Personal Areas Of Life And How To Develop Them

How to live a balanced life? What are the fundamental areas in life? The life of the human being is composed of several elements that are co-related. Each with its load of complexity and influencing each other, but all equally important. This article invites you to learn more about the dimensions of the human being, we will see what personal development is and the 10 personal areas of life and how to develop them .

The Physiological area

The human body has unparalleled complexity. The physiological area mainly includes our body, its organs and functions, which must be in optimal quality that allows the development of the rest of the areas of life with the greatest comfort and fluidity possible. The role of the human being in the development of his own physiological consists, basically, in caring for and improving his condition through the preservation of his organs, doing regular physical activity, filtering the quantity and quality of the food he eats and periodically visiting his a health specialist (certified doctor) who makes sure what the real condition of the organism is, beyond the obvious.

 

The Physical area

Another area of ​​a person's life is the external appearance, the physical, more inclined towards aesthetics and which is mostly influenced by social standards. This physical area has an equally important role to the others because it is mixed together with what the person's identity is, that is, it is directly related to the way you perceive yourself and what you reflect to yourself. environment. To enhance this area, it is essential that you know your body , identify the parts you want to highlight and take into account maintaining a healthy lifestyle, thus avoiding harming your health. Keep in mind that physical appearance isn't just about looking good, it's about feeling good .

 

The Cognitive area

The psychological area is made up of a compendium of elements that together lead to the complexity that characterizes the human psyche. Aspects such as memory, attention, thought, language, emotions, rational logic, instincts, among others, are just some of the factors that appear in this dimension. You will then understand how important it is to keep your mental health fit and stable , which is why it is generally suggested to incorporate habits that contribute and help exercise mentally to your daily routine.

 

Among these habits , brain gymnastics, leisure time and breathing exercises cannot be left out as the main tools; In this way you will prevent your memory from being significantly affected as the years go by, your attention span will be easier to train and help curb negative or automatic thoughts that may appear in stressful situations. In the same way, we suggest you to consult a mental health specialist if you consider that there are situations that you would like to learn to manage with professional and specific tools for your case. In this article we explain when to go to the psychologist .

 

The Emotional area

Another area of ​​a person's life is emotional. The emotional area itself is connected to the psyche, however, this is so complex that it is not limited to the recognition of each emotion but extends to emotional intelligence , how you feel about yourself and your self-concept, as well as how you express or inhibit each of them.

 

The emotional well-being of the human being depends on the stability of the above, which is why it is suggested to apply emotion recognition techniques that allow you to verify if there is coherence between what you feel and what you think you feel to start building your well-being from self-knowledge.

 

Sexual and reproductive area

The sexual dimension is equally vast despite the fact that, usually, people tend to relate it in a limiting way to genitality. In reality, sexuality as an area in the life of the human being has a lot to cut since it includes:

 

Sex = genitals.

Secondary sexual characteristics = parts of the body characteristic of the male or female sex.

sexual act = intercourse

Gender = socio-cultural construction relative to what should be considered typical of men or women / masculine or feminine.

Gender role = tasks, activities and attitudes in general that society assigns to each gender, which in turn respond to the assigned sex.

Gender identity = refers to the inclination that dictates with which of the genders a person feels identified, regardless of their sex.

Sexual orientation = is determined by liking or attraction to a person depending on the sex to which they belong. Thus, this preference defines someone as homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual.

Menstruation, menopause and andropause = hormonal processes of sexual origin.

In addition, there is reproduction, which biologically gave rise to sex to avoid extinction but which also involves other influential factors to carry it out. The fact is that sexuality in human beings is a dimension that requires attention from the person for its healthy maintenance, with the intention of enjoying and maintaining stability in our lives in general. Therefore, to develop your sexuality taking into account all the aforementioned processes, it is essential to work on self-knowledge, self-exploration and the dismantling of taboos that allow you to express your sexuality freely.

 

Social area

Another personal area to improve is that of interpersonal relationships. Social interaction is an elementary part of the development of the human being, from interaction with parents, through friends, couples and even the relationship with bosses and co-workers. Socializing properly denotes well-being and mental health in the person since this is a necessity, creating connections with our peers, especially those connections where the sentimental bond has a leading role. It should be noted that interpersonal relationships are part of what makes up the social fabric and that personality characteristics such as shyness or extroversion influence them.

