Spending Too Much Time on Your Devices Could Spell Trouble for Your Kids

More people are addicted to their tablets and smartphones than ever before, and while we’ve acknowledged that letting our kids have unlimited access to screens can be detrimental to their emotional and mental health…what about letting them see us have unfettered access to screens?

It’s not so good, either.

A recent study suggests that, in households where family time is interrupted by parents picking up their phone or tablet, children are more likely to exhibit behavior problems like oversensitivity, hot tempers, hyperactivity, and whining.

Brandon McDaniel, the study’s co-author, believes his findings should be seen as a piece in a bigger puzzle of how technology is affecting parent-child relationships.

“In our study, we controlled for a variety of factors, such as parent stress, depression, coparenting quality, and child screen use. This seems to suggest that there is something meaningful here, even though the data is cross-sectional.”

This study joins others that have shown that children of technology-consumed parents are more likely to display attention-seeking behavior, and one animal study that found distracted rat parents permanently impaired their children’s ability to experience pleasure.

This recent study, which was published in Child Development, gathered data from 170 two-parent families. More than half of them reported three or more technology interruptions per day, while only 11% reported no technological interruptions at all.

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I'm sure our kids are fine. #distractedparents #guilty

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So watch yourselves, and take personal inventory. You might be interrupting time with your children more often than you think – and it might be costing your family as a whole.

The post Spending Too Much Time on Your Devices Could Spell Trouble for Your Kids appeared first on UberFacts.

Siblings of Sociopaths Share What It’s like Having Them in Their Family

Judging by how many true crimes shows there are out there, it’s clear that people’s fascination with antisocial personalities isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

But what would it be like to really grow up with someone like that?

If you’re curious, these 15 siblings of sociopaths is ready to remember the truth.

15. Twisted sister.

My daughter was hit by a drunk driver when she was 12 and nearly died. She was in a coma for two weeks and I was there all day every day, except to go home to shower and change. My sister decided that when I was at the hospital was the perfect time for her and her druggie girlfriend to jimmy the sliding door off the track, break in and steal everything she could find–jewelry, my camera, and yes, my daughter’s piggy bank.

The bitch stole the piggy bank from a comatose kid.

14. I had to cut her off.

When she threw a cup of hot tea at my face because I refused to show her something on the computer. Or the time when she yelled at me for over an hour because I was really sick and had thrown up all over the bathroom sink. The same bathroom she had just cleaned.

I stopped speaking with her over 7 years ago.

13. He’s never had empathy.

My brother was diagnosed with NPD at 16.

He’s never had empathy. Children learn empathy at some point, but it was like he never reached that developmental stage. He was unconcerned when people got hurt. He hit and bullied others in school to get what he wanted. Doctors, therapists, medication… Nothing made a difference, and it’s not like there was some kind of trauma or a reason for his behavior. It’s like he was just born wrong.

When he was 10 he started taking and dealing drugs (as a drug runner for some older teens; you can’t be prosecuted under 14 in Germany). My parents called our version of CPS for help. He got more therapy, some in-patient stays and his own social worker. He stole my dad’s car when he was 12 and got picked up by the cops. He got his first charges at 14: drugs and assault.

My parents were at their wit’s end and agreed to have him placed in a group home for troubled teens for a year. He was kicked out shortly before the year was up. He came home and seemed to recognize in a clinical, detached kind of way, that he couldn’t go on like this without ending up in prison. He was about 15. He started being less violent, but he had insane delusions of grandeur and needed everyone to comply with whatever he wanted. If they didn’t, he lashed out.

My parents still made him go to therapy. He assaulted my dad and choked him because he didn’t want to. My brother was 16, but also 6’3 and about 190 lbs.

My dad died from a sudden aneurysm when he was 16, and he went off the rails completely.

He got a girl pregnant and she was kicked out by her mom. My mom took her in. The girl was not a bad person, just had some issues, so it wasn’t that surprising that she’d date my brother (who could be charming if he situation demanded it). He beat her up at our house a couple months later while she was still pregnant. That was the last straw for my mom: she kicked my brother out. We helped the girl to find an apartment for her and the baby. Unsurprisingly, my mom caved a short while later and let my brother move back in.

He seemed to think he was the head of the household. My parents never married, so my father’s modest possessions went to me and my brother instead of my mom, and that included the car my dad bought a year before he died. It was the first brand new car he ever bought, a small one, but he was proud of it. My brother made my mom sell it so he could get “his” half of the money. It wasn’t even a fucking expensive one, and my mom was devastated to lose my dead dad’s little car.

I was 20 then, my brother was 17. He was verbally abusive and basically tortured my mom mentally. He threatened to hit me on a daily basis whenever I didn’t do something or give him something he wanted. He also threatened to kill me a couple of times.

On a particular bad day he told my mom that he’d have no trouble to get a couple guys to run her off the road when she went out. When the threats got stale, he’d beat me up every couple weeks.

There was one particular instance where I was actually afraid he was going to kill me. He did his usual spiel of using me as a verbal punching bag because he had bad a bad day, and I was just burnt out. Didn’t even react anymore. He hit me a couple of times and choked me. No idea how, but I fought him off, grabbed my phone and ran to the bathroom where I locked myself in before he could get to me again. He was trying to beat down the door while I called the cops.

