Essay Assignment [Final Draft]

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate the issue you have highlighted?

The advent of globalization has led to increasing prevalence of social media platforms among the younger generation in Singapore today. While social media platforms have undeniable advantages, such as providing a new platform for youths to make and stay connected with friends, their growing popularity have led to the questioning of how they negatively affect a youth’s social development. Concerned parents have requested for schools to intervene and minimize the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media sites. As such, educational institutes in Singapore need to incentivise and regulate young users of social media sites. This will ameliorate the negative effects of the increasing use of social media platforms, which includes poor mental health and social isolation.

Ravi (2011) convincingly argues that extensive use of social media platforms decrease social contact among Singaporean youths today. He attributes this phenomena to them adopting social media tools as a preferential mode of communication. Adams (2009) attributes the replacement of human interaction with communication through social media sites as a form of addiction and behavioural distortion. When exposed to social media from a young age, physical social interaction skills of young users are being compromised as they are less exposed to human interaction as compared to past generation. As adolescence will make up the working class of tomorrow, poor physical social interaction skills will result in a future Singapore where individuals are socially isolated despite being interconnected.

Another problem raised by Ravi (2011) is the poor mental health brought about by the extensive use of social media platforms. Singaporean youths use social media avenues as a source of update on their peers’ lifestyles. Substantiation by Shea (2013) brings to light the emerging problem of “Facebook Envy”. “Facebook Envy” is the feeling of envy and frustration upon viewing achievements and life happenings of peers on social media sites. Envy negatively affects youths psychologically as they will grow up with the constant mentality of comparing themselves with their friends, which in turn affects their self-esteem and lifestyle satisfaction. In a broader context, poor social health in the future labour force is detrimental to the Singapore economy who highly prioritises human resource. This is because poor social health affects one’s performance and social behaviour.

To ameliorate these problems, current solutions centres around raising awareness on the harmful effects of using social media sites. Despite the implementation of awareness programmes, a study led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova reflects that 36% of the surveyed group felt frustrated at Facebook (2013, as cited in Jimenez, 2013).  The existence of “Facebook Envy” suggests that social problems brought about by extensive use of social media sites are still prevalent and raising awareness have limited effectiveness. Although insufficient in tackling the problem, raising awareness is necessary. It educates users on the banes brought about by the extensive use of social media sites. Other measures can be implemented alongside to improve on existing solutions.

To improve on existing solutions, schools can be used to incentivise students to minimize the use of social media sites through reward systems and measures like getting students to account to teachers on their social media usage. Rationale of using schools are that they are government bodies, thus, implementation of programmes by the government are easier. Furthermore, large number of social media users are young adults. This is supported by a study by Infographic (2013, as cited in Piombino, 2013), whereby 83% of young adults, aged 13- 29, use social media platforms, highest among all other age groups. Use of incentives can be rationalised by Nigel(2013), who discusses the benefits of incentives to motivate people to achieve goals. Awareness and regulation at a young age will develop the habit of discretionary use of social media sites among young users. This habit will follow them through adulthood and minimise the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media.

In conclusion, extensive use of social media sites can result in social isolation and poor social health in Singapore. Problems of social isolation and poor social health are not limited to Singapore but prevalent in the global society with the advent of globalization, which connects the world. As it is impossible to remove social media from the modern society due to their pervasiveness in individuals’ lifestyle, one can only minimize its harmful effects. This can be done through constant regulation and provision of incentives from a young age.

References:

Adams, M (2009,May 24). Social networking, virtual friends and the erosion of the social

fabric of modern society. Natural News: Real News Powered By The People, Naturally.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.naturalnews.com/026320_networking_WHO_internet.html#

Jimenez, F (2013, January 27).Social envy – study finds Facebook causes depression and

isolation. Worldcrunch: All News Is Global. 

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/social-envy-study-finds-facebook-causes-depression-and-isolation/zuckerberg-social-network-health-depression-fb/c3s10718/#.UlO6NVAwoxT

Nigel, R (2013,April 9). Do incentives work? A look at tangible versus social

reinforcement. BST. Dekra Company. 

