RAB Source Entry 1 – Sindy J.

Research Question:

  “How does social media affect a young girl’s image of herself?”

Proposal:

This topic interests me because when I got my first phone in middle school, I looked at celebrities and compared myself to them because they were perfect. This made me focus on all my flaws, which created insecurities in me. Social media can make you see all those insecurities just because you don’t look like the people defined as perfect. I already know that social media can be a very negative space for young girls. Cyberbullying can ruin a young girl’s confidence by bringing up new insecurities just because someone mentioned it. Social media is also a deceiving space because many celebrities have had surgeries done or use filters to change their appearances and post them online. Some points that I plan to explore and find out more about are how many young girls started using social media at a young age, and how it affects how they see themselves.

Part 1: MLA Citation

Milmo, Dan, and Clea Skopeliti. “Teenage Girls, Body Image and Instagram’s ‘Perfect Storm.’” The Guardian, 18 Sept. 2021. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/18/teenage-girls-body-image-and-instagrams-perfect-storm

Part 2: Summary

            In the news article “Teenage Girls, Body Image and Instagram’s ‘Perfect Storm’, ” Dan Milmo and Clea Skopeliti tell us that young girl’s confidence is being affected at the most crucial time in their life by social media’s negligence of their harmful content. According to the writers, a leak to the Wall Street Journal exposed that Instagram was the cause of over 40% of its users that began to gain insecurities because of the app. The writer’s information is backed up by a professor of social psychology named Sonia Livingstone, that most young girls get these apps in their adolescence which causes harm to their development because it can interfere with their interests and way of thinking. The writer emphasizes that 40% of girls from 11 to 16 years old are affected by what is posted on social media. The writer mentions that the app’s algorithm for everyone’s explorer page also feeds into the problem because if they see some harmful content one time, the algorithm will make sure to keep showing more when someone is on the app. The writer concludes by mentioning Beeban Kidron, part of the joint committee for the bill, and Ofcom, the UK communications security, will make sure that the online safety bill will be the solution. They will focus on regulating the algorithm to avoid harmful content and that kids should also be educated on what they choose to see because they are always on the internet. 

Part 3: Reflection

This article makes us understand how social media doesn’t care for how young girls are being affected. I remember in high school, going into Instagram or TikTok and seeing videos of what I eat in a day, meal plans, and people saying there is a certain way you must look to be pretty. All those what I eat in a day and meal plans will have the smallest portions of everything and sometimes it would tell you to only eat 1 or 2 times a day. I would go into the comment section and a bunch of girls would say how they’re going to do it or that they got results doing this and encourage others to do so. Other things I’ve come across are people in the comment section criticizing how the person looks just for the fun of it. Some people on social media are vulgar and inconsiderate of what they do because it can seriously get someone mentally and physically ill. It doesn’t help how social media doesn’t stop these kinds of harmful content from being spread to young girls or anyone for that matter.

Part 4: Rhetorical Analysis

The genre of this source is a news report. The purpose is to inform about the dangers of social media on young girls. The author’s writing style is factual. The audience is the general public. The writer’s persuades the audience using a logical tone and logos to back up her claims. The writer’s use pathos by including Emily’s experience with social media and how it affected her heavily mentally and physically. Dan Milmo is a global technology editor for The Guardian. Clea Skopeliti is a London-based freelance journalist who has a diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists. The Guardian is the second-most-read online newspaper in the UK. It also has news websites in the US, Australia and Europe. The Guardian has several millions of daily readers. 

Part 5: Notable Quotables 

“The leaked research pointed to the app’s Explore page, where an algorithm tailors the photos and videos that a user sees, potentially creating a spiral of harmful content.” (Milmo and Skopelit)

“Emily started using Instagram when she was in her mid-teens and found it helpful at first. She used the photo-sharing app to follow fitness influencers, but what began as a constructive relationship with the platform spiralled into a crisis centred on body image. At 19 she was diagnosed with an eating disorder.” (Milmo and Skopelit)

“…more than 40% of Instagram users who said they felt “unattractive” said the feeling began while using the app.” (Milmo and Skopelit)

““As part of their duty of care, companies will need to mitigate the risks of their algorithms promoting illegal or harmful content, particularly to children. Ofcom will have a range of powers to ensure they do this, including the ability to request information and enter companies’ premises to access data and equipment.” (Milmo and Skopelit)

“‘We, parents, educators, politicians need to equip our young people with the tools, the analytical skills to make healthy choices for themselves. Because they will get access to whatever they want to. They are better at navigating the online world than we are.’” (Milmo and Skopelit)