The cops did nothing. Told me he lived there, so we’d have to get along, and since we both said opposing things, nothing would come of it. I insisted they take my fucking statement.

My mom wasn’t home at the time, but she was a wreck anyway and couldn’t deal anymore. A couple days later, my aunt came to visit for a couple of days. My brother was his charming, manipulative self for her. My aunt tried to pressure me into not pressing charges, since apparently I gave myself the dozens of bruises and contusions I had, as my brother had told her.

I was severely suicidal at that point and gave my mom an ultimatum: me or him. She kicked him out again. He came back a year later, and I moved out for college immediately.

I don’t blame my mom much anymore, rock and a hard place and all that, but she never could understand the fact that her love for her son was misplaced. He didn’t have the things that made someone human. He had no empathy, he was not capable of love, he was just an empty shell that went through life trying to get whatever pleasures he so desired by whatever means necessary.

I haven’t spoken to or seen him in about 7 years, but my mom’s still in contact with him. He went to Spain when the mother of his daughter tried to get child support. Sometimes, my mom still talks about the things he’s done. A couple examples:

For some reason, his ex-girlfriend started letting him see his daughter, and she flies to Spain with my mom once or twice a year. Or used to, anyway. He locked her in the basement with an adult-size portion of food she threw up on because she couldn’t eat anymore. She was 4 (hard to remember) or so. She doesn’t want to go visit him anymore.

He withheld rent from his Spanish landlord for like 6 months. The landlord had terminal cancer and my brother saw it as a waste to give money to a dying man.

He married a girl in Spain and had another kid, and he now makes a living as a realtor. From what I’ve heard, he still thinks he’s God’s gift to mankind.

I don’t think I’d even go to his funeral if he died.

12. My mom hung on his every word.

My brother was one of those grandiose narcissists. A typical example of his everyday behaviour was the time he purchased a can of and uncommon brand of cola and then bragged for days about it as though he had discovered the cure for cancer or something – all because it wasn’t Pepsi or Coke (those were for common people).

My mom would hang on his every word. She pretty much lived vicariously through him, and he could do no wrong in her eyes. He could act like a jerk towards me and she would make excuses for him, no matter how awful it was. However, once when he didn’t like the birthday gift I have him she acted like I had committed a crime.

Our parents were really against drugs. However when my brother decided to grow marijuana in our house our mom was enthusiastically supportive of it. However, a few years later when I smoked pot and my parents found out – well suddenly I was the one who “ruined Christmas for the family”.

My brother was living 3000 km away when she became gravely ill. I phoned him and told him he needed to get out here pronto if he wanted to say goodbye. The best he could manage was to come out a week later. She hung on for that week waiting for him to show up.

When I would visit her at the hospital and say “I’m here mom” she would respond with “I want your brother”. She instructed the hospital staff to not tell me anything, so when I would ask how she was doing I would get a ‘that’s private confidential information ” type of response. Meanwhile, my brother would phone the hospital daily and they would tell him everything about her care – from the medications she was on, her bloodwork levels, her treatment options (it was pretty much palliative by that point), and all that. I could not even get a “she slept well last night” from the nurses but he could tell me her blood oxygen levels from 3000 km away. Every day that I talked to him I would ask him if could not come out sooner. But he could never get away from work, even though he was one of the highest ranking people at his job.

I took care of the house while she was in the hospital. I cleaned up all the diarrhea, did her laundry, took care of the bills….but wasn’t a welcome visitor to her bedside.

When he finally did show up he visited her for a short while, then said “lets go for lunch” to me. She passed away as soon as we stepped out of the hospital. She hung on just to hear him say hello.

11. Poor quality of life.

I haven’t spoke to my brother in 3-4 years. Last time I did he went after my wife and that was the last straw for me. Since then, my parents have cut him off, he lost his job, and his life has spiraled. Not sure what he is up to now but my quality of life has improved with him not in it.

10. A close call.

When I was 10, my mom put a lock on my door because my brother started threatening to kill me and my mom in the night. When I was 14, he fixated on my mom and threatened to burn down our house, shoot my whole family, and steal all the valuables and drive away. That same year, (he was 17), he took our car and ran away from home for two weeks. We ended up calling the police on him. When he came home, the police decided that it would be best if he lived somewhere else so he did. As we were cleaning out his room we found hundreds of knives, a hand gun, lighter fluid, gasoline and lighters.

9. Always a target.

My sister has never been diagnosed with narcissism or a personality disorder other than OCD, but when we were younger she often enjoyed telling people before I met them that I had a “difficult relationship with the truth” so that they wouldn’t want to be around me. I had the reputation of a liar and no friends for most of my preteen years, and she was popular in our homeschool group until she left and got into highschool. After she left, I still didn’t have friends, but neither did she, and she blamed me for it during her frequent temper tantrums. She would throw things, scream, cry, and threaten me with kitchen knives on a pretty regular basis. All of a sudden, the year that I turned 17 and she turned 21, the tantrums stopped and she got engaged. He moved in with us, the tantrums started again, and for once I wasn’t the target. The worst fight they had happened when she caught him looking at a photo of a bikini model, which she considered cheating. She hit him full force with an open palm, and when our mum saw, she threatened to kick her out if she hit him again. They got married, moved out, and divorced within a year of him enlisting in the army.

