LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Social media needs fixing fast

Social media has become an essential part of our everyday life but its big influence is not without disadvantages. People’s self-esteem and mental health can be severely impacted by continuous exposure to selected photos, fake standards and unrealistic goals. Excessive use of social media has been connected to higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, especially among teens and young adults.

The negative effects of social media on mental health are worse with an increase in cyberbullying and online harassment. These sites can lead to feelings of failure and a different view of what reality is. To minimize the negative impacts of social media, we must encourage proficiency with technology, the right online behaviors, and conversations about mental health. Together as a society, we need to push for rules that encourage positive online engagement. Some examples: Requiring age-appropriate social media courses in schools and pushing networks to put user experience above engagement numbers. In the end, we need to build an online space that encourages real human connection and mental health. By addressing the negative effects of social media on mental health, we may attempt to create an online community that is more friendly and aware of one another.

Kayla Baisi is a student at Florida Atlantic University.

Lax response to measles irresponsible

Floridians should be relieved that Dr. Joseph Ladapo wasn’t sworn into office until February 2022, two years into the COVID pandemic, or probably many more Floridians would have died or had serious complications due to his nonsensical stance on vaccines. Now measles, one of the most contagious pathogens on Earth, is on the rise in Florida and once again he is failing to recommend vaccines. He’s deferring to parents to decide how long to keep their unvaccinated children home from school. Ladapo may have a medical degree but is a menace to society. Unvaccinated children should not be allowed in public or private schools and not getting your children immunized against harmful communicable diseases is a form of child abuse.

Judith Abramson, Delray Beach

MAGA likes Trump’s views

Re “Defeating Biden seems the MAGA end-all” (Feb 28): I had an immediate flash-back to an issue that I pondered several years ago. wondered, “Who in the world would vote for Donald Trump? What were they thinking?” I got lucky. It turns out that two professors at the University of Kansas, David Norman Smith and Eric Hanley, wondered the same thing. They researched the issue and published their findings in February 2018, in a study entitled “The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election and Why?” published in Critical Sociology. Their findings? They voted for Trump because they share his views on race, women’s rights, immigrants and gay rights. The economy had nothing to do with their support.

Richard Sutherland, Lakeland