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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

I’m a big believer that whatever you take in affects how you feel. It’s not always a great feeling to be spending hours on my phone when I know I could be spending my time in more effective ways. However, the interaction between social media and entertainment makes up a significant part of our world, so there needs to be a balance in how we use it. I thought to myself that I should find content that I know can help me grow as a person if I want to spend my time wisely online. If you are interested in self-help entertainment like I am, here are two shows to check out: 

Red Table Talk

Red Table Talk is one of those shows that really takes talk shows to a whole new level. The hosts Adrienne Norris, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Willow Smith are three beautiful Black women that represent three generations of their family, which makes their conversations raw, honest, and captivating. They willingly go into the depths of serious topics, such as mental health and the racial divide in the United States, to express their own opinions with many guests of various backgrounds. Also, there is a huge benefit with listening to a group of people talk because of the communal feeling that comes with watching every episode. 

One of my favorite episodes from the show is an intimate discussion with Brené Brown, who is a professor and researcher that has spent her career studying vulnerability and shame. This episode is educational through Dr. Brown’s explanations and advice on how to deal with self-doubt while also comforting and relatable through hearing everyone’s life experiences. 

On Purpose

Jay Shetty is a retired monk who decides to take his wisdom and share it in a podcast called On Purpose. It is one of the most renowned podcasts to date and has become a digital library of one-on-one interviews and motivational talks to start anyone’s day on the right track. He never seems to lose any sight of enthusiasm to speak with numerous people who are experts in their fields, such as Miguel and Hasan Minhaj. That aura only makes me even more excited to figure out what I am going to learn next from each episode. 

I have recently listened to Jay Shetty’s conversation with Big Sean, who is a famous rapper. They talk about mental blocks and how to not let that stop a person from seeing the big picture of what they want to achieve in their lives. It is almost as if Shetty knows exactly which questions to ask to guide the discussion on Big Sean’s life story and his experiences on not letting go of his self-worth and his own capabilities to become an artist. 

If I could, I would spend hours and hours talking about these two shows and many others. However, if these snippets caught your interest, I would highly recommend spending some time and scrolling through the plethora of episodes that each one has. I hope this gave you some motivation to learn more for your own self-development. 

Sapna Parihar

U Mass Amherst '23

Sapna is a member of the University of Massachusetts Amherst chapter from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a junior majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Psychology. Sapna is excited to continue writing about wellness and anything else that revolves around her passions. Her interests include dancing, crocheting, listening to R&B and Pop, and reading self-help books.
Contributors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst