Opinion, Social Media

Social Media is Not the Devil!

Social media: How bad is it?

My social media feed is, quite ironically, littered with posts about the apparent trash-fire that is social media. I get it. It’s not all sunshine and roses. I would know, having spent far too long in the stranger corners of it in the name of research and morbid curiosity. I’ve been in Facebook groups for Doomsday Preppers, groups devoted to vicious arguing under the guise of debate, Flat Earth groups and more. There are many hours that I’ll never get back, reading forums, tweets, posts and pins peddling conspiracy theories, fear, pseudoscience and dangerous quackery.

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Feminism, Opinion, Politics

Pepper Spray and Tasers? No, thank you

Who and why?

In response to the rape and murder of Eurydice Dixon, MP Jeffrey Bourman, of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, is trying to push through a motion in Parliament to allow the carrying and use of pepper spray and tasers for self-defence. He believes that women should be allowed these items to protect themselves from “stronger and potentially more experienced” attackers.

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Health, Opinion, Vaccination

Get The Flu Shot, Because Flu Sucks!

“Should I get the flu shot?”

Lots of people are still on the fence, wondering if they should get the flu shot. If you’ve ever uttered words to the effect of

“I’m not anti-vaccine! But, the flu shot…”

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There’s something you should know. You might not consider yourself anti-vaccine, but a pinch of the anti-vaccine crowd’s propaganda has almost certainly made it’s way past your defenses. Certain vaccines have a specific set of rumours and myths around them and the flu vaccine is definitely one of them. The amount of misinformation I see, propagated by otherwise rational people, isn’t surprising when you see how hard anti-vaxxers work at getting their dangerous ideas spread all over the internet. So, it’s important to counter it where we can, I reckon.

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Health, Opinion

FFS, Don’t Use Alternative Remedies for Pets

Alternative Remedies for Pets are a thing

Alternative remedies for pets are a pretty confronting idea when you’ve read as much about them as I have.

I once took my cat to a local vet who seemed nice enough and didn’t suggest anything kooky or strange. On my last visit, though, I noticed some flyers in the waiting room. Reiki for pets. Yeah, no.

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If you’re not in the know, reiki is a quack remedy involving using your hands to draw out bad energy, magically curing the ailment. Except it isn’t magic because it doesn’t actually work. Bacteria, viruses, tumours, diseases and so on need actual treatment. Not a waving of the hands and a nice visualisation.

I didn’t go back. I couldn’t trust my furbaby to anyone endorsing this rubbish, even alongside conventional treatment. Knowing that there’s no proof that reiki does anything at all, I saw it for what is was; a way to extract money out of well-meaning pet owners.

People accuse pharmaceutical companies of greed, but it’s funny how they ignore the fact that alternative remedies aren’t free. They just lack something pharmaceutical treatments must have- evidence of safety and efficacy.

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