“You can be impacted, really either way, by your media use.” In this episode, we continue our exploration of the relationship between media and mental fitness and the ways in which younger generations handle it. Jenn is joined by Sydney Brammer, a doctoral student and graduate part time instructor in the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University. Sydney dives into her current research on the connections between body image, interpersonal communication and social media and how ’Z-llennials’ (part Gen-Z and part Millennial) are normalizing content that discusses topics such as mental health.
Plus, Sydney shares a personal tidbit on how she creates mental fitness balance in her busy schedule of studying, producing academic papers and teaching.
Show Notes
00:00 Sydney Brammer, Doctoral student at Texas Tech University, introduces herself to the PMM audience, detailing what encouraged her to pursue a PHD in Communications
04:56 Sydney describes her current research – the connections between body image, interpersonal communication and social media; how she views the media as a professional and her findings
12:22 Jenn and Sydney offer commentary on objectivity and subjectivity in media consumption
14:58 Sydney and Jenn discuss how media movements have both positive and negative consequences, namely the body neutrality movement
21:10 Sydney defines mental fitness in her own life
23:49 Being a’ Z-llennial’ (part Gen-Z and part Millennial), Sydney expresses why her generation produces media that normalizes the mental health discussion, in sharp contrast to prior generations
28:20 Sydney flexes her mental fitness muscles through scheduling time carefully, spending time with friends and focusing on creating balance between work and leisure
32:30 Sydney leaves parting words for the PMM audience
