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By: Katie Daniels
Improvements and Accomplishments
As I reflect on the second half of the semester, I am pleased about the progress I have made. I have brushed up on old skills as well as learning new ones. Studying and annotating articles like, “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” has allowed me to fully understand the topic before simply writing about it. Playing Scrabble forced me to get out of my comfort zone and I have benefited as a result. Writing longhand allowed me to fully get into the writing the process and plan my ideas out. Studying captivating articles, playing Scrabble while collaborating with teammates, and writing longhand have all allowed me to improve my skills and become a better writer.
The article, “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” by Jeff Horwitz and others allowed me to get a deeper insight into the world of social media and its effects on mental health. They explained and asserted facts, statistics, and embedded narrative to explain the toxicity of Instagram in particular. Studying this article allowed me to sympathize with Anastasia Vlasova and understand startling statistics. Vlasova’s story resonated with me, and this article became the most important articles we have read as a class. While studying this article in class, I was able to make notes, highlight quotes, and read over the article which helped me understand the article on a deeper level. I was able to capture the information and fully understand it. This article was a key piece to writing my research project and allowed for a common theme throughout the essay. The article changed how I think about social media and introduced me to what someone can go through because of the toxic sites we all use so frequently.
Playing Scrabble and collaborating with teammates has allowed me to be more confident in my ideas. At first, I was nervous about expressing my ideas because I was afraid of rejection. Now I am more confident in my answers and my teammates, and I have come up with some great words like tibia, sucky, and zap. I have also learned the power that small words have over the game like zap which was worth 34 points. It feels so accomplishing when you play words you know and end up paying off. I am constantly learning from my partner and am so grateful for the collaboration. I have learned so much about voicing my ideas and compromising with my teammates. Now, I do not shy away from good words and tell my partner what I think about a word. To play the best word, I express my opinions and ideas to my partner. Playing Scrabble has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and showed how collaboration is so important to get the best result.
Writing longhand is such an important part of the writing process that I have learned to incorporate more in my writing process. When writing I would just wing it and hope for the best, but when I write my ideas out, I succeed. I now organize my ideas and it serves as a brain dump. When writing ideas, the “notebook can come to feel like a verbal sketch pad” (125). I can get all my ideas out which enables me to plan paragraphs, topic sentences, thesis, and even quotes. This gives me a plan when writing, so my writing is organized and has a clear point that I am trying to make. Writing longhand also allows me to catch when I repeat myself and has improved my writing tremendously. Learning to put this step into my writing process has improved my writing and given me a guide of the essay.
In conclusion, this class has taught me vital skills that will continue to help me throughout my college career. I have learned how important collaboration and compromise is through playing Scrabble. I also remembered the importance of writing and organizing my thoughts on paper before I start writing an essay. I have also learned to annotate and highlight the most important quotes. Picking out articles that are helpful and relevant has also extremely helped my writing process. Without this class, my writing would not be as well organized or concise. I now am confident in collaboration with others and my writing skills.
Works Cited
Horwitz, Jeff, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells. “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show.” Wall Street Journal, Sep 14, 2021. ProQuest, https://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.highpoint.edu/newspapers/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-teen-girls/docview/2572204393/se-2?accountid=11411.
“Writing on Computers vs. Writing on Paper.” Writing Analytically, 8th edition. Wadsworth/Cengage, 2019. pp. 124-25.
The Key to Success: Confidence
Throughout the course of ENG 1103 up to midterm, I have learned more about myself as a writer and a person. It is a collaborative heavy class working on expressing ideas to your group mates. As I have carried on in this class, I have learned to improve writing assertions, expressing my ideas to teammates, and collaborating with my partner to find the best word in Scrabble. When coming into this class, it was clear that to do well I had to speak up and voice what I thought was the right answer. It might have been hard for me at first, but now I voice my opinion and my classmates, and I are able to come to the right conclusion because of this. This class has helped me become a stronger writer and student because of assignments like Check, Please!, the blog, and playing and collaborating in Scrabble on Fridays.
When I first learned about the Check, Please! assignments I was not too pleased about doing them, but when doing them I found myself learning about topics I never would have known about otherwise. This starter course was designed by Mike Caufield to help students with fact checking sources to get the most reliable information possible. I have learned more about finding credible sources by adding Wikipedia to the end. This trick has helped me learn whether a site is credible or not and I have used it outside of this class for papers I have written. In my American Politics class, we are supposed to use news articles as backup in our essay and I have used the Wikipedia trick to make sure that news websites I am pulling from are reliable. Another topic learned in the Check, Please! assignments is the acronym SIFT. This is another tactic when investigating sources. These four actions within the acronym proposed by Caufield are called, “‘things to do” moves.’” This four-step process consists of (1) “Stop,” (2) “Investigate,” (3) “Find better coverage,” and (4) “Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.” As stated throughout the course, this process takes maybe five minutes of your time, but it can help so much when determining the reliability of the source. Now I have learned to practice this and have been able to find whether the sources I want to use are reliable or not.
Check, Please! also uses real word examples to explain how important fact checking is. Real world examples are very helpful to me, as I understand topic much better if I know the context. The story about Dylann Roof is the reason that I think these lessons are so important. Roof was a normal kid that was led down the wrong path of websites turning him into a killer. His algorithm of websites led him to extremist propaganda by radical conspiracy theorists’ websites. He never would have acted and killed nine people if not for him finding websites online that were not credible. This white supremacy, neo-Nazi group he found turned him into a person that he would not have been. This story about Roof really showed me just how much the internet can impact someone, and it is so important to fact check what you are reading.
Another way that I have become a better writer is by using our blog. This blog has helped me to practice informal writing while still staying on topic and expressing my story. I was able to talk about joining a sorority on campus which could encourage others to want to join to get a similar experience. This entry made me feel as though I had a voice and the power to change someone’s mind about the stereotypes of an organization, I am proud to be a part of. As our world is evolving, technology has become an extremely prevalent part. Now social media and marketing are so influential to people, so being able to write to that audience through the blog has helped me gain experience. I have social media, but not in a professional setting, so I am able to use that experience that I might need later in a workplace environment.