8. Nothing but drama.

They can make drama out of any situation and will try to drag you into it even years later.

Example: I am the next to youngest. My whole family is a shit show, but when I was planning my wedding, I was still trying to pretend I had a reasonable family. My future husband’s family was like Leave it to Beaver.

So I asked both of my sisters to be bridesmaids. I knew this was a risk, but I hoped they could keep their shit together for a single evening. At the time, I thought they had.

About 8 years later, we were in the same city because one of our brothers was in the hospital due to a bad car accident. We had one hotel room across the street from the hospital so people could go rest when they needed to.

I was in that room with my oldest sister when she said, “You know {middle sister} stole wine glasses from your wedding, right?” I told her I didn’t care.

A couple of hours later, I was in that room with my middle sister. She said, “You know {older sister} stole glasses from your wedding, right?” I also told her I didn’t care.

So here we are, waiting to see if our brother was going to die and both of these bitches are playing reindeer games with me, trying to make me be angry with the other one.

Our brother lived. I’ve cut contact with all my siblings because they are all like this. They have to start shit no matter what the situation or consequences.

7. Constant nightmares.

My older sister & I used to physically fight and such when my family was here. Then I lived with her and my brother in a duplex for school… I had to clean up everything, if I told her to clean her own stuff up she would yell at me and follow me around if I wanted to get away from her. She had thrown all of my stuff that she could get her hands on outside in the back yard which is the main entrance for the place (my clothes, electronics, glasses, etc, some broken and ripped) all because my boyfriend & I had left for class after she asked me for a ride with us 5 minutes before I had to leave (boyfriend had a car, I didn’t).

She would constantly monopolize the car my mom left for all of us to share, so I would have to take the bus or ask friends/boyfriend to take me to the grocery store to buy groceries. Throughout our childhood & in our teenage years, she’d tell stories that were pretty convincing, but when talking to someone else involved, nothing like that happened. She knew I liked one of her friends and then proceeded to have sex with him the following week. She’d always get my mom to shell out cash for her, and she’d spend it on drugs.

The final thing is when she would not leave me alone since she thought that I had her boyfriend’s clothes (I didn’t) when I was trying to do homework in my room. She wouldn’t leave my room, so I had to leave or try to drag her out. My brother tried to help, but he gave up and just played some games in his room. I had gotten her out of my room and locked the door so she wouldn’t get in, but she kept pounding the door and screaming at the top of her lungs for hours, it was so stressful. She then threatened that she will beat me up and plunge a knife through my chest once she got the door open. Then she acted as if she was the victim when I called my parents and let them hear what she was saying. I got super stressed and wanted her to stop, so I opened the door and quickly punched her in the face, then closed the door again. It was quiet for a minute but then the threats came in again, more pounding on the door. Also when my friend came to pick me up since I was at my wits ends, she tried to make my friend think I was the person who started the argument, said that I broke her bracelet (it broke when she kept pounding on the door). I just grabbed important documents, my school stuff, and clothes & left for 1-2 months. My parents were saying that it was my equally my fault for what happened, idk how.

Funny thing is that she left the place once I came back, and my parents blamed me for it & kept telling me off (they did not do that to my older sister when I was out of the house for months). They told me I broke the family, and that a few years down I will be laughing about the whole incident (haven’t laughed about it). I don’t talk to my sister, and she has tried speaking to me, but I don’t want her in my life anymore (my parents give me shit about it, saying that we should make up and be a family again, but I get panic/anxiety attacks at even the thought of my older sister).

I’ve had constant nightmares for a solid 3-4 months of my older sister coming to my place and just beating me up, making me do drugs with her (she puts a needle in me mainly), stabbing me, chasing me and threatening me. I still get very anxious when I think I see her somewhere (we live in the same city, last I heard she was still going to the same college, I’m not sure now though).

6. I gave up on him.

My little brother is a narcissistic, sociopath and psychopath.

I come from a culture where the family bond is incredibly important and no matter how bad your family is always forgive them, protect them.and take care of them. For 25 years we lived through fucking hell because of that piece of shit. It really pained me but I gave up on him years ago. My mother however being a Turkish mom forgave him countless times but he only got worse.

I mean I knew something was wrong back when we were still kids but I would still always do my best to be the good brother and role model. I would ALWAYS protect him and simultaneously get the blame for all his mistakes.

My mother was in the hospital giving birth to my oldest sister. We were home alone and he asked me if he could go out and play in front of our house (we have a great park in front of our home and live in a very green area). I gave him permission only for his friend to come back an hour or two later and tell me that my 11 year old piece of shit little bro (I was 13, we might have been a bit younger) was arrested for theft. we were a well off family, he was my mom’s sweetheart. He never needed money or needed to steal he did it just for attention. Just because he was upset our sister might take his place. I had to pick him.up and I remember crying out of shame while this fucking cunt had a smile from ear to ear. He didn’t give a SHIT. Police brought us both home, my parents were back from the hospital with my little sister and the house was filled with friends and acquaintances.

I remember feeling so much shame and embarrassment profusely apologising to my mom. I felt responsible.

