social pressure

Busy Students Turning to Prescription Drugs

When university student Jen* faced a seven-hour shift at work after a night of socialising, she turned away from coffee to help her stay awake and picked up a little white pill. The Charles Sturt University student took a Ritalin pill just before midnight and when she got home, she was able to study, tidy [...]

‘Beach Body Ready’ Advertisements Spark Widespread Backlash

A weight-loss advertisement in the London Underground featuring a bikini-clad model has sparked a backlash, with protesters saying the company Protein World is making passersby “feel physically inferior to the unrealistic body image of the bronzed model.” More than 50,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the posters for meal replacement supplements—which have [...]

Challenging the Violence Supportive Attitudes of Our Young People

We should be worried about our teenagers. The scary facts are that one in six 12-24 year olds think “women should know their place”, and one in three think that ‘exerting control over someone isn’t a form of violence’. These are some of the findings from a survey of over 3000 young men and women, which also [...]

A red carpet special: commodification of women

This time last week, dozens of accomplished women woke with an overwhelming sense of dread. Not good when you also have a killer hangover. Having stepped out on the Logies red carpet the night before, dressed and tressed to the max, these capable women knew that in the media the following day, they would be [...]

Suicide Rates Up By 5,000 Because Of 2008 Global Recession

The recent global financial crisis led some 5,000 people in 54 countries to commit suicide, according to findings in the British Medical Journal released Thursday. via Suicide Rates Up By 5,000 Because Of 2008 Global Recession: British Medical Journal.

Girlfriend October 2013

Losing your virginity and double standards for men and women: Girlfriend October 2013 Melinda Tankard Reist The article ‘Like a Virgin’, in the October issue of Girlfriend, argues, quite rightly, that there is a double standard when it comes to men losing their virginity and women losing theirs. “It’s time we stopped talking like virginity [...]

Could you go 10 weeks without lying?

We tell one lie, sometimes two, every day, sharing an average of 11 untruths per week. We tell lies to avoid hurt feelings, or we embellish to make a story more interesting. But whether it’s a white or boldface lie, all these fibs harm our health. Researchers discovered that people who lie less experience better [...]

Girls Get A’s Then Get Surgery

I have a saying that my teaching colleagues will be able to appreciate. Interesting kids have very interesting parents. I spent the past two years resisting invitations from schools to give parent talks. My reasoning was that whilst after 15+ years teaching, I can speak with some authority with regards to working with school students, [...]

Controversial update to ‘bible’ of psychiatry fuels debate

"I think the country is suffering from a glut of overdiagnosis and overmedication," Dr. Allen Frances, a professor emeritus at Duke University and outspoken DSM-5 critic, said in an interview with The Verge. "This has nothing to do with symptoms and everything to do with labeling." The major argument from Frances and others is that [...]

Youth skim surface of life with constant use of social media

They suffer from FOMO and FONK. Four in five say they haven't found their passion in life. With more information at their fingertips than any generation in history, today's under 30s live their lives ''a mile wide and an inch deep'', and they're so busy keeping up with their social media feeds they have no [...]

Go to Top