Are You a Social Media Junkie? Let's Find Out!

It’s Not That Serious
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to attack anyone or stereotype people, social media is probably one of the best things that ever happened in this generation (and probably the worst too) and I use it quite a lot myself too, but at what point is it too much? Here are some questions to ask yourself to find out just “how serious” it is!


1. Social media is the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning and/or before you go to bed.

   2. You can’t go through an entire meal without checking your phone at least a few times or snap the plate to share it.

  
   3. You “check in” at every new location you go to make sure your friends see all the places you’ve been.
 

4. You share everything. This one may be the worst. If you feel the need to share your every thought and wish, and lose all inhibition on your Facebook page, please stop. Stop now. There is such a thing as too much information. That's what a therapist is for people. Or call your Mother. 
 
    5. Liking your own content. Not only is this a sign that you are an addict, it is also a sign that you are a total narcissist. 





 6. #You #hashtag #all #your #posts #like #this. #Seriously #this #is #just #annoying #to #look #at.
 
  7. You use social media phrases and tags in normal conversations, and actually say stuff like “LOL” or “LMFAO” when someone says something funny.
 

  8. You can snap 2372 selfies just to make sure you get the right one! 
 

  9. You obsess over the number of likes your post gets and how many people follow or friend you.
 

10. You wake up at random hours of the night to check if any of your friends have posted something interesting.
 

11. You fail to understand why anyone would prefer to go to a coffee shop or restaurant that doesn’t have Wi-Fi.


   
12. You read this entire post on a smart phone and will retweet and like this post via a smart phone (please do this one). 
 


If most of these statements describe you, newsflash, YOU’RE AN ADDICT! And you probably need some help. Not only is this affecting your relationships and friendships, it may negatively impact on your psyche and self-esteem. To put it simply, it’s just not healthy!

 
In conclusion, social media is a wonderful thing, it helps us share our thoughts and our views with the world, and also allows us to connect with many people across the world that we otherwise would never have gotten a chance to link up with. It can even be used to meet new people and start meaningful relationships and friendships. When misused though, social media can be a stumbling block for interpersonal communication and can cloud the need to connect with “actual” people around us and have tangible experiences with those we care about. I believe anyone will agree that no matter how fun and creative social media can be, nothing beats the physical connection that is shared on a one on one in any relationship or friendship.

Final word from me, don’t indulge too much in the cyber world at the expense of your “real” world, live in the now.

   


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1st Anniversary!


It's been a year now, for some reason it feels like its been five or so. I started out over excited and over ambitious ready to bend the blogosphere to its knees but, as you may know life has a cruel way of humbling people! It was a good experience though. Initially I was going through some things, check out my "I'm Stronger Than This" post you'll understand, and obviously most of my friends just plainly called me a narcissist. So after a long hiatus and a lot of growing up, I came back with a lot of more mature and non-self centered content that has been well received. So to all my readers, followers, fans and friends, thank you for making this journey an adventure. Eleven posts and one thousand plus views later, this is Cliq's World one year later.
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Things You're Doing Everyday That Are Slowly Killing You : Part 3


So here comes the final part of our interesting daily suicide series. The feedback has been amazing so far I have to say I've had a lot of fun with these pieces. As I had promised, this final part was going to be the most hilarious and trust me it is, some heads will roll and a lot of tongues will run, but hey, you can't argue with science! I will waste no more time, lets get into it! Happy reading!


7. Stressing out
We've all heard that stress can be harmful to our health and immune system, but research published in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences suggests it can actually damage our very DNA. Compared to non-stressed people, study participants with chronic stress had shorter telomeres — the regions responsible for protecting and connecting the ends of DNA strands, so our genes don't degrade over time.