As the years past by this became worse and worse and worse and we all basically lived in a constant state of terror and anxiety because of this lousy subhuman piece of shit. I’m too embarrased to share most other stories and I rather just not think about them anymore..we’ve finally cut.him out of our life after 25 years..

Imagine having to hide all your stuff because your house is never safe. Never being able to ask for anything as a teen because if I ask for 5 my little brother has to get 50. Imagine having to worry if you can leave because this little terrorist cunt might threathen your mother and steal her stuff or take her money.

For a while he had a really pretty gf (my mom.hoped this would help him.”notmalize”) and he treated her like she was his property. This one time he was yelling and threatening her, dragging her off thr stairs. I heard the commotion and when I saw it I rushed to them slapped him on the face and put him in a choke hold, told him if I ever heard him behave like that I’d break his legs. This allowed this poor girl to run off and get out of our house with my little brother yelling how he would ‘end her’. He later explained to me how he got angry because she “talked back” and wouldn’t “lend him money” (at this point he spends 1500 euro a night in clubs) When she finally dumped this piece of shit, he called her dad to tell him.”his daughter was a filthy slut” and sent him pictures of her underwear etc.

He then became incredibly depressed not because he loved her. He always talked about breaking up with her and how she bored him etc. But because SHE WAS HIS PROPERTY and how dares she leave him. “He owned her”. He then took my parents new car and smashed it into a wall for attention. Just fast enough that it totaled the car but also slow enough that he came out of the car without a scratch. I mean he had his own car, new BMW that he also got by manipulating my mom. But he didn’t use that, he used my parents car. He claimed his car had no gas. I checked it and it was fucking full..

He then emotionally manipulated my mom about how he was suicidal blaming us for not being more supportive. He used this for months as an excuse for his shitty behavior and intensified daily.

The only person he actually feared was me so i felt this incredible fucking burden on me to try and keep him in check. I couldn’t leave him alone with my mom..I couldn’t move out because I was worried sick he might kill her one day. I tried to talk with him but no amount of talking etc worked. He made a thousand promises thsn came up with some.lame excuse about how 19 years ago I once hit him “so this was all my fault”. I fucking hit him because he was about to smash this kids face in with a fucking rock. Or.how he was once grounded and had to stay in his room for 2 days so he was psychologically scared.

I mean I beat up at least 50 kids for this piece of shit. He’d always intentionally pick a fight with older bigger kids and use my name to get out of trouble..

Anyway I can go on for fucking ever. And these are literally. Just the tame things i mentioned.

My little brother was evil incarnate. It took years to finally break all contact. Because esp my mom always hoped he’d get “better” and she even excused his threats and theft (eventhough he could just ask… he liked stealing our stuff despite the fact that we’d have given it to him if he asked… he’d take money from our pockets, valuables form our rooms, etc. I couldn’t go to the bathroom without locking my door) but we finally no longer have contact. It’s like this burden is liften off by shoulders. I no longer have to worry he’s threatening, stealing or pressuring my mom. Abusing her trust etc etc. The anxiety, and terror we all felt on a daily fucking basis literally ruined our life

He literally made my mother sick. She was the strongest women I knew and this piece of shit destroyed her bit by bit. He ruined over 20 years of my life and I will.never forgive him for what he did. I do no longer consider him my.brother, family or even an acquaintance and in all honestly I won’t even go to his fucking funeral and don’t want him to come to mine.. fuck him.

P.s. this is why I believe some people are born evil. This piece of shit had an incredibly loving and supportive family that gave him all the attention he needed or wanted. But it was never enough it was like absolutely no one except he was real. None of us mattered. He treated his friends, girls etc all thr same way. This was made worse with hoe social and manipulative he was..everyone that met him thought he was great and funny until he took their money etc and one day he just switched and threatened them, spread lies about.them etc etc and did absolutely everything to ruin them. He would NEVER, EVER forgive anything and was so stubborn that he would cut his own arm just so he could get back at someone or get his revenge. Eventhough he was always the wrong party he made up this delusional stories in his head that made him the one that was the victim. I mean my mother once refused to give him money because he had stolen 500 euro from her. He was like 15. So he went into her room and when he couldn’t find money he took a scissor and cut Up ALL her clothes and shoes Then took all the sauces we had at home and squeezed the mayo, ketchup bbq sauce and anything else you can imagine on the clothes he cut, all over her floors and carpet and her bed. Even years later this piece of shit used that as an example of my mom being a “bad mom” or treating him wrong. Saying my little sister got pocket money but she couldn’t spare to give him some money. He blamed her and my mom to my fucking frustration for years like an idiot (I love her but this is the one thing I absolutely resent) apologized to him saying she should have just given him the money. When I hot angry about this and explained to my mom she shouldn’t ever apologize to him because in his head it legitimizes his behavior. She simply says she doesn’t want to cause any drama and problems in the house. She was fucking scared. The problem is the more she did it the worse it got… something she now finally realizes

Fuck man I just keep ranting and I can go on for ever.. I’m going to stop now. Literally made myself depressed thinking back. Anyway… fuck him. We’re all happier than we’ve ever been now that we are rid of this piece of shit.