 

Academic and/or professional area

Another area of ​​a person's life is academic or work. Work and studies, at any level, are present in a person's daily life, however, they can cause high levels of stress or anxiety depending on the degree of submission to the pressures. For this reason, it is suggested to practice recreational and leisure activities from time to time, so work or studies will not occupy all your time and energy , as well as having the opportunity to deal with stress by resorting to playful practices that stimulate your imagination.

 

Vocational area

Among the most important areas of life related to personal development, we find the vocational part. Certainly, professional or trade work deserves all the dedication possible, it is desirable to work in a field that you are passionate about and that is your vocation, but this is not always the case. There are circumstances in which the vocation is directed towards an activity that is not necessarily in your work environment. Therefore, it is recommended to practice, at least superficially, various types of activities in order to know which of them you feel passionate about, since the exercise of an activity by vocation feeds the sense of life in individuals, not everything is about money.

 

Family area

The family group is both the nucleus from which someone arises as well as the family that is formed from that person (if you want to form one). The latter is called “secondary family”. Being a fundamental pillar, the family has the same relevance as the rest of the areas addressed; especially because it involves the interaction of factors such as communication, emotions, feelings, genetics, among others.

 

To develop and improve family life, it is key to take into account that, despite being generally close emotional ties, each member of the family has their own life, tolerance and respect between them is prevailing due to the diverse range of opinions and beliefs that will emerge over time.

 

 

Recreational area

There is a marked tendency to undervalue recreation, which is a misconception. It has been found through studies that moments of "doing nothing" or being distracted represent a need for cognitive processes to be optimized. So leisure is one of the fundamental areas in life.

 

Nowadays, with such a hectic lifestyle and precisely for that reason, we should set aside some time, if possible on a daily basis, to spend it contemplating a landscape, taking a nap or simply enjoying a coffee with a pleasant company.

 

This article is merely informative, at CHRIMT we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

 

If you want to read more articles similar to Personal areas of life and how to develop them, we recommend you visit our Lifestyle  category .

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What Are Social Skills

 

What are social skills?                       

Social skills are learned skills. They make it possible to express feelings, attitudes, desires, opinions or rights in accordance with the context and respecting others. They underlie our behavioral strategies helping to resolve a social situation in an effective way, acceptable for the subject and social context.

 

They allow us to improve our interpersonal relationships, to feel good, to get what we want and to prevent others from preventing us from achieving our own goals. These behaviors are necessary to interact and bond with others in effective and mutually satisfying ways.

 

What are the main social skills?

There are two types of social skills: basic, such as listening, starting a conversation or introducing oneself, and complex, such as empathy, emotional intelligence, the ability to communicate thoughts or feelings, recognition and defense of ones own rights and those of others, etc.

 

Basic social skills:

 

To listen

Introduce oneself, introduce another person

Start a conversation, ask a question

Make a request.

Complex social skills:

 

Empathy: the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others.

Emotional intelligence: social ability to manage feelings and emotions, choose between them and use this knowledge to direct one's own thoughts and actions.

Assertiveness: ability to be clear, frank and direct, saying what you want to say without hurting the feelings of others or belittling their value, defending only your rights as a person.

Listening skills: being able to listen with understanding and attention, understanding what the person wants to say and showing him that his message has been received.

Ability to communicate one's feelings and emotions: being able to show others our feelings in the correct way, whether positive or negative.

Ability to define a problem and evaluate the solutions: social ability to analyze a situation by taking into account the objective elements, as well as the feelings and needs of each person.

Negotiation: ability to communicate aimed at finding a satisfactory solution for the various parties.

Modulation of emotional expression: ability to adapt the expression of our emotions to those around us.

Ability to apologize: being aware of mistakes made and acknowledging them.

Recognition and defense of one's rights and those of others: ability to be aware of our rights and those of others and to defend them adequately.

Why is it important to develop social skills?

Social skills are the set of behaviors that allow us to bond with others in a satisfying way. This is why they are essential in any type of environment in which we can find ourselves: with family, at work, on the street, with friends, etc.

 

Adequate practice of these skills is beneficial for learning to express oneself and to understand others, to take into account their needs and interests, to try to find the most satisfactory solution for everyone when faced with a problem or to show solidarity. These are fundamental points if one wishes to live in society.

 

People lacking social skills have difficulty knowing how to say no, expressing their opinions or desires effectively, giving or receiving praise or criticism, asking others to change when their behavior is inappropriate, or managing interpersonal conflicts.

 

How are social skills acquired?

Social skills are transmitted to children by their parents, their family as well as their friends and teachers: they integrate them little by little and learn to use them. A person, child, adolescent and adult lacking social skills can also work on them through exercises.

 

If social skills are poorly acquired, a psychologist or psychotherapist  can help you define your objectives, those of your child or your teenager and carry out sessions with you to learn how to work on them.

 

How important are social skills in children?

Social skills allow the child to learn communication skills, emotional self-control, expression of feelings, attitudes, desires, opinions or rights. They also allow him to ask for favors or to refuse to perform them: poorly integrated, they generate conflicts or incomprehension.

 

The development of social skills in children is essential, as they will help him in his relationships with others in all circles of existence and at all ages of life.

 

How do you help someone who lacks social skills?

If you are wondering how to develop social skills in a child, how to work on them in a teenager or an adult, there are several types of activities based on the recognition of facial emotions to associate with situations and the learning of certain skills.

 

Social skills can also improve through proper learning of:

 

Assertiveness, by increasing the ability to express one's feelings, opinions and desires with safety and without hurting the other.

Empathy, by increasing the ability to put oneself in another person's shoes to understand their position, even if they do not share it.

Verbal and non-verbal communication, to be able to effectively transmit information and emotions.

Conflict resolution, developing the ability to negotiate and generate agreements satisfactory to all parties in conflict.

The management of personal anger as well as the irrational confrontation of others.

Who can help you?

A psychologist or psychotherapist is particularly suitable for developing social skills. During a first session, he will study in depth the situation crossed by the child, the teenager or the adult and will propose him an adequate therapy according to his requests and needs.

 

 

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How To Become A Successful Person

Do you want to have a successful lifestyle? For many, success is defined by the number of things they possess: wealth, social prestige, and a fulfilling career. But for others, being a successful person is simply traveling, being happy and living to the full. In other words, success can be subjective for everyone and is not a matter of luck, rather it is a personal choice.

 

There is no magic formula to achieve success, but it is about small changes, attitudes and daily habits that, with effort and perseverance, will pay off in the end. Also, the great leaders we admire did not receive their success on a silver platter, as they had to work hard to get to the top. Next, we will tell you how to be a successful person based on some 16 simple practices that can help to overcome and face new challenges.

 

 

Create feasible goals               

The first step to having a daily routine of a successful person is to set feasible and achievable goals . Otherwise, you can fall into a state of frustration and negativism. This can be achieved by setting clear and measurable goals. If possible, put a date on each goal to check progress.

 

One of the most effective strategies to establish this type of goals is to apply the SMART method, which is an acronym for the English words: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely . In other words, with this methodology you will be able to verify whether or not your goal meets the following conditions:

 

Specific : Is it specific?

Measurable: Can it be measured?

Achievable : can you reach it?

Realistic : is it realistic?

Timely : how long will it take you?

 

You may want to use a notebook or notepad app to write down your statements and review your progress . If you take some time and apply this methodology, you will have a firm base to establish realistic goals that you can achieve little by little with small but firm steps.

 

To be a successful person it is essential to establish commitments with the proposed goals. It is useless for you to map out a strategic life plan, if there is no commitment to fulfilling it.

 

For example, if completing an academic education is one of your goals to be successful, you need to have the time, resources, and responsibility to meet that goal. It all depends on the commitment and motivation you have to achieve your goals.

 

Evaluate your daily habits

Habits are the foundation of success. For this reason, successful people in the world tend to have good life habits, such as constant reading, research, training, among other habits that enrich their individual training.

 

Similarly, you should avoid unhealthy habits , such as watching too much TV, constantly being distracted by social media, or procrastinating all the time. Once you begin to change certain attitudes in your life, the habit is created, which is established as a new mindset that will lead you down the path of success.

 

Stop always looking for external validation

If you want to have a successful lifestyle, you must stop looking for the approval of others to pursue your dreams. Obviously, it is important to have the support of people, but do not pretend that everyone around you has the same vision as you.

In reality , you must trust yourself and ask yourself some questions, such as:

 

Is this the life I want?

Do I like what I do daily?

If the answer to these personal questions is no, you should start making small changes in your life that bring you satisfaction, even if that means ignoring the opinion of those around you. Take into account that in the end, it will be you who bears the joy of doing what you like or the frustration of dedicating yourself to something just to please others.

 

Live the experience

To become a successful person you have to live the experience step by step. In other words, don't just focus on the destination. On the contrary, take advantage of every moment to acquire new learning that will serve to strengthen your skills and abilities until you reach the desired point. In addition, learning is something that you never stop acquiring in life.

 

Strengthen your positive thoughts

One of the best strategies to achieve success is to promote positive thoughts . In fact, the mind has the power to create or to destroy. Consequently, use your thoughts to visualize your goals.

 

Remember that brain plasticity allows you to adapt mental schemes in a positive way to be able to strongly represent and visualize what you want . Of course, you must also learn to become aware of negative thoughts so that, when they arise, you can quickly neutralize them.

 

 

Develop social interactions

Today, it is proven that having a successful life also depends on our social relationships and the network of contacts that we have. It's not about having countless friends everywhere. It is rather, knowing how to choose the people who can serve as inspiration and have a good contact to expand our work and social relationships.

 

Take failures as lessons

Undoubtedly, to be a successful person we must take failure as a challenge that will expand our learning. Successful people have been through frustrating situations over and over again. However, what has led them to success is that they have the perseverance and determination to try again .

 

Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a positive attitude in the face of failure and not let yourself get discouraged. Instead, take as much learning as you can from that lesson to try again more safely next time. Learning from past mistakes is part of our personal growth.

 

Seek as much knowledge as possible.

The keys to success in any field are knowledge and wisdom. How to be a successful person? First of all, through constant curiosity , conversation with other people or simple active listening , you will obtain the knowledge you need in what you are truly passionate about.

For its part, as we already mentioned, take advantage of each experience to increase your wisdom, in such a way that you can face any challenge without losing sight of what you really want.

 

Do things for yourself

While it's true that social interactions are essential to being a successful person, you can't expect others to do everything for you either. You need to set your own goals and learn to take each step without help. Only then will you be able to strengthen your true abilities and foster self-confidence.

 

Exercise and eat right

In life you must have a balance between what you want and what you need. In this sense, exercise and a healthy and balanced diet will help you achieve a good inner balance , both emotionally and physically.

 

It is recommended that you take at least 30 minutes a day to exercise with an activity that you like. It can be dancing, walking, jogging, among others. In this way, you release energies and toxins that can cause you stress and anxiety. Along with that, it is good that you consume less sugar and fat, and that you increase your intake of fruits and vegetables .

 

Obviously, it doesn't hurt to treat yourself from time to time to increase your motivation levels and dedicate a little time for leisure and recreation.

 

 

Strengthen your emotional intelligence

Although IQ is important, to be a successful person, emotional intelligence becomes key to becoming successful.

That is to say, your personality traits, the self-motivation you have and the emotional self-control that you practice before the different situations that you are going to face, will be decisive when it comes to moving forward or declining before the demands that will be presented to you in life.

 

Rest your body and mind

Will rest help you to be successful? Various scientific studies affirm that lack of rest or sleep deprivation make us less productive. In addition, it will be useless to work tired if you are not being effective.

 

Therefore, it is convenient that you learn to identify the hours of the day in which you have greater productivity so that you can make the most of them. Also, you can work in small blocks of time, such as 1 hour of productivity and about 15 minutes of rest . In this way, you will be more productive and you will not over demand your body or your mind.

 

 

Learn to say no

Another key to being successful is learning to say NO to external things that are unnecessary and that keep us from success. For example, stop buying compulsively and having so many ant expenses that take away time and money.

 

Together with that, you must also resort to the inner NO to stop procrastinating or not to spend too much time in situations that will not leave you any kind of learning. In short, learn to say no without making you feel like a bad person.

 

Open your mind to growth

Many times, without realizing it, we are dominated by limiting thoughts that are responsible for sabotaging our success. They can be limiting thoughts in relation to money, work, love, among many other areas of life.

The truth is that these intrusive thoughts often overshadow our motivation and take us away from our goals, since we think that we do not deserve to be successful.

The task then to achieve success is to identify negative thoughts and open the mind towards growth, with daily affirmations such as:

 

I deserve it.

I am able.

I have the ability to…

I want, I can and I will.

Likewise, try to receive challenges with optimism and trust in your own abilities to get ahead. We help you do it with our article How to learn to improve yourself .

Practice gratitude constantly

When you give thanks on a daily basis, you surround yourself with positive energies that attract success and prosperity into your life. Therefore, it is good that you are grateful for everything that happens to you in life, be it good or not so good.

Remember that experiences are an inexhaustible source of learning and when you learn to value your existence and give thanks for what you have and for what you are, your life will be transformed and you will be a person who will make a big difference.

Finally, nothing is achieved if you don't start acting once and for all, but don't forget that everything requires time and effort.

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Firefox launches emergency update to fix vulnerability

Mozilla released, on Wednesday (19) an emergency update for Firefox that fixes a critical vulnerability zero day. Discovered by members of Google Project Zero and Coinbase Security, the bug allows a malicious site to infiltrate dangerous code on the computer through the browser. 

In a note on the security update, Mozilla stated that it has already detected hacker attacks from the security breach.

Known as "type confusion", the failure is related to the manipulation of JavaScript objects. 

It was not announced by Mozilla the goal of hacker attacks from the vulnerability. The fix has already been released in versions 67.0.3 or ESR 60.7.1 of Firefox, available for free as an upgrade or via new download.

Similar failures have been common in Flash Player in the past. In theory, a hacker would be able to trick the browser into letting compromised material pass to the victim's PC.

Although there is already a patch available, the bug in Firefox causes concern for the delay in identifying the problem: according to Mozilla, there are already criminals exploiting the security breach. It is not known, for now, the number of victims hit, nor the motivation for the attacks.

How to update Firefox and protect yourself

Those who have the Firefox browser installed should have already received the new version automatically. In that case, just close and reopen the browser to apply the update. 

You can also download the latest browser version from the Mozilla website at the following address: mozilla.org/en/firefox/new

In any case, users can manually download the Firefox update from their browser settings. 

To do this, open the main menu, go to the "Options" item and scroll to the "Firefox Update" section. Make sure version 67.0.3 or higher is installed. To ensure that future updates are automatically obtained, check the "Install updates automatically" option.

Source:www.techtudo.com.

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Dell PCs under security threat update yours now

If you have a Dell laptop, this is a good time to update your system. Even if your computer is not manufactured by Dell, it is possible that a new vulnerability will affect you.

 The existence of a serious security breach has been unveiled in Dell PCs by Researchers at SafeBreach Labs. The breach would allow hackers to easily access sensitive information on your computer without your knowledge. To protect yourself and avoid being hacked install the latest update available without delay.

Dell released a security advisory regarding the CVE-2019-12280 vulnerability identified in the SupportAssist application, designed by PC Doctor. As the IT giant explains on it's website, it is an "  application that proactively checks the status of hardware and software in your system. " If there is a problem, the program sends Dell the necessary status information to start troubleshooting. SupportAssist is installed by default on all devices of  Dell brand.

The flaw concerns both the version of SupportAssist installed on professional computers (version 2.0) and domestic versions (versions 3.2.1 and earlier), ie millions of PCs in circulation, explains Dell. According to a report by SafeBreach, the firm specialized in cybersecurity, the flaw could allow an attacker to take control of a remote computer to siphon data contained on it.

There are some concerns that this failure could affect PCs made by other companies.

SupportAssist is a renamed version of the Windows hardware diagnostic tool called PC-Doctor Toolbox. This product has also been renamed to: Corsair ONE Diagnostics, Corsair Diagnostics, Staples EasyTech Diagnostics, Tobii I-Series Diagnostic Tool and Tobii Dynavox Diagnostic Tool.

The most effective way to prevent your DLLs from being hijacked is to install patches. To fix this bug, allow automatic updates or download the latest version of Dell SupportAssist for Corporate PCs ( x86 or x64 ) or home PCs. For now, it is unclear if the flaw has already been exploited by pirates.

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WhatsApp to stop working on Windows Phones

The end of Windows Phone is getting closer, even though some users still enjoy the family devices and the mobile operating system of Microsoft. After losing support for several widely used applications, such as Instagram, the most famous messenger app in the world has indicated a date to close activities there.

According to WhatsApp's own  online FAQ, the app will be removed from the Microsoft Windows Mobile Store on July 1, 2019. Because development is no longer encouraged by the company itself, many features may stop working from that date

The closure of the support will take place on December 31 of this year. In the case of Android and iOS, support will remain quite active: in 2020, versions 2.3.7 of Android and iOS 7 or lower will no longer have standard development.

In the case that WhatsApp stops operating on your device, one of the possible solutions is to try to update the operating system. But if it is impossible, the only alternatives are to use similar applications such as Telegram or Messenger or buy a new device.

The company in 2016 devised a plan in which it reported that WhatsApp would no longer be compatible in the coming years with certain mobile devices that lacked the necessary capabilities to support some updates. "When we started WhatsApp in 2009, mobile phones were totally different from those of today," the company explained on its official blog.

Facebook's decision to end support for these apps is hardly surprising given the Windows Phone platform is officially dead. Even Microsoft will stop supporting the latest version of Windows 10 Mobile – 1709 – in December this year. The phones with Windows 10 Mobile 1703 will lose support in June itself. Many of the major apps have already stopped supporting Windows Phone devices.

