MARISSA BURR
Opinion Editor
Graphic by ISABELLA RIZZO | Art Director
I’m not going to lie, the media has been bumming me out lately; now it goes far past seeing people I grew up with getting married or having babies.
It’s not all social media’s fault, seeing as a lot of my feed is news organizations reporting on what’s happening in the world. Society is depressing, and the current state of our country is nothing to smile at.
This isn’t anything new though, so why is it bothering me so much?
If I had to guess, it’s because I’m only getting snippets of the bad stuff, without any follow up information. The media is dropping these bombs on us without telling us who’s responsible or what to do next. I have to admit, even as an informed reader and experienced journalist, I don’t always take the time to do my own research. It’s annoying to have to look further and explore five or six different websites just to get the full story.
Don’t worry, I’m not blindly believing anything I see that I didn’t do extensive research on. But I think the full story should be easily accessible if we want to ensure people have all the facts. So, I’ve decided to do my due diligence and research some of the topics I’ve been seeing on my feed but didn’t have a ton of information on.
Metals in Tampons
In the middle of July 2024, a scientific, technical and medical publishing company called Elsevier released volume 190 of their ScienceDirect journal that detailed a study done on the chemical exposure from tampons that those who menstruate have. 30 tampons from 14 tampon brands and 18 product lines were tested for 16 different metal(loid)s, and all 16 were detected in measurable amounts.
The amount of the metal(loid)s differed between organic and inorganic tampons, store brand versus name brand and the region they were purchased in including the United States and United Kingdom. The results showed that, “Most metals differed by organic status; lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons while arsenic was higher in organic tampons. No category had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals.” At least one sampled tampon had all 16 detected metal(loid)s including lead, which has “no ‘safe’ exposure level.”
ScienceDirect stated that the results of their study point towards a need for regulations and requirements for manufacturers to test their products for metals, especially since many tested positive for toxic metals that there is no safe amount of exposure to.
A follow up article by The New York Times entitled “Concerned about metals in tampons? Here’s what to know” reported that researchers weren’t certain on where the metals came from but it is possible that the cotton was exposed to metals through “pesticides, or via the air, soil or water.” They also could have been contaminated during the manufacturing process or deliberately added (zinc for example) for antimicrobial purposes.
Overall, the New York Times article urged consumers to not fall for the clickbait on social media that is meant to scare them. For one, tampons absorb something from our bodies, not the other way around. In addition metals are everywhere, including food and water which, by contrast, is taken in. Experts say there is no need as of now to stop using tampons or switch brands, as all tampons studied contained some of the metals tested for.
It’s scary, and I totally understand why people are so frustrated with these results. Every day it seems as though uterus-owners are fighting for their right to be treated equally, and this is just one more thing added to the basket of topics to worry about. My suggestion for anyone who feels the need to change their menstruation habits is to first talk to your gynecologist about their recommendations. You can also switch out your tampons more frequently so the same one isn’t in your body as long. There’s also pads, menstrual cups and period underwear available as alternative methods.
Project 2025
This one is stressful to think about, I’m not going to lie. Reading through the website created by those running Project 2025 was…difficult, not even from a political standpoint but from the perspective of a young bisexual woman. But it is important when looking at something like this to present all the facts so you as voters can understand what its goal is.
Project 2025 is organized by The Heritage Foundation whose mission is to “build and promote conservative public policies” according to their website. This organization has been working with presidential administrations since the Reagan era. Their foundation builds on the “Mandate for Leadership” which includes 334 unique policy recommendations. In 2018, former President Donald Trump had included 64 percent of these recommendations in his budget, says a Heritage Impact article on the foundation’s website.
The current director of Project 2025 is Paul Dans, who is the former Chief of Staff at the Office of Personnel Management under the Trump administration. The Associate Director is Spencer Chretien, who is Trump’s former assistant and associate director of Presidential Personnel. Their goal for the 2025 Presidential Transition Project (Project 2025) is to “rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left[. W]e need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.”
