Facebook Revisited: Does the Platform Help or Hurt Users (or Both)?

The benefits and challenges of social media for public health are a frequent topic on Pop Health.  For example, I've explored the influence of these platforms on emergency response, increasing the number of organ donors, and health activism.  However, one of the debates that I hear the most among public health colleagues relates to Facebook.

Does it isolate users?  Does it connect users?  Does it do both?

Earlier this year, my colleague Elana Premack Sandler explored this debate as it relates to loneliness.  Inspired by a feature in the Atlantic Magazine, Elana asks key questions like, "Is Facebook part of the separating or part of the congregating?"  She also mentions concerns about how Facebook (and other social media platforms) affect our social skills and therefore our friendships.

I thought of Elana's writing as I read a new post on the Atlantic website today, "Are Your Facebook Friends Stressing You Out?  (Yes.)".  This post highlights a new report out from the University of Edinburgh Business School.  The report caught my eye because it identified a very specific cause of stress for Facebook users.  The more groups of "friends" a user had (e.g., family, real life friends, co-workers, etc), the more anxiety they had because there was a greater chance of offending someone with their posts.  The report stated that the greatest anxiety came from adding parents or employers as Facebook "friends".  As Megan Garber writes so eloquently in her Atlantic post, the stress comes from Facebook forcing users to "conduct our digital lives with singular identities".  The way we speak or act around family or friends or co-workers must jive on Facebook, or we run the risk of offending someone.  I'm sure many of us saw this conflict a few weeks ago when political and election posts ran rampant on Facebook!

The anxiety described above is interesting, because ideally what we would hope is that Facebook provides a source of social support to users.  Social support occurs when one is cared for by others (via emotional, tangible, or informational support).  The presence or absence of social support is a factor related to public health issues, such as suicide.    

So after reading through the various posts/articles, what do I think about my opening questions about Facebook?

Does it isolate users?  Does it connect users?  Does it do both?

I think it does both.  I have seen it do both.  For example:

Isolation:  I have spoken to friends and colleagues who feel terrible about themselves or their lives after scrolling through their Facebook news feed.  A friend with chronic illness feels isolated hearing about the latest vacation or new job taken by her "friends".  A friend suffering from infertility can't bear one more picture of a "friend" and their newborn.  I think much of this results from the "whitewash" that many of us put on Facebook.  We often paint a picture for our Facebook friends, full of engagements and babies and fun events.  

Connection:  Earlier this year I watched a suicide intervention unfold on Facebook via the comment section under a post.  A friend of a friend posted a suicidal message on their Facebook wall.  Within minutes, "friends" reached out in the comments.  However, not only did they "speak" to the person, but they interacted with each other and followed up in real life.  One comment read, "Did someone go to his house?"  The next comment read, "I went to his house and I called his parents".  After he was taken to the hospital, a comment was posted to inform all the friends that he was safe.  As a public health practitioner that worked in suicide prevention for years, I was amazed with what I saw. 

So what can we do to reduce the isolation/anxiety and increase the connection?  You can certainly start by exerting your control over your Facebook account.  For example:

• Create a policy about "groups of friends" that you accept into your circle.  I know lots of people that do not accept requests from co-workers or parents.  They make it clear to the individual that it is nothing personal, they just have minimal friends with which they share intimate information.
• Use the privacy settings!  You can control who can see your posts.
• Find and use the unfriend button!  I have done this frequently.  If someone posts messages that are offensive or disrespectful regarding something that I've posted- I get rid of them quickly.
• Take a break from Facebook.  If you realize that Facebook is making you feel bad about yourself, take a break or disable your account.  Use that time to connect with your in real life (IRL) friends or family.

Tell me what you think!  

• Does Facebook isolate and stress us?  
• Does Facebook connect us?
• What other strategies can help to reduce the isolation and increase the connection on Facebook or other social media platforms?