Boom! This hit me like a canon, as it has just said at the beginning we've all heard how stress is not good for your health. It may cause you ulcers and its bad for your blood pressure, we're all aware of all these. Now these scientists discover that you're children may have unsymmetrical eyes because you were stressing too much! I think I'll enroll for yoga! Stress is that bad that it affects the very materials that make you. Forgive me for jumping straight into chromosomes but when I here of DNA the first thing I think of is children. I think we're all in agreement when I say its not worth risking how my children will turn out so just that I can stress out, if you want your kids to be fine breeds (like me...just saying) put a smile on your face and stick it with glue if you have to.


8. Not having sex
Having sex not only relieves stress, it burns calories and may even increase your life span. A Duke University study found that women with enjoyable sex lives lived almost eight years longer. Another study, in the journal BMJ, suggests that men who reported a higher frequency of orgasms had a 50% reduction in mortality.

Now things are getting steamy, hhhmmm....(stop thinking what you're thinking). Well I know this is a touchy topic for most people but c'mon its 2014 now and there's something called the internet. But just so I save myself a public execution, these words I'm about to speak are based on science, I think.
I won't assume we all know the benefits of sex, but the PG version would be procreation. The others have been mentioned, stress relieving, weight loss (well it does burn calories...just saying), there's the obvious leisure in it too but now science just made it easier for all men to claim their conjugal rights, IT INCREASES YOUR LIFE SPAN! You're welcome gentlemen! Of course being a christian I still believe this should be something shared by 2 people (I say it again 2 people) who are married in love, so put some ice on it little boys and girls. All in all the issue of sex is a big topic I wont get into right now, but to all the couples out there, that precious time with your partner might just be giving you more time to spend together in this world! All of a sudden I feel even worse for all the catholics vowed to cellibacy, our hearts go out to you brethren!




Oops wrong photo!
 
9. Eating Poorly
Things like processed foods, too much red meat, and not enough fresh fruit and vegetables all can contribute to serious health problems. Excessive red meat consumption contributed to higher cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality, according to a study in the journal Internal Medicine.

Diet will always be a major issue whenever health is involved, that will never change. The above piece is clear and straight to the point you already know what to do and what not to do. Don't get me wrong I'm not advertising for some psycho-anorexic formulas (weight loss diets) to keep you stick-like (skinny), all I'm saying is you have to watch what you eat, a few fruits more often won,t cost you much (at least not as much as being treated for cardiovascular diseases and cancer) you just have to learn to sacrifice some things for your health's sake. Victor this is directed to you too. I hear you!


10. Being anti-social
Isolation and loneliness can take a toll on your body in the same way excessive stress does. The MacArthur Study of Successful Aging demonstrated that people who rated themselves highly valuable in their friends' and family's lives were more likely to live longer than those who rated themselves lower.

Now this was one of my favorites, not that I'm anti-social, really I'm not! What struck me is that study of successful aging (bless you MacArthur), people who rate themselves highly valuable to friends and family are more likely to live longer, what more do you need to be told. Its high time we stop thinking too modestly about ourselves and start appreciating our worth. Self pity and self loathing should even be on this list coz thinking poorly of yourself is plain suicidal. Yes no one is perfect but that doesnt mean we're worthless, we're all valuable even with all our flaws, and you don't need someone to clarify to you that you're beautiful or you're worth something, thats a plain fact that should be carved on the front of your brain! In the words of Kelly Clarkson, "It shouldn't mean you're lonely coz you're alone!"

Just kidding, had to put a stop to that emotional rollercoster, I'm sure someone out there loves you, and if there's not, I love you, coz you're reading this post.
Get yourself out there, show everyone your worth, remember, no one can love you if you can't love yourself. For those in need, I have self esteem for hire, just hit me up, I'm always here, service for all!