Retrieved 13 October 2013 from

http://www.bstsolutions.com/en/resources/blog/2013/04/09/do-incentives-work-a-look-at-tangible-vs-social-reinforcement/

Piombino, K, (2013, August 27). Infographics: the demographics of social media

 users. Ragan.com: News And Ideas For Communicators.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Infographic_The_demographics_of_social_media_users_47119.aspx

Ravi, B (2011). New media and ethical disconnect – trends in India. Academic Research

International, 1, p326.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from 

http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.1(3)/2011(1.3-33).pdf

Shea, A, (2013, February 20). Facebook Envy: How the social network affects our self-

esteem. 90.9wbur: Boston’s NPR News Station.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.wbur.org/2013/02/20/facebook-perfection

Critical Reflection on Main Takeaways

Hello! 

Below is my critical reflection for my main takeaways of ES1102.

The ES1102 course had many learning points, both knowledge-based and value-based. Below are some of the learning points I have learn through the course.

There were five main assignments in this course: descriptive reflection, summary, reader’s response, essay and critical reflection. The order of assignments were well-thought out, as the previous assignment laid a foundation for the next assignments. Furthermore, critical reflection as the last assignment was apt as is summarized the main learning points of the course. Through these assignments, I have picked up important skills related to academic writing. These include paraphrasing, developing a thesis statement and arguments. These skills will come in handy in future in reports for both work and school.

Also, this course has re-emphasise the aim of learning. Being a module with no modular credits, it highlighted to me the aim of learning. The idea of learning has been warped as students in Singapore mainly learn to get their desired grades. Instead, we should learn to improve ourselves even when sacrifices such as sleeping later to complete the given assignment has to be made. This perspective is important in school and work in future as it makes me more positive when tackling the assignments given.

However, an improvement can be made to the programmes in the course. That is, to filter students through the problems they have in English before placing them in different classes. Grouping students with similar weaknesses will allow tutors to better conduct the class and focus on tackling the weaknesses of the students. That way, students will see more improvement in their English and writing.

In conclusion, this course has taught me both hard and soft skills which are largely applicable to assignments in school and work-life in future. 

Essay Assignment [Draft 3]

The advent of globalization has led to increasing prevalence of social media platforms among the younger generation in Singapore today. While social media platforms have undeniable advantages, such as providing a new platform for youths to make and stay connected with friends, their growing popularity have led to the questioning of how they negatively affect a youth’s social development. Concerned parents have requested for schools to intervene and minimize the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media sites. As such, educational institutes in Singapore need to incentivise and regulate young users of social media sites. This will ameliorate the negative effects of the increasing use of social media platforms, which includes poor mental health and social isolation.

Ravi (2011) convincingly argues that extensive use of social media platforms decrease social contact among Singaporean youths today. He attributes this phenomena to them adopting social media tools as a preferential mode of communication. Adams (2009) attributes the replacement of human interaction with communication through social media sites as a form of addiction and behavioural distortion. When exposed to social media from a young age, physical social interaction skills of young users are being compromised as they are less exposed to human interaction as compared to past generation. As adolescence will make up the working class of tomorrow, poor physical social interaction skills will result in a future Singapore where individuals are socially isolated despite being interconnected.

Another problem raised by Ravi (2011) is the poor mental health brought about by the extensive use of social media platforms. Singaporean youths use social media avenues as a source of update on their peers’ lifestyles. Substantiation by Shea (2013) brings to light the emerging problem of “Facebook Envy”. “Facebook Envy” is the feeling of envy and frustration upon viewing achievements and life happenings of peers on social media sites. Envy negatively affects youths psychologically as they will grow up with the constant mentality of comparing themselves with their friends, which in turn affects their self-esteem and lifestyle satisfaction. In a broader context, poor social health in the future labour force is detrimental to the Singapore economy who highly prioritises human resource. This is because poor social health affects one’s performance and social behaviour.

To ameliorate these problems, current solutions centres around raising awareness on the harmful effects of using social media sites. Despite the implementation of awareness programmes, a study led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova reflects that 36% of the surveyed group felt frustrated at Facebook (2013, as cited in Jimenez, 2013).  The existence of “Facebook Envy” suggests that social problems brought about by extensive use of social media sites are still prevalent and raising awareness have limited effectiveness. Although insufficient in tackling the problem, raising awareness is necessary. It educates users on the banes brought about by the extensive use of social media sites. Other measures can be implemented alongside to improve on existing solutions.

