Author: WEDAD MOURTADA

The power social media holds on teenagers is unbelievable; our whole lives revolve around these meaningless apps. We seem to keep going back to the same things that are hurting us. Why do we spend so much time on social media apps if it hurts us? Competition. We want to be better than these influencers. So, we think being so involved with their lives would teach us how to be the same. Once you start scrolling through an interesting influencers page you really can’t stop. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University found that “Only three participants (8.4%) indicated they visited social media sites less than daily. Ten participants (27.8%) reported visiting social media sites daily and 19 (52.8%) reported accessing social media multiple times a day” (4). The majority of the participants check their social media apps more than once a day. This is normalized in society, and no one really thinks about how harmful it is for people to keep visiting their social media apps multiple times a day. It’s so available to everyone and extremely easy to use. Not only is it easy, but it’s also entertaining. With just a few clicks, you can find anything you’re thinking about.

Rushdie and Ngugi discussion question

It’s better to preserve a culture’s history by encouraging writers to write in their home languages. Writers should write in a language that delivers their messages clearly and accurately. This is most definitely the language they identify with, the language that feels most natural to them. This also means that they can write in English if it feels natural to them. Rushdie expresses how the English language is flexible, allowing Indian children to use it to their advantage. He argues that “assisted by the English languages’ enormous flexibility, and size, they are carving out large territories for themselves within its frontiers.” However, writing in the English language takes away from the importance of the mother tongue; it’s why people often forget about their culture. Some may argue that it is better to write in English because more people can understand it. However, that doesn’t make sense because as writers compose a piece, they have an intended audience in mind; they want their writing to reach a target audience. So, when a writer writes in their home language, they want their audience to be people who understand the language because that’s how they’ll understand the message the author is trying to convey. Take Ngũgĩ, for example. He did everything in his power to write a novel in his home language, Gĩkũyũ. Ngũgĩ states, “I wrote it on the only paper available to me, which was toilet paper.” He’s so passionate about writing in his mother tongue that he wrote it on toilet paper because it was the only thing available to him in jail. Ngũgĩ wanted to send a clear message about injustice, and there was no way to do that if he wrote it in English because then he’d give in to the unjust system. In addition, Ngũgĩ believes that not being able to write in his home language gives one language power over the other. He explains that he composed a few pieces in English but wasn’t criticized for it but when he wrote his home language he was imprisoned. Writers should freely write in their home language to show appreciation for their culture. I only know how to write in Arabic and English, and I’m not discouraged from writing in Arabic.

1. Social Media harms teenagers’ mental health. 

• Teenagers compare their lives to the lives of influencers on Instagram and tik tok, which are often an inaccurate representation of the influencers’ actual lifestyles. 
• Teenagers compare their pictures to photoshopped pictures on Instagram, which holds them to unrealistic beauty standards and destroys their self-esteem.
• Teenagers spend hours mindlessly scrolling through Instagram without being aware of the time. This promotes loneliness and laziness, which increases the risk of depression.
• False information spreads quickly on social media, and teenagers believe it because their favorite influencers report incorrect information. This increases their risk of anxiety. 

2. Gallo argues that people support surveillance because of social norms. Surveillance protects to a certain extent. However, it comes with disadvantages such as invasion of privacy. Gallo says that surveillance is beneficial in situations such as protecting children from swimming coaches. On the other hand, surveillance is used because of “white anxiety” around African Americans, violating citizens’ rights. This is a controversial topic because it speaks about the norms of society. Many people disagree on what might be ethical and what violates peoples’ rights. Some people may think that surveillance is necessary to protect people regardless of its negative impact on privacy. Contrarily, some people believe that surveillance is a complete violation of privacy and shouldn’t be used in most cases. 
3. Gallo quotes “The Circle” by David Eggers, “I await the day when some vocal minority finally rises up to say it’s gone too far, and that this tool, which is far more insidious than any human invention that’s come before it, must be checked, regulated, turned back, and that, most of all, we need options for opting out.” Gallo used this source to show how Mercer, a character in the novel, escapes surveillance. This shows the negative side of surveillance which Gallo supports in his essay. Another source that Gallo used is “Surveillance and conformity in competitive youth swimming” by Melanie Lang. This article is about surveillance in competitive youth swimming. I think this was very effective for Gallo’s argument because it’s about one of his sub-arguments. It focuses on surveillance in competitive youth swimming, which supports Gallo’s argument that people’s norms of society require swimming coaches to be monitored. I think the author quoted them fairly because both sources were used to support Gallo’s argument. He uses one source to show the negative effects of surveillance and the other to show the positive aspects. These sources don’t complicate Gallo’s argument. Instead, they serve to support his argument.

