Today (September 10, 2020) is Suicide Prevention Day! Of course, in practice, everyday should be suicide prevention day. One great way to prevent suicide is to talk! Talking is about connecting and feeling connected is what’s called a “protective factor.”
An understated challenge we are facing is being able to feel connected while maintaining social distancing. The JED Foundation has some great resources on the topic, including “gifs” you can include in text messages and this little video. (I confess this isn’t my favorite music style but it’s worth the two minutes it will take to watch it.)
Here’s an example of one of the many gifs/stickers available. Today would be a great day to reach out and let some folks know “I’m here for you!”
With thanks to the many who helped in some way, his truck was located, and Peter was found a short distance away in the woods. It appears he had fallen and did not survive the night.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this very difficult time.
Peter will be known to many who are involved in real estate… I have had the privilege of having him attend courses… According to his daughter, he’s thought to be somewhere between Sherman and Lincoln. If you’re showing property in that area, be observant, please! This has been posted on the GBAR Facebook Page… check there or Erica’s page for updates. Thanks!
He’s believed to be driving a newer model Dodge Ram 1500 four door maroon with black rails and a back rack.
Steve and Savannah are back! After posting and discussing their video performance of “Hope,” we discovered that we share a mutual interest in resilience as a way to reduce bullying. Their song “Sticks and Stones” makes the point that words can hurt more than sticks and stones. Getting people to understand that is a form of resilience!
Steve Rapson is, as the saying goes, “a friend of a friend.” Thanks, Jack, for sending me this link. I needed to hear Savannah and her Papa this morning. I’ll bet there are a lot of people who do. Share this. Share the hope.
Netsmartzkids has some great resources for teachers and parents who want to keep their kids safe online. Among those resources are some “Into the Cloud” animated videos–each about five minutes long covering some aspect of being safe online.
I’m sharing one in the hope that it will pique your interest and you’ll explore the site. There are free ebooks, activity sheets, games… lots of things to use with kids. But I do have another purpose behind the sharing.
I hope it will get you thinking. I’ve recently noticed that many people are using social media for “research.” Some of this is relatively harmless. “What is the phone number for this local business?” This question makes it necessary for the researcher to wait for a comment that includes the answer. I’m always tempted to point out that a Google search would likely reveal the answer in seconds.
No wonder the phone company started charging for directory assistance. People were calling 411 instead of using the directory. What does that say about us?
But what might be of greater concern is the people who are posting symptoms and asking for medical advice. And, as if that’s not troubling enough, there are often plenty of folks willing to demonstrate their “expertise.” I’m always tempted to post “Call your doctor.” Or, in some cases, “Go to the E.R.”
Telemedicine is a valid concept but it’s not a product I’d contract for on Facebook or Snapchat.
And then there’s financial advice. One of the social media groups I’m part of gets multiple questions every day from people wanting to know things like “What’s the best form of business for me to adopt” and “How much should I charge for…?”
Yes, there is some value in soliciting opinions–but in addition to being able to separate fact and fake, we also could get a lot better at separating fact and opinion. I don’t teach it often but I do have a “thinking skills” program. In addition to differentiating between divergent and convergent thinking, it includes the skill of “happying” and the skill of “crap detecting.”
In that course, I used to ask students to bring in a newspaper. We’d then look at every headline closely and answer this question: “Is the headline a fact or an opinion?” One of the learning outcomes is that we tend to accept opinions as facts if those opinions support what we already believe.
So here’s something else for you to think about. When you start scrolling on Facebook, what are you looking for? Cute kitten or puppy photos are probably safe (although some are digitally altered and do not depict reality–fact or fake?). Or are you hoping to find a lot of people (it is called social media) who agree with your opinions and beliefs?
Kids aren’t the only ones who occasionally get suckered by what’s on the Internet.
Walter Boomsma (“Mr. Boomsma”) writes on a wide array of topics including personal development, teaching and learning. Course information is also available here!