To improve on existing solutions, schools can be used to incentivise students to minimize the use of social media sites through reward systems and measures like getting students to account to teachers on their social media usage. Rationale of using schools are that they are government bodies, thus, implementation of programmes by the government are easier. Furthermore, large number of social media users are young adults. This is supported by a study by Infographic (2013, as cited in Piombino, 2013), whereby 83% of young adults, aged 13- 29, use social media platforms, highest among all other age groups. Use of incentives can be rationalised by Nigel(2013), who discusses the benefits of incentives to motivate people to achieve goals. Awareness and regulation at a young age will develop the habit of discretionary use of social media sites among young users. This habit will follow them through adulthood and minimise the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media.

In conclusion, extensive use of social media sites can result in social isolation and poor social health in Singapore. Problems of social isolation and poor social health are not limited to Singapore but prevalent in the global society with the advent of globalization, which connects the world. As it is impossible to remove social media from the modern society due to their pervasiveness in individuals’ lifestyle, one can only minimize its harmful effects. This can be done through constant regulation and provision of incentives from a young age.

References:

Adams, M (2009,May 24). Social networking, virtual friends and the erosion of the social

fabric of modern society. Natural News: Real News Powered By The People, Naturally.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.naturalnews.com/026320_networking_WHO_internet.html#

Jimenez, F (2013, January 27).Social envy – study finds Facebook causes depression and

isolation. Worldcrunch: All News Is Global. 

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/social-envy-study-finds-facebook-causes-depression-and-isolation/zuckerberg-social-network-health-depression-fb/c3s10718/#.UlO6NVAwoxT

Nigel, R (2013,April 9). Do incentives work? A look at tangible versus social

reinforcement. BST. Dekra Company.

Retrieved 13 October 2013 from

http://www.bstsolutions.com/en/resources/blog/2013/04/09/do-incentives-work-a-look-at-tangible-vs-social-reinforcement/

Piombino, K, (2013, August 27). Infographics: the demographics of social media

users. Ragan.com: News And Ideas For Communicators.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Infographic_The_demographics_of_social_media_users_47119.aspx

Ravi, B (2011). New media and ethical disconnect – trends in India. Academic Research

International, 1, p326.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.1(3)/2011(1.3-33).pdf

Shea, A, (2013, February 20). Facebook Envy: How the social network affects our self-

esteem. 90.9wbur: Boston’s NPR News Station.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.wbur.org/2013/02/20/facebook-perfection

Critical Reflection [Draft 1]

Hello!

Here is my reflection on the essay writing assignment! (:

Being in ES1102, one of our assignments was to write an essay on a problem that have emerged due to globalization. Written below is my account on the process of accomplishing this assignment as well as my opinion on it.

Initially, I was taken aback by the vagueness of the category, globalisation. The large prevalence of it in our daily lives meant that we can talk about any aspect of our lifestyle or global trends we observe today. The large scope left me directionless as to how I should go about crafting this essay, however, an advice from Mr Brad Blackstone helped lay the first step to finishing the assignment.

He said “Write on any topic that interests you.”

Being a teenager living in this interconnected world, I was drawn to social media sites and they became my source of update for current affairs as well as affairs of loved ones. Thus, deciding on a problem of globalization came naturally after the advice was given. Construction of the essay outline and writing the first draft was accomplished rather quickly as I was used to writing essays in Junior College.

Following the submission of the first draft, we went through a round of peer review and recap on writing of a thesis statement to better improve our essay. It was through these two sessions that I managed to refine my essay and make it more focus. Through the process of refinement and reviewing my previous works, I now have a better insight on how to write essays in university and how to better express myself.

Through this assignment, I realised that essays in junior college were largely different from essays in university.  They lack citation and had a different set of requirements as compared to the latter. In Junior College, essays required an unbiased stand where both sides of thoughts were equally discussed and personal opinion was highly valued. In university, essays required a more biased stand on the matter with a large emphasis on use of scholarly articles to present and substantiate your points. Furthermore, citation methods were not covered heavily emphasised in junior college unlike in university. The essay assignment personally helped me bridge the gap between junior college and university. It helped ease me into writing essays in university through a step by step guide of brainstorming, crafting the essay, including citations and conducting peer review.

