New Facebook App

                Last night as I was watching the local news, something caught my attention. It ws a news story on the recent hype over a new Facebook app, Help, My Friend Gave Me The Flu, that tells you who got you sick or who could be spreading germs around. My initial reactions were as follows: “Well, I guess we’re playing the blame game now,” “This will only encourage bullying,” and “This is kind of a good idea, but has society really resorted to an app to help with illness prevention?”

            I believe that this app has received a lot of attention because this is the cold and flu season, especially in school and work places. According to “Mail Online,” the app was originally created to be a distraction when you are already sick, but it also was a preventive measure on who in a person's circle should be avoided. “It scrubs through your social media contacts looking for coughing, sneezing, "I feel run down" - all those keywords,' said Richard Fine, chief executive and co-founder of Help Remedies, a company that sells over the counter healthcare products. 'When you feel sick, one of the things that we do is look for people to blame,' he said.” This app also makes the people who are a little too detailed when it comes to status updates; feel more self-conscious when they see that they’re “infected.”

I clearly think that this is a bad idea all around, and that you should just use some common sense and judgment around others, yourself, and when trying to prevent illness.

            Although you cannot completely avoid getting sick since there are bacteria and viruses all around you, there are things that you can do to build up your immune system and keep yourself as healthy as possible.

1)     Wash your hands/use hand sanitizer

Since you use your hands for everything that means that they have been everywhere as well. It’s always a good idea to wash your hands when you get home from school, before eating a meal or snack, and do I even have to say it? …..After going to the bathroom….. No one wants infested food going in their mouth or weird gym class germs crawling about as you are watching TV.

2)    Don’t touch your face

It might be difficult or maybe not, it just depends. Avoid your mouth, eyes, nose, ears, and hair- that’s how the germs get in.

3)    Get a lot of sleep

It may be difficult if you have a busy schedule or a lot of homework, but this is the best way to get your immune system back up. When your body is run down, it’s basically craving rest. You are more vulnerable to more illness when sick, so extra sleep refreshes your body and brain, and an essential to feeling better.

If you’re interested, you can visit this link: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2259975/Facebook-app-trolls-friend-posts-given-flu.html) to find out more, or simply look below at some of the images you might see in this new app.  (502)