Today’s young adults live a life caught between two worlds: the physical realm of human interaction and the digital universe that sits just a mouse click away. This is an age in which entire relationships are formed over online digital platforms, and a single person’s opinion can be broadcasted worldwide in a matter of milliseconds. Lately, the freedom of expression that social media has given young adults has provoked interesting behavior among users of such social media platforms as Facebook and Twitter. The term “slacktivism” was coined as far back as 1995 by Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark as an expression of doing something in support of an issue or cause that requires minimal personal effort (Kain, 2012), and is now used to describe this new behavior; where everyday activists have taken their causes to the Web in search of exposure and support, and users have found a passive way to support the causes that they claim to believe in. Every day, hundreds of new slacktivist-oriented pages and videos sprout up across Facebook and Twitter, and slacktivist supporters rush to “like” the cause and pass it along to other friends in their network. This, however, is not the only form of slacktivism. It is also evidenced in the statuses of the numerous members of the Facebook and Twitter community. The role of the “status update” and the “tweet” has evolved from reporting a person’s physical activities, into a platform for launching whatever propaganda a user deems worthy of sharing with his or her social media community. It would seem that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are providing users with a false sense of ego, and that this – in turn – has contributed to the monumental rise of slacktivism and consequential degradat...
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The essay by technology reporter for the New York Times, Jenna Wortham, titled, “It’s Not about You, Facebook. It’s about Us” discusses the idea that Facebook has helped shape emotions and now leaves its users emotionless. Although Wortham brings in several sources she does not support these sources with statistics and her personal feelings stand in the way of getting her main points across. In addition, she has a weak conclusion that leaves readers trying to grasp the actual message that Wortham is attempting to convey. Wortham fails to effectively support her thesis that society feels that it can not live without facebook.
Malcolm Gladwell, a published author and staffed writer for The New Yorker since 1996, argues in his article “Small Change” that social media will not have a great impact on social change, and might even be demolishing the necessary tools that high-action activism has always been reliant on. Gladwell attempts to speak out to warn our current technological society, specifically to the young adults who frequent social media more than other ages. Gladwell highlights an event from 1960 when four college women from North Carolina A. & T. were denied service because of their race, and turned to protest as they sat at the lunch counter, refusing to move. The movement of sit-ins spread and grew until eventually seventy thousand students across the South were united in protest, without the use of technological communication. He focuses on the idea that this protest, like many others before the use of social media, was formed on the idea of strong bonds between real friendships, and not just loose relationships between acquaintances. But if we were to combine the key concepts Gladwell highlights that are needed within protests
In Clayton Pangelinan’s essay, “Social Networking: Why It’s Really So Popular”. She gives insight to how people crave social interaction whether it be in person or online. Pangelinan explains how everyone wants to feel acknowledged and connected. Although it is true that social media is used to fulfill a need for validation, it does not mean that everything one does on social media is not genuine. When utilized positively social media can play a huge part in developing social movements.
Fife’s article discusses the importance of pop culture, particularly Facebook, in the study of contemporary literature. Instead of shunning Facebook as inferior to scholarly texts she praises it for the affect it has on a user’s rhetorical analytical skills and the complexity between individual profiles. Fife, a professor, explains the experience her students have during an assignment in which they must analyze Facebook profiles. Even her tech savvy millennials are apprehensive about this assignment because “[Facebook] is just a straightforward communication tool.” (Fife, 558) However they began to realize how
Jacob Silverman’s writing documents the significant price that users of social media pay for their constant online connection. Silverman argues that people have left the Silicon-Valley companies to take not only charge of their lives but also shape their behaviors. Moreover, Silverman looks at how social media has destroyed people’s lives; while people pretend to be happy on social media, the reality is that they are indeed unhappy in real life situations. He argues his ideas on the destruction of social media in a total of thirteen chapters that range from the ideology of social media to social media rebellion. The other section includes the notion of engineered to like, ‘pics, or it didn’t
Corvese argues that although slacktivism allows the public to be informed of an issue it does little to help the cause. Slacktivism is known to be a “Satisfying and convenient for the individual to show concern for an issue, those in need of support received little benefit” (Corvese 600). Pictures through social media informs viewers about current topics but the likes and shares that the viewer has provided no benefit to the cause. Although a minority of people don’t help the cause that they share over social media the majority in reality do. Thanks to research people know that those who claim they support an organization through social media are just as likely to donate to that cause as people who don’t. In addition, they are also twice as likely to donate their time to the cause compared to those who don’t proving that slacktivism is not just a lazy form of advocacy but an effective form to garner support from the
“One day recently, Cynthia Newton’s 12-year-old daughter asked her for help with homework, but Newton didn’t want to help her, because she was too busy on Facebook. So her daughter went upstairs to her room and sent an e-mail asking her for help, but Newton didn’t see the e-mail, because, well, she was too busy on Facebook.” This unusual action, by a is from one of typical moms in this nation is excerpted from an article titled, “Five Clues…Facebook” from CNN. As the social networks system have s become rooted into our society, people have become way different from the past. As soon as Facebook came out in the world,When Facebook appeared, people were fascinated by it, and it grew as theinto the most massive, powerful social network that connects the wholein the world. Since the birth of Facebook, a majority of people became so addictive to it [D1] as Newton acted; so, what draws people into Facebook? What makes them click on the “News feed” button in every five minutes? I would like to ask a broader question: Why are people fascinated by and dependent on social media, and what is its role and impact on us?
A new age has developed and society is altering to adapt to new forms of technological communication. Through the use of the vast Internet through the use of social networking, image boards, blog sites and news media, society is altering in a way never seen before. Over the past couple of decades, the use of the Internet has expanded and grown exponentially as new technology develops. Since the introduction of social networking as well as alternative news media sites, the way people interact and communicate has altered. New ideas and discussions have been created. With all of this freedom granted with easy access, society might take advantage of the ability to speak freely as an anonymous source. The personal obsession with imagery is lost because the users of the Internet are judging based on a screen name and nothing more. The ability to have an alternate persona allows users a freedom of speech and thought never granted before and can be erased and created with only a few clicks. We see that true opinion and reasoning among society varies on the anonymity of the commenter, where as one is more likely to be more holistic and honest if their imagery isn’t entirely threatened by the judgment of their peers, but because of many networking sites, individualism is lost; specifically, society’s lack of expression of true free thought and in reality because of social constraints.
With the rise of social media within the past few decades, it has become an important aspect of everyone’s lives more than ever. Everyday, million and millions of people are engaged in some sort of social media. They spend countless hours texting, calling, or just browsing the internet to look up some random stuff. Social media plays an important role in how everyone live their daily lives; as whatever exposure the social media shows influence anyone. Social media dictates what individuals should and shouldn’t do; it is able to pressure anyone to follow the “norms” set up by the society through social media.
Rainie, Smith, Schlozman, Brady, and Verba (2012) present that social media is starting to become a feature of political and civil engagement for many Americans. Rainie concludes this finding from analyzing a survey that asked users about civic engagement using social networking sites like Twitter. They found that 60% of American adults use social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, 39% of them have done at least one of eight civic or political activities with social media. The demographic that uses social media for civic activities the most were younger social media users that ranged from age 18-29 years old. They concluded from the survey that younger users were more likely to post their own thoughts about issues and encourage others to take political action while older users were more likely to stay
In addition to this primary source, a variety of articles that discuss the use of rhetoric on social media, as well as the use of social media in a political context, will be addressed. Many articles may discuss social media and its implications on society, and privacy, but fewer deliberate the effects social media may have on impacting citizen’s political perspectives. The use of language on social media, especially in younger generations, tends to be rudimentary and as a result may not be adept at representing the issue. This tends to leave the discussion open to personal interpretation and often leads to misinformation. By looking at the use of rhetoric on social media in general, as well as the use of social media for political discussion, I intend to develop and support this theory.
We live in a world that has become addicted and dedicated toward social media and it is driving America’s youth into the ground. Teenagers and adults are so wrapped up in social media that is runs their lives every day. Constantly people are checking their phones for the latest on social networks. They have to see pictures, tweets, statuses, comments, likes, and the list goes on and on. Social media is becoming the focus point in the modern American society that it is beginning to control people’s social skills, communication skills, and their livelihood.
The correlation between the development of youth and social media has become blatant. Although few of the consequences are favorable, the majority have displayed a negative impact. The drive social media can implement on youth is exceptional. The pressure and strain social media can place on our youth is an enduring force which leads individuals to question themselves as a person and feel inclined to fit a norm expressed in media and social media of our society. The underlying force social media can play in the lives of the youth is astonishing and is a force that must be dealt with and controlled, for it not only holds the power to give an individual strength, but also to break them down.
The influence of social media becomes less attractive as it creates an outlet for Millennials to become self-absorbed and self-conscious about achieving perfection. For example, the viral popularity of a graduation speech called, “You Are Not Special” which directed students to “Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so that the world can see you” serves as a justification of this criticism (qtd in Stein). Millennials “want constant approval,” but also enjoy believin...