1. One way I practice crap detection is when people say random things about religion. For example, a few months ago, one of my friends told me something about Islam that was a little hard to believe. He’s not that religious, and he once said that he just says things that make sense to him. I can’t listen to anything anyone says about my religion because it means a lot to me. I decided to watch youtube videos of a few Muslim scholars explaining the topic that I was confused about. I also asked my mother because I think she knows a lot about Islam, and I spent a few days researching that topic on google and reading about other people’s experiences. I found my answer through one of the videos I watched because they matched all the other sources. 
2. One thing that I learned from Lunsford and Ruskiewicz is that “recent sources are often more useful than older ones.” I didn’t think this mattered. As I was finding sources, I realized all the sources were pretty new. However, I didn’t know it made a difference. In some fields, older ones are better, but that doesn’t apply to my research question because I’m talking about social media and mental health, so I’ll stick to finding recent sources. 
3. One thing I learned in the past is never to relate the writing to my own experiences. That’s why I struggled to connect my analysis project to my own experiences, and I’m already thinking of ways to do it with this project. However, now I know that it’s actually better to connect it to my own experiences. 
4. Instagram models are not responsible for other people’s insecurities. As young adults, we all can choose how we want to spend our free time. We could scroll on Instagram models’ Instagram pages for hours, or we could decide to do something that makes us happy. The majority of teenagers are aware of photoshop and how realistic it could look, yet still choose to compare themselves to people who use it. The Instagram models that use photoshop are just as insecure as everyone else is. Most of them don’t even have a safe place to talk about body image issues because they profit from photoshopping their pictures. People don’t realize that and blame those models for their insecurities. Many people claim that they shouldn’t photoshop their pictures because they set unrealistic beauty standards for young girls. However, young girls shouldn’t even have social media. People should learn to stay away from things that bother them instead of actively finding ways to hurt their feelings.

What is one process of inquiry you’ve pursued entirely for pleasure? 4 sentences.                     

 I’ve been watching youtube videos on different majors. I’m Stuck between choosing finance or statistics, and I watch random videos of people talking about their experience as a statistician or financial analyst. I’ve been doing this to see what I like the most, and it’s helped because I’m starting to see what interests me more. I also watch other videos on tik tok to see if I’d be happy pursuing a career in either of those fields. 

Between their examples of subway delays and the closing of retail stores, Graves, Corcoran, and Belmihoub write, “The goal of research in the humanities in many ways is to make the everyday strange” (149). What are three experiences, questions, or moments from your everyday life that have stuck with you lately: things you’re curious, passionate, or upset about and which you could imagine researching? 6 sentences. 

One thing that I’m curious about is different cultures. In my anthropology class, we learn about different cultures and how it affects people’s behaviors, and I already started doing my own research on some Arab cultures. One thing that I’d also do research on is the Astroworld festival. At first, I didn’t wanna look into it because it’s really sad, but now a lot of people have different theories on what actually happened, and I’d want to know how the people died. Also, another interesting thing is COVID vaccines. I’m not interested in the science behind those vaccines. All I’m interested in is why some people choose not to get the vaccine, and where they get their information from. 

What is something about research—a practice or form of research, a distinction between categories—that you learned for the first time in Lunsford and Ruskiewicz, and why is it important or interesting? 6 sentences.

One new thing that I learned is considering the fields I’m working in while conducting research. It seems pretty obvious, but I always felt like research should be broad enough for everyone, and not just a small group to understand. This is interesting because as I did research in the past, I always felt like it was wrong to consider a certain group and base my research according to the audience. I always knew it should be somewhat relevant but I just learned that it’s important. It’s important because, in a way, it gives research a purpose. It also allows the writer to organize their thoughts as they write about the research they’ve made.