Bankruptcy and Student Loans: Another Infographic

The infographic below provides a summary of the student loan debt problem and the limitations of the current bankruptcy law to resolve that problem.  For a more in depth review of these issues see our previous post: Can bankruptcy help with my student loans?.



From: OnlineColleges.net

Reprinted from OnlineColleges.net.

Kelsey & Trask, P.C. provides this graphic for informational purposes only. We do not endorse nor claim endorsement from the source site or organization. Kelsey & Trask, P.C. is not responsible for any information contained therein, unless indicated specifically on that site.

Back in the saddle again.

Doubt.

Confusion.

Chaos.  

Defeat.

Unbalance.

These are a few of my (least) favorite things.

As you know, they have been some of the most prominent things in my life over the last while, however.  So I went back to the beginning: what started all this?  What did I do that made this work?

Simple.

I didn't feel.  I didn't analyze.  I didn't get all bent out of shape about things.  There was no "A-ha" moment that made me magically start doing anything.  I made boring, calculated, measurable choices that eventually led to bigger changes both physically and mentally.

So I did it again.  I just started.

I'd gotten back up to 200.6 lbs as of about a week and a half ago.  I made myself get on the scale because I knew I needed to see it.  I broke down crying at the gym and felt like an utter failure.  Then, I went a bit numb for a few days.  

I made a boring, calculated choice to start doing what I know I should do again.  

1.5 weeks back into it?  This is what happened.  

I.  AM.  BACK!!!!!

Here we go, people.  I shall never cease to be repeatedly amazed at the simple truth that great things happen if you'll simply just do it.  

Carry on, people.  Carry on.

The Housing Crash and Bounce: Infographic

The following infographic provides an overview of the real estate crash in the United States over the last few years, and provides some perspective on how big the ups and downs have been.

 
Riding the Trillion-Dollar Real Estate Recovery Roller Coaster.

Reprinted from RealEstate.com

Kelsey & Trask, P.C. provides this graphic for informational purposes only. We do not endorse nor claim endorsement from the source site or organization. Kelsey & Trask, P.C. is not responsible for any information contained therein, unless indicated specifically on that site.

Thinking Outside of the Box on Venue

One benefit of attending conferences is that sometimes you get something unexpected.   That happened at the Commercial Law League’s New York meeting when the discussion turned to venue.   The CLLA has staked out a position in favor of venue reform.   You can read the testimony of Peter Califano on behalf of the League here.   However, the discussion raised the question of whether more radical reforms are appropriate to address the problem of venue in cases of national interest.

While the Commercial Law League represents the interest of creditors in general, it has a special focus on the rights of smaller unsecured creditors.   The fact is that it is more expensive and more inconvenient for smaller creditors to appear in New York or Delaware.   There is also a personal economic interest for some league lawyers.   Speaking only for myself, I cringe when I see a case with strong Texas ties, such as Enron or American Airlines, filed on the East Coast.   However, venue abuse cuts both ways.    One of the largest cases to file in Austin recently was based in North Carolina.    Corpus Christi, Texas has become a magnet for significant cases despite the fact that it is just a small city on the Texas coast.    It is not an unreasonable proposition to argue that that the venue laws in bankruptcy cases have become so porous that debtors and their lenders are relatively free to choose whichever forum they prefer, or, to put it more directly, we have a system of rampant forum shopping.

However, this discussion presumes that for each debtor, there is a “right” forum instead of Delaware or New York.   In many cases, there will be a “right” forum.   Enron was a Houston-based company whose failure had a disproportionate impact upon Texas.   It is telling that the criminal trials arising from Enron all took place in Houston.   (I remember this well because we had to get past all of the TV trucks to make it to bankruptcy court).    However, where a network of companies has operations in multiple states and the case is of national importance, there may be more than one “right” forum.   

