TikTok, Smith said: "The most definitive signs of addiction are that the user becomes nervous, irritable, anxious, or exhibits strong feelings of sadness when deprived of access to the social networking site (withdrawal) and the users attempts to control participation in SNS are unsuccessful (relapse)."

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Not only that, but the study (which analysed data from 354 college students) found a correlation between the risk of developing a TikTok addiction and gender, as well previous mental health issues. TikTok users identified as "at-risk" of addiction tended to score higher in terms of loneliness and extraversion, while female TikTok users were also more likely to be "at-risk" compared to male users.

The findings also showed that social media users can be addicted to one platform but not another.

As for what makes TikTok so bloody addictive, there's a number of reasons why we find ourselves continually being sucked into endless evenings of scrolling. "When youre scrolling sometimes you see a photo or something thats delightful and it catches your attention," Dr. Julie Albright, a sociologist specialising in digital culture, explained to the host of YouTube series, Tech First. "And you get that little dopamine hit in the brain, in the pleasure centre of the brain. So you want to keep scrolling."

Likening the experience of using TikTok to a slot machine at a casino, the expert notes that as you scroll your eyes will catch some things it likes and some things it doesn't, which feeds your desire to keep going.

"In psychological terms [its] called random reinforcement," Albright adds. "It means sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And thats how these platforms are designed, theyre exactly like a slot machine. And, well, the one thing we know is slot machines are addictive. We know theres a gambling addiction, right? But we dont often talk about how our devices and these platforms and these apps do have these same addictive qualities baked into them."

When asked if they're aware of users developing an addiction to TikTok, and if there's anything they're doing about it, a spokesperson for the social media platform told Cosmopolitan UK: "We are focused on supporting the well-being of our community so that they feel in control of their TikTok experience."

The spokesperson went on, "We proactively surface in-feed reminders to take breaks from our app, limit evening push notifications for younger users, and our Screen Time Management setting helps anyone manage their ideal screen time by choosing a time cap."

If you are concerned about your TikTok (or any social media) use for that matter, there are a number of things you can do to reduce the time you spend scrolling like putting a time cap on the app through your phone's settings or deleting the app entirely if you want to have a longer break. Tanya Goodin, founder of digital wellbeing movement Time To Log Off, also recommends creating 'no-go' zones at home when it comes to your phone. "Everyone always thinks about bedrooms here, but actually bathrooms should be your priority," she tells us, putting an end to endless loo scrolling.

If you do decide to take a break from TikTok, you'll need to do something to keep you distracted so that you're not lured back. "Finding something really absorbing to do with both your hands is a brilliant way of stopping you picking up your phone reflexively and scrolling with no purpose," explains Goodin, suggesting puzzles, crafting or baking as a new outlet for your evenings.

And of course, if you're concerned about the impact that TikTok is having on your mental health, it's always worth speaking to a trusted friend or family member, or contacting a mental health charity like Mind.

For information, support and advice about mental health and where to get support, visit Minds website at http://www.mind.org.uk or call Minds Infoline on 0300 123 3393 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 6.00pm).

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TikTok addiction: Why is TikTok so addictive? - Cosmopolitan UK