An advantage to the blogs is the speed at which you can communicate to an audience. With the tip of my fingers, I can reach a target audience and I do not even have to leave the classroom or even my dorm room. In the Writing Analytically textbook they express that, “it is easy to capture things quickly if you are writing on a computer” (124). This is so true and allows me to also reach an audience with information that I want to express. The method of blogs has also allowed me to write informally while still professionally. This is a hard task to learn, but very important in the workplace as well. When I know I am publishing my writing on the internet, I want to also do my very best because I never know who will see it. The blogs have encouraged writing to me because it is a more enjoyable way to write essays. Through the blogs, I have learned how to enjoy writing for an audience and even just for myself.
The game of Scrabble has taught me so much about how to collaborate with others, but also challenging me in what words to play and where to play them. At first, I was not super excited to play Scrabble because my mom used to crush me, so I felt that I would never be good at it. Mind you my mom is still the best Scrabble player I have ever met. Through this game though I was pushed out of my comfort zone to collaborate with my teammates. At first, I was nervous to give my idea for what word to play because I was afraid it was wrong, or my teammate would reject it. But after the first and second times playing, I knew that I had to voice my ideas and I was able to win because of it. I had passed up so many opportunities of great words in triple or double word because I feared rejection. The only thing that is worse than rejection to me is losing or knowing I could have done something about a situation. This pushed me to collaborate with my classmates and I was better off by doing this.
Through Scrabble I am also able to challenge my brain. I love trying to figure out how many combinations are available in 7 letters or less while figuring out where to play it in the best possible spot. I have also become more confident in my math skills which is something I never would have thought in an English class. This challenge is beneficial to me because even though sometimes it is very tough, I still can figure it out. This has made me more confident in my brain’s skills in general. Over spring break, I asked my mom, The Scrabble Master, to bring the game while on vacation to see if I had gotten better. We played 4 different times and I was able to beat her one of them, while giving her a big challenge with the others. For the first time, I was not discouraged after losing against her. I knew that she was challenged by me, and I was even able to block a word she would have played for 64 points. In that moment, I felt so accomplished all because of this class.
In conclusion, this class has already taught me so much and has made me feel more accomplished. I have learned a lot more about myself as a writer and collaborator. I have also learned more fundamental skills needed for writing as well. My brain has gotten stronger as well as my confidence in my abilities.
Works Cited
Caufield, Mike. Check, Please! Starter Course, 2021,
https://webliteracy.pressbooks.com/front-matter/updated-resources-for-2021/.
“Writing on Computer vs. Writing on Paper.” Writing Analytically, 8th edition.
Wadsworth/Cengage, 2019. pp. 124.
How 300+ Words Changed My Outlook on Writing
Throughout high school we were tasked to write the same dreadful papers about the same boring books. I never really enjoyed writing because I felt like I never got to express my feelings or views in our assignments. We were supposed to do the assignment the way the teacher wanted it done and then turn it in. There were rarely any points for opinions or how we feel about the world around us. Coming to college, I started writing about topics and papers I enjoy. For my history class, I was able to write about any topic within a 100-year period. For American Politics, we talk about political issues going on now and can voice our opinion if we can back it up. But my favorite class yet is Family Ethics. In this class we explore ethical perspectives that all correlate to the family, each topic more interesting than the last. Through this class we must read handouts and write at least 300 words about the topic before we talk about it in class. The goal of the assignment is for every student to get the knowledge of said topic before we even talk about in in class. Although this reading can sometimes be bothersome, the topics discussed always encourage me to want to read more.
We were tasked to write about feminism and let me just say I was not excited for this assignment. I thought it was going to go on and on about how women were better than men and that just is not how I think. This assignment really changed my outlook on what I thought feminism was. As part of our ‘readings’ we were to watch a TedTalk on feminism by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The writing prompt about what feminism is allowed for my outlook on the topic to change. I no longer was a woman that did not understand what feminism was. I felt powerful knowing about this cause because it called for supporting everyone’s fair treatment. Writing about this topic empowered me to educate more people on what feminism was and to not believe the biases that I had previously.
By taking notes as I watched the video, I gained a deeper insight and learned a lot of valuable lessons. My writing on the topic of feminism helped me gain insight into my writing style and way of thinking. In my writing, I became very passionate about describing why women’s equality is so vital to our society’s prosperity. Until I wrote about this prompt, I never thought of myself as a feminist. I might not have paid as close attention to this prompt if I had not been asked to write about it. Thanks to this class and the topics we cover, my writing has evolved into passion and knowledge. In the prompt, I was able to explain my points by stating facts provided and my own experiences. By doing so, I learned that I could be controlled and direct in my writing, while still making it enjoyable to read.
As I sit here writing this, I have a new outlook on writing papers. They have a purpose in college, whether 300 words or more or 1,000 words. My growth as a student and as a person has been enhanced by every paper I have written. The more I write about a topic, the clearer it becomes. As I write, I let my feelings about the subject out. Several of Adichie’s narratives enraged me due to the way she was treated. As I was writing about this, I felt upset how she was treated and passionate about the way she should have been treated. My fingers flew off the keys as I typed why I was now a feminist who supports equity for all. Through my writing, I felt as if I could educate the world around me. I was able to expound on my views using the resources given by my professor.
As an improved writer from this class, I feel that I have gained confidence in writing how I feel about controversial topics. Writing these short prompts has allowed my writing to grow into informative and opinionated pieces. I feel powerful when writing on these topics, as if I am educating millions about what these topics are, and not what they are perceived to be. 300+ words a week has completely changed my outlook on writing and the world, and I cannot wait for more.
Real Lives are Being Compared to Fake Lives
Social media is a form of internet-based communication that was created for users to interact and showcase their lives. Many people look at the Instagram lives of their peers and compare their entire life to their seemingly perfect life when it is anything but. They do not know the angle they used to take the picture, the editing software, or the behind the scenes of their life. The screen makes the people seem perfect when they are not and have their own struggles that people might not know about. Comparison is something that stems from social media when what they are comparing is not real or what they think it is. Social media can bring toxicity into the lives of anyone from teen girls, children in general, and content moderators. Social media can affect teens especially in ways that older generations might not understand because of what teens can see online. Teens can now see their friends’ going places with others and not inviting them or the celebrities with the perfect body. Social media allows for more subjection to hurtful material for teens and content moderators. Social media affects the mental health of people using for recreation or people working for the companies themselves because of the culture, toxicity, and comparison surrounding social media.