When a company’s case will impact multiple states, which should get to decide where the case will come to rest?   Once a case has been filed and hearings have been held, the forces of inertia are likely to keep it where it landed initially.  One suggestion raised at the Commercial Law League meeting was to treat multi-state cases similarly to Multi-District Litigation in federal court.   Under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1407, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has the authority to decide whether to consolidate cases under MDL and to transfer them for purposes of pretrial proceedings and discovery.   If not resolved prior to trial, the cases are sent back to the original forum for trial.

Another possibility would be to take a cue from Chapter 15.  Under chapter 15, courts look for the Center of Main Interest, which refers to where a company’s main economic activity is.  A “main” case filed in another forum can seek recognition in this country.   By analogy, when a company such as American Airlines filed bankruptcy, there would be a procedure to determine its Center of Main Interest.   Once that was determined, that district would be the lead district.   However, ancillary proceedings could be opened in other states.  

 

Under either one of these options, there would be a procedure for judges to determine which district had the most significant interest in the case rather than allowing the parties to simply pick a venue.    The Enron case is a good example.   It filed its petition in the Southern District of New York because it had a minor subsidiary there.   Under the procedure described here, upon filing in New York, there would immediately be a hearing set to determine where the case would proceed.   It would not be necessary for a party, such as the Texas Attorney General, to move for transfer of venue and wait for a hearing.   Upon a finding that Texas was the Center of Main Interest, the case would immediately be transferred to Texas or, in the alternative, and a main proceeding could be established in Texas and an ancillary proceeding in New York.   The judges in Texas and New York could cooperate to ensure that Texas-centric issues were decided in Texas and New York-based issues were based in New York.

To facilitate a scheme such as this, it might be necessary to establish “Super Judges” (who would wear tights and a cape) in each state or circuit who would be qualified to handle cases of national importance.   In Texas, Barbara Houser would be a logical candidate.    By creating a “National Case Panel” it would be possible to both ensure that there was a cadre of qualified judges, but also have judges who would regularly confer with their brethren in other states and circuits to be prepare to handle cases with multi-state impact.

Another thought-provoking issue raised was whether circuit splits were contributing to forum shopping.   It was suggested that Sixth Circuit precedent is unusually favorable to successor liability claims.    With such precedent out there, a company such as Chrysler or GM might be deterred from filing in the Sixth Circuit.   The Ninth Circuit has In re Catapult Entertainment, Inc., 165 F.3d 747 (9^th Cir. 1999), which might deter companies with intellectual property issues from filing in the Ninth Circuit.   

As noted by Judge Guy Cole at the NCBJ conference, circuit judges spend most of their time hearing criminal cases and prisoner appeals, while very little of their time is spent on bankruptcy.   As bankruptcy courts become our national commerce courts, it might be desirable to have a single court of appeals with jurisdiction over issues of pure bankruptcy law.   For example, patent appeals go before the Federal Circuit.   Is it unreasonable to suggest that bankruptcy appeals should similarly go to a specialized appellate court?   This would not be workable for many bankruptcy appeals which depend on the vagaries of state law.   However, it might be desirable to create a panel of circuit judges with expertise in bankruptcy matters to whom important bankruptcy cases could be referred in order to create a national rule short of involving the Supreme Court (which only hears a few bankruptcy cases a year).

These thoughts (which may not reflect the ideas of the original speaker) may be impractical, unworkable and unrealistic.   However, I think it is worth discussing whether it is time to develop Bankruptcy 3.0 for cases and issues of national importance.   As a practitioner, I get frustrated with our current ad hocsystem of venue.   Legislation fixing where to file may not be enough to solve the problem if it is too easy to bypass the legislative criteria.   I would prefer to see some judicial supervision of where big cases get filed as opposed to letting big debtors and their banks decide who gets to have all the fun.

A Superstorm of Social Media

Over the past week, there has been widespread discussion regarding the broad reach and value of social media during Superstorm Sandy.  Jim Garrow wrote about the emergency management field's adoption of social media and the powerful influx of images received through those channels.  In the New York Times, Brian Stelter and Jennifer Preston discussed how public officials use social media during a crisis.  Technology bloggers have posted analyses regarding the increase in internet use during the storm.

