Mobile, Social Media and YouTube Use

I don’t know about you, but as I look at the time I spend doing different activities, I have noticed a significant change in the amount of time I spend in a few areas. This change in activity started long before the current COVID-19 Virus situation, but the virus has exacerbated the situation even more.

 I keep a journal that tracks current and future goals as well as the steps needed to reach the goals. Also, on a daily basis I keep track of where I spent my time and activities that got in the way of reaching the goal. When I review my week on Sunday night, I can see a pattern of daily media use that is both shocking and continuous. It seems, no matter how much I focus on changing these patterns, the patterns are very difficult to break. This daily media use includes social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. My daily use has expanded to include YouTube Videos and Mobile News Media.

If you are reading this, I’m sure you are familiar with the YouTube Video Vortex. The Vortex starts innocently enough with something like 20 Best Boxing Knockouts of all time or Best MMA fights of 2020. Suddenly, I notice its an hour later and I am watching clips of movies about boxing or best Kung Fu scenes from a movie. Whatever it is, an hour of my life has just sunk into the YouTube Vortex.

 Apparently, I am not alone, research has shown that this increase in use is evident across the board in the US. According to https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/average-daily-time-on-social-media The Average daily time spent on Social Media is 144 Minutes. This is up 62.5% since 2012. According to https://merchdope.com/youtube-stats/ The average YouTube viewing session lasts more than 40 minutes. This is up more than 50% year-over-year.

 Research presented by https://techjury.net/stats-about/how-much-time-does-the-average-american-spend-on-their-phone/ about how much time the average American spends on their phone.

Check out these amazing stats below:

• Most mobile phone users check their phones up to 63 times daily.
• Americans spend an average screen time of 5.4 hours on their mobile phones daily.
• Currently, there are 272.6 million smartphone users in America.
• Social media is responsible for 2 hours and 24 minutes of global internet time spent online by an average user daily.
• 13% of millennials spend over 12 hours on their phones daily.
• Baby Boomers spend 5 hours using their phones. 
• Millennials spend 48 minutes texting every day.

 Over the next few Blog posts, Cush Media will be looking at ways to reach these users using the mobile and video platforms mentioned above. Check https://cushmedia.blogspot.com/

When will the Access to Oral Health in Georgia Law Make a Difference to the Underserved???

After years of challenging advocacy and coalition-building across the state, a law (HB 154) was passed in 2017 to increase access to oral care in Georgia; it was enacted on January 1, 2018. This law allows Georgia licensed dentists to authorize dental hygienists that have been licensed for at least two years to provide these preventive dental services when the dentist is not present: oral assessments, prophylaxis (cleaning), sealants, and fluoride. This type of supervision by the dentist is referred to as General Supervision. Although general supervision is also permitted in private practice settings, this law is intended to benefit low-income children, special patients, and older adults, as well as anyone who is unable to access services in traditional settings. The safety-net setting sites indicated for general supervision services are Title I schools, long-term-care settings, domestic violence shelters, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC's), and hospitals. These are considered to be areas where our most vulnerable populations are found. In order to assist the dental profession in transitioning safely and effectively into providing services within the community, Dr. David Reznik and Dr. Eunice Chay created a Toolkit that is available to all practitioners. Not surprisingly, change is painfully slow. The first adaptors have been private practice dentists who are able to have their dental hygienists provide these preventive services in addition to x-rays for their patients of record; patients who are already established and have had an initial exam by the dentist in that practice. This has been an easy transition, as not much has changed for the patient, other than receiving an exam by the dentist before or after dental hygiene services were rendered. What has been more challenging is the care being offered and provided in safety-net settings. This often involves the purchase of special equipment, such as mobile dental units and/or teledentistry. Plus, reimbursement is lower in these settings, whether Medicaid, Medicare, or sliding fee. Many dentists are reluctant to make the investment on a slower, lower return. Hurry up and wait... In my next blog, we will be discussing some of the pockets of change in our state... Next blog: The Access to Oral Care Crawl vs. Sprawl

New Partnership

Cush Media LLC has partnered with SOFT Smiles LLC to create Highly targeted Oral Health related training and information. From CE classes for CNAs and Dental Hygienists to information about COVID-19 to research and updates Cush Media and SOFT Smiles will provide the most up to date information. Please go to www.softsmiles.com or Soft Smiles Facebook for Cush Media   more information.