Teen girls are seeing fake and edited bodies and it is causing more harm than good. In an interview with Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively explains that almost every single time you see a celebrity through social media or other forms of media they have been edited (Bruner). Lively even states that she will express distaste in the way she looks, and the editors say that they will “fix it” (Bruner). Celebrities, although they might not have control, are edited in certain ways to fix the way they look even without their permission. Lively expresses the importance against comparison because it is fake, and people can edit what they look like (Bruner). Celebrities have access to personal trainers, dieticians, gyms, healthy foods, and the other resources needed to stay in shape healthily. Comparing what is online only allows for mental health to be affected negatively and most of the time the pictures are not real.
These edited photos of celebrities and influencers negatively affect the mental and physical well-being of teen girls. Kayleen Schaefer asserts, “With endless ways to digitally delete a pimple or an out-of-place hair in a selfie, why would you let your followers see the real you?” (Schaefer). She makes a valid point too, why would you not want to edit your pictures to fit your desired body. This ability to change what you look like to fit a beauty standard became the norm. Teen girls especially were modifying their bodies to fit this perfect idea in their mind that does not exist and will cause nothing but harm. Anastasia Vlasova is just one example of where these edited bodies caused her mental health and physical health to decline (Horwitz et. al. p.1). She developed an eating disorder because she saw these unattainable bodies and fitness regimens that influenced her eating habits and choices. Social media widely influences and effects the lives of many especially teen girls like Vlasova. People “share only the best moments” and have a “pressure to look perfect” which causes mental health to be affected negatively through developing eating disorders, depression, and body dysmorphia (Horwitz et. al. p.3).
Many teens are also struggling with eating disorders because of the unrealistic bodies they are constantly seeing on social media. 20 years ago, the altered photos of celebrities were only in magazines, but now it is just a few clicks away (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). The comparison of your body to another is extremely common because it is so readily available. Crazy diets that are extremely unhealthy are also very easy to find through social media, which does not promote body positivity at all. Social media allows for access to diets that are restrictive and harmful to teens which can lead to an eating disorder that Vlasova experienced when she was 13 (Horwitz. et. al. p.1).
Another factor that teens are experiencing is FOMO. Teens might experience “FOMO-fear of missing out” because of seeing what their friends are doing. Many might feel bad that they were not invited or thought of which can lead to depression and self-doubt (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). Teens might also start to compare their lives towards others because of the amount of likes they got versus the other person, for example. The McClean Hospital informs that, “The earlier teens start using social media, the greater impact the platforms have on mental health.” (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). Children are more subjective and malleable to the harsh realities that come along with social media, so the longer they wait to get on the apps the better for self-esteem and mental and physical health overall. When social media did not exist, people did not know if they were not invited, but now it is plastered all over their page; they cannot get rid of it. FOMO can cause many emotions to be stirred up because it hurts when you are not included and do not know why. Teens can spiral into thinking that they are not good enough or that they were forgotten. Now, teens are experiencing a declining mental health because of what other people are putting out about themselves.
Social media sites are a factor in suicides and depression among teens. Angela Guarda is the director for eating disorders at Johns Hopkins Hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins (Horwitz. et. al. p.5). Guarda estimates that “social media apps play a role in the disorders of about half her patients” (Horwitz. et. al. p.5). Middle schoolers are also going through an awkward stage of puberty and are extremely sensitive to the models and what their peers are doing (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). They are much more susceptible to being hurt by their friends not inviting them places or seeing the model with the perfect body whenever they open the app. Overtime these can affect the way these teens see themselves leading to long term mental health effects. Social media can make teens feel as though they are not good enough. Suicide rates have gone up and some of the cause leads to social media, specifically Instagram (Horwitz. et. al. p.1).
Many social media companies know the effects that their viewers encounter but choose to do nothing about it. Jeff Horwitz, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells assert, “Facebook has consistently played down the app’s negative effects on teens and hasn’t made its research public or available to academics or lawmakers who have asked for it” (Horwitz. et. al. p. 1). Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, asserted that the “app’s effects on teen well-being is likely ‘quite small’” (Horwitz. et. al. p. 2). The company of Facebook and Instagram is not acknowledging the lasting effects that many teens are experiencing because of these apps. Instagram has become the app for the younger generations as almost half of “Instagram’s users are 22 years old and younger” (Horwitz. et. al. p. 1). The purpose of Facebook and Instagram was to allow people to connect and share their lives with their friends. This purpose has now negatively affected the lives of teens especially. The app is now doing more harm than good for the mental health of teens and the app is not willing to acknowledge this.
However, teens are the only ones effected negatively. The people that work for these social media companies are also subjected to threats to their mental health. Content moderators are people who remove harmful content before it reaches the people online. They are subjected to extremely disturbing and vulgar material that can cause long-term effects to their mental health. Beckett describes the examples of content they are subjected to daily including, “depictions of violent death-including suicide and murder- self harm, assault, violence against animals, hate speech, and sexualized violence” (Beckett). Companies like Facebook are not providing the proper mental health resources that these moderators might need. While the public is not subjected to these detrimental images, these content moderators need the mental health resources that many companies are lacking to cope with their job. Selena Scola was a content moderator for Facebook and had to leave the company after developing PTSD from the thousands of images she was subjected to daily (Beckett). She feels that she was not given the proper the resources needed to maintain good mental health while doing her job (Beckett). Financial factors like low pay are additional reasons of why workers cannot take time off for their mental health (Beckett). Social media not only affects users but the people trying to make it a safe space.
Content moderators are subjected to harsh material every day which caused some employees to quit. Facebook employees were forced to quit because of the lack of breaks and respect for their mental health. A former content moderator, Josh Sklar, explained his unimaginable workplace environment (Messenger and Simmons). Sklar explained how he received very little time for breaks and worked at least “6 hours a day” (Messenger and Simmons). Sklar was finding out procedures that were put into place or not enforced that made him question what he was doing. Sklar “spoke out internally against a policy update that allowed images of animal mutilation to go online, unflagged for months” (Messenger and Simmons). All content moderators had “10 minutes a day for “wellness time”” which is not healthy for anyone experiencing harsh content repeatedly. Facebook denied these allegations and ended up in a lawsuit, paying content moderators $52 million who had developed mental health issues due to the workplace. Content moderators are also extremely subjected to the harsh realities of social media.
In conclusion, social media affects everyone. Content moderators developed PTSD and other mental health disorders because of the harsh workplace environment. Teens are affected through comparison of a sliver of someone’s life to every crevice of theirs. Teens are also developing body image issues and becoming depressed because of the toxicity that surrounds sites like Instagram. FOMO also makes teens feel like outcasts and doubt their sense of self. Peers might post pictures and others might feel left out or forgotten by friends. Teens are already trying to learn their sense of self and social media is only hindering it. Mental health is so important for everyone to be aware of and take care of. Social media, although was made for good, is only hindering teens and their mental health. Teens are going onto social media and seeing friends not inviting them, unattainable bodies, and fake lives. Social media should be promoting real life and connections with friends. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are trying to cover up their treatment of their employees as well as their effects on teens. Content moderators were not receiving the time they needed to cope with heartbreaking images. Content moderators could not take time off because they need the money to take care of themselves or their families. Social media affects the lives of everyone and is unhealthy for mental and physical wellbeing.
Works Cited
Beckett, Jennifer. “We Need to Talk about the Mental Health of Content Moderators.” The Conversation, 27 Sept. 2018. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/LOKOOZ482182821/OVIC?u=hpu_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=2bd548d9. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.
Bruner, Raisa. “Blake Lively Says ‘99.9%’ of Celeb Images Are Photoshopped.” Time, Time, 11 Apr. 2018, https://time.com/5236384/blake-lively-photoshop-gigi-hadid-interview/.
Horwitz, Jeff, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells. “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show.” Wall Street Journal, Sep 14, 2021. ProQuest, https://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.highpoint.edu/newspapers/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-teen-girls/docview/2572204393/se-2?accountid=11411.
Messenger, Haley, and Keir Simmons. “Facebook Content Moderators Say They Receive Little Support, despite Company Promises.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 11 May 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/facebook-content-moderators-say-they-receive-little-support-despite-company-n1266891.
Schaefer, Kayleen. “Girls Are Taking Drastic Measures to Achieve the Perfect Instagram Snap.” Teen Vogue, 20 Oct. 2015. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/ZDPKRV953665122/OVIC?u=hpu_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=9326d8a9. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.
“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.” Here’s How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health | McLean Hospital, McClean: Harvard Medical Affliate, 21 Jan. 2022, https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health.
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By: Katie Daniels
As I reflect on the second half of the semester, I am pleased about the progress I have made. I have brushed up on old skills as well as learning new ones. Studying and annotating articles like, “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” has allowed me to fully understand the topic before simply writing about it. Playing Scrabble forced me to get out of my comfort zone and I have benefited as a result. Writing longhand allowed me to fully get into the writing the process and plan my ideas out. Studying captivating articles, playing Scrabble while collaborating with teammates, and writing longhand have all allowed me to improve my skills and become a better writer.
The article, “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” by Jeff Horwitz and others allowed me to get a deeper insight into the world of social media and its effects on mental health. They explained and asserted facts, statistics, and embedded narrative to explain the toxicity of Instagram in particular. Studying this article allowed me to sympathize with Anastasia Vlasova and understand startling statistics. Vlasova’s story resonated with me, and this article became the most important articles we have read as a class. While studying this article in class, I was able to make notes, highlight quotes, and read over the article which helped me understand the article on a deeper level. I was able to capture the information and fully understand it. This article was a key piece to writing my research project and allowed for a common theme throughout the essay. The article changed how I think about social media and introduced me to what someone can go through because of the toxic sites we all use so frequently.
Playing Scrabble and collaborating with teammates has allowed me to be more confident in my ideas. At first, I was nervous about expressing my ideas because I was afraid of rejection. Now I am more confident in my answers and my teammates, and I have come up with some great words like tibia, sucky, and zap. I have also learned the power that small words have over the game like zap which was worth 34 points. It feels so accomplishing when you play words you know and end up paying off. I am constantly learning from my partner and am so grateful for the collaboration. I have learned so much about voicing my ideas and compromising with my teammates. Now, I do not shy away from good words and tell my partner what I think about a word. To play the best word, I express my opinions and ideas to my partner. Playing Scrabble has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and showed how collaboration is so important to get the best result.
Writing longhand is such an important part of the writing process that I have learned to incorporate more in my writing process. When writing I would just wing it and hope for the best, but when I write my ideas out, I succeed. I now organize my ideas and it serves as a brain dump. When writing ideas, the “notebook can come to feel like a verbal sketch pad” (125). I can get all my ideas out which enables me to plan paragraphs, topic sentences, thesis, and even quotes. This gives me a plan when writing, so my writing is organized and has a clear point that I am trying to make. Writing longhand also allows me to catch when I repeat myself and has improved my writing tremendously. Learning to put this step into my writing process has improved my writing and given me a guide of the essay.
In conclusion, this class has taught me vital skills that will continue to help me throughout my college career. I have learned how important collaboration and compromise is through playing Scrabble. I also remembered the importance of writing and organizing my thoughts on paper before I start writing an essay. I have also learned to annotate and highlight the most important quotes. Picking out articles that are helpful and relevant has also extremely helped my writing process. Without this class, my writing would not be as well organized or concise. I now am confident in collaboration with others and my writing skills.
Works Cited
Horwitz, Jeff, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells. “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show.” Wall Street Journal, Sep 14, 2021. ProQuest, https://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.highpoint.edu/newspapers/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-teen-girls/docview/2572204393/se-2?accountid=11411.
“Writing on Computers vs. Writing on Paper.” Writing Analytically, 8th edition. Wadsworth/Cengage, 2019. pp. 124-25.