So what can Pop Health add?  I wanted to break down "social media use" even further.  I wanted to discuss the specific ways in which I saw it being used.  And although I think we all have a primarily positive view of social media's contribution during an emergency, I think it is also important to highlight some of the challenges that may appear with these communication channels.

Let's start with the good stuff!  During and after the storm, I saw social media being used for:

Individual-Level Advocacy

Affected residents used social media to communicate directly with local and state officials to report property damage, ask questions, and request direct assistance.  For example:

• As the screen shot above shows, Cory Booker (the Mayor of Newark, NJ) has been corresponding directly with his residents on twitter and following up with the necessary supplies or services.

• Locally in Philadelphia, I've seen the same thing with Mayor Michael Nutter.  He has been messaging with citizens about downed trees and power, in order to direct assistance to areas that need it the most.

Community-Level Advocacy

One thing that amazed me during Sandy was the power of social media in terms of advocacy on behalf of whole communities (whether they be particular neighborhoods or cities).

• When Margate, Longport, and Brigantine, NJ were reopened after the storm, there was immediate and overwhelming protest to the toll on the Margate bridge.  Residents felt that it was extremely insensitive (and selfish) for the bridge owners to charge storm refugees to get back onto the island (especially when they had no choice but to take that particular route).  Through protests on twitter and Facebook, the bridge owners were persuaded to reverse their decision to charge.

• The decision to cancel the NYC marathon was a difficult- and some would say delayed- decision.  While objections to the marathon (and the resources it would require) were widespread, much of the discussion happened on social media.  These channels were used to post online petitions and plan protests.  As you know, the race was finally canceled two days before the start.

Donations

Social media has been a key place to ask for donations to help the victims of Sandy.  Some strategies have been more traditional (e.g., asking for donations for the Red Cross).  Others have been quite creative!

• For example, runners in the canceled NYC marathon could follow a link posted on twitter in order to donate their hotel room to someone displaced by the storm.

The power of social media lies in its reach and ability to deliver information in real time.  On the flip side, the concern is that false information can spread quickly as well.  Here are a few examples that happened during Sandy:

• If you were using social media when the storm hit, you may remember seeing many unbelievable images.  One that I saw over and over was a group of soldiers guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  However, we later learned that this image was taken back in September.  Mashable pulled together a list of "7 Fake Hurricane Sandy Photos You're Sharing on Social Media".  

• A congressional campaign manager in NYC resigned after sending out false information on twitter.  One of the rumors he started was that the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange had 3 feet of flood water.  Many of his tweets are shown here.

As you can imagine, there is great danger to the public's health if incorrect information is widely shared.  Residents may panic and evacuate from a location that is actually safe.  Emergency management and public officials may be distracted from the work at hand, because they have to deal with clarifying a rampant and destructive rumor.

I think we can all agree that the value of social media in a crisis far outweighs the potential challenges.  However, this is an important conversation to keep having and I'd like to hear from you:

• In addition to the examples above, how did you see social media used during Sandy?
• How can we be even more innovative?  In what ways could we use social media during a crisis that we haven't yet tried?
• How can we prevent false information from spreading during a crisis?

What to do when you receive a Notice of Bankruptcy? Step 5: Do you need an attorney?

When you receive a Notice of Bankruptcy, you are likely to have a lot of questions.  In this series we have tried to help walk you through how to answer some of those questions, but unfortunately the process is complicated and you may only have more questions now that you know your rights and deadlines.

Because those meetings and deadlines happen, in most cases, in a very short period of time, it's important to get advice and get it quickly if you have questions.  Waiting to determine your next move could result in you waiving certain rights.  And taking action without all the information could be even worse, if you violate the automatic stay for example.

Therefore, if you have any questions at all about the best way to proceed when you receive a Notice of Bankruptcy we recommend consulting with an attorney, even if just for one meeting.

