Pop Culture Essay

Nowadays social media is popular, and almost every person uses it. According to statistics the percentage of 18-24 years old who already use social media is 98% (Social Statistics) (2). Even though social media like Facebook or Twitter is very helpful, and is used by every country, but some people argue that it is very unhelpful and even more these people say that social media corrupts society and corrupts values. In this essay I am going to explain why social media is helpful. Social media help people to stay connected with each other; people become informed, and social media is good since it reinvented social activism.

According to an article published by The Economist “Those who have resisted the urge to join Facebook will surely feel vindicated when they read the latest research. A study just published by the Public Library of Science, conducted by Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan and Philippe Verduyn of Leuven University in Belgium, has shown that the more someone uses Facebook, the less satisfied he is with life”. Moreover, “Past investigations have found that using Facebook is associated with jealousy, social tension, isolation and depression. But these studies have all been ‘cross-sectional’—in other words, snapshots in time. As such, they risk confusing correlation with causation: perhaps those who spend more time on social media are more prone to negative emotions in the first place. The study conducted by Dr Kross and Verduyn is the first to follow Facebook users for an extended period, to track how their emotions change.

But if you see from another perspective there is nothing perfect in the world. Scientists make research and statistics about people, but we all know that “unhappy” isn’t just about one factor. People unsatisfied with their lives or the way they live is for many reasons. Who knows that thanks to social networks some people opened their eyes and saw life different from before? As a person in favor of social networks my point is that these networks marked a new phase in the world. People are more connected to each other and obviously with all these new instruments not everyone can be happy. As an illustration, I am a Facebook user. I feel great being part of social networks since I stay close to my family, friends, and relatives even living in other continent. As I said before I cannot deny that problems exist, and there are people in the world being unhappy because social networks, but nothing in the world is perfect. Imagine the world without social networks; everything in the world changes and transform, and people have to become part of it, moreover get used to it. The big change from the 20^th century is all about technology; people are connected with each other more than ever before. New instruments were created for the world’s improvement, and social networks are part of these instruments.

George W. Hunt, a famous blogger, posted in his blog that Facebook corrupt our society (1). He argues that since Facebook there are no privacy at all; moreover, he claims that every word posted in this social media is stored. And of course someday that information could be used against him and everyone who using Facebook. Moreover, George W. Hunt says that this network is very dangerous, and it is leaded by powerful institutions which don’t care about human’s rights. These people want humans under their complete and constant control through Facebook.

According to this view, social networks corrupts our society because there are no privacy, furthermore, people should know how far go with social networks. Users have to set limits on how much information they put on them. Networks are just tools of innovation, change, etc. People are agent of corruption. If we talk about morality we can see that even religious groups have joined social networks, because they have accepted the fact that communication is changing and everyone has to be in it. For example the Pope joined Twitter. Pope Francis gives messages through Twitter.

It’s needless to say that social networks help people to stay connected with each other. In almost every country people use social network. Thanks to these networks people not just learned what globalization means, moreover people is part of globalization. These social networks help citizens to connect with each other in real time. Back in time people who traveled had to wait days to call, and tell their family that they are okay; maybe some people didn’t know about their families in a long period of time, but now we can say that thanks to these networks people stay together  in real time. I have seen people in my country who didn’t want to learn how to use a computer, but since they know that they can be in touch with their relatives they decided to join. I can give you thousands of examples to convince you about social networks are very helpful for our society. My own view is that everyone could certainly benefit from social networks. Though I concede that not everyone is happy with these tools of communication, and I still maintain that setting the limits on how much information users put in these sites could be for the enjoy of everyone. For example, old people joining these sites mean for me that it is really helpful. Although some might object that with social networks privacy has been stole; I would reply to these people: limit the information you put in social networks. This issue is very important because social media makes us stay connected with each other.

Besides than religious groups we have seen the magazines, channels, TV programs, everything is in the social networks. Once you have an account on these sites, you are informed. Users are not just informed about other users, but you can see  news, articles, stock market etc. We are in a time when these sites are not just social sites to keep people connected, besides, these sites turned into platforms. Once I enter to my Facebook account, for example, I see everything which I am interested in; I see news from my country, from my city, from my College. Here is a short story: I was about to drive all over to Annandale campus to take my Placement test, so before get out from home I checked my Facebook, and I found out that there was a power outage, yet all activities were suspended. This is a clear example of social networks give us information in real time, and this is why is very helpful.

Social activism is one of the better things which social networks gave us back. Nowadays social activism is reinvented. People are getting organized defending good causes. The spread of information is very easy with these networks. Social networks gave us a social change.

In the article “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell, a Canadian journalist, states in his article “The world, we are told, is in the midst of a revolution. The new tools of social media have reinvented social activism. With Facebook and Twitter and the like, the traditional relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier for the powerless to collaborate, coördinate, and give voice to their concerns. When ten thousand protesters took to the streets in Moldova in the spring of 2009 to protest against their country’s Communist government, the action was dubbed the Twitter Revolution, because of the means by which the demonstrators had been brought together.”

I couldn’t express much better with these lines. The social network is becoming an essential tool nowadays since people are making their voice heard. The connection between governments and citizens had become very close. Citizens are protesting things which aren’t good for them.  This is an important reason why I strongly believe social networks are very helpful in people coming together.

            As a conclusion on one hand I recommend to users of social networks to set limits of how much information they put in these sites, because as George W. Hunt states, all the information on social networks is stored, and that information could be used against users. There are people being unhappy because social networks, but sounds radical to say that social networks is bad for our society when these tools of innovation gave us good things like better communication, and gave us back social activism.

Works Cited

"Facebook Is Bad for You: Get a Life!" The Eonomist. The Economist Magazine, n.d. Web.

Facebook Is Corrupt and Dishonest. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"George Washington Hunt: Facebook Is Corrupt and Dishonest." George Washington Hunt:

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker (2010).

"Social Networking Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Works Consulted

Atlas, James. "Get a Life? No Thanks. Just Pass the Remote." The New York Times (2013).

Bissell, Tom. Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. Vintage, 2010.

Crystal, David. "2b or not 2b." The Guardian (2008).

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker (2010).

Johnson, Steven. "Watching TV Makes You Smarter." The New York Times (2005).

Stevens, Dana. "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box." Slate (2005).

Audience

This essay is for my naysayer, and my classmates, and Professor Denny

Purpose

My purpose is to influence my opinion over my audience.

Role

I am in the role of College student.

Thesis

Why social media is helpful. Social media help people to stay connected with each other; people become informed, and social media is good since it reinvented social activism. 

Why college Debt is worth it.

Professor: Denise 

Gamal 

Over the last ten years we have seen an increase in student loans; because of this we also have seen many discussions of whether if it is worth taking a loan for a higher education. Words like college-debt scare many students since they are worried about the decisions have made, these people see college debt as one more problem in their life and they argue that there is no sense to take a loan for higher education. They believe that after college it will be difficult to find a job, and pay their bills, and even more for a debt for their higher education. However, college debt is the risk that some people have to take in order to reach their goals. For the truth is that most people with a college degree have better job opportunities since they are a lot more skilled in some areas like reading, writing, leadership and analytical skills. In this essay I will demonstrate that college debt is worth it since the person is investing in his future and will have more job opportunities. Moreover, once you have bachelors or college degree you become a better citizen, educated, and you may have some debt after college but it will worth.

In the Essay “When College May Not be Worth the Cost: Examining Student Loan” written by Sarah Kavanagh claims that two-thirds of the students who earn a bachelor’s degree borrow to pay for higher education — many without being aware of how that debt may cripple them later. Moreover, in her essay she pointed out that a college degree statistically remains a good lifetime investment, but it often comes with an unprecedented financial burden, and I have mixed feeling about it. I agree that some students take a loan without being aware of how they are going to pay it later. That is why students are worried about the decisions they took of take a loan; for instance, there are some students that are not even sure enough why are they studying. Other students do not feel enough motivation going to college, and these people still going to college and taking loans, those are my reasons why on one hand I completely agree with Sarah Kavanagh; but on the other hand, I still insist that a loan for a higher education it is worth if the student is very motivated, and have known what their goals are, and then the loans won’t become as much of a financial burden.

For instance, if you are a student that is thinking whether or not go to college you have to think twice on your preferences. Think what do you like to do the most, and this will help the student to find a job after she/he graduates. There are many tests that a high school graduated can take without cost, in those test you can see your preferences and skills. There are many tools beside those tests to figure out whether you should go to college, and tools that show how much the student will pay after they graduate. These tools will help you to analyze whether a good decision is or not; furthermore some debt tools show people how much your payments will be after you graduate. The point here is that there are many resources but high school graduates are too young make this kind of decisions which that could enhance or ruin your life. Other point is that young people are not as well informed about the risk to take a loan. High schools should have programs to explain these problems. If you are very good at something, and you are highly motivated about going to college then there should not be worries on how to pay for college.

For those students who take a loan maybe less than one third are worried after gradate on how to pay a college debt, moreover there are students who are enjoying the privilege to be a professional, whether they have debt or not.

Yet some readers may challenge my view insisting that College debt is not worth it because the entire system encourages students to take out any kind and amount of loans they need without worrying how they will pay them back. But I am clearly explaining that loans are not for everybody. They are risky, but if you consider yourself as a good at what are you studying then you should not think twice to take a loan because the college debt it is worth it.

In recent discussions of college debt, a controversial issue has been whether young people should take a loan or not. In my opinion people who take a loan live in debt for a few years, and this is true, and I cannot deny it, but that is the sacrifice which some people have to do in order to achieve some goal. In order to succeed you have to give up something to gain another; for example you will give up some money from your pay check in order to pay your debt. But is this view realistic? What are the chances of this actually being adopted?  Well, let’s answer these questions; imagine living in debt for a while, for certain time maybe you will be short of money because you are just starting your career path, and also because you will be paying your debt, but, moreover, no one can take away the fact  that you are Engineer, Architect, Accountant or whatever career you have been chose to study.

“Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing–the rest is mere sheep-herding.”

Ezra Loomis Pound (1885-1972) U.S. poet.

Like this quote says, the education is for people who are thirsty for knowledge, the same on taking loans, college debt it is worth it for those who really want to succeed and are willing to give up something in order to gain something better.

           

In the article “The Question You’re not Asking: Should You Go To College?’ written by Robert Brockway claims that in the long term there is not too much difference in terms of money between a person who graduate from high school and a person who earn a bachelor’s degree, at the end the person who earned a bachelor’s degree will earn about three hundred thousand dollars more in their whole life, which he argue that does not make any sense. From this perspective I respect their point of view, but at this point I would like to raise some objections that I have been inspired by the skeptic in me; some people may feel like I have been ignoring the complexities of the situation. The point here is not the money. Obviously with a bachelor’s degree you will earn more money in long and short term, but this is all about the vocation, not money. You can earn money working at any job, but you only live once so if you feel that you will be happy going to college, sacrificing some things, and following your dreams. Then it is the best option for you to take a loan. I assure the debt will worth it.

Student going to college develop the criteria, way to think, and become a well-informed citizen. Besides of your opportunity to get a better job you are investing in your future, so you are learning to make the best decisions for your life. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” .Even if you have debt because your higher education, nothing will change that you are educated. They can take our money but they can never take our minds!

Works Cited

Brockway, Robert. "The Question You're Not Asking: Should You Go To College?" Cracked.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.

Kavanagh, Sarah. "When College May Not Be Worth the Cost: Examining Student Loan Debt." The Learning Network When College May Not Be Worth the Cost Examining Student Loan Debt Comments. New York Times, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.

Murray, Charles. "Are Too Many People Going to College?" The American Magazine, 8 Sept. 2008. Web.

Pound, Ezra Loomis. “When College is in doubt” (n.d.): n. Print.

Rose, Mike. "Blue-Collar Brilliance." N.p., n.d. Web.

Wallace, David Foster. "DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, IN HIS OWN WORDS." More Intelligent Life. N.p., 18 Sept. 2008. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.

"Nelson Mandela Steckbrief." Gutefrage.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013

Works Consulted

"7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts." 7 Major Misconceptions About the Liberal Arts. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Addison, LiZ. "Two Years Are Better Than Four." Essay Two Years Are Better Than Four Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Carey, Kevin. "Commentary." The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Foster, David Wallace. "DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, IN HIS OWN WORDS." More Intelligent Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Murray, Charles. "AMERICAN.COM." Are Too Many People Going to College? — The American Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Rose, Mike. "Blue-Collar Brilliance." The American Scholar:. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Audience

This essay is for Sarah Kavanagh, and Glenn Reynolds, also for my classmates who think that college debt it is not worth it.

Purpose

My purpose is to influence my opinion over my audience.

Role

I am in the role of college student.

Thesis

I will demonstrate that college debt is worth it since the person is investing in his future and will have more job opportunities. Moreover, once you have bachelors or college degree you become a better citizen, educated, and you may have some debt after college but it will worth.