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By: Katie Daniels
Social media is a form of internet-based communication that was created for users to interact and showcase their lives. Many people look at the Instagram lives of their peers and compare their entire life to their seemingly perfect life when it is anything but. They do not know the angle they used to take the picture, the editing software, or the behind the scenes of their life. The screen makes the people seem perfect when they are not and have their own struggles that people might not know about. Comparison is something that stems from social media when what they are comparing is not real or what they think it is. Social media can bring toxicity into the lives of anyone from teen girls, children in general, and content moderators. Social media can affect teens especially in ways that older generations might not understand because of what teens can see online. Teens can now see their friends’ going places with others and not inviting them or the celebrities with the perfect body. Social media allows for more subjection to hurtful material for teens and content moderators. Social media affects the mental health of people using for recreation or people working for the companies themselves because of the culture, toxicity, and comparison surrounding social media.
Teen girls are seeing fake and edited bodies and it is causing more harm than good. In an interview with Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively explains that almost every single time you see a celebrity through social media or other forms of media they have been edited (Bruner). Lively even states that she will express distaste in the way she looks, and the editors say that they will “fix it” (Bruner). Celebrities, although they might not have control, are edited in certain ways to fix the way they look even without their permission. Lively expresses the importance against comparison because it is fake, and people can edit what they look like (Bruner). Celebrities have access to personal trainers, dieticians, gyms, healthy foods, and the other resources needed to stay in shape healthily. Comparing what is online only allows for mental health to be affected negatively and most of the time the pictures are not real.
These edited photos of celebrities and influencers negatively affect the mental and physical well-being of teen girls. Kayleen Schaefer asserts, “With endless ways to digitally delete a pimple or an out-of-place hair in a selfie, why would you let your followers see the real you?” (Schaefer). She makes a valid point too, why would you not want to edit your pictures to fit your desired body. This ability to change what you look like to fit a beauty standard became the norm. Teen girls especially were modifying their bodies to fit this perfect idea in their mind that does not exist and will cause nothing but harm. Anastasia Vlasova is just one example of where these edited bodies caused her mental health and physical health to decline (Horwitz et. al. p.1). She developed an eating disorder because she saw these unattainable bodies and fitness regimens that influenced her eating habits and choices. Social media widely influences and effects the lives of many especially teen girls like Vlasova. People “share only the best moments” and have a “pressure to look perfect” which causes mental health to be affected negatively through developing eating disorders, depression, and body dysmorphia (Horwitz et. al. p.3).
Many teens are also struggling with eating disorders because of the unrealistic bodies they are constantly seeing on social media. 20 years ago, the altered photos of celebrities were only in magazines, but now it is just a few clicks away (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). The comparison of your body to another is extremely common because it is so readily available. Crazy diets that are extremely unhealthy are also very easy to find through social media, which does not promote body positivity at all. Social media allows for access to diets that are restrictive and harmful to teens which can lead to an eating disorder that Vlasova experienced when she was 13 (Horwitz. et. al. p.1).
Another factor that teens are experiencing is FOMO. Teens might experience “FOMO-fear of missing out” because of seeing what their friends are doing. Many might feel bad that they were not invited or thought of which can lead to depression and self-doubt (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). Teens might also start to compare their lives towards others because of the amount of likes they got versus the other person, for example. The McClean Hospital informs that, “The earlier teens start using social media, the greater impact the platforms have on mental health.” (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). Children are more subjective and malleable to the harsh realities that come along with social media, so the longer they wait to get on the apps the better for self-esteem and mental and physical health overall. When social media did not exist, people did not know if they were not invited, but now it is plastered all over their page; they cannot get rid of it. FOMO can cause many emotions to be stirred up because it hurts when you are not included and do not know why. Teens can spiral into thinking that they are not good enough or that they were forgotten. Now, teens are experiencing a declining mental health because of what other people are putting out about themselves.
Social media sites are a factor in suicides and depression among teens. Angela Guarda is the director for eating disorders at Johns Hopkins Hospital and an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins (Horwitz. et. al. p.5). Guarda estimates that “social media apps play a role in the disorders of about half her patients” (Horwitz. et. al. p.5). Middle schoolers are also going through an awkward stage of puberty and are extremely sensitive to the models and what their peers are doing (“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.”). They are much more susceptible to being hurt by their friends not inviting them places or seeing the model with the perfect body whenever they open the app. Overtime these can affect the way these teens see themselves leading to long term mental health effects. Social media can make teens feel as though they are not good enough. Suicide rates have gone up and some of the cause leads to social media, specifically Instagram (Horwitz. et. al. p.1).
Many social media companies know the effects that their viewers encounter but choose to do nothing about it. Jeff Horwitz, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells assert, “Facebook has consistently played down the app’s negative effects on teens and hasn’t made its research public or available to academics or lawmakers who have asked for it” (Horwitz. et. al. p. 1). Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, asserted that the “app’s effects on teen well-being is likely ‘quite small’” (Horwitz. et. al. p. 2). The company of Facebook and Instagram is not acknowledging the lasting effects that many teens are experiencing because of these apps. Instagram has become the app for the younger generations as almost half of “Instagram’s users are 22 years old and younger” (Horwitz. et. al. p. 1). The purpose of Facebook and Instagram was to allow people to connect and share their lives with their friends. This purpose has now negatively affected the lives of teens especially. The app is now doing more harm than good for the mental health of teens and the app is not willing to acknowledge this.
However, teens are the only ones effected negatively. The people that work for these social media companies are also subjected to threats to their mental health. Content moderators are people who remove harmful content before it reaches the people online. They are subjected to extremely disturbing and vulgar material that can cause long-term effects to their mental health. Beckett describes the examples of content they are subjected to daily including, “depictions of violent death-including suicide and murder- self harm, assault, violence against animals, hate speech, and sexualized violence” (Beckett). Companies like Facebook are not providing the proper mental health resources that these moderators might need. While the public is not subjected to these detrimental images, these content moderators need the mental health resources that many companies are lacking to cope with their job. Selena Scola was a content moderator for Facebook and had to leave the company after developing PTSD from the thousands of images she was subjected to daily (Beckett). She feels that she was not given the proper the resources needed to maintain good mental health while doing her job (Beckett). Financial factors like low pay are additional reasons of why workers cannot take time off for their mental health (Beckett). Social media not only affects users but the people trying to make it a safe space.