5. That’s what it was like.

I was playing with a suitcase while watching TV. I was small enough to fit myself in it. My brother, nearly four and a half years older than me, saw what I was doing and asked to zip me up in it. After already having learned to never trust him, I asked Mom to watch us to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

He zipped me up inside the suitcase and started carrying it in a shuffle-step.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I heard the sliding door to the enclosed patio open, Mom started screaming and I could hear her slapping my brother repeatedly. The suitcase fell over onto its side with me still in it.

I managed to pry open the zippers from the inside and got myself out of the suitcase as quickly as possible. Mom was still slapping at my brother, screaming “Why?!

I was two feet away from being dumped inside a suitcase into the family hot tub.

He laughed and said that I would have floated, what’s the big deal?

So, yeah, that’s what it was like growing up with a sociopath.

4. Give me what I want.

Brother believes the world is his oyster and that friends and family and loved ones are his to control and exploit.

He told a girl they are dating and she should buy him a car and take him out for dinner.

Brother has also tried to burn down our childhood home thrice because mom didn’t give him the things he wanted, we were poor and he knew that but he honestly believes that he gets what he wants because that’s how it should be.

He also tried to sell my car, he still hounds me for the money he should have gotten if he sold it.

3. I can’t keep missing work.

It’s interesting really. My mom died recently. When I called my sister to come down the day before she died she said “I thought she was going to die today. I’m not disappointed, but I can’t keep missing work.”

The next day I called her to come to the hospital again as the doctor and I made the decision to take her off the ventilator. On the phone she said “Well, can we pull out the tube as soon as I get there because I have plans tonight.”

She also proceeded to ask me for rent money that day, as I also live with her.

The things they say, and don’t realize how messed up it is is really baffling.

2. She’s a liar.

She called the cops and CPS, repeatedly accusing our step dad of child abuse. It usually lined up with her having rules and punishments. She didn’t like that my parents did research on how to raise a psychopath that doesn’t become a murderer, they suddenly knew all her tricks and tactics. I sometimes think about how sad it must be to be physically incapable of feeling human emotions, but it clearly would only hold her back.

Edit:

Her diagnosis was “emerging antisocial personality disorder” because they said they couldn’t diagnose someone under 25 as a psychopath. Dad acts really really similar so I assume whatever she has, he has that too.

to add some more now that I’m more awake: I lost almost all of my friends. My family,besides my immediate, totally ignore me because me and my mum “protected” my step dad by saying my sister was lying about the abuse. Just to be clear, we were investigated multiple times and cps said they were doing a phenomenal job raising so many kids with so many mental health issues so well. They put down that they were false claims the first 2 times and after that they were like “we just have to investigate to be sure, just do the interviews and get it done. We have to do it every time” which I do appreciate the diligence if a child is really being abused, but we had stuff from therapists and counsellors that were all like “has a history of lying” “tells lies to get what she wants” and my entire family still thinks were protecting a monster.

The real kicker is that our biological father is also a psychopath and actually a child abuser. Guess who she moved in with when my aunt’s refused to let her go back to my mum’s? If you guessed our actually abusive dad, who was now basically giving her psychopath 101 courses just by being near each other, then you’re right! All our family who banded together in a fickle justice brigade about child abuse are now BFFs with the guy who used to threaten to break my legs and choke me and hit me when I was 7 or younger. I’m sure it makes my mom feel great too, knowing that all her sisters took her abusers side after a lengthy divorce battle that he kept coming back with more and more affidavits for and just drained her emotionally and financially for years on end.

I could write a book about how much they’ve all hurt me, by being or enabling a psychopath. I’m pretty certain that at least some of my aunt’s are narcissistic. Last week my grandma went on a tirade about me “not forgiving” but no one has ever apologized or even acklowdged that they did anything wrong. I won’t rugsweep something that still hurts me regularly, and apparently that makes me that problem again.

1. You life isn’t your own.

You feel your life isn’t your own. Every thing will revolve around them. Constantly causing drama and trouble. Sister who would steal from you. Never ending drama. Tried to steal my boyfriend repeatedly. Actually broke into one sisters house and robbed her. Can’t tell the truth ever. Disowned her about ten years ago after her awful treatment of terminally ill mother. Peace since then.

Here’s hoping both of my kids turn out average, in this department.

The post Siblings of Sociopaths Share What It’s like Having Them in Their Family appeared first on UberFacts.

According to Science, You Can Only Have up to 150 Friends

No matter how incredibly charming you are, there is apparently a natural limit to how many friends you can have: and that number is 150.

It’s known as “Dunbar’s number” because British anthropologist Robin Dunbar came up with the figure. Dunbar defines a friend as “the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar,” and back in the 1990s, he asserted that people can only maintain 150 social relationships that stable at any given point in time.

Photo Credit: iStock

Dunbar went on the claim that we devote 40% of our social time to the five people who are closest to us. The next 20% is devoted to the next closest 10.

These numbers are now widely accepted in social science. Some companies, like W. L. Gore and Associates (the producers of Gore-Tex) even limit the size of their offices to 150 employees.

Dunbar’s number didn’t appear out of thin air; he came up with it by studying primates. He found that primates with bigger brains were able to track more social relationships, and from his research he predicted an average human social network size of 148 based on the size of the human brain.

