THE PHENOMENON OF CONSCIOUSNESS FROM AN INTER AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

Contemporary science, in recent decades, reflects intensely on the phenomenon of consciousness. This fact is due to the accelerated development of cognitive sciences, biological and physical sciences, neuroscience, which have achieved certain successes in researching the problem of mind-body, consciousness. However, what is strictly required is the issue of the possibility of a scientific theory of consciousness, which would apply a new research methodology. The most recent approaches in this direction substantiate the need for research from a phenomenological structural perspective, which explains consciousness as a phenomenon determined by the subquantum level. Structural-phenomenological theory holds that this level is a profound reality regulated by specific principles and laws that make consciousness possible.

Gender Differences in Healthy Lifestyle, Body Consciousness, and the Use of Social Networks among Medical Students

Background and Objectives: The goal of this survey was to identify the relationship between the level of satisfaction with body image, perceived health, and the usage of social media among freshmen medical university students. The influence of social media and peers was also related to body image. Materials and Methods: An online survey was distributed among freshmen healthcare students. The questionnaire collected sociodemographic, anthropometric data, and information about students’ perception about healthy lifestyle using open-ended questions, as well as their opinion about the importance of perfect body image and the level of satisfaction with their physical appearance. Questions focusing on the use of social media and the relationship with body image collected data on the use of social networks and how they affect students’ opinion about their own body image. Psychometric data were also gathered using the Body Consciousness Scale. For the statistical analysis, QSR NUD*IST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorizing) Vivo 12 was used for qualitative data and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics for Windows, version 23 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for descriptive and comparative results. Results: In total, 77 students aged 20.09 ± 2.47 years, of which the majority were women (75.30%), were included in the survey. The use of social network was about 4.81 ± 3.60 h/day. Facebook was the most used social networking site (94.80%), followed by Instagram (92.20%), Snapchat (16.90%), WhatsApp (15.60%), and TikTok (10.40%). The most common reason for using these sites was socialization. We found that 64.90% of healthcare students were normal weight. The main barriers for having a healthy lifestyle, as they were perceived by students, were the busy schedule and the lack of time needed to prepare healthy meals, lack of motivation, and lack of money. Women scored higher for the Private Body Consciousness and Public Body Consciousness scales. The main aspects related to a healthy lifestyle referred to physical activity, consumption of fruit and vegetables, water consumption, and a good quality of sleep. Gender differences were discussed as well. Conclusions: The results illustrated the complexity of the relationship between social media and body image and the need to prevent body image concerns, especially in young women.

The STEM Pipeline: Do Media and Objectified Body Consciousness Create an Early Exit for Middle School Girls?

Girls and women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Research has investigated various explanatory factors (e.g., lack of role models, sexism) in these patterns. However, to date, the roles of media use and body concerns have not been examined. This study investigated associations among appearance-focused social media behaviors (e.g., posting photos), objectified body consciousness (i.e., body shame, body surveillance), and attitudes toward math and science (i.e., self-expectancy, task value, cost, future plans) in a sample of U.S. middle school girls ( N = 243). Results demonstrated that body shame partially mediated associations between appearance-focused social media behaviors and math and science attitudes. These findings suggest that media use and body concerns have implications for girls’ involvement in STEM fields.