Tag: media

Why the News and Other Media Outlets Follow Social Trends

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

In response to a post on social media I became acutely aware that the state of society is somewhat a loss. The media, news channels and other various outlets are deliberately restricting certain content whilst favouring others.

One such topic is LGBTQ rights. Now we in England and the UK have no shortage of these rights. People can identify as gay or lesbian or whatever without the risk of persecution. The gay scene is big in many towns and cities.

However, in other countries such as Uganda, these rights are non existent and merely identifying as homosexual is now illegal. I bring this up because Uganda like many countries do criminalise homosexuality but they have done so for hundreds of years. The west, like England also used to criminalise it but we only talk about other countries. Although England has changed it doesn’t mean it hasn’t always been a part of this.

So why do the news outlets focus on places like Uganda? Well, it’s simple. They are popular news stories which will garner huge attention and support in western countries from people who haven’t the faintest clue as to how or what the operation or culture of those foreign countries is. For example, the majority of citizens could be in favour of the new bill, making it a democratic process with homosexuals – if there is many in Uganda – in the minority.

However the west does a very nasty job of making these countries seem like the worst place on earth. Aside from protecting their own cultural heritage and the society they live in, they are a different way of life and people don’t seem to understand that. What is normal in one country isn’t always normal in the other. We have to accept this. Trying to impose a global homosexuality acceptance parade is offensive and undermines the majority. Remember that these homosexuality rights are modern creations, and you cannot shift the entirety of Africa, or Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia to do as the west pleases.

Taking the story of Uganda, it had been illegal since 1902 to be a homosexual including various displays of affection. The new death penalty is not something to be frowned on, in fact it is to prevent the rape and abuse of young boys and girls.

The law in Uganda now classes ‘aggravated homosexuality’ as having gay sex with someone under the age of 18 or with someone being HIV positive, among other categories…

This is not a bad thing, but the west seems to think that homosexuality should be allowed in any form, even minors. You have to laugh at the disgusting reporting going on. Insinuating our African family is less because they ban something which would otherwise hurt the vulnerable is not a good image. Although the agenda in England has started to shift to dangerous tactics like imposing LGBTQ awareness in schools.

Saudi Arabia came around, changing the law to allow women to drive, a huge milestone. Yet with all their laws banning homosexuality the world cup was hosted there! What does that say about the medias agenda? It seems they have a selective and very dangerous money grab scheme involving certain states and countries. If they hosted the world cup and built and entire stadium for the world to visit, surely they are open to making homosexuality legal? The west went there, paid them trillions and didn’t say a thing about its brutal legal system – known worldwide for persecuting people for very minor crimes.

If the news actually reported on things that matter – like the fact that Afgahnistan also imposes the death penalty for homosexuality and so do several other countries then it might seem fair to go after Uganda, but the reality is the new law is actually protecting people. Don’t forget Africa and many of the countries suffer from AIDs and HIV epidemics, with HIV being a worldwide pandemic for many years. They have to account for this, and the high risk of disease spread from homosexuality activity.

Although I am not condemning them or siding with them in any case. It seems like perhaps we, and the news of the west need to give countries a wider berth. We cannot be selective about what we choose to argue about when in reality those same things are happening in western countries. There is no end in sight for LGBTQ rights in England, and it is unlikely that they will end soon, if anything they will continue to grow.

New Device – CD Player

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Most people have a phone, laptop or desktop computer and a tv. But now they no longer sell them with cd players, or have done for a few years. I did not know this so ordered the cd player below.

It doubles as portable device as well as something you can plug into your computer. I needed a cd player for my language courses, to listen to the audio content but I will use it for music as well. I think product sellers need to factor this in when selling audio content for courses, so they can provide it online instead. But I am happy with the fairly priced purchase online.

As for my day. Well, it’s going very dark early here. It was around 3pm and going dark. I bought some big candles at a market – where I could bargain which was great – along with a super big version of Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I also headed to the library to find a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while called A Spy Named Orphan by Roland Philipps. A cross between Soviet Union spy and England. I hope it’s worth it. As I say, I’ve been waiting to grab a copy but just been putting it off. Hopefully this winter is less gloomy with all the books I’d like to read + everything else.