The project’s official website states that, “The project is the effort of a broad coalition of conservative organizations that have come together to ensure a successful administration begins in Jan. 2025. With the right conservative policy recommendations and properly vetted and trained personnel to implement them, we will take back our government.”
The New York Times article “What is Project 2025 and why is Trump disavowing it?” summarizes that the 900 pages of the plan “lays out plans for criminalizing pornography, disbanding the Departments of Commerce and Education, rejecting the idea of abortion as health care and shredding climate protections.”
It also calls out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” And it backs deploying the military “to assist in arrest operations along the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Though Donald Trump’s name is mentioned hundreds of times in Project 2025, he has claimed to know nothing about it or the people creating it. He wrote on his social media site Truth Social that, “Some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” without specifying what parts he was referring to.
Trump’s campaign plans and the project do differ. One way is in regards to abortion. Project 2025 is vehemently against abortion and believes that the next conservative president “has a moral responsibility to lead the nation in restoring a culture of life in America again.” However, Trump’s stance on abortion has wavered and his words haven’t always aligned with his actions. In 2016, he wanted Roe v. Wade overturned. In this round of political debates he called it “a great thing” but at the same event said that abortion rights should be left up to the states. Agenda47 — Trump’s proposals if he wins the election — include nothing about abortions.
All in all, the former president is not endorsing Project 2025 but his connections to those running it should not be ignored. Nor should his reliance on The Heritage Foundation’s policies in the past.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
With any celebrity couple, especially with two players as big as these two, the media is not going to leave them alone. I’m all for hearing about the things they post or what they willingly put out into the world, but trolls on the internet also try to stir up drama just to keep themselves relevant.
Back in June 2024, videos started plaguing the internet of Swift performing at the Eras tour, but the captions were saying she was pregnant. People have been saying since she was 18 years old that she’s been pregnant, and in her film “Miss Americana,” as well as an interview with Variety, Swift mentioned how she could never escape the comments. Anytime she wore something that wouldn’t make her stomach flat, these rumors started circulating.
Now that she has a boyfriend who is also a celebrity and is in the spotlight by an entire new scope of fans, people can’t wait to jump on the idea that she’s pregnant or she’s engaged — which was the newest fake story I saw.
Instead, when looking for updates on their lives, consumers should turn to their interviews, official social media accounts and even the Kelce brothers’ podcast “New Heights.” The couple shares about their life plenty, but when their news is about their careers rather than their personal lives, people shouldn’t make up lies just for clickbait.
Ozempic
This topic spans beyond social media, in fact I’ve seen more advertisements for weight loss surgery and medicine on Paramount commercials than on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.
Here’s what you should know about weight loss drugs. First of all, Ozempic isn’t supposed to be prescribed for weight loss, but for diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome. According to its prescription facts, it is used to “improve blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes” and also is “not FDA approved for weight loss or chronic weight management.” Weight loss is a side effect of taking the medicine because it allows the pancreas to make more insulin when detecting higher blood sugar levels.
Ozempic, as well as other drugs that make you lose weight, only do so when supplemented with diet and exercise. Every advertisement or packet full of fine print will specify that. If you are interested in losing weight, start with diet and exercise before injecting yourself with semaglutide, because the results aren’t always what you’ll want.
Amy Schumer admitted in an interview with Andy Cohen that she tried it but stopped using Ozempic because of its side effects. Tracy Morgan told “Today” that he went and got a prescription for Ozempic and that’s how he lost weight, but months later revealed on “The Tonight Show” that he “out-ate Ozempic” and gained 40 pounds.
So don’t believe what social media wants you to see. Over all else, it is important to do what your body needs. Eating high-nutrient foods, moving your body and getting enough sleep are important.
The health center on campus is also a great place to go if you want to talk about your physical health, and the counseling center is available for improving your mental health.
Looking beyond your social media feed before forming opinions or believing something is the best way to be informed. Clickbait and rage-bait are ways for internet users to be seen, but they don’t contribute to a well-informed population. As educated people, we have the opportunity to change the world every day with our knowledge, but first we have to acquire it both in the classroom and beyond.