More specifically an attorney should help you be able to:

1.  Determine whether you are a creditor or some other interested party, and in any event what rights you may have to challenge the discharge in those situations.

2.  Determine if any action you are currently taking is in violation of the automatic stay or permissible.

3.  Determine whether a debt owed to you may be non-dischargeable, or whether some of the assets may be available to pay that debt.

4.  Determine whether or not you should file a Proof of Claim, and explain the benefits and consequences.

5.  Determine whether or not you should file an adversary proceeding, and explain the benefits and potential consequences.

6.  Assist you in proving fraud if you believe it exists in your specific case.

7.  Determine the potential cost of making any of these challenges and what you stand to gain.

If you are interested in consulting with one of our attorneys relating to a case in Massachusetts, click here to schedule a consultation.

Breaking fat.

I’ve never thought of myself as “fat.”  I’ve always quite liked quite a few things about me.  But, how would I describe me if asked?  Do I see the same person in the mirror that others do?  How do I perceive myself? 

I’ve been struggling intensely over the last 6 months with a battle of projecting my leftover “fat girl mentality” onto others, by assuming their perception and potential reactions towards me are ones that only I have toward myself.  I’m consistently a bit baffled by all of the ways my weight affected me, and I really had no idea just how much it had influenced my mind.

That's me there, on the far right... Cowardly Lion at your service.

For years, I was literally an obstruction.  I was well over 320lbs at some point, and there’s just no getting around it – I was an obstacle at times, both physically and mentally.  I’ve had people in my life who’ve rolled with it the best they could and never made me feel as though I was a burden.  But some part in the back of my mind was and still is perpetually in this mode of constant apology, always feeling and assuming that I am an imposition. 

Something as simple as wanting to text a friend to hang out with her: 
Well, I don’t want to bother them…

I see people I know and I want to walk up to them: 
Should I? Shouldn’t I?  I don’t want to bother them…  Will they think it’s weird I’m just out and about by myself?  Will they mind if I join them?  I dunno…

“Sorry to bother you guys… Do you mind if…”

If I want to talk about anything personal with a friend, or, God-forbid, maybe show that I’m not 120% happy and ruling the world all the time, I’m petrified and just know it’s a bother, so I don’t.  I keep it in, or as you've heard me mention before, I "pull an ostrich."

Why would they be bothered? They are my friends.  If they were to walk up to me, I would most likely be overly giddy and delighted that they were there and wanted to join me.  Why do I assume people have such negative reactions to me? 

It is because it is not nearly as much about perception for me as it is projection: a projection of this bizarre, intense fear of vulnerability, rejection and failure.  At some point along the line, I allowed myself to be a defeatist.  I’ve come leaps and bounds since beginning this process, and sharing with all of you, in realizing that I have such a propensity to sell myself grossly short and prematurely fail.

Premature failure: the tendency to over-analyze things to an excruciating extent before actually taking action because, despite all potentially good outcomes, the result is nothing short of impending doom, hurt, and/or humiliation.

Problem sorted. Crisis averted.  Humiliation avoided.  Progress: none.

When it boils down to it, the problem is fear. 

Fear can be a crippling, stifling, cruel beast if you give it too much power.  I have no idea why my tendency is to submit to it, but I’ve reached my limit. 

It has been really, really tough. 

Here is what I am going to do about it.

I’m going to talk about it. Both to you all, because you deserve to know about all the mind-bending wonder you might encounter through the weight-loss process, and to someone who’s a pro.  I think it would be good for me, especially if I can find someone who's talked to people going through the weight loss process.  I’m going to make a conscious decision to do the opposite of what my fear is saying in hopes that, eventually, I’ll have ignored it enough to have overcome it.  I’m going to create a structure for better managing my time, my budget, and my work. I’m going to track my food more meticulously for the time being.  I’m going to create a new list of goals and desires to strive towards.

As someone said to me recently before I set off on a cold walk alone in the rain, “Everybody’s gotta be a big girl sometime…”  And it’s about that time.