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Rogerian Argument Final Draft
Principles of English Composition II (ENGL 1213)
University of Oklahoma
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Rogerian Argument Final Draft Social media is the sole cause of many people’s mental illnesses, and various other problems, though it will unfortunately remain this way until people take action and decide that the only way to change this issue is to find out what exactly is causing the issue to be so large, and how to stop it. Many people today who use social media and technology, mainly adolescent teens, struggle with eating disorders and other illnesses such as anxiety and depression. This stems from seeing famous influencers and models bodies that are seen as the optimal, but are usually unnatural, though many young girls wish to look exactly like they do, creating eating disorders, and body dysmorphia. Social media and technology overall is a very dangerous game to play, and is overall bad for ones health. On the other hand, many articles state that social media has the potential to provide some benefits, such as increasing self-esteem and social support. This topic has been hotly debated for many years, and continues to be debated as social media platforms increase throughout the years. Social media seriously harms one’s mental health, and while it may propose some benefits, the cons outweighs the pros in the end. A large problem in society today happens to be with social media, and the amount time children spend on it. Not only that, but the effects of the media take a toll on people of all ages, but especially young men and women. Young women especially tend to see unrealistic body images throughout social media, which can develop into eating disorders. “Individuals begin to constantly compare themselves to thin models, their peers, as well as famous social media users and begin to feel inadequate about their own self-image” (Gleissner). This issue does not just appear, but it becomes an issue when people provide their children with the ability to use social media at too young of an age. Children and teens start to develop eating disorders that most
adults have never experienced according to research such as, ”Estimates based on the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) definitions suggest lifetime prevalence by age 20 of approximately 0% for anorexia nervosa (AN), 2% for bulimia nervosa (BN), 3% for binge eating disorder (BED), and 11% for feeding or eating disorder not elsewhere classified (FEDNEC)” (Sidani). In other words, eating disorders are on the rise, and the main factor causing them to occur is none other than the rapidly growing trap that is social media. One truth about the how the eating disorder process begins is stated by author Susan Bordo, of “The Globalization of Eating Disorders”. She states that, “it is images, too, that teach us how to see, that educate our vision in what’s a defect and what is normal, that give us the models against which our own bodies and the bodies of others are measured” (Bordo 641). With the credibility of Bordo’s writing, the readers are able to fully trust her facts, since she did the research herself. Another fact provided by, Anne Morris and Debra Katzman states that “Staggering statistics reveal that, on average, a child or adolescent watches up to 5 h of television per day ( 7 ) and spends an average of 6 to 7 h viewing the various media combined ( 6 )” (Katzman & Morris). One of the many reasons individuals are not in favor of social media is due to the fact that it can cause mental illnesses such as body dysmorphia, and depression, as well as anxiety, and can even develops in young children. Children are engaged in plenty of media each day, and some might believe it is too much. Many believe that social media is progressing, and if that is the case, it will be difficult to change what has been implicated already. But as people of flexibility and optimism, we can change the viewpoint into a positive standpoint and try to focus on the good coming out of the media, and in turn, find a way to hold hack images that may cause eating disorders to arise.
the overall health of the users. Both sides may be willing to compromise when it comes to creating an overall limit to the amount of time one can spend on social media. Another area where the two sides can compromise is that social media does have the ability to help users connect with old and new friends and help connect with extended family. Both sides can also agree with the fact that too much time spent on social media can make communication more difficult for users who try and communicate with the outside world when they are used to communicating through a screen. Overall, there are many opportunities for both sides to compromise, though the topic is vastly debated, and will most likely remain that way. There are numerous solutions that can be proposed in order to fix this issue, but the only way for these solutions to actually work, is if people go through with them and actually give them a try. For example, parents and social media apps in general can limit the amount of time people are able to spend on the apps. In fact, there is already a way to set screen time on apple devices, which involves setting a limit through the settings app on the phone. “This will show you how to set a simple time limit on all social media apps and social networking usage on an iPhone or iPad by using the Screen Time feature” (How to Limit Social Media Use on IPhone & IPad with Screen Time). This will help with the conversational skills of the users, while also giving them the chance to use the media, and connect with friends and family. Another solution would be to create an age limit for young users, in order to teach them all the conversational skills they need to know before they can have the privilege to use social media freely. Doing this would result in the increased amount of practice for real conversational skills, and hopefully a smaller percentage of children with social anxiety in the future. Finally, people can limit body dysmorphia and other disorders such as anxiety and depression by following more accounts that are dedicated to self-love, and more positively oriented accounts, rather than model accounts, or
pages that promote one certain body size as being the primal body type. All these solutions and more have the potential to help those who struggle with various mental illnesses such as body dysmorphia, depression, and anxiety, that most likely stems from social media and technology addiction. The topic of whether social media is harmless or harmful will continue to be a hotly debate as long as social media and technology exists, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If people begin to follow the ideas stated in this text, the mental illness rates, especially in adolescents will surely decrease. If users just so much as limit their time on social media, they still get some time on the apps, while also possibly avoiding future mental health issues and struggling with body dysmorphia. There are multiple ways to compromise, and realize that the media is harmful, so the best way to handle it is in small doses. Social media seriously harms one’s mental health, and while it may propose some benefits, the cons outweigh the pros in the end.
Works Cited Bordo, Susan. “The Globalization of Eating Disorders.” The McGraw-Hill Reader, by Gilbert H. Muller, McGraw-Hill, 2014, pp. 639–642. Gleissner, Greta. “Social Media and Its Effect on Eating Disorders.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 10 May 2017, huffpost/entry/social-media-and-its-effect-on-eating- disorders_b_591343bce4b0e3bb894d5caa. “How to Limit Social Media Use on IPhone & IPad with Screen Time.” OS X Daily, 13 Dec. 2018, osxdaily/2018/12/13/limit-social-networking-use-screen-time-ios/.
Rogerian Argument Final Draft
Course: Principles of English Composition II (ENGL 1213)
University: University of Oklahoma