Then he rounded up.

Photo Credit: iStock

Not all social scientists agree with Dunbar. But the 150 figure is consistent with other figures throughout history, such as the estimated size of neolithic farming villages and the average size of army units from Roman times to the present day.

So, the next time you want to gently turn down a new friend, just tell ’em you’ve already reached your Dunbar number.

The post According to Science, You Can Only Have up to 150 Friends appeared first on UberFacts.

5 Facts About Being Left-Handed Around the Globe

The right hand has been the dominant hand for ages, spanning time and cultures. And because populations of left-handed people are relatively stable at 10% globally, it’s not surprising that right-handedness has been the default classification among humankind. It can represent anything from power, rational, conscious and logical thought, depending on the culture.

Now, since most of us are right-handed, we don’t even think about how we use it so much more: we shake hands on the right, we pass food with the right, we gesture with the right. Even lefties are so inculcated into the cult of the right hand that they also shake hands on the right – it’s just how it’s done.

And so maybe you want to bust of out of that mold and start using your left hand willy-nilly. Just be careful; in some cultures, the right v left hand debate is more than just a curiosity. It gets downright intense.

5. Pass the food to the right

Photo Credit: Raw Pixel

Okay, so you’re sitting at family dinner and passing around serving plates. Have you noticed that the motion is usually counter clockwise? This is actual set-down etiquette in Western cultures, put in place so as not to disrupt the flow of plates being passed. It’s interesting that this is a common practice because someone, a long time ago, determined that passing to the right was better than passing to the left.

4. Passing food or objects in India

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There is a distinct difference on right hand versus left-hand usage in India. Rough Guides explains:

“Rule one eat with your right hand only. In India, the left hand is for wiping your bottom, cleaning your feet and other unsavoury functions (you also put on and take off your shoes with your left hand), while the right hand is for eating, shaking hands and so on.”

It would be an insult to offer something to someone with your left hand and most likely that person will not take it.

3. Dining in Ethiopia

Photo Credit: Pexels, Fancy Crave

Ethiopians typically eat with their hands, forgoing any plates. Often you would share a large dish with friends, which is why eating with only your right hand is so important.

Remember how in India the left is used for unsavory functions? Same with this culture. So when you use only one hand (the right one) to dip pieces of injera into the communal bowl, you are reducing the risk of contamination.

2. Shaking hands

Photo Credit: Raw Pixel

You guessed it! Shaking hands with your right hand is a rite! Have you ever come across someone that shakes with their left? It’s awkward! In many cultures, including America, left-hand shakes are considered an insult and refer to insincere promises.

1. Sign Language

Photo Credit: Raw Pixel

Okay, this doesn’t exactly have strict rules over which hand to use. But the key to signing is to stick with your dominant hand. Which for most of the world is the right. Sorry, lefties.

Jon Miller from Signing Saavy says:

“When signing, it does not matter if you sign as left-hand or right-hand dominant. The biggest thing to remember is to pick which hand you want to use as the dominant hand and stick with it. You should not switch back and forth between dominant hands. Most signers will be able to understand your signs no matter which hand you use as the dominant hand.”

There you have it! When in doubt, go for the right.

The post 5 Facts About Being Left-Handed Around the Globe appeared first on UberFacts.

Find out Why Smoking Weed Might Give You the Munchies

With all the states and counties relaxing restrictions on consuming cannabis, people who might not have partaken regularly (or at all) could find themselves enjoying a puff here and there.

If you’re not a regular, then you might not be prepared for the phenomenon known as the “munchies” (just grab some Doritos, you’ll be fine) – but either way, thanks to a recent collaboration of scientists, we might finally have an explanation.

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What do you prefer for munchies??????????????

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The paper was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, and it goes a long way toward revealing the reasons smoking weed makes you want to attack an order of fries or a bag of cookies.

750 participants signed up for the study, which used a tool called the Cannabinoid Eating Experience Questionnaire, which asked them to rate how pleasurable the experience of eating becomes when stoned.

It also asked them to rate their level of hunger and the ability to feel full while stoned.

The numbers don’t lie; smoking weed increases both appetite responses. Participants were hungrier, ate more, and felt more pleasure at eating food when they were partaking.

The scientists didn’t get into the neurological or biological reasons we might respond this way, though other studies have shown that stimulating cannabinoid receptors boosts the ability to smell food (in mice).

Interestingly, this study did find that the more one uses cannabis, the less likely one is to get “the munchies,” so the receptors could dull in time, or get used to the repeated effects.

Just something to think about if you’re thinking of toking up – but with food delivery available pretty much everywhere now, I’d say you don’t have to worry.

The post Find out Why Smoking Weed Might Give You the Munchies appeared first on UberFacts.

Find out Why Smoking Weed Might Give You the Munchies

With all the states and counties relaxing restrictions on consuming cannabis, people who might not have partaken regularly (or at all) could find themselves enjoying a puff here and there.

If you’re not a regular, then you might not be prepared for the phenomenon known as the “munchies” (just grab some Doritos, you’ll be fine) – but either way, thanks to a recent collaboration of scientists, we might finally have an explanation.

View this post on Instagram

What do you prefer for munchies??????????????

