Author: Evie (Page 3 of 4)

Effects of Social Media on Teenagers 

In recent years, social media use has significantly increased following the increased use of technological devices and the new development in the Information Technology sector. Different social networking sites continue to emerge day-by-day as the existing ones develop strategies to gain more users than their competitors. Recently, a platform like TikTok has gained many users as its users attempt to develop content to share with others on the site. I would like to research the effects of social media use among teenagers considering that they comprise a large population using social networking sites. The topic, “social media use,” is fascinating because I usually use Google to search its effects, especially on the younger population. I have heard stories about bullying, peer influence, cybercrime, and mental-related issues, such as stress, depression, and anxiety caused by the increased use of social media. Most of my friends, especially, below 20 years old with whom I interact within our neighborhood, spend most of their time on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, which always makes me sad. I would like to share the effects of spending more time on computers and phones, but I do not have sufficient information to share with them about the related effects. I would like to focus on the negative effects of social media on teenagers and approaches that can help address these challenges.  

The Fudge

Evie Althkefati

English 1121 O450

2/25/2022

The Fudge

Introduction

A word that a community I belong to uses mostly is the word fudge. Many think that they know the meaning of the word fudge but they do not. Under official circumstances, fudge is a word used to describe a type of candy that almost resembles chocolate. However, for the community that I belong to, it is a word used as a less offensive way of expressing the emotions one has. For example, we use the phrase “what the fudge” instead of “what the f**k” because the former is less offensive. Also, we may use the statement “the fudge” or only use the word “fudge” when expressing ourselves. After describing the community I belong to, the paper shows how the word fudge is used to hide offense as an alternative to the more offensive word that would have heads turning when used under several circumstances.

The Fudge

The community I belong to is that of youths who wish to express themselves but also want to remain cautious of what they say. The generation I live in is considered to have the highest level of exposure to knowledge at the moment. I am certain that in 200 years to come, that generation of youths will be 200 years more knowledgeable than we are at the moment. Therefore, the point to note is that we are knowledgeable because there is knowledge at our disposal, and we are not to blame for that. However, exposure to knowledge comes at a cost. Whereas we have become more educated from the knowledge we have, it has equally brought harm to us. As a friend of mine told me once while we were teenagers, there was nothing his parents could tell him about any topic that he did not already know.

Therefore, as a generation, we have absorbed both educational and destructive knowledge, and they all have positive and negative consequences in our lives. The youth community I belong to is the one that is aware of this fact, and tries its best to avoid destructive knowledge, whether in learning it or passing it to other people who are also being exposed to knowledge. For that reason, we try our best to avoid words that can be considered offensive. For the case where other youths or adults use the word b**ch, we use the word chick, and in the case where others use f**k, we use the word fudge. Fudge is only understandable by our community, unless it is used in contexts where individuals easily relate with them or when a member of our community has to explain the word to someone else. It is the same example with the word fuku used by Diaz. 

Fuku is a new word that remains unknown to the reader, and one only understands it after Diaz explains what the word means. As he describes, it is a curse of doom (Díaz, 2007). All through the text, where the curse comes from, and how it affected individuals who lived before.

Similarly, it is difficult for others outside the community I am in to know what the expression fudge means when they hear the word. At first, they always think that it means the candy that almost resembles chocolate, and they often misplace the word in accordance to the context being used. After an individual has had the word explained to them, it is common for them to nod their head in silence, and one is never certain what they are thinking. For those that hear the statement “what the fudge,” they always join the dots and make their conclusions about the subject.

The history of using the word fudge remains unclear. It cannot be pointed out that the community I belong to started using the word at a specific point in history. Like several other slang words, it could have been formed from its use in different parts of the world. However, I am certain that the word is not as old as many other words in English are. An example of a case when such a word was used and the person next to me did not understand it was late last year when several friends of mine and I had gone to watch football. We could not all sit on the same row, so we distributed ourselves on the different seats. I sat next to an older lady that I found there. When one of the team members that we were supporting was tackled and had the ball taken away from him, one of my friends behind me shouted “fudge.” The lady next to me tapped me and asked whether the word spoken was a lucky word. I did not want to be disrupted from watching the game, so I nodded and assured her that it was. Moments later, she was shouting “fudge!” This proved that she did not find the word offensive.

Conclusion

The word fudge is used in the community I belong to, and it is a less offensive word used in the place of a more offensive word. Statements such as “the fudge” or “what the fudge” make individuals easily understand the context in which the word is used together with its meaning. The community I belong to that commonly uses the word is that of youths who want to express themselves but they are also cautious of their language. Hence, we use terms that others will not find offensive. There are two conditions in which it becomes possible for someone who is not of our community to understand what the word means. The first is the context in which it is used. For example, when a member of our community says “what the fudge,” it becomes easier for an outsider to know because it is a phrase they can easily relate to. The other case is when a member of our community explains to them what the word means. Else, they cannot understand it. An example is an encounter I had with an older woman late last year when watching football, and she thought that the word is used to bring about luck. She did not find it offensive. Reference

Díaz, J., (2007). The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao. New York: 

Being Alright as a Youth

My name, Evie, has made me have preferential treatment in several cases, but it has not spared me from going through the challenges that other youths go through. I have only found preference when in situations that require one individual to receive preferential treatment over others, such as during cake-cutting ceremonies that were being given to individuals randomly. In several cases, I have been preferred because my name is close to Eve. On the other hand, I can relate with all the life challenges that other youths go through, and I can attest that childhood was a better stage of life than being a youth. As a youth, one is expected to be responsible and start taking care of themselves in ways that adults do, even though the resources at an individual’s disposal are not as sufficient as those that adults have. 

Growing up, my friends and I were expected to express ourselves less as we turned to be adolescents than we were expected when we were children. Teenage boys were told to always stop crying because they were becoming “big.” As for girls, I included, we were not told much about the need to stop crying but we saw how the adults around us gave less concern during such moments. My parents are the only older individuals who always seem to care for every problem I tell them. As for other older individuals, whenever I tell them my problem, they first weigh to see whether it is a problem I should be worried about. Those who find my problems to be minute from their perspective often tell me that it is part of life for adulting, and I need to deal with it as an individual.

Therefore, as a youth, I have learned to say that I am doing well even when I am not doing well, and I only tell the individuals close to me the details of my situation. Abdurraqib. (2016) gives a scenario in which individuals, in this case blacks, tell others they are alright because others do not care about their welfare. Blacks have a language amongst themselves when they are not okay, such as saying “I’m working on it” when asked about how they are. However, since others do not care about them, and in other cases, other groups of people want them dead, they have learned to say that they are fine under all circumstances.

From my end, too, I often feel like others care less about youths because of the expectations they have yet the situation of youths does not allow them to meet those expectations. Among my friends, we also have a coded language for times that we are not doing well. When asked how we have been, we are likely to say “I have just been,” and the next person understands that I have not been well. However, when someone who is not among my youth friends and is not my parent asks how I have been at such times, I always tell them that I have been alright, and we carry on with our interactions.