The essay writing assignment, though time-consuming, exposed me to academic writing and improved my writing ability. However, a small problem surfaced. That is, the different levels of progress in the assignment by the students in class. Students who face problems crafting essay find themselves lagging behind as compared to students whose main problem is citing and refining their essay. To better facilitate lessons, students in class can be grouped based on different major problems they face in the assignment. That way, the tutor will be able to answer general questions faced in the group and conduct group consultations to better guide them.

In conclusion, the essay assignment gave me an idea on the requirements of a university essay and expanded my writing capacity. Though slight improvements can be made, it generally fulfilled their main objective of improving a student’s writing ability and ease them into writing essays in university.

Essay Assignment [Draft 2B]

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate the issue you have highlighted?

The increasing prevalence of social media platforms among the younger generation in Singapore today has brought about many advantages such as providing a platform for youths to make friends. While social media platforms have undeniable advantages, their growing popularity have led to the questioning of how they negatively affect a youth’s social development. Concerned parents have requested for schools to intervene and minimize the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media sites. As such, educational institutes in Singapore need to incentivise and regulate young users of social media sites. This will ameliorate the negative effects of the increasing use of social media platforms, which includes poor mental health and social isolation.

Ravi (2011) convincingly argues that extensive use of social media platforms decrease social contact among Singaporean youths today. He attributes this phenomena to them adopting social media tools as a preferential mode of communication. Adams (2009) attributes the replacement of human interaction with communication through social media sites as a form of addiction and behavioural distortion. When exposed to social media from a young age, physical social interaction skills of young users are being compromised as they are less exposed to human interaction as compared to past generation. As adolescence will make up the working class of tomorrow, poor physical social interaction skills will result in a future Singapore where individuals are socially isolated despite being interconnected.

Another problem raised by Ravi (2011) is the poor mental health brought about by the large use of social media platforms. Singaporean youths use social media avenues as a source of update on their peers’ lifestyles. Substantiation by Shea (2013) brings to light the emerging problem of “Facebook Envy”. “Facebook Envy” is the feeling of envy and frustration upon viewing achievements and life happenings of peers on social media sites. Envy negatively affects youths psychologically as they will grow up with the constant mentality of comparing themselves with their virtual friends, which in turn affects their self-esteem and lifestyle satisfaction. In a larger context, poor mental health in the future labour force is detrimental to the Singapore economy who highly prioritises human resource. This is because poor mental health affects one’s performance and social behaviour.

To ameliorate these problems, current solutions include raising awareness on the harmful effects of using social media sites. Despite the implementation of awareness programmes, a study by German researchers, led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova reflects that 36% of the surveyed group felt frustrated at Facebook (2013, as cited in Jimenez, 2013).  Additionally, a study by Infographic (2013, as cited in Piombino, 2013) reflects that 83% of youths are most likely to use social media platforms, highest among all other age groups. The high percentage of young users reflects the pressing need to minimize harmful effects like envy brought about by using social media.

A measure of success of these awareness programmes can be the existence of “Facebook Envy” as a problem. As “Facebook Envy” is still an existing problem, this suggests the limited effectiveness of these programmes. Limitations include the lack of incentives to decrease and effectively use of social media tools. Furthermore, the temptation of connectivity and instant updates through social media tools worsen the problem.

To improve on existing solutions, schools can incentivise students to minimize the use of social media sites through reward systems and measures like getting students to account to teachers on their social media usage. Nigel (2013) asserts that incentives help motivate people to achieve goals. In this case, students to minimize and effectively use social media platforms. This habit will follow them through adulthood and in a grand scheme of things, minimise the harmful effects of social media and ensure adequate social interaction skills.

In conclusion, extensive use of social media sites can result in social isolation and poor mental health. This is due to the lack of human interaction and portrayal of a life filled with joyous occasions and achievements respectively. These problems can be minimized and potentially mitigated through constant regulation and provision of incentives from a young age. As it is impossible to remove social media from the modern society due to their pervasiveness in individuals’ lifestyle, one can only minimize its harmful effects and maximize its benefits.

References:

Adams, M (2009,May 24). Social networking, virtual friends and the erosion of the social fabric of modern society. Natural News: Real News Powered By The People, Naturally.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.naturalnews.com/026320_networking_WHO_internet.html#

Jimenez, F (2013, January 27).Social envy – study finds Facebook causes depression and isolation. Worldcrunch: All News Is Global. 

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/social-envy-study-finds-facebook-causes-depression-and-isolation/zuckerberg-social-network-health-depression-fb/c3s10718/#.UlO6NVAwoxT

Nigel, R (2013,April 9). Do incentives work? A look at tangible versus social reinforcement. BST. Dekra Company.

Retrieved 13 October 2013 from

http://www.bstsolutions.com/en/resources/blog/2013/04/09/do-incentives-work-a-look-at-tangible-vs-social-reinforcement/

Piombino, K, (2013, August 27). Infographics: the demographics of social media users. Ragan.com: News And Ideas For Communicators.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Infographic_The_demographics_of_social_media_users_47119.aspx

Ravi, B (2011). New media and ethical disconnect – trends in India. Academic Research International, 1, p326.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.1(3)/2011(1.3-33).pdf

Shea, A, (2013, February 20). Facebook Envy: How the social network affects our self- esteem. 90.9wbur: Boston’s NPR News Station.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.wbur.org/2013/02/20/facebook-perfection

Word Count: 703 words

Essay Assignment [Draft 2A]

Hello!

Here’s another draft of the essay assignment:

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate the issue you have highlighted?

The increasing prevalence of social media platforms in the younger generation in Singapore today has brought about many advantages such as increasing connectivity and providing a platform for youths to make friends. While social media platforms have undeniable advantages, their increasing prevalence of have led to the questioning of how these sites have negatively affected students’ social development. Concerned parents have requested for schools to intervene and minimize the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media sites. As such, educational institutes in Singapore need to incentivise and regulate young users of social media sites. This will ameliorate the negative effects of the increasing use of social media platforms, which includes poor mental health and social isolation.

According to Ravi (2011) in “New Media and Ethical Disconnect,” social media platforms decrease social contact among the younger generation today. He attributes this phenomena to individuals adopting social media tools into their lifestyle and preferential mode of communication. Adams (2009) supports the argument on decreasing social contact due to increasing use of social media sites in “Social Networking, Virtual Friends and the Erosion of the Social Fabric of Modern Society.” He further substantiates this argument by attributing the increasing use of social media sites as a form of addiction and behavioural distortion, which replaces human interaction. When exposed to social media from a young age, physical social interaction skills of young users are being compromised as they are less exposed to human interaction as compared to past generation. As the young will make up the working class of tomorrow, poor physical social interaction skills will result in the development of a future society whereby individuals are socially isolated despite being interconnected.

Another problem raised by Ravi (2011) is the poor mental health brought about by the large use of social media platforms. Singaporean youths use social media avenues as a source of update on their peers’ lifestyles. According to Jimenez (2013) in “Social Envy – Study finds Facebook causes Depression and Isolation,” a study by German researchers, led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova reflected that 36% of the surveyed group felt frustrated at Facebook. Further substantiation by Shea (2013) in article “Facebook Envy: How the Social Network affects our self-esteem,” reflects a pressing problem of “Facebook Envy”. “Facebook Envy” is the feeling of envy and frustration upon viewing achievements and life happenings of peers on social media sites. Youths will thus grow up with the constant mentality of comparing themselves with their virtual friends. This in turn affects their self-esteem and lifestyle satisfaction. In a larger context, poor mental health in the future labour force is detrimental to the Singapore economy who highly prioritises human resource. This is because poor mental health affects one’s performance and social behaviour.

To ameliorate these problems, current solutions include raising awareness on the harmful effects of social media platforms. Despite the implementation of awareness programmes, study by Dr Krasnova stated above reflect that 36% of social media users feel envious when looking through posts by their peers. Additionally, a study by Infographic (2013, as cited in Piombino, 2013) reflect that 83% youths are most likely to use social media platforms, highest among all other age groups. The high percentage of young users reflect the pressing need to minimize harmful effects like envy brought about by social media.