A post shared by 420Cartoons (@420_cartoons) on

The paper was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, and it goes a long way toward revealing the reasons smoking weed makes you want to attack an order of fries or a bag of cookies.

750 participants signed up for the study, which used a tool called the Cannabinoid Eating Experience Questionnaire, which asked them to rate how pleasurable the experience of eating becomes when stoned.

It also asked them to rate their level of hunger and the ability to feel full while stoned.

The numbers don’t lie; smoking weed increases both appetite responses. Participants were hungrier, ate more, and felt more pleasure at eating food when they were partaking.

The scientists didn’t get into the neurological or biological reasons we might respond this way, though other studies have shown that stimulating cannabinoid receptors boosts the ability to smell food (in mice).

Interestingly, this study did find that the more one uses cannabis, the less likely one is to get “the munchies,” so the receptors could dull in time, or get used to the repeated effects.

Just something to think about if you’re thinking of toking up – but with food delivery available pretty much everywhere now, I’d say you don’t have to worry.

The post Find out Why Smoking Weed Might Give You the Munchies appeared first on UberFacts.

Find out Why Smoking Weed Might Give You the Munchies

With all the states and counties relaxing restrictions on consuming cannabis, people who might not have partaken regularly (or at all) could find themselves enjoying a puff here and there.

If you’re not a regular, then you might not be prepared for the phenomenon known as the “munchies” (just grab some Doritos, you’ll be fine) – but either way, thanks to a recent collaboration of scientists, we might finally have an explanation.

View this post on Instagram

What do you prefer for munchies??????????????

A post shared by 420Cartoons (@420_cartoons) on

The paper was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, and it goes a long way toward revealing the reasons smoking weed makes you want to attack an order of fries or a bag of cookies.

750 participants signed up for the study, which used a tool called the Cannabinoid Eating Experience Questionnaire, which asked them to rate how pleasurable the experience of eating becomes when stoned.

It also asked them to rate their level of hunger and the ability to feel full while stoned.

The numbers don’t lie; smoking weed increases both appetite responses. Participants were hungrier, ate more, and felt more pleasure at eating food when they were partaking.

The scientists didn’t get into the neurological or biological reasons we might respond this way, though other studies have shown that stimulating cannabinoid receptors boosts the ability to smell food (in mice).

Interestingly, this study did find that the more one uses cannabis, the less likely one is to get “the munchies,” so the receptors could dull in time, or get used to the repeated effects.

Just something to think about if you’re thinking of toking up – but with food delivery available pretty much everywhere now, I’d say you don’t have to worry.

The post Find out Why Smoking Weed Might Give You the Munchies appeared first on UberFacts.

Amazon Employees Are Suspiciously Tweeting About Their Amazing Work Conditions

In years past, Amazon has been in the news for having unfit working conditions for many of their employees, especially employees working in their call and fulfillment centers (FC).

According to NewsWeek, “An undercover investigation in the United Kingdom revealed that warehouse employees resort to urinating in bottles and trash cans around the warehouse so that they won’t miss their strict time targets.”

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Daniel Eledut

Insane.

For obvious reason, Amazon has been on a mission to squash these so-called rumors, so they turned to their “FC Ambassadors” for help. These employees are on a team that posts on Twitter and social media about how much they enjoy working with Amazon.

While the retail juggernaut insists these people are real and speaking their true minds, Twitter followers smelled something fishy. Many were curious about the strangely stilted language being used. This FC Ambassador mission started over a year ago, and since then there has been some serious backlash.

One Twitter user wrote:

Here are some Amazon FC Ambassadors doing their thing…or not…who knows?

Are these people even real?

An Amazon spokesperson said,

“FC ambassadors are employees who work in our FCs and share facts based on their personal experience. It’s important that we do a good job educating people about the actual environment inside our fulfillment centers, and the FC ambassador program is a big part of that along with the FC tours we provide.

Thousands of guests across the world have come to see for themselves what it’s like to work inside one of our FCs. If you haven’t visited, we recommend it.”

But Twitter folks aren’t having it.

You get the point. As a way to combat this further, Amazon has been offering FC tours for anyone who would like to check it out. You can follow #AmazonFCTour for more on that. In the meantime, we can all sit back and watch this unfold.

The post Amazon Employees Are Suspiciously Tweeting About Their Amazing Work Conditions appeared first on UberFacts.

Pay Attention! Here Are 5 Signs You May Be About to Get Fired.

Have you ever walked into work and a really weird feeling rolls over you? Maybe you can’t put your finger on it or perhaps you received some looks from co-workers. Either way, you’re wondering if you’re on the chopping block.

No one likes that feeling, and job security isn’t really a thing nowadays. So now you’re contemplating looking for a new job, or maybe your rational side is telling you to calm down.

If you’re wondering if a firing is impending, here are a few tell-tale signs.

5. Your conversation with a manager is in your inbox

You just left your manager’s office. The news wasn’t good. She lectured you on getting tasks done faster or on that conflict between you and another employee. Either way, she just sent your action plan in an email. She outlined your conversation and the ways she expects you to behave moving forward.

Yikes.

Don’t fret. All you need to do is be on your toes and follow through with her request. Most managers will document meetings in this manner. Perhaps it’s to create a “file of proof” against you. But don’t lose hope. Take this as a warning and turn things around.

4. Your manager follows up on that project

A day later, your manager sends a follow up on that project she wants on her desk, tomorrow. But she said it wasn’t due until the end of the week!  What do you do? Well,  instead of taking a long lunch or chatting with co-workers, hunker down and meet the new deadline.

Photo Credit: Tim Gouw, Pexels

3. Your responsibilities are dwindling

This should be a real red flag. If you all of a sudden find that your work is being given to another employee, it might be a good idea to start looking for another job.

Also, it couldn’t hurt ask your manager why. There might be other reasons. Are you moving into a different role? Are you being put on a different project? If you don’t ask for clarity, you may not get it. On the other hand, you might not like what you hear.

2. You didn’t get invited to a team meeting

You just returned from lunch to find your team is MIA. Where did they go? You peek around the conference room and see them. Why aren’t you? You check your inbox for the meeting request to find you didn’t receive one.

Getting left out of team meetings could mean you are no longer needed, so you best check with your team after they wrap up to get some insight.

Photo Credit: Snapwire, Pexels

1. You meet the new person and he shares your title

Your manager exits her office with a new employee. They are laughing and chatting as she introduces him to the group. You had no idea they were hiring. Hmmmm. He walks over to you and introduces himself. You ask nicely, “What will you be doing?” He answers that he was hired with the same title as you.

Before you get into a tizzy, maybe the company is growing. If not, look over any past reprimands or documented meetings from the boss  – if things were at all rocky, it might be time to dust off your resume.

 

Before you start to over-analyze any of the signs above, take a deep breath. None of them is a surefire indication of anything, so you could be just fine.

But maybe update the resume, just in case…

The post Pay Attention! Here Are 5 Signs You May Be About to Get Fired. appeared first on UberFacts.

People Share the Best Weaknesses You Should Share in a Job Interview

Job interviews are pretty rough for interviewees. The nerves are palpable, and the back-and-forth between employer and job prospect can often be rife with landmines.

Then there’s the dreaded question: “What’s your biggest weakness?”

Ugh, now what? Well, we’re all in luck. These AskReddit users shared their opinions on how you should answer the most infamously difficult question to get “right.”

1. Awareness

“When I was graduating college I got interview tips from my dad who was heavily involved in the hiring process at his company for his department. His advice on this one, which I’ve used ever since and has gone great, was:

The whole “say a weakness that’s actually a positive” has been done to death and is such common knowledge that it’s no longer a clever “trick” and is now seen as avoiding the question. People want to see some self awareness, obviously don’t bring something absolutely terrible up, but mention a real flaw and most importantly what you’ve done to address or work with it.

For example the one I tend to use is that I can be forgetful so I now keep multiple sets of calendars, reminders, notes, etc to cover as much as possible.”

2. Nervous excitement

“One of my actual weaknesses: when I get nervous/excited, I tend to speak really fast and breathlessly. This can actually have a negative influence on my job as I work in healthcare and have to respond/communicate during emergencies.

For my next interview, I will bring this up, and say I have discovered that taking a second to collect myself and take a deep breath seems to calm my nerves and allow me to do/say what is needed in a more collected manner.”

3. Might work?

“What’s your greatest-”

“Weakness? Finishing other peoples’ sentences.” Calan_adan

“That’s what I was gonna’ say!”

4. Sharing

“For my current job, I said that I had a hard time sharing my ideas with new groups.”

5. Controlling

“Actual weakness: Taking on jobs by myself, not taking time to train other people to do them. In the end, I’m usually “the guy” and find myself feeling burnt out.

Probably could be worded better at an interview, but this could sound like you’re a “go-getter.” It might also encourage your employer to find opportunities for you to train other people to do things you particularly don’t like doing.”

6. Dedicated

“I said “I don’t like letting go of unfinished projects” during my interviews. I feel like it shows that I’m dedicated to the work I take on.”

7. Brutal honesty

“Show enough self awareness to know your actual weaknesses and mention how you’re working to reduce their impact on your life. For example, I have an issue with speaking compassionately. For a long time, I believed brutal honesty was the best way to go about things, but it often backfired and made people less willing to work with me because they respected me less and they thought I respected them less.

My wife has helped me with this by, for example when I say something and it’s phrased badly, she’ll say “stop. Try it again.” And I’ll rephrase it to be more empathetic and kinder while still getting across the information I want to communicate.”

8. …Yet

“If you are changing industries, your biggest weakness is not knowing the industry… yet.

If you are younger, say inexperience. Anything to show your willingness to learn and develop.”

9. Good move

“I work in healthcare and always say “Not speaking Spanish” and odds are the interviewer is also not fluent in Spanish so it comes across as not really a weakness. WIN-WIN!”

10. How will you respond?

“Frame it in terms of something you’re looking to improve. “Well, at my last performance evaluation I received some constructive criticism regarding X, so since then I’ve been doing Y and Z to focus on improving in that regard.”

Honestly though, if an interviewer asks you that ridiculous cliched question either they have no idea what they’re doing and/or don’t give a crap, or they aren’t looking for an answer but just want to see how you respond to being pushed.”

The post People Share the Best Weaknesses You Should Share in a Job Interview appeared first on UberFacts.