Content moderators are subjected to harsh material every day which caused some employees to quit. Facebook employees were forced to quit because of the lack of breaks and respect for their mental health. A former content moderator, Josh Sklar, explained his unimaginable workplace environment (Messenger and Simmons). Sklar explained how he received very little time for breaks and worked at least “6 hours a day” (Messenger and Simmons). Sklar was finding out procedures that were put into place or not enforced that made him question what he was doing. Sklar “spoke out internally against a policy update that allowed images of animal mutilation to go online, unflagged for months” (Messenger and Simmons). All content moderators had “10 minutes a day for “wellness time”” which is not healthy for anyone experiencing harsh content repeatedly. Facebook denied these allegations and ended up in a lawsuit, paying content moderators $52 million who had developed mental health issues due to the workplace. Content moderators are also extremely subjected to the harsh realities of social media.
In conclusion, social media affects everyone. Content moderators developed PTSD and other mental health disorders because of the harsh workplace environment. Teens are affected through comparison of a sliver of someone’s life to every crevice of theirs. Teens are also developing body image issues and becoming depressed because of the toxicity that surrounds sites like Instagram. FOMO also makes teens feel like outcasts and doubt their sense of self. Peers might post pictures and others might feel left out or forgotten by friends. Teens are already trying to learn their sense of self and social media is only hindering it. Mental health is so important for everyone to be aware of and take care of. Social media, although was made for good, is only hindering teens and their mental health. Teens are going onto social media and seeing friends not inviting them, unattainable bodies, and fake lives. Social media should be promoting real life and connections with friends. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram are trying to cover up their treatment of their employees as well as their effects on teens. Content moderators were not receiving the time they needed to cope with heartbreaking images. Content moderators could not take time off because they need the money to take care of themselves or their families. Social media affects the lives of everyone and is unhealthy for mental and physical wellbeing.
Works Cited
Beckett, Jennifer. “We Need to Talk about the Mental Health of Content Moderators.” The Conversation, 27 Sept. 2018. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/LOKOOZ482182821/OVIC?u=hpu_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=2bd548d9. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.
Bruner, Raisa. “Blake Lively Says ‘99.9%’ of Celeb Images Are Photoshopped.” Time, Time, 11 Apr. 2018, https://time.com/5236384/blake-lively-photoshop-gigi-hadid-interview/.
Horwitz, Jeff, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells. “Facebook Knows Instagram is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show.” Wall Street Journal, Sep 14, 2021. ProQuest, https://libproxy.highpoint.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.libproxy.highpoint.edu/newspapers/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-teen-girls/docview/2572204393/se-2?accountid=11411.
Messenger, Haley, and Keir Simmons. “Facebook Content Moderators Say They Receive Little Support, despite Company Promises.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 11 May 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/facebook-content-moderators-say-they-receive-little-support-despite-company-n1266891.
Schaefer, Kayleen. “Girls Are Taking Drastic Measures to Achieve the Perfect Instagram Snap.” Teen Vogue, 20 Oct. 2015. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/ZDPKRV953665122/OVIC?u=hpu_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=9326d8a9. Accessed 19 Apr. 2022.
“The Social Dilemma: Social Media and Your Mental Health.” Here’s How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health | McLean Hospital, McClean: Harvard Medical Affliate, 21 Jan. 2022, https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health.
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By: Katie Daniels
Throughout high school we were tasked to write the same dreadful papers about the same boring books. I never really enjoyed writing because I felt like I never got to express my feelings or views in our assignments. We were supposed to do the assignment the way the teacher wanted it done and then turn it in. There were rarely any points for opinions or how we feel about the world around us. Coming to college, I started writing about topics and papers I enjoy. For my history class, I was able to write about any topic within a 100-year period. For American Politics, we talk about political issues going on now and can voice our opinion if we can back it up. But my favorite class yet is Family Ethics. In this class we explore ethical perspectives that all correlate to the family, each topic more interesting than the last. Through this class we must read handouts and write at least 300 words about the topic before we talk about it in class. The goal of the assignment is for every student to get the knowledge of said topic before we even talk about in in class. Although this reading can sometimes be bothersome, the topics discussed always encourage me to want to read more.
We were tasked to write about feminism and let me just say I was not excited for this assignment. I thought it was going to go on and on about how women were better than men and that just is not how I think. This assignment really changed my outlook on what I thought feminism was. As part of our ‘readings’ we were to watch a TedTalk on feminism by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The writing prompt about what feminism is allowed for my outlook on the topic to change. I no longer was a woman that did not understand what feminism was. I felt powerful knowing about this cause because it called for supporting everyone’s fair treatment. Writing about this topic empowered me to educate more people on what feminism was and to not believe the biases that I had previously.
By taking notes as I watched the video, I gained a deeper insight and learned a lot of valuable lessons. My writing on the topic of feminism helped me gain insight into my writing style and way of thinking. In my writing, I became very passionate about describing why women’s equality is so vital to our society’s prosperity. Until I wrote about this prompt, I never thought of myself as a feminist. I might not have paid as close attention to this prompt if I had not been asked to write about it. Thanks to this class and the topics we cover, my writing has evolved into passion and knowledge. In the prompt, I was able to explain my points by stating facts provided and my own experiences. By doing so, I learned that I could be controlled and direct in my writing, while still making it enjoyable to read.
As I sit here writing this, I have a new outlook on writing papers. They have a purpose in college, whether 300 words or more or 1,000 words. My growth as a student and as a person has been enhanced by every paper I have written. The more I write about a topic, the clearer it becomes. As I write, I let my feelings about the subject out. Several of Adichie’s narratives enraged me due to the way she was treated. As I was writing about this, I felt upset how she was treated and passionate about the way she should have been treated. My fingers flew off the keys as I typed why I was now a feminist who supports equity for all. Through my writing, I felt as if I could educate the world around me. I was able to expound on my views using the resources given by my professor.
As an improved writer from this class, I feel that I have gained confidence in writing how I feel about controversial topics. Writing these short prompts has allowed my writing to grow into informative and opinionated pieces. I feel powerful when writing on these topics, as if I am educating millions about what these topics are, and not what they are perceived to be. 300+ words a week has completely changed my outlook on writing and the world, and I cannot wait for more.
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By: Katie Daniels
Throughout the course of ENG 1103 up to midterm, I have learned more about myself as a writer and a person. It is a collaborative heavy class working on expressing ideas to your group mates. As I have carried on in this class, I have learned to improve writing assertions, expressing my ideas to teammates, and collaborating with my partner to find the best word in Scrabble. When coming into this class, it was clear that to do well I had to speak up and voice what I thought was the right answer. It might have been hard for me at first, but now I voice my opinion and my classmates, and I are able to come to the right conclusion because of this. This class has helped me become a stronger writer and student because of assignments like Check, Please!, the blog, and playing and collaborating in Scrabble on Fridays.
When I first learned about the Check, Please! assignments I was not too pleased about doing them, but when doing them I found myself learning about topics I never would have known about otherwise. This starter course was designed by Mike Caufield to help students with fact checking sources to get the most reliable information possible. I have learned more about finding credible sources by adding Wikipedia to the end. This trick has helped me learn whether a site is credible or not and I have used it outside of this class for papers I have written. In my American Politics class, we are supposed to use news articles as backup in our essay and I have used the Wikipedia trick to make sure that news websites I am pulling from are reliable. Another topic learned in the Check, Please! assignments is the acronym SIFT. This is another tactic when investigating sources. These four actions within the acronym proposed by Caufield are called, “‘things to do” moves.’” This four-step process consists of (1) “Stop,” (2) “Investigate,” (3) “Find better coverage,” and (4) “Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.” As stated throughout the course, this process takes maybe five minutes of your time, but it can help so much when determining the reliability of the source. Now I have learned to practice this and have been able to find whether the sources I want to use are reliable or not.
Check, Please! also uses real word examples to explain how important fact checking is. Real world examples are very helpful to me, as I understand topic much better if I know the context. The story about Dylann Roof is the reason that I think these lessons are so important. Roof was a normal kid that was led down the wrong path of websites turning him into a killer. His algorithm of websites led him to extremist propaganda by radical conspiracy theorists’ websites. He never would have acted and killed nine people if not for him finding websites online that were not credible. This white supremacy, neo-Nazi group he found turned him into a person that he would not have been. This story about Roof really showed me just how much the internet can impact someone, and it is so important to fact check what you are reading.
Another way that I have become a better writer is by using our blog. This blog has helped me to practice informal writing while still staying on topic and expressing my story. I was able to talk about joining a sorority on campus which could encourage others to want to join to get a similar experience. This entry made me feel as though I had a voice and the power to change someone’s mind about the stereotypes of an organization, I am proud to be a part of. As our world is evolving, technology has become an extremely prevalent part. Now social media and marketing are so influential to people, so being able to write to that audience through the blog has helped me gain experience. I have social media, but not in a professional setting, so I am able to use that experience that I might need later in a workplace environment.
An advantage to the blogs is the speed at which you can communicate to an audience. With the tip of my fingers, I can reach a target audience and I do not even have to leave the classroom or even my dorm room. In the Writing Analytically textbook they express that, “it is easy to capture things quickly if you are writing on a computer” (124). This is so true and allows me to also reach an audience with information that I want to express. The method of blogs has also allowed me to write informally while still professionally. This is a hard task to learn, but very important in the workplace as well. When I know I am publishing my writing on the internet, I want to also do my very best because I never know who will see it. The blogs have encouraged writing to me because it is a more enjoyable way to write essays. Through the blogs, I have learned how to enjoy writing for an audience and even just for myself.
The game of Scrabble has taught me so much about how to collaborate with others, but also challenging me in what words to play and where to play them. At first, I was not super excited to play Scrabble because my mom used to crush me, so I felt that I would never be good at it. Mind you my mom is still the best Scrabble player I have ever met. Through this game though I was pushed out of my comfort zone to collaborate with my teammates. At first, I was nervous to give my idea for what word to play because I was afraid it was wrong, or my teammate would reject it. But after the first and second times playing, I knew that I had to voice my ideas and I was able to win because of it. I had passed up so many opportunities of great words in triple or double word because I feared rejection. The only thing that is worse than rejection to me is losing or knowing I could have done something about a situation. This pushed me to collaborate with my classmates and I was better off by doing this.
Through Scrabble I am also able to challenge my brain. I love trying to figure out how many combinations are available in 7 letters or less while figuring out where to play it in the best possible spot. I have also become more confident in my math skills which is something I never would have thought in an English class. This challenge is beneficial to me because even though sometimes it is very tough, I still can figure it out. This has made me more confident in my brain’s skills in general. Over spring break, I asked my mom, The Scrabble Master, to bring the game while on vacation to see if I had gotten better. We played 4 different times and I was able to beat her one of them, while giving her a big challenge with the others. For the first time, I was not discouraged after losing against her. I knew that she was challenged by me, and I was even able to block a word she would have played for 64 points. In that moment, I felt so accomplished all because of this class.
In conclusion, this class has already taught me so much and has made me feel more accomplished. I have learned a lot more about myself as a writer and collaborator. I have also learned more fundamental skills needed for writing as well. My brain has gotten stronger as well as my confidence in my abilities.
Works Cited
Caufield, Mike. Check, Please! Starter Course, 2021,
https://webliteracy.pressbooks.com/front-matter/updated-resources-for-2021/.
“Writing on Computer vs. Writing on Paper.” Writing Analytically, 8th edition.
Wadsworth/Cengage, 2019. pp. 124.
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By: Katie Daniels
Blogs 
Term Papers In the New York Times Article, “Blogs vs. Term Papers,” by Matt Richtel, Richtel relays opinions of highly educated and qualified individuals to inform readers on this topic. Duke English professor Cathy N. Davidson wants to do away with term papers completely and only focus on blogs. According to Douglas B. Reeves, a columnist for the American School Board Journal, students can gain an advantage by writing papers since they’re using critical thinking. In the classroom, Andrea A. Lunsford, a Stanford English professor, uses both when appropriate. William H. Fitzhugh, founder of Concord Review, believes that more reading needs to be done because writing has gotten worse. All extremely qualified and bright individuals, each with a slightly different opinion on whether blogs or term papers should be assigned more in the classroom. Throughout this piece Richtel takes on the role of asserting each argument and ideas from these experts. Matt Richtel composes a piece of writing asserting the claims of Davidson, Reeves, and Lunsford about how they feel on the topic of blogs versus term papers through emotive language, rhetorical questions, and embedded narrative.