It is unclear how many consumers are still using Windows Phone devices, but the number is unlikely to be significant.

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Facebook unveiled plans for a new global cryptocurrency called Libra

Facebook unveiled plans Tuesday for a new global cryptocurrency called Libra, pledging to deliver a stable virtual money that lives on smartphones and brings over a billion "unbanked" people into the financial system.

The Libra coin plan, backed by financial and nonprofit partners, represents an ambitious new initiative for the world's biggest social network with the potential to bring crypto-money out of the shadows and into the mainstream.

Facebook and some two dozen partners released a prototype of Libra as an open source code for developers interested in weaving it into apps, services or businesses ahead of a rollout as global digital money next year.

The nonprofit Libra Association based in Geneva will oversee the blockchain-based coin, maintaining a real-world asset reserve to keep its value stable.

The initiative has the potential to allow more than a billion "unbanked" people around the world access to online commerce and financial services at minimal cost, said Libra Association head of policy and communications Dante Disparte.

"We believe if you give people access to money and opportunity at the lowest cost, the way the internet itself did in the past with information, you can create a lot more stability than we have had up until now," Disparte told AFP.

Facebook will be just one voice among many in the association, but is separately building a digital wallet called Calibra.

"We view this as a complement to Facebook's mission to connect people wherever they are; that includes allowing them to exchange value," Calibra vice president of operations Tomer Barel told AFP.

"Many people who use Facebook are in countries where there are barriers to banking or credit."

But the move raised questions about how such a new money would be regulated.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said such digital money could never replace sovereign currencies.

"The aspect of sovereignty must stay in the hands of states and not private companies which respond to private interests," Le Maire told Europe 1 radio.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said Facebook's new currency would have to withstand scrutiny of its operational resilience and not allow itself to be used for money laundering or terror financing.

ING economists Teunis Brosens and Carlo Cocuzzo said in a research note it's not clear what Libra is or how it may be overseen.

"Given that Libra is not denominated in domestic currency, but reflects a currency basket, it is probably more like security," they wrote.

"This takes us right back to the discussion that has been haunting cryptocurrency for years: is it a security or something else?"

Backed by real cash 

Libra Association debuted with 28 members including Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, Kiva, PayPal, Lyft, Uber and Women's World Banking.

 Calibra is being built into Facebook's Messenger and WhatsApp with a goal of letting users send Libra as easily as they might fire off a text message.

Libra learned from the many other cryptocurrencies that have preceded it such as bitcoin and is designed to avoid the roller-coaster valuations that have attracted speculation and caused ruin.

Real-world currency will go into a reserve backing the digital money, the value of which will mirror stable currencies such as the US dollar and the euro, according to its creators.

"It is backed by a reserve of assets that ensures utility and low volatility," Tomer said.

The Libra Association will be the only entity able to "mint or burn" the digital currency, maintaining supply in tune with demand and assets in reserve, according to Barel.

"It is not about trusting Facebook, it is effectively trust in the association's founding organizations that this is independent and democratic," Disparte said.

New directions 

The launch comes with Facebook seeking to move past a series of lapses on privacy and data protection which have tarnished its image and sparked scrutiny from regulators around the world.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has promised a new direction for Facebook built around smaller groups, private messaging and payments.

The new Calibra digital wallet promises to eventually give Facebook opportunities to build financial services into its offerings, offer to expand its own commerce and let more small businesses buy ads at the social network.

"We certainly see long-term value for Facebook," Barel said.

Facebook said it will not make any money through Libra or Calibra but that it is seeking to "drive adoption and scale" before exploring ways to monetize the new system.

Financial information at Calibra will be kept strictly separate from social data at Facebook and won't be used to target ads, Calibra vice president of product Kevin Weil told AFP.

Libra will be a regulated currency, subject to local laws in markets regarding fraud, guarding against money laundering and more, according to Weil.

'Watershed' moment? 

According to Facebook and its partners, local currencies and Libra may be swapped at currency exchange houses or other businesses.

And the ubiquity of smartphones means digital wallets for Libra could make banking and credit card services and e-commerce available in places where they don't now exist.

Analyst and cryptocurrency investor Lou Kerner said Facebook's move has the potential to open the door for cryptocurrency to a wider public.

"What Facebook is really good at, is making things really simple to use," Kerner told AFP.

"And that's what is super exciting for the crypto industry, is somebody comes along who understands user experience and has billions of users that they can roll this out to."

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