Well sadly all good (and bad things) come to an end and this is the end of our probable daily self suicide series. Hope you had fun with it I surely did. Remember to like, comment and share to everyone out there, you may just be giving them some more days to live! Keep happy and keep alive, much love. See you in the next article.
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Things You’re Doing Everyday That Are Slowly Killing You : Part 2




So as promised, we continue with the series on the stuff we do every other day that are eating away our precious lifespan. The first part was well accepted though there has been a great debate on the validity of the effects of sitting down for long periods to our health as stated by health experts. I read through some of the comments posted on similar articles and some of the arguments were simply hilarious. The fact that the average human being probably sits down for more than a quarter of his life (very probably…just saying) also fuels into the much heated debate which in my opinion is quite inconclusive. All I know for a fact is that sitting for long can cause backaches. This I know very well. Anyway do some research and get as much info as you can, and just decide for yourself.
Enough with the jimjams let’s get back to it, I now give you the next 3 things that you are dying doing. Happy reading!



4. Taking medication for non-life-threatening illnesses
Taking medication for things like insomnia or anxiety could lower some people's life expectancy. In a 12-year study, published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, scientists found that individuals not taking such medications had about a 5% lower mortality rate than those taking medication.
Now this is something that a lot of people need to be educated on, most of us (yes I’m including myself) abuse medication even with full knowledge of their effects. We usually assume since we are experiencing similar symptoms as we have before we can use the same drugs to beat whatever is bothering us. This is even worse when it comes to common problems experienced like lack of sleep or anxiety where we quickly run to abusing prescription medicine. Not only does this breed possible addiction but could cause more serious effects like a drug resistant strain of an infection or illness. Not to forget increasing your mortality rate.



5. Lacking a sense of humor
Laughter has a long list of health benefits according to the Mayo Clinic — it helps boost the immune system, reduces stress, and provides an emotional release. Laughing also burns calories.
Now we’ve all heard of the phrase laughter is the best medicine, well as much as I know there’s some truth to it, there’s always the logic part of it that I never got, well I know whoever came up with this quote meant it metaphorically but researchers are now making it literal. I mean c’mon, it helps boost you’re immune system! Wow #mindblown! The other two benefits are quite evident, people with no sense of humor just always look miserable, personally I just find them difficult to deal with and plainly put they’re just no fun. Don’t we all just hate being the only ones laughing at a hilarious joke at a party or gathering, yes we do, unless you’re the one with no sense of humor, in that case this is so not your section right now. Anyway just kidding, I always like to remind myself one thing, we always look so much better when we smile (coz let’s face it, some of us {me not included} were made more fearfully than wonderfully…just saying), we never really have anything to lose by being happy, check out one of my earlier posts I think it’s called happiness is a choice, and you’ll understand being happy is simply something you have to decide like whether to take a shower or not!



6. A long commute
Not only does commuting take up lots of time on a daily basis, it may also be taking time away from your total life span. Unpublished work presented at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers suggested that people with commutes longer than 30 minutes die earlier than others. Long commutes mean less time for exercise and sleep — both of which contribute to a longer and healthier life.
As much as I love traveling and long night rides, spending long hours in a car can get depressing! First of all there’s the long debate of the fact that you’ll be sitting down, which is apparently number one on our killer list, then there’s the frustration of traffic jams and bad roads which will definitely take away your sense of humor, and finally there’s the one I hate most , it’s a diagnosis I call “butt fatigue”. You know that feeling you get in your butt when you’ve been sitting for so long and its becomes like you have a brick glued to your pelvis. Yeah I know, it’s just the worst! But essentially though, more time spent on the road denies us precious time to relax, unwind and share with loved ones, and truly that is a big loss!


So this is the end of part two of our daily suicide habits series, I promise you the final part will be beyond hilarious you won’t even believe it, and I’m  not just saying this as a marketing stunt. Take all this into heed and increase your life span in every way you can. Like, comment and share the piece and see you on the final part of the series. Keep it alive!
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Things You're Doing Everyday That Are Slowly Killing You : Part 1


So I bumped into this article a couple of months ago and I promised myself I would post it, and here it is. Generally it is out of research that has revealed some of the everyday activities we do or don't do which are slowly decreasing our life span. They range from from some pretty obvious instructions to some hilarious facts you will never have imagined. I've tried putting a light touch to it coz I don't like being gloomy but please take this seriously, it could just allow you to see a triple digit age. Happy reading.


We all want to live longer, healthier lives but there are hidden dangers all around us. Here are just a few of the tons of things we do every day that can shorten your lifespan without you knowing it.

1. Sitting

Bad news for office workers. Even if you regularly exercise, long periods of inactivity are unhealthy. A study published in 2012 in the journal BMJ Open estimated that individuals who reduced excessive sitting to less than three hours a day could add two years to their life expectancy.

This is one of the worst discoveries I've ever made. Given the portion of my life I've been sitting down, I could very well have just forfeited 10 years of my life (moment of silence). To make matters worse I'm still in school and well the entire period of my internship will be spent sitting in an office and have I told you I have unlimited WiFi here? All in all sitting has always been a health killer and plain and simple, you have to get off your butt if you want to live longer. Besides sitting breeds laziness and laziness is a disease in itself! You may probably also have read somewhere "Sitting is the new smoking".

2. Sleeping too much

Sleeping too little is of course bad for your health (and makes you gain weight), but sleeping too much can be equally harmful. A review of sleep studies showed that people who slept more than nine hours a night were at a 41% higher risk for heart disease than those who slept seven to eight hours a night.

This wasn't good news either. Especially for my weekends and Monday mornings. I always love when health experts explain how much sleep is important, I be like, "They understand me!", but now as learnt , its not that good either and if you have read Proverbs chapter 6, you'll realise even the Bible doesn't like sleepers.

3. Staring at a screen

Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that spending more than four hours a day in front of a screen, like watching TV or surfing the Internet, can increase risk of heart attack and stroke by as much as 113%. Another study published in BMJ Open estimated that reducing screen time to less than two hours a day, individuals could add almost 1.4 years to their life expectancy.

This was the killer blow! If they only knew I usually spend half my day in front of the screen! (And so do most of you). I used to think this was only bad for the eyes but shock on me, 113% more risk of a heart attack nearly gave me a heart attack itself! I'm guessing I can sacrifice the 1.4 year possible increament for a bit more movietime every day but having a stroke is not something I want to bargain on. I'm sorry computer, its not me, its you. (I've already spent more than 2 hours piecing this article together, I'm afraid, very afraid). Go read a book or something.

This is the end of part one, check yourself and make changes to be on the healthier side of life. We could all use a couple more years in our lives. Part two coming soon.
Like, comment and share to friends and fam. Bye bye.
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I'm Back...Again...And Not For The Last Time!


I really need to stop going on these exiles I keep taking every time. Anyway I know I keep promising that every time I'll be back for good but I wont run my mouth and start giving promises I wont keep. So let it be known, I will be back for as long as I can which at the moment is a long time if I may say. I've missed the bloggosphere and I've just been spending time admiring other peoples' blogs especially with the recent BAKE Awards. All that said I'm now here and ready be more more interesting so bookmark this and get ready a ride in Cliq's World!
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How To Keep You're Brain Sharp and Stay As Smart As You Should Be! (Continued)

So as promised in my previous post, I said I'd give the continuation of the article about how to keep your brain sharp and be as smart as you are supposed to be. Thanks for all the response you have given so far it's been awesome keep the comments coming and share the article with friends, family and loved ones so that you don't have a wife or husband who will keep calling you honey when you're in your sixties not because you're still keeping the fire burning, but because they actually forgot your name. Oops!
Anyway enjoy reading and share share share!
Here are the tips to keep you're brain sharp and stay smart!

Go physical: Play
a game
While most people head to
the gym so that they can lose
weight or tone their bodies,
there is a hidden benefit of a
programme of regular exercise;
that of keeping your brain in
good form. The increased rate of
blood flow improves the amount
of oxygen being delivered to
the brain, which keeps it fresh
and active. Aerobics and other
coordinated exercises or games
are equally beneficial to your
brain too. In his book, Spark:
The Revolutionary New Science
of Exercise and the Brain, John
J Ratey argues that moving
muscles help in producing
proteins that play a role in
neurogenesis and repair of
synapses.

