Social media policy

Social media usage policy:

At this company we are aware that our employees engage in social media on a daily basis and we encourage our employees to express themselves online. However, as technology improves there has been a shift in the way we communicate. This company realizes that what someone publishes on social media can sometimes be controversial. These comments can bring our company into disrepute and as a result in an effort to avoid any misunderstandings we in conjunction with existing employees have come up with guidelines and rules to help keep you out of trouble online and to also avoid bringing this company into disrepute

Employees are expected to comply with the following rules and regulations regarding social media usage. By signing this document to agree to abide by the rules set out in the document. Failure to do so may result in the employee being reprimanded or in serious cases your employment being terminated.

Please read the following guidelines carefully and familiarize yourself with them before signing this document.

• We are happy for you to associate yourself with this company when posting messages on social media provided that you ensure that you state that you messages are your own personal view and that they do not represent the views of the company.
• You are personally responsible for your actions when on social media. What you post online is visible to the whole world as a result we encourage you to act with impunity and use discretion when interacting with friends online. Most of this is common sense but please if you feel that something may be inappropriate ask a friend or your shift manager to review it to avoid bringing the company into disrepute. As a guideline we feel that you should not post anything online that you would not be comfortable placing on the company notice board.
• We are happy for you to talk about your work life on social media but again we implore you to act with discretion. Do not post anything online that is entailed in the confidentiality agreement for example financial statements or legal matters. Also remember that your manager and colleagues also have social media so do not post derogatory comments about managers and colleagues on your social media accounts. Failure to comply will result in your employment being terminated.
• Respect your audience. This means that you don’t post ethnic slurs or engage in racist behaviour online failure to comply will result in your employment being terminated and also we will be obliged to contact the police also. Also please act with caution when posting about topical events and topics that have been controversial historically for example politics, religion and war.
• We also expect employees to respect copyright laws. This means that you cannot not use any company logos, slogans, intellectual property and products in any social media posts without first getting permission from your manager. Any infringements on our copyrights may result in legal action being taken against said employee.
• When using social media, bear in mind that you are a representative of the company. This means that clients and potential clients associate you with the company and your actions and behaviour on social media may impact on our client’s view of the company. As a result the company encourages you to engage in a professional and responsible manner when using social media.
• Only post on topics in which you are fully informed. As a way of preventing you from posting misinformed information on your social media account and to prevent you from bringing the company into disrepute we encourage all employees to only post their opinions on topics that they are fully informed on. Before you post your view on a topic please ensure you have the full facts and if for any reason you feel that you are not fully informed we encourage you to not post on said topic before you gain all the relevant information.
• If you mess up. Correct it immediately for example if you post an insensitive message online. Delete it immediately; post a retraction and a sincere apology. Then inform your manager so we know what we are dealing with and so we can then engage in damage limitations. If your account is hacked or “fraped” by a friend or colleague post a message explain what happened and post an apology.
• Be a “scout” for compliments and criticism. Even if you are not an official online spokesperson for the Company, you are one of our most vital assets for monitoring the social media landscape. If you come across positive or negative remarks about the Company or its brands online that you believe are important, consider sharing them by forwarding them to management as quickly as possible.

There is also the small matter of use in the workplace. The company has no objections to employees using their social media accounts during their break and lunch time but we do not condone the use of social media during work hours. By signing this agreement you agree to not engage in social media during office hours, the reason for this is studies show that employees who use social media during work hours have reduced productivity. If you do engage in social media when you are working then the proper grievance procedures will be followed. People who continuously break our social media policy will have their employment terminated.

We would also like to remind all employees that we have a monitor on our wifi connection so if you do log on to your social media account during office hour we will be aware of it and you will be reprimanded appropriately.

Joseph McGrory (L00106812)

https://prezi.com/zo9ljobf5bwf/social-media-usage-policy/

References:

• BBC(2011), news :social media guidance ,available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/14_07_11_news_social_media_guidance.pdf (accessed 10/02/2015)
• com, coca-cola online social media principles, available : http://www.viralblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/TCCC-Online-Social-Media-Principles-12-2009.pdf (accessed 10/02/2015)
• AIA, policy on staff use of social media, available : http://www.aia.org/about/AIAB083034 (accessed 09/02/2015)
• Adidas-group, adidas group social media guidelines, available: http://blog.adidas-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/adidas-Group-Social-Media-Guidelines1.pdf (accessed 09/02/2015)
• Abbott, social media terms of use, available: http://www.abbott.com/social-media-terms-of-use.html (accessed 13/02/2015)
• com, policies, available: http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies/ (accessed 07/02/2015)

two good two bad websites

Two good websites:

