A
s we enter the new
year
of
2022,
the
common
practice
of New Year’s Resolutions
may look a bit different.
Undoubtedly, many will flock
to the gym or cut carbs or
begin writing their Great
American Novel in an attempt
to start the year off on what
they believe to be “the right
foot.” However, given the
irrefutably
overwhelming
nature of the past few years,
this year I believe the only
goal should be to emphasize
and prioritize self-care. In
2022, find your therapy.
Anyone
who
personally
knows me knows how open
I am about therapy. I’ve
never understood the stigma
surrounding
something
so
natural,
humane
and
immensely
beneficial.
I
started talking to a therapist
right before my sophomore
year of college and it was one
of the best decisions I’ve ever
made. So many of my friends
have also started their own
therapeutic
journeys
and
many have been on their’s
for
years.
In
the
past,
therapy was associated with
uncontrollable mental illness.
This could not be further
from the truth. In reality,
there is not one person alive
today that would not benefit
from essentially having an
unbiased third party to talk
to.
I
encourage
you
to
redefine
therapy.
Instead
of a comfortable couch and
a glasses and sweater-clad
psychologist
scribbling
on
a notepad, envision a zoom
meeting with two cups of
coffee
and
a
45-minute
conversation. Put yourself in
a position where instead of
the outdated, stereotypical
dialogue
like
“and
how
does that make you feel?”
you are encouraged to view
complicated situations with a
healthier perspective and to
re-establish boundaries with
yourself and those around
you.
Having
said
that,
therapy is also much more
commonplace in today’s day
and age. Recognizing that
I am extremely fortunate
to have parents that are
capable of paying for my
therapist that is not covered
by insurance, it is extremely
feasible to find a plethora
of equally helpful resources
for
different
monetary
demographics.
Online
companies
like
BetterHelp
or TalkSpace, among others,
offer
different
payment
plans and opportunities to
get
financial
assistance.
Beyond talk therapy, there
are
so
many
additional
therapeutic
practices
that
can even be completely free.
As the pandemic uncertainty
continues,
it
is
also
understandable to stray from
an in-person therapy session.
Thankfully,
many,
if
not
all, therapists have remote
opportunities through virtual
formats.
Delving deeper, therapeutic
practices come in all shapes
and sizes. For me, self-care
means much more than the
conversations I engage in
every once and a while with
my therapist. Therapy can
and
should
mean
having
an effective morning and
nighttime routine, listening
to music that boosts your
serotonin
and
integrating
activities into your life that
exist for the sole purpose of
making you feel good.
If the pandemic has shown
us anything, it is to appreciate
the time we have. I mean this
not in a morbid, “the clock is
ticking” type way, but instead
that we must do our best to
honor the mere ability to
sip cocktails with friends or
read a book in a public café.
Especially at the University of
Michigan, I made it a priority
to
soak
in
every
second
spent in The Big House this
year and intend on doing
the same at every basketball
game I attend. As the cliché
saying goes: “We never truly
appreciate something until
it’s gone.”
The inability to enjoy the
outside world throughout the
rollercoaster ride of COVID-
19 has been a brutal reminder
and an unpleasant wake-up
call to take absolutely nothing
for granted. Again, therapy
does not need to mean this
conventional yet antiquated
conception of a couch and a
legal pad. Therapy is whatever
you require to check in with
and ensure you are being kind
to yourself. Influencers and
apps alike have reinforced
the importance of making
goals for the New Year far
less focused on loss or gain
and instead on the wonderful
amalgamation of good and
bad right in front of you.
Focus instead on the prospect
of human possibility.
Therapy may mean that you
must cut some toxicity out of
your life or make decisions
that seem impossible. But it
must be an essential part of
everyone’s
life,
especially
as we continue to navigate
this
turbulent,
uncharted
territory. I reject the concept
that each year is a completely
brand new opportunity to sink
or swim. That is far too much
pressure to put on any person.
Instead, conceptualize 2022
as a coloring book. Each day
is a page, and while certain
outlined
images
may
be
decided for you, you have the
opportunity to choose from
whatever array of colors is at
your disposal and make each
day a unique picture. To me,
that starts with crushing the
stigma and finding whatever
therapy means to you.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Opinion
10 — Wednesday, January 19, 2022
A
fter the Dot-Com bubble
burst in 2000, many
individuals
feared
that the technology sector was
primed to lose its global reach
following an astounding period
of mania. From the ashes of the
crash, however, rose companies
like Amazon, Google, Twitter
and Facebook, far stronger than
their predecessors and hell-
bent on achieving worldwide
prominence. Unfortunately, in
their rapid rise to power, these
companies
have
generated
an endless flow of criticism.
