Nobody Like Me Analysis

From a few seconds to respond to a friend’s text, countless hours spent gramming, snapchatting, tweeting, posting on Facebook, pinning on Pinterest, and many other forms of social media, teenagers today are non-stop connected to their phones, laptops, tablets, computers, etc., creating or strengthening social bonds. Your social identity is very important today, and the mount of friends you have on facebook, or amount of retweets or likes you get are a sign of your social superiority. This paper aims to evaluate Melissa Healy’s use of rhetorical strategies, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, in “Teenage social media butterflies may not be such a bad idea.” Healy uses rhetorical appeals effectively in her causal argument about adolescents and social relationships teenagers have that deal in result to social media.

Social media is nothing, but a distracting, timewasting, nuisance to everyone surrounded by it, right? Wrong. Social media has changed the world as we know it. People can share information quickly, publish their thoughts, and exchange their ideas. Social media is becoming a certainty in this modern age, which is why it should be embraced rather than criticized. Although there is concern over potential for cyberbullying and lack of privacy, the use of social media is inevitable in teenagers’ lives, and necessary to the positive development of adolescents because it allows adolescents to gain confidence when interacting with others, it encourages users to create and maintain friendships, and it can facilitate learning while promoting educational growth.

Melissa Healy, a reporter of the Los Angeles Times, in the article Teenage Social Media Butterflies May Not Be Such A Bad Idea, claims that kids who spend lots of time on social media are not the least well-adjusted, but psychologically healthiest. Healy supports her argument by demonstrating how social media is beneficial to a teen’s health. According to a three-year Digital Youth Project, when teengars use social media, it helps them develop important social skills such as communication, grappling with social norms, and developing technical skills. Psychology professor Kaveri Subrahmanyam describes that teens behave the same between offline relationships and online ones, so most teens will use the internet safely. The author’s purpose is

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson reveals the invaluable aspect of remaining a “Nobody”—a person of little fame and stature. The poem examines the short monologue of a speaker as he or she confides with another “Nobody” and pities the life of a “Somebody”—a person with fame. The speaker finds the life of the famous boring; he or she finds being unrecognized much more comforting. This can be seen through the author’s varying tones in the first and second stanza: the first being more secretive, and the second being more pitiful. The secretive tone is present in the line “Don’t tell!” and brings about a sense of excitement as the speaker remains out of the public’s eye. In contrast to the excitement, the second stanza reveals the speaker’s viewpoint of the life of the recognized: it is mundane and “dreary” (Dickinson 838). The distinct contrast between the secretive tone and the mundane tone reveals why the speaker has a fondness towards being a “Nobody”: the life of a “Nobody” is—ironically—more exciting than the life of a “Somebody.” Another use of irony in “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” is the companionship found within being unrecognized versus the loneliness created from being famous. The speaker finds another “Nobody” to share his or her opinions with, stating that “there’s a pair of [them]” while being “Somebody” results in being a frog alone talking to an “admiring Bog” (Dickinson 838). The significance in this irony is that the speaker identifies the

Students are constantly checking their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat for the latest news. The article, “Social Media as Community,” written by Keith Hampton, indicates the average social network users had more intimate connections than those that did not. Social media allows people to connect with others from a variety of backgrounds. It gives people a chance from all over the country to connect with one another in seconds, instead of days. This gives students an opportunity to learn about different cultures and traditions, expanding their interests and knowledge. Teachers can take advantage of this and remind

Although running may not seem like a big sport like football, basketball or soccer, it takes a lot of courage, heart and strength to be able to run. In the article called “Cool like me” by Donnell Alexander he says, “cool is finding the essential soul, while being essentially lost”. When we feel stressed and feel like we want time for ourselves away from society, running is a solution. Running is not just considered a sport, running is a lifestyle that people choose to live. It makes them feel good, look good and it makes them happy.

