Australians now heavily reliant on social media
Australians find life online a positive experience, using technology to maintain important connections with friends and family, but many also face pressures about how they look and how others react to their posts, a new survey by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) reveals.
The Digital Me survey, released for Psychology Week (12 – 18 November), explored how social media and technology is affecting the wellbeing of Australians. More than 1000 adults were surveyed.
The survey revealed Australians of all ages are increasingly reliant on their mobile phones and make significant use of social media throughout the day.
Facebook and YouTube are the most commonly used platforms across all age groups and Australians are finding the experience positive.
APS Executive Director, Professor Lyn Littlefield, says while social media use has benefits, it’s important to be aware of the negative impact it can have on wellbeing.
She says the survey shows that Australians still face issues such as bullying, anti-social behaviour and pressure to look good, and that these are having an impact on self-esteem and wellbeing, which is a concern for psychologists.
Professor Littlefield says, “Be selective about who you involve in your online social networks, just as you would offline. The people you connect with should boost your wellbeing, not undermine it.”
The report also showed that more than three quarters of those aged 65 or over engaged with social media.
Do you use social media regularly? Do you think you rely on social media heavily? Do you find it a positive experience?
i agree planB.
i use facebook but do not like all the ads and the way they collect everyone's data.
there is an alternative site which is similar and claims that it respects privacy and does not collect data.
Hi lika, I bet they know everything we do -- BIG Brother is here and getting BIGGER everyday
I do not belong to facebook. The only social media I have ever involved myself in is this forum since 2013 and before that, another seniors forum. I have experienced bullying on both from some LNP supporters who gang up against left wing supporters. I must emphasise, not all LNP supporters, only those who gang up to bully anyone with different views than them. I came to this senior’s forum because of the bullying that was occurring (not just to me) on the previous senior’s forum by such people.
I have recently given up devoting any more of my time to the YLC meeting place (apart from making this comment). There is a bunch of bullies who say they are family and friends who have made the meeting place an ugly place to come to. I am speaking of Thea/Fleur, her brother-in-law Micha/aka aka aka (insert many names - the latest Dr Spock), Reagan (now Reagan Zoologist), Reagan’s so called wife Kiah (who sounds just like Thea), Bijou (Micha’s wife and Thea/Fleur’s sister-in law), Ray and Banjo (best friends and colleagues according to them). All of these people are somehow joined in attacking others in gang bullying.
I have tried to stand up to them for several years but have not done it so well. I finally had a meltdown after years of bullying (not just bullying me but I can only speak for me). I have lost faith that moderators are protectors. They are human and perhaps get lost in the complexities of incoming comments and the multitudes of reports.
My meltdown day was horrible. I couldn’t stop crying all day. I felt utterly bereft. Yet I have a good life, good health and financial security. Beautiful, loving husband and children. I felt amazed that cyber bullying could so affect my feelings and my life. That day I decided to leave the meeting place and just walk away from something that had gone on for so long with no change.
I have made good cyber friends with people at the meeting place in the past. They have all left now for the same reason. They hated the bullying from the same people.
Robi..your sob story does not touch me or many others from the old days..I am pretty sure. You had a reputation and still have.. for being one of the worst bullies on YLC even as far back as 2013 when I first joined. As a matter of fact the bullying got so bad by you and a few others that I decided to leave YLC and when I announced this..your response was:
3 yrs ago
Agree also. Will miss you Fleur.
We were friends then remember? But when you realised I did not think the way you do..I do not behave the way you do..although socially conscious..I was not a Labor supporter..you felt I was not really your ”type.”
When I got fed up with your behaviour I decided not to engage with you and that just got to you…your anger was unleashed…because Robi..you saw that as “rejection “…and you do not handle rejection well..actually..your response to rejection is quite scary…
There was a time also when you did admire Micha too as can be seen in this post..
2 yrs ago
Young "children"? A 12/13 year old and a 19/20 year old? Sorry old man Pete but it is a fact that the more you say the dumber you sound. It's a good thing you have come here to YLC to get educated by some intelligent women :)))) and geomac, Gerry and Micha.
However..Micha also got fed up with your bad behaviour and did not support your demeaning attitude to other posters when you did not like the topics they put up..here’s an example of your bullying attitude when I wished the British Queen a happy birthday:
1 yr ago
Well why on earth have you put that up on the queens happy birthday thread Thea?
And why do you say it is "very apt" toot?
Nope, it just doesn't belong here!
What gives you the right Robi to tell members what they can and can't post?
Quote Robi: I came to this senior’s forum because of the bullying that was occurring (not just to me) on the previous senior’s forum by such people.
Now Robi..it seems to me you are always complaining about being bullied on “previous” forums. A couple of years ago you told me you were leaving YLC and did I know of any forum you can join.
I suggested and gave you links to a couple of Psychology forums. At the time I thought they would be useful for you..I still do. History shows people who are always complaining of being “bullied” are the main bullies themselves..and Robi..if the truth be known you did not leave the other forum voluntarily…
Quote Robi: I have tried to stand up to them for several years but have not done it so well. I finally had a meltdown after years of bullying (not just bullying me but I can only speak for me). I have lost faith that moderators are protectors.
That in itself is a strange comment considering you are and were the main instigator of “bullying” as far back as I can remember.. and.. reading some old threads long before we ever came on board..only cements that view. As for the moderators being protectors….why do you need a “protector?”.. you want to be “protected” for being a bully?
The simple truth is Robi..you are incensed because I chose not to engage with you…you managed to poison the minds of a few of the older members but you are not satisfied with that..you want us off the forum forever..
You may get your wish..but this forum will NOT be enhanced by your presence or the little goup that support you…
Now there is a lot more I could say…but cannot be bothered…and I shall repeat again..your “story” is extremely One Sided..the real crux of the matter is.. there is a little group of early members who think because they have been on the forum for many years…they have the right to do and say as they please and if you dare cross them..you are a bully…
Now let the HATEFEST begin…because that is the real reason you came on the forum today…not to answer Ben’s question but to start a great big fight as is your normal behaviour…
My meltdown day was horrible. I couldn’t stop crying all day. I felt utterly bereft. Yet I have a good life, good health and financial security. Beautiful, loving husband and children. I felt amazed that cyber bullying could so affect my feelings and my life. That day I decided to leave the meeting place and just walk away from something that had gone on for so long with no change.
So sorry you went through that Robi and I think it was very brave of you to put your ordeal down in words for others to see just how hurtful words can be.
You are re-writing history Thea which is just another bullying tactic. So is trawling through old comments and putting them up without further context. You did not reject me, I rejected you when I saw your true character and objected to the gang bullying of Mussitate by you and your cohorts. You all got him banned and now you are working on getting Pete/Brocky and Raphael banned. You have told many lies here, one being that I was banned from my last forum -I was not. Oh and I do not have the power to poison the minds of others, no-one does - it is disrespectful to consider others do not have minds of their own and determining who does what on a forum.
I have no intention of carrying on a fight here but needed to say the above to correct the record. I have answered Ben’s question in that I have not found my experiences on forums thus far a positive one because of the trolling and bullying that goes on. Hence I have made my decision to follow the many others who have already left.
Toot, Cats and Raphael - thank you for your kind words. There are and have been in the past good people on here so there have been positive experiences and some good cyber friends made in spite of varying views and outlooks. The negative experiences though became overwhelming for me and taught me that bullying on the net is not worth going near. It drags ones life down and cannot be stood up to without being dragged down deeper. I was rather silly to think I could fight any form of bullying in the past. I hate to think what it must be like for teenagers facing net bullying because I regard myself to be pretty world wise and time hardened.
Geez, here we go again!!!
Didn’t know anyone had so much clout with the moderators to make them ban anyone. Very insulting to the mods to think they can be swayed by the "us."
All in the mind eh Robi?? Mussitate was noted for his wild and erratic behaviour. Many found him hard to bear including myself and a month after I joined, I left the forum. Rejoined later. Good ole Mussi was also banned from GP along with some others who said they weren’t banned, haha.
So sorry to hear your story Robi, it sounds like maybe a good time to take a step back for a while. I pesonally don't find anything 'bullying' in your posts, all I see is you trying to explain/ defend yourself when others don't agree with your opinion, to me that's not bullying. Thanks for sharing your story, hopefully in doing so it may help you feel better......Take care and look after yourself....
There are some good points here about bullying. IMHO the site has a high proportion of left wing supporters who are very quick to defend their position. It is the defending that gives rise to bullying. Instead of disagreeing with a post by rebutting the argument, a lot of posters immediately revert to personal attacks and name calling. Referring to politicians with whom they don't agree by twisting their names or using derogatory terms does little to add to a sensible discussion and if these people are challenged then the abuse is immediate. I like this forum and I choose to ignore the posts that are high on abuse and low on facts.
I can't help but agree with you Old Man. A wise post.
ROBI, you and i have never had much interaction, but i always read your posts, and agreed with a lot you said, i know exactly how you feel, re these bullies, i have had my share, what i feared from the beginning looks like it may happen, not with you, but others on this site, who are not as strong, BULLYING has been known to cause unknown trouble to some , people have SUICIDED over bullies, they will not get me, i dont care enough about them, but we dont know the mindset of others on here, and this gangs bullying may be just enough to tip them over the edge, is this what you want GANG, ? IT COULD HAPPEN, quite easily, if you have one ounce of decency in any of you, STOP BULLYING, NOW, before you do ir repairable damage,
Hi Robi
So sorry at what the bullies have done to you.
It has been unrelenting.
Look after yourself and I suppose best to keep away from this site and these "people" as I dont see their behaviour ever stopping
Hugs fro me
Now back to the real topic....
Facebook has around two billion users monthly. Some older statistics state.. Whatsapp and QQ have around 900 million and 860 million users.. respectively. Going on some research I have done in recent months..I would say most users have very positive experiences. I do have a Facebook account which I keep handy for business purposes but prefer not to use it to connect with family and close friends..even so I’ve never had a problem.
I believe some people are not suited to certain types of social media and since the survey only involved 1000 adults.. then I can’t honestly say I give it a great deal of credence. I think if “adults” feel their “well being” is being affected by social media in any form…then they have the power to refrain from using it..after all..age brings wisdom? I strongly believe that those adults who are strongly influenced and their well being affected by certain sites…have had coping problems long before joining the sites that affect them..
My concern is for the young people..the pre teens and teens who get caught up in it all..I would like to see more education and more guidance from parents to help them manage the slings and arrows....because let’s face it..social media is here to stay..it is a huge part of our lives and handled correctly can bring a host of positive rewards..
Personally…I love social media and have always found it a very good experience..however..I have to say the only time I have not fully enjoyed an online social experience is on this forum..but I see no reason to give up and give in to the people whom I regard as bullies…
But I diverse.. coming back to the real topic..the use of social networks for personal and business communications is increasing day after day and why not embrace something that saves time and travel costs!
Yes there are also the negative sides of social media..cyber-crime..invasion of privacy..security threats…but to my mind the positives far outweigh the negatives…
I like Facebook. Without it I would never have been in contact with cousins and friends whom I had lost contact with. It's great seeing their children and their homes and getting to celebrate festive occasions. Two of my sisters' husbands had banned them from going on Facebook. I persuaded my younger sister to join up and she has never been any happier because she has made so many friends from by-gone days.
I agree Hola and think Facebook is a positive for millions of people. I joined not to post but to stickybeak at the family and what they get up to, but it caused a problem for my 21 year old grandson - his mother told him to watch his language because nana sees your posts. lol
Great grandchild Harlie May
Adorable :))
gorgeous picture TOOT, going to break some hearts, i am on facebook, but i dont like it, i use it, like a lot of others to keep in touch with some family members, it was very helpful last year when all the storms were up north, my eldest grand daughter and hubby and two children went there to live about 6 months before the rains, they could not ring out, or get phone calls, so it was handy for me to see they were allright, what i dont like about facebook is that people put EVERYTHING on there, very personel things, that in my opinion should be kept tpo yourself, or at least shared in private, but to each his own, i suppose, i am lucky to go on there twice a year,
Quote Robi: I was rather silly to think I could fight any form of bullying in the past.
No Robi, no one can fight bullying if they themselves start the bullying and sarcasm and this is an example of what happened two weeks ago. Your “meltdown” had nothing to do with anyone but yourself Robi. It might help if you gave the true picture, and not paint a dishonest one. The following is an example of recent bullying by you towards myself.
I made this comment on the “Why do Australians have such a high number in private schools” thread.
2 weeks ago
I did not go to private school, my parents died when I was young and having been brought up by my aunt and uncle who had three children of their own, they couldn't afford it for any of us. Had a brilliant education nevertheless but my wife and I sent our children to a Catholic school and now our grandchildren go to private schools and I can honestly say, it's money exceedingly well spent.
2 weeks ago
Why is it money well spent? In what ways did/do the Catholic and private schools attended by your children and grandchildren exceed your own “brilliant public school education”?
Then “Micha” or Spock made this comment:
2 weeks ago
BANJO my friend,
Education is not only learning how to read and write and do sums as SOME may think. It's about all the extras you get while attending a private facility and I agree with you, it's money well spent. Some students like yourself excel in a state school because of the quality of your personality.
Might add I started off in a Jewish school, then went on to an Anglican private school.
Robi replied as follows:
2 weeks ago
Agree with you Foxy. What a sickly suck up! How many “real” men would speak that way?
2 weeks ago
If one man said that to another man in front of you, face to face, it would make you want to vomit.
Looks like Banjo can’t answer the question for himself?
Then exPS made this comment:
2 weeks ago
I for one wish that more men were comfortable with praising and being praised by others. Isn't this what women say is wrong with men, that they seem unable to be open with each other?
A posative statement is always good to see.
2 weeks ago
Ask your good wife what she thinks ex PS. There is genuine praise and sickly suck-up praise done for manipulative reasons and they are two very different things. The question that Foxy raised is also significant - how does Vinci, aka Pyotr, aka Ben aka Micha know what Banjo’s true personality is like?
Now you may well ask what is this all about? What got up Robi’s nose so much and resulted in this bullying episode? Well it was this simple statement that “Spock” made to me as follows:
“Some students like yourself excel in a state school because of the quality of your personality.”
For some unknown reason Robi feels it a “vomitable” offence for one man to praise another man, something probably unheard of in her world, so she let fly. Unbelievable? Yes, but this is the sort of behaviour many members have put up with over the years from Robi. Is her behaviour normal? In my humble opinion – No.
It doesn’t matter how flat the pancake Robi, there are always two sides. The reason I did not answer your question, is because I have had such nasty experiences with your replies, I thought it better to not reply to you.
Your so called "meltdown" that day occured because exPS pulled you up and for the first time in ages you felt ashamed of yourself.
Give it a rest ffs
Where lies are being told, others must speak the truth. What about you Raphael?
What about your incessant bullying on the forum, has Robi nothing to say about that?
You are right Banjo, I should not have made that comment and exPS who I highly respect was right to pull me up and I absolutely agreed with him about men praising and supporting each other. I have not written anything since then and the bullying didn’t stop did it? You failed to add all the bullying posts on that thread from you, Micha, Reagan and Thea following that exchange. And the bullying has continued toward others in the few weeks I have been gone. Why is that?
I have said my piece and have no more to say. You can all trash me to your hearts content from now on - I’m off to enjoy life with minimal net involvement, which is what I have been doing this past few weeks.
What you call "bullying" Robi, others may see as a Defence Mechanism because that's what it is.
The people you call bullies, use humour to reply to the bullies instead of resorting to the bullying language used by: Foxy, Raphael, Brocky and catsahoy.
If you cannot see that, then you should take those blinkers off and throw off your "feel sorry for me" blanket.
I have no more time for this, but I will not let you "thrash" good decent friends of mine and call them "multi heads" what you privately think is your business, but I know these people and have the greatest respect for them
I might add, the only reason they post here is because Fleur has asked us to. She sees the worth in this site and would like to see the forum prosper.
The other reason for Robi’s so called “meltdown” is due to her “Marriage Equality” thread. Robi started a very controversial thread, even more controversial because it is very close to the bone for her and her family.
I don’t quite know what she expected when she began that topic. Did she expect everyone to agree with her and not give their honest opinions? The thread had a snowball effect and why is that surprising? As far as I can determine Robi wanted all YES answers and had a “meltdown” because there were many NO answers. Tell the truth Robi, it was not “bullying” as you put it, it was not getting your own way.
Just saw this after I put my comment up. You are not telling the truth Banjo. Anyone who reads through the Marriage Equality thread from page 1 will see I have been very measured and consistent on that thread. That thread had nothing to do with my meltdown and walking away. The constant bullying from you and your friends and how it was affecting my emotions is my reason for leaving. Your using my personal revelations against me is just further example of your bullying tactics.
well, it seems the mod has started to take some of the trash talk down, hope it stays that way, DONT worry, ROBI, i had lies told about me also,
To all and sundry this sounds like a lot of TIT for TAT !
I personally don’t have a Facebook account but my wife does which she uses to keep in touch with old school friends. It’s been so successful they’re having a reunion next Easter which I am looking forward to since I’ve heard so many stories, be nice to meet some of these characters. As for other forms of social media it has become a part of my life for many reasons. Social media accounts give you places to store your opinions where anyone across the world is free to read them if you choose to let them of course. From there, you can compare your thoughts and views and engage with others which I like doing. I think it’s an opportunity to connect with the world and that’s what a business person wants for sure. Have always had positive outcomes and what you put into life or social media is what you get back out, from my experience anyway.
Reagan, agree totally, whether one is talking about an international or local company, social media allows you to reach your target market without leaving the comfort of your air conditioned office, and for a lazybones like myself, that’s a great advantage. When you think how expensive newspaper or radio advertising can be, using social media marketing can make that budget stretch. Added to that, there’s always something to learn as regards industry, sports, whatever.
Look I think social media creates a lot of awareness in the community and I really believe people’s lives have been improved by social media. I don't have a Facebook account, but appreciate its merits, some down sides exist, but taking the necessary precautions can help diminish these. Yep, social media is a can’t do without invention for me and it sure is a very positive part of my life.
"Do you find it a positive experience?"
The answer to that question Ben lies well in this thread, who could find anything positive in that read.
Having said that, all Social Media is not like YLC, thank goodness... I'm on FB and use it all the time, I keep in contact with family and friends who I'd never see or hear from otherwise, I've got my privacy closed as tight as possible and I only have 'friends' who I know and respect, whether they be close family and friends, associates or cyber friends of which I have a small number of people who I respect and know them to be 'real' people. I use my FB every day and there is definitely NO bullying on there, if there was there is always a 'block' option to be activated. I do not understand how people get caught up in the bullying on SM as it's so easy to back out of or block, something seems to draw people in to the bullies clutches, me, well I prefer to walk away....... I don't come in here anymore for a few reasons, 1).. I don't seem to be able to find a thread to read without some sort of bullying raising it ugly head, 2)... I could only find the time to get in here in the evenings and by then Spam has taken over and I can't be bothered trying to plough through that, 3).. because of the above I have better things to do with my life. (You ask why I'm in here now, a 'friend' directed me to this thread)
Social Media is here and it's here to stay, how we use it is up to us, I think it's a wonderful 'invention' and would be a God Send for housebound people to communicate with the outside world. There are a lot of negatives that go with it but the positives far outweigh them and there are tools in place on some platforms that can be used to elimate people who bully... Not sure of the answer but maybe a little more education on how to use those tools might be a start. Just my two cents worth...
Found this works on some sites Mods, is it worth a trial??
Simple idea that if you click on the person you want to ignore post, an option comes up to hide that persons posts so that they come up like this.
I believe it has the possibility to stop a lot of arguing within threads and make the mods work much easier
Mate, that idea was discussed years ago. Brilliant idea, but I don't think with such a small crowd YLC will even consider it.
I think the fights maketh the forum, hahahaha
Wow!
I am not getting into the rights or wrongs of the contributors above, but I do agree there are some on this forum who are totally intorerant of any opinion other than their own (and some are missing from the list above). This does at times result in the smack down of discenting voices. And Yes I have felt the sharp end of a few of them in the past.
Unfortunately social media - and this forum is a part of that - does lend keyboard warriors the confidence to abuse and insult to levels they probably wouldn't IRL (in real life) and this can be very hurtful to contributors and readers. The fact that this point made above has been refuted with a compendium of extracts pulled from previous threads just shows the lengths some will go to impose their voice. Instead of simply acknowledging the very fact that social media is indeed a carte-blanche avenue for abuse in some hands, they have actually demonstrated that very fact by their actions. And none have come out of it looking any good.
Surely as adults, and supposedly mature ones at that, we can argue and discuss and eventually agree to disagree over a variety of issues without resorting to put-downs, insults, abuse and bullying?
I don’t know what line of work you have been involved in, but I can tell you in my work, evidence is of major importance. Without getting heavy here, in a court room, evidence can be used to establish guilt or innocence of a crime or accusation. Likewise it can do the same in our everyday lives.
Any lawyer will also tell you that personal testimony is about the worst kind of “evidence” that exists, that is because as humans we can be biased, confused and unable to judge simple things. That is why “evidence” (in this case the extracts from previous threads) is so important. It gets rid of the confusion and biases of people by showing them what really happened.
To "acknowledge a fact" without evidence is doing everyone a great injustice.
Even selective out of context “evidence”
how about deliberately omitting evidence
tamperjbg with evidence ?
pffftttt - more bs from the bullies
Yes Raph any evidence you can manage to find would be good! LOL
You must be so proud of what you and those creeps did to Robi
Must have made you feel like a real man for once
KIAH unless the 'evidence' is given in its entirety, comments taken out of context can portray an entirely different 'truth'. Extracts are not (and cannot be) certain proof, only an indiction to support the 'biased' view of the extractor!
From my perspective, many of those 'extracts' above do not in any way show bullying as is alleged. However, had the entire thread been reproduced the impression may well be different. One such exchange above is where Banjo says in thier opinion sending their grandchildren to private schools was 'money well spent'. Robi responded to this statement with questions:
"Why is it money well spent? In what ways did/do the Catholic and private schools attended by your children and grandchildren exceed your own “brilliant public school education”?" Seems perfectly reasonable question to me yet this is being presented as evidence of Robi's own bullying.
But as I said, this is from my perspective. Clearly others see things differently.
Clearly KSS you haven't read the rest of the post about the "vomit" bit. KIAH was not on the forum when a lot of the stuff occurred, I was.
There is a lot of water under the bridge and Banjo who is a very gentle person has been bullied by this person relentlessly, he was very wise not to answer her. Cheers
Oh and we must not forget her twin Shetso 1. Funny she hasn't showed up with her choice comments yet.
So Reagan you think that it is OK to respond to a person you consider a bully by bullying them in return?
Reagan. I was also here since 2013. I have had my fair share of hit and runs. Anyway, time to move on and enjoy the forum for what it is.
Hopefully, things will improve and new members who have been afraid to enter will now venture in and help rebuild this important site for seniors.
Reagan gets his kicks from bullying elderly women
And you get your kicks from being a full time TROLL
Ah another member of the Micha family. Which one are you - Micha's cousin who is also his half brother and uncle
AND SO IT GOES ON, cant help yourself,
I am not on Facebook -- and if I want to check things I make sure it is from a trusted place -- but you are more liky to get the truth from the internet than the main stream media