Littlewoods.ie:

The reason why I think that Littlewoods is a good website is that the website keeps to the basics. It does not try over elaborate complicated designs; instead it’s plain and nice to look at. It doesn’t just have boring text but also incorporates pictures onto the main webpage. Also when you are checking out and managing your account it is all very simple, everything is right in front of you. You have all the options in the top right hand corner for example my account, track order, quick order, privacy and cookies, help, sign in  and register it also provides a phone number that you can contact if you have any problems and need assistance

Sportsdirect.com

Sports direct is another website that I think is a good website. Again it has a very simple layout. It has lots of colour and is exciting. It has lots of picture to accompany the text and it does not try to hide the prices of its products, they are big and in your face so you know exactly what you are paying for a product and there are no hidden costs. Again the headings are simple they are men’s, ladies, kids, football shirts, accessories, sports, brands and clearance. This makes navigating your way round the website extremely easy and simple.  There is also a search bar at the top of the webpage so you can look up specific product if you have one in mind.

Two bad websites:

Official Donegal website

The official Donegal website in my opinion is a bad website it is extremely hard to navigate. Speaking from experience it is almost impossible to find the northern board sub section of the website that has all the results and fixtures for the northern board underage competitions. Also the website is very rarely updated so its latest news is always outdated and it very rarely puts up the results from the weekends fixtures in a timely fashion. Also the website is quite boring. There is a lot of text and sponsors on the side with very little to keep the viewer interested.    

Ticketmaster

In my experience I have found the Ticketmaster website extremely hard to navigate around particularly when you are in a rush which a lot of their customers would be when tickets for big events go on sale. When you have finally found the event you want to go to you then have to search through the dates and venues which don’t seem to have any logical order to find the one you want to go to. When you are checking out or in the queue to get tickets you can’t refresh or it take you back to the beginning in my opinion this is a bad feature of the website as it does not allow for the customer to make a mistake which can quite easily happen. Payment is also an area that I think the website needs improvement; maybe they should look to introduce a one click purchase system like PayPal. Also the main page seems to be quite disjointed and doesn’t seem to have any cohesion to it; it has no logical flow that guides the customer through the process.

 youtube video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2GIO8XTCe8

The reason why i think this is the most beautiful video is because it is locally made, locally produced video showing the town of Buncrana in Donegal at Christmas. the reason why i think this is the most beautiful video is because it is a local man showing how proud he is of his town and wants to share it with the world. Buncrana is the most beautiful town in Ireland in my opinion and this video shows this

Facebook a social media phenomenon : a critique

Facebook as a social media phenonomen: a critique

Over the last number of years facebook has had an ever increasing presence on our daily lives. It has gone from being a small campus based website set up by college students as a way to meet women and has grown to become one of the most valuable website in the world it is currently worth 200 billion dollars as of 9^th September 2014. Like everything there are pros and cons to facebooks growing presence and cultural significance but before you can discuss the pros and cons of facebook you first have to look at the history of facebook.

The history of facebook?

Facbook was launched in February 2004 originally named “thefacebook”, it gained over one thousand members in its first twenty four hours and within two months over half of Harvard’s undergraduates had a profile on the website. Thefacebooks popularity quickly spread and was soon in every college in America. By august 2005 the “the” was dropped and it was just called facebook after the rights to the name were bought for 200,000 dollars. By September 2005 facebook had spread across the Atlantic. By late 2006 it was opened up to the public and anyone who had an email could sign up. In late 2006 facebook was the subject of a 2 billion dollar buyout from technology giants Google and also yahoo but mark Zuckerberg refused to sell the website. As facebooks popularity grew mark Zuckerbergs influence and power also grew and in 2012 facebook purchased social media website instagram for a price in the region of 1 billion dollars. Also in 2012 facebook floated stocks on the stock exchange and in its first IPO (initial public offering) facebook raised 16 billion dollars and overtake tech giant Google in becoming the tech company with the largest IPO in history. With the advancements in technology which allow people to stay connected it looks as though facebooks future is bright but whether that is in the interest of society is another question.

The pros of facebook.