How many of my followers and fellow Word pressors use Duolingo? What are your thoughts on this for learning? I’m asking as they have recently changed the layout and I’m not keen on the new format so am hoping to move away from it soon.

All the best.

Increase Traffic To Your Blog

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to Psychedelic Wizard, and thank you for taking the time to check out todays post on increasing traffic to your blog.

Creating relevant content – We have reviewed briefly the importance of creating interesting posts with passion. However, the content itself needs to be relevant to what people want to read. If your site focuses on specific areas, like poetry, creating relevant content can be as easy as changing the type of poetry that you post. Relevant content may include recent changes in news, lifestyle content or similar. Whatever the topic, relevance and engagement are significant factors to increasing traffic.

Guest blogging – You might have been blogging solo for some time and if that is the case, to further promote a blog, consider inviting a guest post. Guest blogging can double or even triple your website traffic, because when that guest posts to your site, it attracts their followers or usual visitors to your site. On top of this, they will likely share the post on their site, which will again increase your sites exposure. If traffic is important to you, consider a guest post once in a while, or maybe consider other ways to invite guests to your blog.

Social media promotion – WordPress allows you to connect social media sites like twitter. You can then write a post on WordPress and it will automatically post it to the social media website. You can also do it the other way round, so anything you post on twitter will be seen on your site as a feed. This is a great way to increase traffic to your site. Other platforms such as YouTube could prove useful if you have a site with a lot of video content.

That is 3 great ways to consider promoting your website or blog further. Remember, a passion should not become a full time occupation unless you think you will still enjoy it, as work and play are very different things. Just as an artist might paint for a pastime, as soon as they decide to become a full time painter as a job, they might find very little joy in it anymore.

Sundays Post – Wizard (Poetry, Short Story)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I have changed the font size to 13 to see if it makes the post look neater. I got up quite late today and honestly my sleep hasn’t been great since the clocks moved forward an hour last week. I am enjoying the warmer weather – although the other day is snowed heavily for 5 minutes. It is sunnier and in the evening taking a stroll around the streets with that warm refreshing breeze can really be rewarding. I also talk about looking after yourself and having a loving caring nature, to love yourself.

Mental Health Support

A gentle reminder that anyone struggling with their mental health can email the Wizard @ psychwizard@yahoo.com There has already been an overwhelming response from followers and from non followers which is great and the Wizard loves to connect and share emotions with you all. Times can be overwhelming and feel like too much, but knowing someone is there to listen can make the world of difference. Wizard is not setting up the phone group yet as he has concerns that it could attract the wrong type of attention. He still loves you all and wishes you to comment, like, follow and email him with any thoughts or suggestions… literally anything you want to talk about. Talk about food? Talk about your feelings? Tell him about your annoying neighbours? What about your clothes? Absolutely anything and he keeps it all confidential.

Next Sunday will be a pleasant day for me as I am planning to go bowling. I really hope to go when space bowling is on, which means they change the lights to darken the room. I used to really enjoy bowling but over the years stopped going for whatever reason. Hopefully it is a good day, it will be the first time in a few years since I went to a place specifically to socialise in a group. Being with other people is a sure way to provide yourself with that mental boost you need. I am thinking about setting up a morning coffee meeting group where people can come togethe to discuss their struggles. But time needs to pass and plans need to be enacted. You can always connect virtually, using Skype among others. They allow groups to connect and chat for a long time.