A measure of success of these awareness programmes can be the existence of “Facebook Envy” as a problem. As “Facebook Envy” is still an existing problem, this suggests the limited effectiveness of these programmes. Limitations include the lack of incentives to decrease and effectively use of social media tools. Furthermore, the temptation of connectivity and instant updates through social media tools worsen the problem.

To improve on existing solutions, schools can incentivise students to minimize the use of social media sites through reward systems and measures like getting students to account to teachers on their social media usage.  According to Nigel (2013) in “Do incentives work? A look at tangible versus social reinforcement,” incentives help motivate people to achieve goals. In this case, students to minimize and effectively use social media platforms. This habit will follow them through adulthood and in a grand scheme of things, ensure a society with good mental health and social interaction skills.

In conclusion, extensive use of social media sites can result in social isolation and poor mental health. This is due to the lack of human interaction and portrayal of a life filled with joyous occasions and achievements respectively. These problems can be minimized and potentially mitigated through constant regulation from a young age. As it is impossible to remove social media from the modern society due to them their prevalence in individuals’ lifestyle, one can only minimize its harmful effects and maximize its benefits.

References:

Adams, M (2009,May 24). Social Networking, Virtual Friends and the Erosion of of the Social Fabric

of Modern Society. Natural News: Real News powered by the People, naturally.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.naturalnews.com/026320_networking_WHO_internet.html#

Jimenez, F (2013, January 27).Social Envy – Study finds Facebook causes depression and

isolation. Worldcrunch: All news is global. 

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/social-envy-study-finds-facebook-causes-depression-and-isolation/zuckerberg-social-network-health-depression-fb/c3s10718/#.UlO6NVAwoxT

Nigel, R (2013,April 9). Do incentives work? A look at tangible versus social reinforcement. BST.

Dekra Company.

Retrieved 13 October 2013 from

http://www.bstsolutions.com/en/resources/blog/2013/04/09/do-incentives-work-a-look-at-tangible-vs-social-reinforcement/

Piombino, K, (2013, August 27). Infographics: The demographics of social media users. Ragan.com:

News and ideas for communicators.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Infographic_The_demographics_of_social_media_users_47119.aspx

Ravi, B (2011). New Media and Ethical Disconnect – Trends in India. Academic Research

International, 1, p326.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.1(3)/2011(1.3-33).pdf

Shea, A, (2013, February 20). Facebook Envy: How the social network affects our self-

esteem. 90.9wbur: Boston’s NPR news station.

Retrieved 9 October 2013 from

http://www.wbur.org/2013/02/20/facebook-perfection

Essay Assignment [Draft 1B]

Hello!

Here’s my second draft of the essay assignment:

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate the issue you have highlighted?

The increasing prevalence of social media platforms in the younger generation in Singapore today has led to the questioning of how these sites have negatively affected their social development. Concerned parents have requested for schools to intervene and minimize the harmful effects of the extensive use of social media sites. As such, educational institutes in Singapore need to incentivise and regulate young users of social media sites. This is to ameliorate the negative effects of the increasing use of social media platforms, which includes poor mental health and social isolation.

According to Ravi (2011) in his article “New Media and Ethical Disconnect”, he convincingly points out that social media platforms decreases social contact among the younger generation today. He attributes this phenomena to individuals adopting social media tools into their lifestyle and preferential mode of communication. Adams (2009) supports the argument on decreasing social contact due to increasing use of social media sites in his article “Social Networking, Virtual Friends and the Erosion of the Social Fabric of Modern Society”. He further substantiates this argument by attributing the increasing use of social media sites as a form of addiction and behavioural distortion, which replaces human interaction. When exposed to this from a young age, physical social interaction skills of young users are being compromised as they are less exposed to human interaction as compared to past generation. As the young will make up the working class of tomorrow, poor physical social interaction skills will result in the development of a future society whereby individuals are socially isolated despite being interconnected.