Staying in touch with friends and family: facebook is extremely useful if you want to stay in touch with family that live all over the world. Facebook is also useful in staying in touch with lifelong friends that you otherwise wouldn’t have stayed in touch with. Statistics show that 70% of adults have used facebook as a way of staying connected with family and 57% of teens have reported making new friendships on social media. Facebook allows for people to stay up to date on the lives of friends and family and with features like instant messaging and video staying in touch has never been easier.

Good for improving social skills: facebook when used correctly can help improve people’s self esteem and also socialise with people who share the same interests as you

Education:  facebook can be good for both students and teachers, if a child misses a day of class then the teacher can post the homework on the schools facebook page this means that the child has the ability to catch up and means the child has no excuse for not having the homework done when they return to school. Likewise if children do not understand the homework then they can get into to contact with each other over facebook to discuss it.

Good for advertising business: businesses especially nightclubs use facebook as a way of advertising their business by posting pictures up online and also engaging in social media competitions for example like and share competitions for free entry or to win tickets to a concert. Facebook is a cheap and easy way for businesses to get into contact with their target market which can only be a good thing for the economy.

Good way to kill time: facebook is good if you need to kill time for example if you are waiting in the car while someone is in the shop or if you are at the bus stop waiting for the bus or if you are on a long bus journey and there is nothing else to do. Facebook means that you can stay up to date with current events while you wait.

Facebook is a place where you can broaden your horizons and expand your social circle as there are lots of fun interesting people you can meet on facebook that you wouldn’t meet in your daily life.

The cons of facebook:

Privacy is a big con of facebook when you post something on facebook it then becomes public and anyone can see it. Facebook can sometimes feel like you are opening up your personal life to the world. There are ways of changing your privacy settings so that only certain people can view you r posts but these can be difficult to locate and difficult to change. There is also the case of what facebook do with the information that they have about you. It has been reported that facebook sell your personal data to other companies so they can tailor their advertisements to your personality.

Cyber bulling is a big con of facebook. Children in school and even adults in the workplace can be subject to cyber bulling on facebook this can be in the form of messages, posts about the individual or photos and videos. For parents it is hard to monitor their children’s activity on facebook and as a result it can be hard to know if their child is being bullied or if they are a bully. It is also hard for schools to get prevent cyber bulling as it is hard for teachers to hear about bullying unless the child being bullied steps forward and reports it.

Spam and hackers is another problem with facebook. Hackers set up fake accounts and send messages to people and when they view the content hackers steal their personal information like credit card details and passwords which can then be used by the hackers or sold on. The lack of security on facebook is a massive con.

Future Regrets: Teenagers may post pictures of their friends at parties and other places that can come back and haunt them later, especially when they are applying for college. Many adults have lost their job due to posts they made on Facebook.

Productivity: because facebook is so addictive it means that employees can often check their facebook page during work hours, this can lead to a drop in productivity and by extension and loss of profits. Also students who are studying or doing assignments on the computer can also have a facebook tab in the background. When they go to check their facebook page a few minutes can turn into hours and before you know it you have spend three hours on facebook and only written a paragraph.

Conclusion: in conclusion facebook has many advantages and disadvantages. There is no doubt that when facebook is used correctly it can enrich the lives of its users it can help people stay in touch and people can also find long lost friends they thought they would never see again. It can also help people broaden their horizons and learn new cultures by contacting people all over the world. Facebook can also help students keep up to date with their studies and also is a good way to kill time when you have nothing to do. But there is also lots of things wrong with facebook for example it can lead to a loss of productivity in employees and students, it can prevent people from getting jobs in the future when prospective employers look at their facebook posts. Facebook is also a place that is full of cyber bulling and can be a detriment to peoples self esteem and confidence as a result of cyberbulling. There is also the matter of security facebook is prone to hackers setting up fake accounts and hacking other peoples account for personal information.

In my opinion facebook has contributed lots to society, it brings people together. It is a great way for companies to conduct market research. It is also great way for children to make friends and learn new things. Facebooks has an image in the public that it is pure evil and that it is the end of society as we know it but in my opinion that perception couldn’t be more wrong. Even though facebook has a lot of disadvantages, I believe that the advantages of facebook outweigh the disadvantages. I believe that if facebook is used correctly it can enrich the lives of others and contribute to improving society.

https://prezi.com/qtss4yvzq0lh/what-is-facebook/

References:

CNN, CNN money “a lot to like: facebook now worth 200 billion (online), available: http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/09/investing/facebook-worth-200-billion/

Philips, S. (2007), a brief history of facebook, the guardian (online) 25^th April available: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia (accessed 03/02/2015)

Inc.com, happy birthday, facebook a look back at 10 years, available: http://www.inc.com/issie-lapowsky/happy-birthday-facebook.html (accessed 05/02/2015)

Feldman, Barbara. “Pros and Cons of Facebook.” Surfnetkids. Feldman Publishing. 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 5 Feb. 2015. <http://www.surfnetkids.com/tech/1535/pros-and-cons-of-facebook/  (accessed 06/02/2015)

Nobullying.com(2014), the pros and cons of facebook, available: http://nobullying.com/pros-and-cons-of-facebook/ (accessed 06/02/2015)

Toptensocialmedia.com, 10 pros and cons of social media, available: http://www.toptensocialmedia.com/social-media-social-buzz/10-pros-and-cons-of-social-media/ (accessed 10/02/2015)

Ludwig von mises institute, essay: facebooks advantages and disadvantages, available: http://wiki.mises.org/wiki/Essay:Facebook%27s_advantages_and_disadvantages (accessed 10/02/2015)

Joseph McGrory (L00106812)

blog 5

In the last edition of my blog I discussed who I think is to blame for the obesity epidemic that has swept the nation over the last two decades or so… in the latest edition I would like to discuss what I think the future holds for Ireland and indeed most countries in the western hemisphere in relation to health and obesity. As always I encourage my readers to have their say in the comments section.

For starters I do not think the future is bright for Ireland in this area. I think that the current generation of kids and teenagers are done for. I think that it is a case of too little too late. Not encourage is being done by the government and by parents to ensure that the children of Ireland are healthy and that they are a healthy weight. The government has been reluctant to engage in this problem in any serious way, they always introduce meaningless “task groups” and pilot groups to come up with ways to combat this problem. But these groups never last and it goes back to the same old way. The government has never tried to tackle this problem with a concerted, co-ordinated strategy in conjunction with the schools, parents, and G.Ps and health experts to come up with solutions that can make a real difference. The government always cites a lack of funds but in my view this is a very short sighted approach because the obesity epidemic will only get worse and be an even heavier burden on the health care system as a result.

HSE cannot cope with the burden of dealing with obesity

I think that the government and society need to write off the current generation and start fresh with the next generation to ensure that this problem does not become normalised. If Ireland wants to return to being a healthy country then we have to bring this problem to the forefront and come up with a long-term strategy to deal with our obesity problem. This includes a co-ordinated effort of education, regulation, revamping the education system to allow for more P.E, and legislation.

I think that parents as well as children need to be better educated on what foods are healthy and what foods are unhealthy they also need to be better educated on maintaining a balanced diet.

people need a balanced diet

Unfortunately I do not believe that this will be case I think that society is happy to sweep this problem under the rug and let the next generation deal with it. As a result I don’t think Ireland’s future is bright in this area. I think that Ireland’s obesity problem will get worse, I think that Ireland will become one of Europe’s and perhaps the world’s fattest countries. I also think that obesity will become the biggest expenditure in the health budget and that the burden will be too much for the HSE and by the time the government realise that there is a major problem on their hands it will be too late.

In the next edition of my blog I would like to discuss another area that I think is a big issue facing Irish society.

Joseph McGrory​

Blog 4

In the last edition of my blog I discussed some of the solutions to solving the obesity epidemic that has spread throughout Ireland like wildfire over the past two decades. In this edition of my blog I would like to discuss who I think is to blame for this mess and why they are to blame for the situation that Ireland now find themselves in. as always your feedback is welcomed.