Parents complain that teens are always on their phones and never out in the real world, but maybe if they weren’t “locked indoors, unable to get on their bicycles and hang out with their friends,” they could have the chance to mirror what they’re learning online, outside in the “real world” (Boyd). As Boyd puts it, “Social media and smartphone apps have become so popular in recent years because teens need a place to call their own. They want the freedom to explore their identity and the world around them.” If anything, being on social media is a safer way to make mistakes and learn from them before having to face harsher repercussions for them outside of the digital

Social media has been known to help students develop important knowledge and social skills. “At first glance this may seem like a waste of time; however it also helps students to develop important knowledge and social skills, and be active citizens who create and share content.” (Chen 3). The more time teens spend on social media the more they become aware of their own social side and how to interact with others, especially their peers. “Some types of social media has beneficial effects, like helping adolescents establish some sense of identity and build networking skills” (Riley Davis). Too much time being spent on social media can also exploit teens to some harsh realities that they’ve probably never experienced in their lives before.

Social Media Nowadays it is very unlikely to find a teenager that does not use social media. Social media is a way for young adults to keep in touch with their peers. Many teendagers do not use social media to harm their well-being, but some risky kids might.

Many adolescents consider social media as a way to belong in accordance with societal expectations. With the development of the first recognisable social media site, Six Degrees, in 1997, several other sensations have been created. This site enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with others, beginning the social media revolution. During its peak in the 2000s, social media’s prominence occurred with the creation of several popular sites.

The inauguration of online social spaces has influenced adolescents’ identity formation and development. Surfing on social networks, teens tend to use three main kinds of online identifications; true identity that is the same offline identity, pseudonymity which refers to the use of fake names, and anonymity which means full obscurity. (Donath, 1999) online social networking sites used among adolescents include Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, blogs, interactive computer games, and chat rooms. Adolescents think that online integration and acceptance in the previously mentioned online setting to be a sign of socialization and well being. (Slagter Van Tryon & Bishop, 2009) In a study conducted by Reich’s (2010) suggests that 25% of high school students and 21% of college students have experienced problems with friendships due to activity on social networking sites. The main

“Untitled” by Paul Kuczynski also contains satire, however the author of this portrait uses satire to depict the theme of isolation, instead of misery, poverty, ruin and neglect. This simple, yet thought provoking picture, shows a man looking through a periscope that is shaped like the Facebook symbol, to see through a window above an open door. The door is not barricaded in any way, shape or form, so the man is able to walk outside and see what is going on in the world first hand. Instead, he chooses to stay inside by himself and view the world through Facebook. Through “Untitled,” Kuczynski conveys the message that social media interaction is overtaking physical interaction. People are more likely to go on social media to find out what is happening than to go out and experience it themselves. Kuczynski’s painting greatly showcases that even in its simplicity.

In this modern era everyone is very into social media. Social media has become a part and parcel of everyone’s life. Even kindergarden students have at least a little knowledge on social media. Social media is defined as a relationship that exist between network and people. A very common and widely used example of social media would be web sites for social networking and microblogging. Examples of utmost used social networking sites are “ Facebook ˮ and “ Twitter ˮ. Nowadays coming across kids on social networking sites has become a norm. Social media is used for many purposes which are to exchange ideas, feelings, personal information, pictures and videos. Social networking sites is one of the most preferable medium for expressing

Even though social media isn’t only used for social interaction, it is an important aspect of adolescents’ lives. Social media provides an avenue for them to stay connected with peers they have met through school, sports teams, church, etc (Ito, 2008). Social networking can also help shy adolescents have a more non-threatening way to interact with peers because they aren’t interacting face-to-face (Rosen, 2011).

Instagram impacts user’s self-image and self-esteem. Young girls and boys are being shot down by users not liking their image, commenting, or even sharing one’s post. Americans check Instagram multiple times a day, because they are looking to see how many likes, or comments they get. If these users’ do not get a certain amount of likes that exceeds their expectations they think, “I’m I pretty enough?”, “is the picture taken well?”, or “does anyone like me?”. This breaks down young Americans emotional health and well-being. Americans today that use Instagram are commenting publicly about how their self-esteem was jeopardized because of this form of social media. For example, Michelle Linker states “I feel anxiety over how many likes I get after I post a picture. If I get two likes, I feel like, what’s wrong with me? Some people judge Instagram by deleting photos that don’t get enough likes” (Gajanan). This quote is an example of how Instagram effects user’s emotionally. Some users even check their “like” count multiple times a day once uploaded for