Throughout the article, vivid language is used to really capture the emotion behind each person’s argument. Matt Richtel starts the article off strong characterizing how students feel about the term paper saying it brings out, “angst, profanity, procrastination and caffeine consumption”. The students are forced to write a term paper that causes difficult emotions and Richtel allows them to have their voices heard. Richtel also characterizes the term paper by asserting that the term paper has a “rigidity and boredom” to it. Students feel that the term paper has no use and causes an array of emotions that can be avoided if the term paper was eliminated. By Richtel using this negative language, the readers can grasp that the students do not like the term paper because of the stress it causes. Richtel can convey how much the students despise it through the strong, emotive words that he uses.
Furthermore, Davidson agrees with the students by feeling it is a waste of time. Davidson’s views have caused students to “rejoice” because she “eradicate[d]” the term paper from her class. She believes that the blog is more with what students are going to be writing in; “the digital era”. Without their knowledge of writing catered toward digital platforms like the blog, students might not be a prepared for what they will experience later. The use of these strong words allows the readers to understand that Davidson is the students’ savior. Richtel conveys that her students are ecstatic about the stress-free environment because the term paper is no longer require in her class. The word “rejoice” brings out the positive emotion the students are feeling because of Davidson’s choice. Richtel uses vivid language to really convey the emotions of the students which helps the readers of his article to decide if blogs or term papers are better.
However, some feel that Davidson and the students polled are wrong in their opinion of the term paper arguing strongly against eliminating the term paper. Defenders of the term paper believe that it “fails sorely” to teach students about critical analysis. The use of this negative language shows how some are very against the idea. They believe the blog does not allow for students to think critically and write an analysis on an assigned topic, so in turn Richtel uses vocabulary to showcase that strong emotion to the readers. Fitzhugh expressed, “Writing is being murdered”. He believes that writing has gone downhill, so much so he uses the profane word of murder. This vulgar language choice fully encapsulates the strong views that Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh is in the exact opposition of Davidson and the students asked. Fitzhugh believes that even more work should be added to the students’ plate by having them read more and write lengthy papers often, so they are used to the difficult task. The students would in turn be used to the long papers and not have those feelings of “angst” that Richtel had stated earlier. This vulgar language expressed by Fitzhugh as well as other defenders of the term paper show the strong emotions each party feels about the highly debated topic.
Richtel also incorporates rhetorical question to show that these respected people are still questioning the ‘right’ answer or trying to prove their side because there is no ‘right’ answer. Davidson doesn’t see anything wrong with her views. She questions the use of term papers saying, “Pointedly, why punish with a paper when a blog is, relatively, fun?”. When Davidson is asking these questions, she is trying to get support by explaining her thought process. By posing this question she is getting people to see her point of view. Davidson wants her students to do well, but also doesn’t believe school should be a punishment. She also poses another question explaining the benefits of the blog including “instant feedback”, “feeling of relevancy”, and an “audience”. These questions give the readers time to really think about her view and why she feels the way she does about the term paper.
Richtel poses a question himself, “why not just bypass the blog, too, and move right on to 140 characters about Sherm[a]n’s M[a]rch?” This question gives readers the chance to question if the blog is really doing anything at all or should they just not use it all together. As Davidson stated in the other paragraph, the blog gives students a chance to critique and comment to each other. This sentence really causes the readers to need to pause and decide if Davidson’s argument is credible.
Lunsford poses, “‘Will we need to keep the 15-page paper forever or move right to the new way?’” She is posing this question more for herself than anyone else. She believes that it might take longer than someone like Davidson would like, since the term paper seems to be working still. This causes readers to wonder along with Lunsford if the term paper will be eliminated and the blog will emerge.
Richtel incorporates a more in depth look in Davidson’s life using embedded narrative. Davidson was kicked out of her writing program for her “more extreme position” on the term paper. She now tutors at community college where she still sees the “rigid structure” that she was advocating against. She felt as though she could not move away from the structure given since it was so “rigid”. She felt that she was teaching him “bad writing,” but could not fix the situation. Davidson’s views are ones that will take time to incorporate into the academic world. This embedded narrative gives readers a look into the difficulty of integrating the blog more. Although Davidson’s student was writing a paper, he was not bettering his writing because of the restrictions he faced. Davidson wants to portray to the readers that it does not matter the length, it depends on the way they are writing and the content. Although her student was writing a long paper, he was not gaining anything from it. Richtel incorporated this narrative to explain more in depth why Davidson is advocating against the term paper.
In conclusion, many of these well-versed individuals have differing opinions about blogs vs. term papers, but they all use the same devices to convey their point across. These distinguished individuals have different arguments, but they convey them similarly. Davidson and Fitzhugh are in opposition, yet they use emotive language to get their point across. Through the uses of these literary devices Richtel allows the readers to understand the experts better. Richtel allows the readers to make their own informed opinions without swaying them one way or another. The topic, blogs vs. term papers is still relevant and debatable today even ten years after the article was written. Modern ways of schooling have become especially prevalent since COVID-19 hit. The schools had to change the way they taught their students because of switching to online schooling. Going online helped students learn from home since students and teachers could not be in person. These knowledgeable individuals might have different opinions because of the pandemic.
Works Cited
Richtel, Matt. “Blogs vs. Term Papers,” The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2012,
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Hello! My name is Katie Daniels and I am a freshman at High Point University where I am taking English 1103-05. I am from Huntsville, Alabama. I am studying elementary education with a minor in graphic design.
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bid day 
cowboy mixer 
bid day At High Point University, I decided to rush a sorority. I was nervous at first, but I knew that this would help me to make friends who had similar interests as I did. Throughout this process I met some amazing people and ran home. I became an Alpha Chi Omega at the university. Rush did not start the first week of school, so I knew two other girls that I had run home with. After initially running home, I had meetings and events to go to which made me so busy that I forgot about missing home. I began to meet the amazing people that I had wanted to meet. Through this experience, I have gained so much confidence and so many genuine friendships. I have met some of my absolute best friends who, I know as cheesy as it sounds, will be my bridesmaids.
formal 
initiation/big little 
formal
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