Well one of the main players in this argument is the fast food and sweet companies. Fast food and junk food is never off the television. Every time there is an ad break on T.V.  You see McDonalds ad or a Burger king ad or a Coke ad. Junk food is in your face every time you watch TV. So there is no wonder that kids are constantly asking for fast food for dinner because it is in there face constantly. Another reason is because fast food and sweet companies sponsor sporting events. In my view this should not be allowed. It promotes unhealthy eating. You always see McDonalds and Pepsi sponsoring the world cup. I feel this creates an unhealthy connection between the two in the minds of the children. I think just like there is a ban in France on alcohol companies sponsoring sporting events, I fell there should be a similar ban in Ireland with regards fast food and junk food companies sponsoring sporting events.

fast food chains should not sponsor sporting events

Parents I feel need to take a lot of the responsibility with regards to this problem. They give their children too much power. They feel as though they can’t tell their children No. but this should not be the case they are the adults they should be telling the kids what to do not the other way around. Parents also don’t realise that these types of products like sweets and fast food should be used as a treat and as part of a healthy diet. Children should not be scarfing down a big mc for dinner every day or drinking a bottle of coke every day. I remember when I was young I was allowed one sweet on a Friday and I only ever got fast food when we went to Derry (which was not very often). If you ever watch the TV. Show “the middle” then you will see them eat fast food for dinner every day I feel this is the main reason why obesity rates are so bad because parents are held hostage by their own children and have lost the power to tell their children what they can and can’t have.

children have too power over their parents

The person themselves have to take a lot of the responsibility too though, they have to realise that eating so much bad food is unhealthy and they have to recognise when they have a problem before it is too late. ​the people who are overweight and do nothing about it and let it get worse, people like the half ton teenager and people who are so overweight that they cannot get out of bed deserve no sympathy in my view and can blame no body but themselves.

in the next edition of my blog i would like to discuss what i think the future holds for this country in relation to health and obesity.

Joseph McGrory

obesity blog 3

In the last edition of my blog I talked about the causes of obesity for example physical inactivity and the shift in the Irish diet from traditional foods like potatoes and vegetables to exotic diets that full of fat, oil and saturated fats like Chinese and Mexican diets. I also discussed how the rise of fast food franchises has contributed to the rise in obesity rates.

In this edition I want to discuss what I think are the potential solutions to tackle this problem. As always I encourage the readers to join in on the debate. In my opinion there are several possible solutions and there is no one size fits all solution, we have to tailor it to the audience and also take a multi-pronged approach to solve this problem once and for all. In my opinion we have to battle this issue on several fronts by mixing education, physical activity, and also eating better.

One solution to this problem is regulating school dinners. In my former secondary school most of the options in the canteen were not healthy. A child could buy foods that were full of fat and grease like chips, bacon, sausages, burgers etc… In my opinion these foods have absolutely no right to be in a school canteen. Instead I feel that the school should be setting an example to the students by providing them with healthy foods like salads, pastas and chicken. I think that because these unhealthy foods are provided by the schools the children can sometimes get it into their heads that these foods are good for you and may get the wrong impression.

I also think that there should be a limit to the size of fizzy drink bottles. In New York they introduced a bottle size limit to help combat the growing rates of obesity in America and I feel that this approach should be introduced here with a limit of one litre bottles. Fizzy drinks like coke and Pepsi are full of sugar and are extremely unhealthy, people don’t realise how much sugar is in a standard bottle of coke. Everywhere you go you see young children gulping down litres and litres of coke like it was going out of fashion, I think this is one of the main reasons why obesity rates are on the rise. I feel that the fizzy drinks industry should be better regulated and also there should be some sort of tax break for bottled water companies to make bottled water cheaper and a more attractive option for parents who are buying their child a treat because in my opinion flavoured water is just as good as fizzy drinks but they tend to be more expensive.

fizzy drinks have contributed to obesity

I feel though that the best solution to the growing obesity rates is by introducing an hour of physical education a day in schools. As it stands children are only getting an hour a week, this is simply not enough. Children are recommended to get an hour of activity a day and in my opinion this should be provided by the school to ensure that all children are getting their recommended amount. In most American states children are allocated an hour of gym class a day five days a week. I feel that the Irish government should introduce a similar strategy here if they are serious about dealing with the growing obesity rates in children.

These are just some of the approaches I think that can be implemented but it can’t all be left to the schools and government to sort out this problem, parents have got to take a lot of the responsibility too. There are lots that parents can do to help also like buying healthy cereals instead of buying cereals that are full of sugar, they can also encourage their children to engage in sport, and by also only buying their children sweets as a treat once a week and not every day.

In next week’s edition I am going to discuss who is to blame for this epidemic.

Joseph McGrory

obesity blog 2

In the last edition of my blog I talked about what I think is the biggest issue facing Irish society: obesity. I talked about why I think obesity is the biggest issue facing Irish society but there is no point in recognising a problem with finding out why? What are the causes for a growing obesity rate in Ireland and in fact worldwide? In this edition I would like to discuss what I think are the main reasons why our obesity rates are on the rise and as always I encourage my readers to join in the debate and have your say.

So, why is there a growing rate of obesity? Well in my opinion there is no one answer there are a variety of reasons.  I think that one of the biggest reasons is because there has been a shift in the Irish diet over the last numbers, it has gone from consisting of mainly potatoes and vegetables to consisting of various exotic high carb and sugar diets. Instead of having bubble and squeak people are people are eating Mexican and Chinese food. These foods contain lots of trans-fats and saturated fats which contribute to weight gain.

Irish diet has changed over the last couple of decades

Another reason why I think the rates of obesity are going through the roof is because people are doing less physical activity in their daily lives this as result means they are burning less calories and gaining more weight. There has been a huge shift from people engaging in labour intensive jobs to office based jobs since the beginning of the 1990s and because people are sitting at a desk all day this means that they are not engaging in physical activity as much as they would if they were working on a building site or on a farm. Also the increase in car sales means that people don’t walk as much as they did when cars were not as widely available. I have actually seen someone I know drive to the shop even though they live in the park right next to the shop. This in my opinion is the height of laziness and it’s these people that I have no sympathy for.

I believe that you can also attribute the growing rates in obesity to people having less time to eat decent meals. The world is a big rush and nobody has time to slow down anymore this is demonstrated in the growth of fast food chains they are convenient for people who don’t have time to cook but they are also extremely bad for you and are basically poison in my view and it would also be your view if you have ever watched any of the programmes on TV like supersize me.

There are many more reasons for the rise in obesity too many to fit into a five hundred word blog the list isn’t exhaustive.

In the next edition I will be discussing what I think are the possible solutions to this problem. Until then I look forward to hearing from the readers on any comments or opinions they may have.

Joseph McGrory

The biggest issue facing Irish society -Obesity

obesity has been on the rise in ireland

In my opinion there are several issues that are facing Irish society for example corruption, lack of housing and unemployment but in my opinion the biggest issue facing Irish society lies in the health sector and more specifically the growing problem of obesity.

obesity has been on the rise in ireland

The reason why I think obesity is the biggest issue facing Irish society is that it affects everybody either directly or indirectly. It not only affects the people who are obese and affects their quality of life but it also affects the taxpayers and the users of the public health care system. This is why I chose this area to focus my blog on rather than another area that only affects a certain number of people like unemployment where not everyone can relate. Over the course of my blog I would like to discuss what I think are the causes of obesity, how we as a society can tackle this issue and who is to blame for this epidemic. I would also encourage readers to get into contact through the comment section and have your say because I believe that this issue has been ignored by society for far too long and it is about time that we as a society engage in a debate to solve this problem, in my opinion  any time someone does try to engage in a meaningful discussion they are lambasted for being insensitive, Katie Hopkins comes to mind and even though I do not agree with everything she says, I applaud her for having the guts to bring this issue to the forefront and for trying to get society to deal with a problem that has gone unnoticed for too long.

Katie Hopkins has been lambasted for he views on obesity

Why do I think that obesity is the biggest issue facing Irish society?

Well for starters obesity has exploded in Ireland over the last two decades with nearly two thirds of Irish adults overweight or obese. Obesity puts massive pressure on an already overstretched health system quite simply it is a burden on the health service. obesity costs the Irish tax payer over one billion euro ever year and in my opinion this is completely unacceptable and if we continue to ignore this issue it will only increase and eventually our health service will not be able to cope with this problem. If you ask me I think that this is one billion euro thrown down the drain but instead of treating the cause and dealing with the problem we are merely treating the symptoms if you will we are merely papering over the cracks, there has to be a change in tactics in the HSE if we are going to deal with this issue once and for all instead of always playing catch up.

Secondly obesity affects someone’s quality of life and many people who are overweight and obese often experience mental health problems and depression and if someone is unhappy we tend to comfort eat which compounds the problem and then these people get stuck in a viscous cycle as one of mike Myers characters says in Austin powers “I eat because I’m unhappy and I’m unhappy because I eat”. Everyone has a right to be happy and if your weight is preventing you from being happy then something has to be done to help that person and if nothing is done to help these people then we as a society have failed.

These are just some of the reasons why I think obesity is the biggest issue facing society and in the next edition of my blog I will examine the causes for obesity.

Joseph McGrory.