Remember Biz Markie speaking on people with “the vapors” and even if you didn’t know what exactly he meant, you knew you didn’t want it? Well, Biz was talking slang for a person who mistreated or overlooked someone who didn’t have much and later regretted it once they came up on fame and/or fortune. But, before the late rapper quoted the term, it was used to proclaim an illness over women during the Victorian era. When a woman exhibited strange and abnormal behavior, she was said to have “caught the vapors” showing behaviors related to hysteria, mania, depression, bipolar disorder, fainting, mood swings and even PMS. It’s looking like social media is bringing a new wave of vapors back to the forefront.

In a recent article by buzzfeednews.com, author Tanya Chen highlighted how young women are developing severe tics after watching TikTok videos from influencers diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Now, you may be thinking, how in the world does this relate to me? I don’t even have a TikTok account. Well, my friend: there are two main things about this information that should concern you still.

One, the article highlights TikTok because of the data collected, but if you think about what it is saying, the potential neurological damage is certainly not limited to this particular platform. Taking in an extreme amount of online content can negatively affect you no matter your platform of choice. The issue is the frequency as to which you are exposed and the type of stimuli in which you are exposed to.

Second, another concern in the article is how lowly reported and minimized the ailments of these young women were. It has been stated that medical complaints from women have a history of being minimized in comparison to men and so this gives us an opportunity to pay more attention to the young women around us and listen to them if they are speaking of mental health and physical health concerns that may stem from too much social media exposure.

Check out more from the article below and get in the know!

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/young-women-reporting-concerning-behavioral-changes-from

Also, check out the video “Vapors” by Biz Markie…..just because. 🙂 RIP Biz!

Peace fam!

~ Tia Marie

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