Another problem raised by Ravi (2011) is the poor mental health brought about by the large use of social media platforms. Singaporean youths use social media avenues as a source of update on their peers’ lifestyles. According to Jimenez (2013) in his article “Social Envy – Study finds Facebook causes Depression and Isolation”, a study by German researchers, led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova, 36% of the surveyed group felt frustrated at Facebook. Further substantiation by Shea (2013) in her article “Facebook Envy: How the Social Network affects our self-esteem” reflects a pressing problem of Facebook Envy. Facebook Envy is the feeling of envy and frustration upon viewing achievements and life happenings of peers on social media sites. Youths will thus grow up with the constant mentality of comparing themselves with their virtual friends. This in turn affects their self-esteem and lifestyle satisfaction. In a larger context, poor mental health in the future labour force is detrimental to the Singapore economy who highly prioritises human resource. This is because poor mental health affects one’s performance and social behaviour.

To ameliorate these problems, current solutions include raising awareness on the harmful effects of social media platforms. Despite the implementation of awareness programmes, study by Dr Krasnova stated above reflect that 36% of social media users feel envious when looking through posts by their peers. Additionally, a study by Infographic(2013, as cited in Piombino, 2013)  undeniably reflect that 83% youths are most likely to use social media platforms, highest among all other age groups. The high percentage of young users reflect the pressing need to minimize harmful effects like envy brought about by social media.

Presence of envy can be attributed to major limitations of awareness programmes. They include the lack of incentive and regulation to decrease the use of social media tools. Furthermore, the temptation of connectivity and instant updates through social media tools.

To improve on existing solutions, schools can incentivise students to minimize the use of social media sites through measures like getting students to account to teachers on their social media usage. Also, schools can monitor students from a young age and through their teens. This helps minimize potential addicts and ingrain in them the banes of social media addiction. This habit will follow them through adulthood and in a grand scheme of things, ensure a society with good mental health and social interaction skills.

In conclusion, extensive use of social media sites can result in poor mental health and social isolation. This is due to the lack of human interaction and portrayal of a life filled with joyous occasions and achievements respectively. These problems can be minimized and potentially mitigated through constant regulation from a young age. As it is impossible to remove social media from the modern society due to them their prevalence in individuals’ lifestyle, one can only minimize its harmful effects and maximize its benefits.

References:

Mike Adams, M.A, (2009,May 24). Social Networking, Virtual Friends and the Erosion of of the Social Fabric of Modern Society. Natural News: Real News powered by the People, naturally. Retrieved 9 October 2013 from
http://www.naturalnews.com/026320_networking_WHO_internet.html#

B.K. Ravi, B.K., (2011). New Media and Ethical Disconnect – Trends in India. Academic Research International, 1, p326. Retrieved 9 October 2013 from http://www.savap.org.pk/journals/ARInt./Vol.1(3)/2011(1.3-33).pdf

Fanny Jimenez, F.J, (2013, January 27).Social Envy – Study finds Facebook causes depression and isolation. Worldcrunch: All news is global. Retrieved 9 October 2013 from
http://www.worldcrunch.com/culture-society/social-envy-study-finds-facebook-causes-depression-and-isolation/zuckerberg-social-network-health-depression-fb/c3s10718/#.UlO6NVAwoxT

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http://www.wbur.org/2013/02/20/facebook-perfection

Essay Assignment [Draft 1A]

Hello!

Here is my first draft for the essay assignment!

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate the issue you have highlighted?

Thesis:

Increasing prevalence of social media platform resulted in the development of neo-culture, which characteristics include social isolation and poor mental health.

Introduction & Description of Situation:

In the past decade, there has been an increasing prevalence of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook in conjunction with increasing globalisation. The increasing prevalence of these platforms led to the development of Neo-culture, a culture continuously developing in the new age. According to Ravi (2011) in his article “New Media and Ethical Disconnect”, he convincingly argues that characteristics of neo-culture include social isolation and poor mental health. He also suggested that education and awareness campaigns on its harmful effects can be down to minimize and possibly mitigate social isolation.

Identification of problem:

Ravi (2011) undeniably state that social media platforms decreases social contact between individuals. He attributes this phenomena to individuals adopting them into their lifestyle and preferential mode of communication. Adams (2009) supports the argument on decreasing social contact due to increasing use of social media sites in his article “Social Networking, Virtual Friends and the Erosion of the Social Fabric of Modern Society”. He further substantiates this argument by attributing the increasing use of social media sites as a form of addiction and behavioural distortion, which replaces human interaction. Ironically, globalisation will lead to a development of a neo-culture whereby individuals are socially isolated despite being interconnected.

