NatNews

When you’re a runner or someone who exercises on a regular basis, you often must take into consideration the most beneficial attire—and this includes headwear. Whether you’re concerned about protecting your hair or face, keeping your hair out of your face, keeping sweat from dripping down into your eyes, or a number of other potential worries, a hat or headband is often an effective option for meeting your individual needs.

“As someone with long hair, I personally always wear a headband or hat to keep hair out of my face while running,” Dallas resident Paige Ryder, who runs with the White Rock Running Co-op, said. “It also helps the sweat not drip into your face when it’s super hot, which is important when running in the Texas heat.”

Two of her go-to choices are the Lululemon Fly Away Tamer and Athleta Vital Headband.

“They both are lined on the inside to ensure they grip to your hair,” Ryder said. “The Lululemon one uses velvet strips, and Athleta uses rubber.”

Dallas resident Keith Jensen, who coaches high school runners as a side gig, also often wears headbands during his runs but for different reasons than simply keeping sweat off of his face.

“It’s for holding your hair back so that you can puke after,” he said.

For those seeking new running headbands, the Buff CrossKnit Headband, Bondi Band Tapered Anti-Slip Workout Headband, and Alo Airlift Headband are all viable options.

Dallas resident and WRRC member Ben Sewell doesn’t don headbands but does typically put on a hat when he heads out for some miles.

“I sometimes go without, but I normally wear a hat on my runs—it’s functional when it’s hot for keeping the sweat out of my eyes,” he said. “I prefer the ones made with tech fabric for their moisture-wicking ability. Regular hats get hot and don’t breathe well, so they don’t work as well, in my opinion.”

But for Sewell, it’s often simply about more than practicality.

“The other great thing about hats is the psychological factor in turning it backward for speed workouts or races,” he said. “It gives you a mental edge that can be a big advantage in helping you push yourself.”

Some quality options for running hats that provide optimal ventilation (it is not ideal for one’s head to overheat) and are available at affordable prices include the Black Diamond Dash Cap, Headsweats Race Hat, and Patagonia Duckbill Trucker Hat.

MySpace still has more than 6 million users.

According to recent research, 59 percent of the world’s population uses social media, and individuals within this demographic spend an average of approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes on social media each day.

Many people throughout the metroplex contribute to such statistics. Dallas-area resident and high school teacher Megan England said she likely spends too much time on social media on a daily basis, but it’s somewhat of an escape for her.

“I use it as an end-of-day detox, which I don’t know if that’s healthy,” she said.

However, England doesn’t believe that spending so much time on social media has negatively impacted her ability to communicate with others in in-person situations.

“For older millennials, I don’t think it has affected us,” she said. “We were able to develop face-to-face social skills. For younger generations, it helped during the pandemic to have a way to connect, but they haven’t evolved past that crutch.”

Dallas-area resident Kyle Burnett, who works in the insurance industry, said he used to spend too much of his day on social media but now prioritizes his family and face-to-face interactions more. He believes that social media use has resulted in detrimental consequences to the way people communicate.

“I think it’s affected it significantly,” he said. “We are no longer a verbal society and, instead, rely on keyboard interaction.”

While social media can serve as a tool for learning new things or merely for entertainment, it can often provide what you’re seeking. Burnett, whose favorite social media app is Instagram, often shares posts to his stories from accounts that he finds amusing.

“I love creative photography and memes, and it’s the perfect medium for it,” he said.

For Dallas-area resident and speech-language pathologist Morgan Fritz, her frequent use of social media led her to incorporate a new strategy so that she is interacting more with individuals already in her circle of friends.

“I recently did this thing where I muted almost everyone except the people I actually talk with/am close friends with, and my social media experience has been so much better,” she said. “Unfollowing feels so direct and could be perceived the wrong way if the other person found out, but they never know if they’re muted. All I see now are my genuine friends’ posts and inspirational/educational accounts I follow. I actually learn a lot from social media from some of these accounts.”

While Fritz has seen positive impacts in her own life from using social media, she said she thinks the use of such apps certainly affects the way individuals communicate with one another on a regular basis.

“In general, I think it has 100 percent impacted people’s interactions, because you can literally ‘keep up’ with people without ever talking to them,” she said. “It’s almost like there’s no reason to even reach out to old friends because you can see what they’re doing, but you don’t actually have the same connection that you would if you were calling each other to catch up.”

And for those who are considered closer friends, one must make more concerted efforts to get together in in-person settings.

“Social media has almost made face-to-face interactions seem rather next level, if that makes sense,” she said. “Essentially, to organize a face-to-face interaction, you have to really care about the person.”

WEEKLY PHOTO OP

For in-person interaction that you can later view on social media, you can attend the WRRC Wednesday night runs

Tuesday, February 21: Mardi Gras
Wednesday, February 22: Spurs vs. Mavs at the AAC; National Margarita Day
Friday, February 24: National Tortilla Chip Day
Saturday, February 25: WRRC Saturday run at Taco Joint