Recent News

The recent breaking headlines are more depressing and nonsensical nonsense. MP’s in England are getting a pay rise, yes, even as energy prices continue to rise year on year, as food become more expensive for less, how the cost of fuel has risen, the increase in taxes, the reduction in benefits and anything meaningful to the majority of people, still the people who can afford two homes, a boat and 3 cars and a personal chef need more money. The age of austerity, such a load of *******. We now have a huge international crisis in the form of the pandemic which is raging as a quieter yet fierce undercurrent which is being slowly but surely swept under the rug, due to the failures on a massive scale of every government in the modern world. We still need those booster shots though, because that reinforces any idea that the pandemic is still in force. Then we have the completely removed from the public eye crisis in Afghanistan, which hundreds of thousands of refugees fled after the country was taken over by Taliban. I guess they had 2 years of pandemic to prepare and strike. The media have completely forgotten about this incident or about any images of desperate civilians falling from planes. I guess having your country hiijacked by murdering rapists isn’t popular anymore. Then there is now a huge war in UKRAINE, that’s right. Russia launched a full scale – rockets and soldier attack – on the country in February. Tensions have been high since 2014, arguably well before that. It comes down to NATO membership or something. Basically, bald Putin doesn’t want NATO to tarnish UKRAINE and the fight is to protect them. What is more depressing is seeing dozens of buildings packed up with bags and bags of donations of clothes among other things allegedly going to support those in need. Did the war suddenly suck all the clothes away? Would a pack of baby wipes and talcum powder go amiss? Of course, there is nobody in the UK in need to those clothes, or that money, no. Instead, we are told that the homeless in England and Wales are lazy, poor and not worth helping. What about the soldiers who came back to England to find they hadn’t the money or support to live after serving their own countries?

Poem ~ Roast (Haiku)

Roasting a smooth bunch

Of succulent potatoes

To melt on my tongue

Short Story ~ Love and Hate

When you spend a night with the girl of your dreams, you end up feeling like you hit the roof or went temporarily insane. The next morning, even though she is gone, you know it was satisfying. Well, what if that woman turned up the next night, uninvited? That is what happened to this gentlemen, Gabriel. He was a quiet man who for the most part kept to himself barr the Fridays when he used to spend a few hours drinking with his mates in the local tavern. Living in the city had taken its toll on him. occasionally he felt like it was too much only to end up back in the office next Monday morning making small talk on how the coffee machine was playing up again. He worked in an advertising firm, they managed everything from huge McDonalds adverts to smaller niche adverts for dog grooming products. It was busy, it was hectic, but he enjoyed it for the most part.

That’s why getting that girl back to his had helped him so much, you see. He didn’t need the satisfaction of the sex, no, he needed to know that he was still that raging tiger beneath all the love and pain of his mundane life. She had the succulent long brunettes hair that dripped to her waist. Her waist had been rather thin, and she was toned, athletic. She reminded him of a model. Her breasts enlarged and squishy to touch, yet nipples that he could nibble all night. It had been a bit too much though, and he thought he had let himself go a bit too much, at one point riding her like she was his wife or something. But to see her back on his doorstep, plump cherry red lips, light pink skirt and darkened floral blouse almost brought him to his knees as his heart raced. It was raining, throwing it down onto the pavement outside. Her hair wet. Was this a nightmare or just fantasy?

He didn’t know her name, so he couldn’t tell her to go away. Gabriel made a fatal error, he slowly stepped aside and the woman entered the house. She had no coat, she had wet dripping hair leaving stained on the white carpet through the hallway as she made her own way into the back of the house, toward the living room. It was all too much for Gabriel, he wanted to tell her to go but she was silent, tantalising and somehow still as delicious as the previous night. Please go, he thought. She was no telepathic creature, nor a woman of emotions. She simply sat on the sofa, letting her wet hair fall onto the cushions. She kicked her high heels off.

‘Why have you come back?’ he asks, feeling his hands tremble and his heart pulsate.

‘Less talk,’ she replies. She begins to undo her blouse, revealing the flesh beneath. Gabriel sees a diamond ring on her left hand, third finger. What had he got himself into? She left him alone in the living room, standing against the wall like a mannequin, too paralysed to understand what is happening, yet prepared to act. The lady had gone into the kitchen and Gabriel could hear her routing through the cupboards. He looked at his own left hand, third finger, and he too possessed the same ring.

Thank you for reading todays post which has spoken about mental health and the recent news. If you liked my poem (Haiku) then please like and leave a comment below or share which is always welcomed. If you enjoyed the story, please also do the same.