Politicians across the aisle are
irate over their monopolistic
tendencies,
inadequate
protection of free speech and
murky privacy policies. These
concerns have led to several
high-profile hearings and the
introduction of legislation in
Congress, all with the aim
of
significantly
reducing
Big Tech’s influence. While
this combative
approach
is
understandable, in order to
maintain America’s competitive
advantage
in
tech
on
an
international scale, it’s critical
that
the
government
shifts
its
regulatory
efforts
from
haphazard antitrust maneuvers
to more constructive approaches
that improve the overall health
of the technology sector while
allowing companies to preserve
their core business models.
Though
there
are
many
proposed regulatory bills, the
most dangerous to innovation
is likely the bipartisan Platform
Competition and Opportunity
Act introduced by Sen. Amy
Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen.
Tom
Cotton,
R-Ark.,
which
would
fundamentally
alter
the process of mergers and
acquisitions for American tech
companies. Currently, regulators
bear the burden of proving
that
deals
violate
antitrust
laws. The new legislation seeks
to shift the responsibility of
demonstrating that transactions
maintain market competition
to
companies
instead.
This
radical change would drastically
increase the amount of red tape
in the deal-making process and
require Big Tech firms to engage
in significant legal action for
any
potential
moves.
Since
acquisitions far outnumber IPOs
in startup exits, this disastrous
proposal would actually serve
to stymie competition in the
startup ecosystem by stifling
deal flow. By limiting incentives
for
startups
and
investors,
the
legislation
threatens
to
deal a death blow to American
innovation.
Most
tech
startups are unable to achieve
profitability
independently.
With
a
low
volume
of
acquisitions, many companies
will be unable to take advantage
of Big Tech’s resources while
building
products,
and
will
instead
face
the
threat
of
bankruptcy.
If Congress is serious about
promoting competition with
Big Tech, a more impactful
area to focus on would be
individual and corporate tax
codes. Since labor is already
incredibly expensive in the
U.S. relative to other nations,
American startups inherently
face
tremendous
expenses
that make scaling a company
challenging.
Reducing
corporate tax rates for small
businesses in the industry
could
have
an
immediate
impact
on
increasing
competition by helping the
cost structure of early-stage
companies.
Studies
have
shown that a 1% increase in
corporate tax is correlated
with a 1.8% decrease in new
startups and a 3.7% decrease
in
startup
employees,
so
lowering corporate tax could
help
stimulate
innovation.
Furthermore,
by
reducing
the long-term capital gains
rate, more individuals could
be incentivized to join and
launch companies without the
worry of being exorbitantly
taxed on their stock options
upon acquisitions and IPOs.
Beyond
modifying
their
approach
to
improving
competition,
regulators
also
must tweak their plans to
preserve
free
speech
and
maintain data privacy. Although
the need to collect user data in
advertisement-based platforms
is less than ideal, it’s unrealistic
to expect Facebook, Twitter,
Google and other companies
whose
revenue
stems
from
advertising
to
steer
away
from data collection. A more
fruitful approach would be to
collaborate with the tech sector
on standardizing the sharing
of data collection practices
with users. By having specific
regulations
on
informing
users of how their data is
being aggregated, individuals
will be able to make more
informed decisions about which
platforms they feel comfortable
using.
In the realm of free speech,
Congress would be best served
by finding a balance between
fully repealing Section 230 — the
communications law permitting
companies to moderate content
on their platforms — and allowing
censorship and misinformation
to
prevail.
Regulators
can
explicitly
prohibit
extremist
content
from
all
platforms
and place a ban on any direct
political discrimination, while
still leaving companies enough
leeway to moderate and shape the
culture of their own platforms.
Now more than ever, it’s
important that America not
upend the capabilities of its
tech
industry.
With
China
intending to spend $1.4 trillion
by 2025 to make its technology
sector globally dominant in
5G,
artificial
intelligence
and quantum computing, we
can’t afford to weaken our
own ability to compete. Big
Tech is certainly not perfect,
but with global penetration,
Chinese technology companies
have the potential to carry out
widespread surveillance and
data mining under the orders of
a government with a death grip
on the private sector. If we hope
to stand up to China and other
countries that threaten our
technological prowess in the
future, Congress must resist the
temptation to blow up Big Tech
and instead move towards less
It’s time to rethink how we regulate Big Tech
NIKHIL SHARMA
Opinion Columnist
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Find your therapy in 2022
JESSICA D’AGOSTINO
Opinion Columnist
Design by Ambika Tripathi, Opinion Cartoonist