Another problem raised by Ravi (2011) is the poor mental health brought about by the large use of social media platforms. Social media users use social media avenues as a source of update on their peers’ lifestyles. As many users only update joyful happenings and achievements through photos and posts, the constant exposure of these updates will affect the development of mental health. According to Jimenez (2013) in his article “Social Envy – Study finds Facebook causes Depression and Isolation”, a study by German researchers, led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova, 36% of the surveyed group felt frustrated at Facebook. This is due to them being envious of their Facebook friends’ lifestyle through photos and posts seen. The feeling of envy will in turn result in depression when not discovered and treated. This is due to one’s feeling of inferiority in their inability to attain such a lifestyle, this diminishes their self-worth and thereby negatively affecting an individual’s mental health. Poor mental health is detrimental to the contemporary society as it might increase suicide rates when not treated and a weak labour force.

Current Solution:

To ameliorate these problems, current solution include raising awareness on the harmful effects of social media platforms and how we should use them. An example is the creation of MediaSmarts, a website dedicated to teaching parents how to regulate and educate their children in using social media platforms.

Evaluation of the solution:

Despite the implementation of awareness programme, 350 million people worldwide are addicted to Facebook in 2012 in a study by PRDaily.  A major limitation of these campaigns can be attributed to the lack of incentive and regulation to decrease the use of social media tools and the temptation of connectivity and instant updates through social media tools. Furthermore, Mccann (2013) brought up the point on little parent-child interaction due to hectic lifestyles in his article “No time for the family?” He states that in the modern society, parents only spend 30 minutes daily with their children due to their busy schedules. Thus, the use of parents as a regulator has limited effectiveness due to their inability to monitor their children for long periods of time. As such, the regulatory role can be given to schools where students spend more time in. Schools can incentivise students to minimize the use of social media sites through measures like getting students to account to teachers on their social media usage. Also, schools can monitor students from a young age and through their teens. Through regulating students from a young age, this help minimize potential addicts and ingrain in them the banes of social media addiction. This habit will follow them through adulthood and in a grand scheme of things, ensure a society with good mental health and social interaction skills.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, extensive use of social media sites can result in poor mental health and social isolation. This is due to the lack of human interaction and portrayal of a life filled with joyous occasions and achievements respectively. These problems can be minimized and potentially mitigated through constant regulation from a young age. As it is impossible to remove social media from the modern society due to them their prevalence in individuals’ lifestyle, one can only minimize its harmful effects and maximize its benefits.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and here’s to a great week ahead! (:

Thesis for essay assignment

Hello!

Here is my thesis for the essay on the problematic area of globalisation.

Increasing prevalence of social media platforms and instant messaging services in our lives have eroded the quality of our relationships.

Reader’s Response [Draft 2]

Hello!

Here is my second draft of the reader’s response:

Chanda(2007) argues that consumption causes environmental degradation. This is because raw materials used in production are attained from the environment. Consumption depletes these resources and attaining them brings about harmful environmental effects like pollution.

I agree with Chanda that consumption degrades the environment.  To further substantiate on his point, consumers’ and producers’ attitude towards environmental protection affects the effectiveness of environmental protection policies. According to Morgan (2013), illegal burning of forests still persists in Indonesia despite anti-burning laws. This reflects producers prioritising cost-effective production over efforts to save the environment. Reason being, burning is more cost-effective as compared to other environmentally friendly but more expensive ways of clearing land like clearcutting. A cheaper way of meeting consumers’ demand allows producers to provide more at a lower cost.

Producers’ profit maximization mentality and consumers’ utilitarian objective will result in utilising cost-effective methods of production. To minimize the use of these methods, a change in attitude is required.  This can be done through campaigns promoting use of environmentally-friendly products and cutting down on wastage. Such a change may potentially resolve or slowdown environmental degradation.

To conclude, the onerous of environmental protection lies in producers and consumers commitment and attitudes to resolve environmental degradation.

(201 words)

Hope everyone will have a good reading week ahead! (: