MattKandler

Mrs.Gardner
English10H/Period4
11November2015

TheTyrannyofSocialMedia

Tyrannyisnotonlyseenintheformofaperson,itcanbeseenasasubconscious
actionthateasilyskimsourmindsaswell.Socialmedia,Instagram,Facebook,
Snapchat,areallamajorpartofthelivesofteensandadultsalike.Mostpeople,
however,donotrealizewhatadeadlyeffectthesepartsofourliveshaveonus
mentally.
Eachpictureweviewsubconsciouslytakesaterribletollonourminds.
(Alliteration)

Thedangeroustruthbehindthisseeminglygloriousformofsocializationisthe
constantsightofpeoplehavingfunandappearingtohaveperfectlives,whileinreality
youonlyseewhattheywantyoutosee.
Viewersofyourpagewanttoseetherealyou,
buttheykeepthemselveshidden.
(Antithesis)Thetruthis,socialmediamakes
everyonefeel,evenifitissubconscious,thatothershaveeverythinggoingbetterthan
youdobecauseyoucannotseeanynegativitytheyareexperiencing.
Doyoureally
wanttoliveinaworldwhereweonlyseehalfofapersonslife?
(Rhetoricalquestion)

Althoughsocialmediaisaratherrecentphenomenon,ithasquicklyfoundafirm
placeinthelivesofmany.Almostassoonasthesenewwaystocommunicatebegan,
peoplefoundwaystomaketheirlivesappearfarbetterthantheytrulywere.Photosof
parties,selfies,andmuchmoreofthelikefloodedthepages,creatingaconstantbattle
ofteensandadultstryingtoappeartobehavingthemostfunoftheirfriends.Asa
result,viewershavebecomeselfconsciousandhavelostconfidence,beingledto
believethateveryoneelsehasitbetterthanthem.(ReadersDigest)Ultimatelyallof
thesesocalledsocialplatformshavedoneisdisconnectedpeoplefromtruesociability
andreality.(Knight)

Thishowever,canchange.
(ShortSentence)

Friends,wecanreversethissocialdisconnectionquiteeasilyifweallworktogether.
(Directaddress)
Movingawayfromtheconstantselfabsorbedphotosandfocusingon
thebeautiesoflifesuchasnature,oryourhobbies,oryourfamily,oranythingelseyou
findinterestingwouldbeagreatfirststep.
(Polysyndeton)Thisprocesswouldhavea
dualpurposeofseparatingfromselfinflatingphotosandalsoshowingyour
acquaintanceswhoyoutrulyare.Anotherstepwouldbelesseningallofourtimeon
socialmedia.Evenjustcheckingafewtimeslessadaycouldbegintoshowyouthatit
isnotsuchanimportantpartofourlives.Weallcanlivewithlesstimecheckingour
snapchatstoriesandInstagramfeeds.Itwillgiveusmoretimefortrulyimportant

activities,aswellasmoretimetoreflectonwhoweareasindividualsandwherewant
togoinlife.

Thisplanmaybedifficultformanybecauseofhowlargeofapartoflifesocialmedia
hasbecome.
Somemayfindspendinglesstimeonsocialmediaunbearablesomemay
findspendinglesstimeonsocialmediaeasy.
(Anaphora)
Itisunderstandablethat
someprefertoviewwhattheirfriendsaredoingwhentheyaren'tthere,buttheconstant
viewingcanturneventhebestofusintojealouschildren.
(Metaphor)

Evenwiththesereasonsholdingsomeback,Iknowthatitispossibleforeveryoneto
distancethemselvesfromthisGoliathofaproblemthatissocialmedia.
(Allusion)With
timeandprogressionintomakingsocialmedialessofafocus,wecanallrealizethatit
isn'tsuchanimportantpartofourlives.Ifthisprocessissuccessful,wewillallbeable
tobemoretruetoourselvesandbecometrulysocialpeople.
Wemustreversethe
downwardpathsocialmediahasset!
(Imperative)
Togetherwemustreclaim
socialization,notletmodernsocializationclaimus
.(Chiasmus)

WorksCited
"5WeirdNegativeEffectsofSocialMediaonYourBrain."
ReadersDigest
.Liferich
Publishing,n.d.Web.17Nov.2015.
Knight,Righ."IsSocialMediaDrivingPeopleAwayFromRealInteraction?"
Innovation
Insights
.CondeNastDigital,20Sept.2013.Web.16Nov.2015.