*Please consider reading my previous post called ‘Discover’ @ https://psychedelicwizard.wordpress.com/2020/07/19/discover/ . A story of a boy and girl who share a special relationship.

*My second Beach Town book Hope, hasn’t had the attention or reviews that an author would expect. I suspect because I made it exclusive to Amazon so it isn’t reaching as many people as the first book – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beach-Town-Hope-Thomas-Maxwell-Harrison-ebook/dp/B08MPCNHSM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MWHE739TINSG&keywords=beach+town+hope&qid=1645826849&sprefix=beach+town+hope%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1

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Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
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The Dangerous Realities of Social Media

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

The 21st century phenomenon known as social media has swept and dominated the online mindset, along with polluting our daily lives and starting some questionable trends… ice bucket challenge anyone?

Not to have a social media account of some variety, or to be informed at the click of a button every 5 seconds of current goings-on, would make you out of touch, old and just why?

Why would you not engage with millions, wait, billions of people over the globe and connect in some small way to help make the world a better place? I can think of a dozen reasons. But wait, what’s that calling in the background? It’s not the chant of the crowd that changes anything, it is what that crowd does to the outsiders.

A dangerous, cult like reality has dawned on society over the last 10 years. Although prior to 2010 there was still the issues of online fraud, bullying and death threats, the recent decade has seen these issues amplified and made worse by the obsession with constant media and information in take. Hunchbacks abound as they slog to the local shop to pay with their phone. Who are They? The ones with little conscious thought of reality, to anything beyond the screen, so doped up on insensitivity and mind numbing tweets that not less than a terabyte could enter their minds at any given moment.

Hunchbacks abound as they slog to the local shop to pay with their phone

People suffer from fatigue at various levels. People suffer headaches, backaches among other pains. People can have emotional breakdowns. People can become mentally fatigued. People can suffer sleep loss.

When someone ignores the symptoms, they can develop into something far more serious. I suspect this is what is happening with chronic social media users. I use the term ‘chronic’ because the average daily user of social media will spend on average 109 minutes a day on it, according to statistics from 2020 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/507378/average-daily-media-use-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/). Average daily time using the internet on any device was a whopping 386 minutes. I think we can make an assumption, something accepted as true (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/assumption) that most people spend too much time using a digital device and too much time engaging… or should I say absorbing useless information from social media.

To what end though? We are only aware of a small percentage of online social media users who were subject to torment and abuse for prolonged periods when the news shows it. A lot of people are quite public, so to speak, about wanting to commit suicide and end up posting highly disturbing content on their social media pages, which can result in help being given, but not unusually will the social media site simply remove the content and nothing more is done. It cries out in large bold letters that suicide is a public health crisis which could not simply be fixed by removing the suicidal content of its depressed users from the internet. If you want to read more about the correlation between suicide and social media check out this: (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477910/).

There has been suggestions in the not so long ago past that social media can lead to obsessive behaviour, depression, anxiety and a number of other conditions. Conditions expanded, radical groups (https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/expert-opinion/radicalisation-of-young-people-through-social-media/) use these friend sites to create and target young, sometimes angry and impressionable teens and children into becoming a part of their extremist groups. One example is the fairly recent case of Maysa – real name withheld – who was first contacted through social media (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/26/radicalisation-islam-isis-maysa-not-thinking-my-thoughts-not-myself). The initial contact quickly led to radical life changes, behaviour changes and general out of the ordinary goings on with the youngster. It was developing into a real life radicalisation, the young girl being ‘given’ a ‘phone and sim card’ to keep secret, with which she received the communications from the group. The even more recent cases that we don’t here about, highlight that more needs doing in regulating social media sites, rather than allowing extremist content or profiles.

Another issue that is overlooked is the idea that social media users can be anonymous. I do not believe that true anonymity exists online. You cannot for example make a fake name Facebook profile, as you need your number and email to verify your identity. YouTube is a little easier to navigate, but you now require a Google account to use a YouTube account. The companies still know the I.P address you registered from, they know your email and possibly your phone number, you may have uploaded pictures. Whatever information you give them, they keep and they use. This is also at risk of being hacked. Individual sites have become victim of such attacks, like the Adult Friend Finder 2016 breach, which saw 412 million accounts exposed. If you follow the rabbit, you will find blackmail somewhere along the line.