Feeding the
brain:
The drinks and
food
There are certain foods and
drinks that go further than
just keeping hunger at bay
and building your body.
These foods also happen
to contain certain elements
that are vital for the brain
cells. They keep the brain
active, improve memory
performance and will stir up
a sluggish mind.
First off, drink water. This
will help in keeping your
brain hydrated. A significant
percentage of the brain is
made up of water. When
the body lacks water, brain
cells and neurons shrink and
the biochemical processes
involved in brain activity
slow down.
Coffee, red wine and
yoghurt need to form part
of your regular drinks.
Coffee improves short-term
memory and speeds up your
reaction time by acting on
the brain’s prefrontal cortex.

Learn a new
language:
This helps in task
switching, the ability
of your brain to switch
from one activity to
another without breaking
a step. A 2010 study
by Carnegie Mellon
University on Language
and Cognition using two
groups of participants
(monolinguals and
bilinguals) proved that
learning a third or fourth
language benefits the
brain. The trials, which
required task-switching,
found that the reactions
of bilinguals were six
milliseconds quicker on
average. Learning a new
language also grows
the section of brain
responsible for planning
complex cognitive
behaviour and moderating
social behaviour.

Write by hand:
The electronic gadgets that
have taken over human
life have made ‘writing’ so
easy such that by the press
of buttons, the phone or
computer can even predict
the word that you’d like to
type. It saves time, sure, but
the downside is a lazy and
sluggish brain. Writing by
hand helps your brain in two
ways. One is that it involves
a systematic coordination
between the brain and the
reflexes of the hand. And
this coordination — same as
the one that occurs during
activities like knitting or
making handcrafts by hand
— is key in keeping the
association between your
brain and limb functions in
proper form.

Go imaginative:
Mnemonics
There was once a Greek goddess
of memory called Mnemosyne.
It was believed that those who
stood in favour of this goddess
had sharper memory and
could retain large amounts of
information. Today, most people
who intend to commit lots of
information to their memory
have gone another route though;
mnemonics, where they use
visual aids or acronyms. They call
it building a memory palace and,
basically, it involves attaching
any new item to a particular
known material. For instance,
if one gets introduced to three
people successively at a function
or party, say, Jack, Brian and
Maureen, then they can be stored
in the mind with the images of a
jackal brewing beer in the moon.
A different way involves creating
a mental picture of the new item
and attaching it to a particular
place such that one can use the
landmarks within the country
or city to denote specific things
that may slip out of the mind.
To go with this are the usual
acronyms.

FYI:
OTHER WAYS OF IMPROVING THE BRAIN
Changing hobbies
Reading indiscriminately
Watch fiction (plays or movies)
Debating
Breaking routine
Playing competitive indoor games like chess
Playing video games
Exchanging cultural ideas
Turn off your phone when you do not need it

Meet new and
interesting personalities:
Sticking around the same old same old
people may not be good for your mind after
all. The presumption is that after a certain
level of interaction, they will not be offering
anything new to you. The solution is to attend
conferences and meetings where you will be
able to meet new personalities in different
fields. These meetings offer a good chance of
challenging your old views and engaging in
new conversations.
Attend science conferences even if you are
not a scientist, go for literary festivals or
music festivals or an art festival. You will
meet and engage all the weird and eccentric
personalities here and before long that
diminishing spark will be back in your system.
Earlier on, it was assumed that the capacity
of the IQ of a human being was genetic and
hence was fixed at birth. What that meant
was that regardless of how much one tried to
improve on it, it would never be reorganised
beyond what had been indicated at birth. It
was also assumed that the brain would be on a
growth trajectory that will eventually level off
as the individual nears the age of 30. Science
has since proven that wrong.
A study at Michigan University led by Swiss
postdoctoral fellow Susanne Jaeggi revealed
that at least one aspect of a person’s IQ- fluid
intelligence, which was usually considered
fixed at birth can actually be improved.
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