You've Gotta Have Friends

If you have lost touch with old friends from BYU or elsewhere, here's a reason bigger than guilt to get back in touch: A study conducted by the Centre for Aging Studies at Flinders University in Australia found that individuals with a large network of friends outlived those with fewer friends by 22 percent.

The authors suspected that good friends discourage unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and heavy drinking, and the companionship provided by friends may ward off depression, boost self-esteem, and provide overall support. Also, as people age, they may become more selective in their choice of friends, therefore spending more time with people they like.

Close relationships with spouses and children, by contrast, has almost no effect on longevity. Lynne Giles, one of the researchers, emphasized that family ties are important, but seem to have little effect of life-span.

So give your old roommates, dorm buddies and mission companions a call (and check our alumni directory here if you need some help tracking them down!).

Contributing: Janessa Cloward
Photo: Loretta Humble

Seven Tips for Being Healthy

As the weather begins to get warm (or for those of us in Utah, as ice finally melts off the sidewalks), we often have a tendency to set goals about "getting back into shape." Springtime is like the second New Year's, and surely a second chance to reestablish those New Year's resolutions that never made it past Jan. 15.

Scott H. Young, a university student and blogger, who has worked to get in shape himself, has authored and article that lists seven good tips for getting in shape. You can read the article here.

Contributing: Chris Giovarelli
Photo: Ramasamy Chidambaram

Beware of Facebook Scams

You know the drill. As soon as you log on to Facebook, a trillion application invites from your friends pop up. You're invited to become a Jedi master, a mob boss, grow an online garden, name a star or buy small countries. For many of us, the "block this application, and block any application every sent by this person, their children, or their children's children" is a great feature that we use regularly.

While internet scam aren't anything new, the onset of Facebook and other online communities has bred a whole new set of scams.

For those who may be more likely to open widgets, applications, or other downloads, MSN has an update on five scams that you may encounter, and should be aware of. You can read the story here.

Contributing: Chris Giovarelli & Beth Hansen
Photo: Steve Woods

Giving Leads to Joy and Wealth

BYU students, faculty and alumni were commended for their charity and encouraged to spend even more time giving the gift of giving, in Tuesday’s forum.

Arthur Brooks, the speaker, explained to students the importance of giving, and how it positively affects the lives of those who give.

“You simply can’t find any kind of service that won’t make you happier,” Brooks said.

Inspired by John D. Rockefeller’s theory that those who give will become rich themselves, Brooks began a study to find the connection between giving and wealth.

Brooks, an economist and author, said he thought this theory to be impossible, but his studies showed otherwise.

“I was perplexed,” Brooks said. “[My findings] didn’t go with my theory.”

Brooks said he tested the theory time and time again and still came up with the same results: by giving, people become rich themselves.

With these results, he said he then looked for the reasoning behind the theory.

“I found that happiness is the secret to success,” Brooks said. “Charity brings happiness, and happiness brings success.”

Brooks said there are four main myths that people hold about charity.

First, giving makes us poorer. Brooks said from his findings giving only makes us richer, not poorer.

Second, he said people tend to believe that people are inherently selfish. Through his findings, he discovered people only learn to be selfish.

Third, Brooks said though people think giving is a luxury, in fact it is a necessity.

This leads into Brooks’ fourth myth when people believe it is the responsibility of the government to give to the people.

“The day the government takes over is when we get poorer,” he said. “We must demand to take our place as givers.”

Brooks said he encourages all those who were listening to go out and teach others of the power of giving.

“You have been given the gift of giving,” Brooks said. “Now give that gift.”

He said if we want to help others, we need to help them learn how to give, not just give to them.

In the end of his address, Brooks commended BYU and the LDS religion for the charity efforts they have shown.

He said the example that has been shown to him has been wonderful.

If you'd like to listen to Arthur Brooks' entire talk, please click here to visit BYU's Speeches page and search by speaker.

Contributing: Whitney Clark
Photo: Andrew Van Wagenen