If you follow the rabbit, you will find blackmail somewhere along the line.

My point is not quite made yet. The invention of the social media trend. The sheep obeying the master, just as the sites intended them to do. They cannot fathom disobeying the digital code or the demands that seemingly random users place on them. A snake pit where the prey is in no shape to be trying to escape, just to accept its fate. If and when the trend emerges, so will those desperately seeking that elusive 200 followers, or subscribers, or those exhaustingly pursuing the dopamine highs of likes and comments (https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-to-your-brain-like-instagram-dopamine-2017-3?r=US&IR=T). Dangerous past trends, which have been miraculously branded as ‘safe’ just because the social media consensus is so, doesn’ tmean it is. Take the ice bucket challenge, just say its for a good cause and that will eradicate the risks. Take the recent dry scooping trend, people have posted videos so it must be safe right? What about the ice cream challenge, open that store tub, lick the ice cream and return to freezer… ******* seriously? The choking game, the boiling water challenge…must I struggle on, the idiocy is unbearable.

Being in this constant stimulation state cannot be healthy. Endlessly seeking a rush, or dopamine hit, a small wave of comfort is not how humans should live. It creates a competitive and dangerous world. A world where people will fight, even kill to be the best, the most liked, the biggest social media icon. Why? That hit, the rush, the thrill. Once they come back down to earth, the reality punches them so hard that it can resemble a mental breakdown. That’s called withdrawal. (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-abstinence-social-media-symptoms.html) Even brief week long periods of abstinence from social media was enough to induce symptoms like boredom, and a sense of peer pressure to return, along with reduced mood, or unhappiness.

… reality punches them so hard that it can resemble a mental breakdown

I think I have got across my point. The systemic and epidemic usage of social media in the UK, among other countries, is at a critical point. Users have become drones who are being fed information that they believe they asked for, when in reality the social platform dictates your behaviour, and sneaky and intelligent advertisements can also dictate what you do offline as well along with buying habits.

If the world doesn’t want to walk straight into the fiery pit of hell that is artificial intelligence taking over, then this is what they could start to do:

  1. Start socialising

I don’t mean online. It’s okay to do it occasionally I guess, the issue is chronic and daily use where the usage becomes a habit which you cannot live without. I’m guilty of it, but I now only use WordPress and Twitter, and that is really the extent of my online interaction. I do watch YouTube, but I don’t personally consider that as dangerous as other sites, simply because you don’t need an account to use it.

Develop social skills or improve your existing skills by having real, sober, present and real conversations in person with other people. Do not use your phone, do not refer to the internet. Try abstaining from your mobile in the morning on the train or bus, or wherever you are in public and observe people. You will start to realise just how many people on that train are on their mobiles, sat in silence, scrolling absolute nonsense which they couldn’t care less about, yet are only doing so they don’t have to interact with anyone. I really, really don’t get this.

  1. Think for yourself

If you don’t start to form opinions for yourself, and you are already using smart phone and social media at 10, then you will grow up with a completely and utterly different perspective of the world. A viewpoint dictated by algorithm and code, where the news becomes your go to because you can’t get your ‘fix’ without that devastating ‘action’. The same applies to adults. Again I am guilty of this, of letting the internet and social media ‘news’ dictate how I feel and how I see the world.

These are the 2 best tips I can give to myself, and I wouldn’t tell you about them if I didn’t follow them myself. It’s hard to give up on something that is used by billions, is part of daily life, is rammed down our hungry throats and which will persecute you if you do not use it.

You have the strength.

The Failing Universal Credit System

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

It’s called universal credit because it’s designed to combine multiple state benefits into one. It is not called universal credit to blankety support people all over the country. On the contrary, the fairly new installation of the ‘universal credit’ system into England has been a complete and utter disgrace and catastrophe and proves beyond reasonable doubt that the UK government do not give a monkey **** about its sick and disable citizens. Please, do read on.

It has left millions struggling to pay rent, buy food and even heat their homes and yet, the government continues its blindfolded march over the disabled and vulnerable and single mothers who are depressed and stressed because they are being told to search and apply for work when, in reality that is both not possible or there simply isn’t work. Chase the cheese little mouse, so I can keep pulling it away from you.

Chase the cheese little mouse, so I can keep pulling it away from you

Those on this universal credit are subject to variations in their payments, so it could change each month depending on income. What if that single mother is working part time to supplement the poor amount she receives to feed her two children and then the government takes that away? She’s left worse off. Where will all the people with long term health conditions go when the lights go out and they can’t cook a microwave meal? Where does the conservative government stand… they stand aloof on top of a mountain of dead poor people, smoking cigars and waving their black flags. They are not in the dark about the reality of the situation, quite the opposite, just as with the legal aid ‘reforms’ they have blatantly lied and deceived the public so they can justify cut after cut after cut. They have hit the bone and they are still cutting.

A BBC article, Universal Credit failing millions of people, say peers, highlights the issues that universal credit is responsible for, such as “soaring rent arrears and the use of food banks”.

Labour government say that the system is “pushing people further into poverty and debt”… and The Lords report (The Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee) says “…cuts to social security budgets over the last 10 years had caused “widespread poverty and hardship”.

(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53599763)

The system designed to implement this new welfare benefit is run by evil little minions. Claimants have to use an online journal system to communicate with them, and at the minions discretion, they get a response. They could be waiting over an hour on the phone, and the staff have been reported as ‘unfriendly and uncaring’ at best. This is the system the taxpayer funds, and those who find themselves having to claim will soon realise that the money was literally better off going straight into the claimants pockets.

Since the pandemic started and since March 2020, there has been a huge increase in new claims for universal credit of over 1.6 million. The Trussell Trust also found a strong connection between universal credit and food bank usage. In the executive summary, The Trussell Trust state that they are… “concerned that, given the links between Universal Credit, financial hardship, and foodbank use, this next stage could lead to increased financial need and more demand for foodbanks.”

Click to access The-next-stage-of-Universal-Credit-Report-Final.pdf

These changes were implemented as early as 2012, with the introduction of the Welfare Reform Act 2012. This legislation combines the 6 big benefits into one. Granted that the system has been going for a few years without a full transition, however, over the last 3 years, they have pushed hard to get everyone who already claims the ‘legacy’ benefits onto the new universal credit. Claimants do not have a choice in some case, most do not consent, a basic right in the law. The right to be subject to legislation is at your consent. If you do not consent to it, the legislation should not apply to you. Many people are unaware of this, and again, it’s unlikely that it would work, because the system will oppress and ruin the lives of anyone trying fight for their rights. Those who can think and feel will be shut down, and those who obey and follow will be rewarded.

The United Kingdom is a first world, modern and developed country and yet, it will not help and assist the vulnerable so that can eat food. This is something we all need. Food banks rely on donations and most of the time volunteers. Where is the food bank going to source these people from when millions are struggling to feed themselves and where they simply haven’t got the time to volunteer? The agenda seems to be to paint a picture of this group of people and brainwash society into believing that they are worthless and deserving of nothing. Reminds me of Nazi Germany, you?

I totally disagree with how this government has approached and dealt with multiple areas of society. They have flipped a bed upside down and now refuse to clean up the sheets. They deliberately skew the public perceptions so that the cuts can be justified because half of the misinformed public are chanting outside the hospitals for more cuts and to kill off the sick and disabled.

To end, the new system is not working, does not support anyone and does not help to create a universal credit system. What it is doing, is creating a system of distress and worry for the most vulnerable, leaving them hungry and cold and without help. The legal aid cuts means that these individuals are on their own, unable to appeal decisions at tribunal and unable to do anything to fight the injustice. Is it too much to ask that the sick and the vulnerable are cared for and that they have a warm meal and warm bed at night?

This has been an article looking at the failures of the universal credit system.