Yablonovoskiy’s Argument

Yablonovoskiy’s parents and grandparents moved to the United States in 1997 because of the discrimination against Jews. They moved to a town named Little Odessa in Brooklyn, which was also where most Ukrainian immigrated to. Despite Yablonovoskiy’s parents’ hatred for living under communist rule, they still wanted to teach Yablonovoskiy about his cultural background, so he could appreciate what he has in life. They did this by showing him tv shows from the soviet era; Yablonovoskiy’s favorite tv show was Nu Pogodi. Nu Pogodi featured a wolf going after the bunny, and it’s similar to Tom and Jerry. It became a comfort show for many people and helped them cope with the trauma that they experienced in Ukraine. As any child would, Yablonovoskiy would watch his favorite tv show and laugh. However, as he got older, he began to realize the meaning behind Nu Pogodi. Just like other children’s tv shows, such as Krtek in former Czechoslovakia, Nu Pogodi served as propaganda for children. Nu Pogodi showed children how to be good citizens. Yablonovoskiy also explains that the wolf in the show symbolized the Soviet government or an evil leader, such as Josef Stalin. The bunny symbolized the people who opposed the Soviet government. 

Argument reflection

Yablonovoskiy’s argument was persuasive because he compared Nu Pogodi to similar children’s tv shows such as Krtek and Tom and Jerry. Comparing it to Tom and Jerry was significant because so many people in the world watched Tom and Jerry as kids. By comparing them, we get an insight into what Nu Pogodi is like, which helps us understand the relationship between the bunny and wolf. Furthermore, this also helps us understand the relationship between the Soviet Union and the people who opposed it. Also, this reminded me of when I was a child and lived in Lebanon. The majority of Lebanese kids watched this one show that would teach them about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Similar to Nu Pogodi, a dog symbolized the Israelites, while a brave man symbolized the Lebanese people. From a very young age, Lebanese kids were reminded of the 2006 Israel and Lebanon war.

 

This course made me see the world through different lenses without even realizing it. At first, I’d think about the deeper meaning behind things because I just always wanted to know more. However, as I’m working on my analysis, I’m aware of the many ways I can view people, places, and situations. I also became more aware of my own thinking process. After completing my literacy narrative, I learned so much about my own thought process and how it shaped me into the person I am. This was the most interesting thing to me because, in anthropology, we’re talking about metacognition; making a connection between this course and anthropology helped me understand the different thought processes of different people. Also, this course helped me appreciate people more. After reading different literacy narratives, and my classmates writing responses, I learned that everyone has their own way of thinking and it made me realize how many different cultures there are. This is similar to my anthropology class because all we talk about is culture. Anthropology is the study of humans in all places at all times, and as I read some literacy narratives in this course, I learned so much about people and realized how different people are but also that we’re all connected in some ways. 

1. What issue is Chau addressing, and what is his claim? 

a. Chinese people were being treated unfairly regardless of their contributions to American industrialization. Because of their hard work, they experienced racism as the Americans were afraid that they’ll steal their jobs. 

b. Regardless of their hard work, Chinese people were discriminated against because Americans were worried they’ll take their jobs. Their hard work was never rewarded. instead, it’s a stereotype that Chinese people work too hard. 

c. Chinese people immigrated to America to give their families better lives. The Americans treated them poorly and didn’t acknowledge their hard work; their contributions were a threat to Americans. 

2. Why is this a controversial issue? 2-3 sentences.

Chinese immigration is a controversial issue because some people are in favor of immigration, and many oppose it. People who are in favor of immigration are usually not racist and acknowledge the contributions of immigrants. On the other hand, people who oppose immigration, often view immigrants’ hard work as a threat to their jobs, which stimulates debate. 

3. Which arguments of Chau’s do you feel are strongest or most persuasive? 

I believe Chau’s strongest argument is “despite the strides of popular films and shows such as Crazy Rich Asians and Fresh Off the Boat, both avoid confronting stereotypes and actually appropriate them for entertainment and profit” (JTC 133). I feel like this is the most persuasive argument because it shows how people profit from stereotyping Chinese people. It supports the claim that they are being treated unfairly and their hard work is now a stereotype. 

4. What is the best argument you can imagine for the other side? 3-4 sentences.

An argument I can make for the Americans is that they feared that the Chinese people will take their jobs and they couldn’t take that risk. The gold was discovered in California and should be for the Americans to benefit from, not other people from different countries. Americans are working hard just as Chinese immigrants are and should be able to work without the risk of losing their jobs. I don’t agree with this but based on Americans’ views on immigration, this is definitely an argument that they’d make. 

5. What gaps did you discover in your knowledge as you read this article and answering these questions? 2-3 sentences.

Discrimination usually comes from the media, but I learned where Chinese stereotypes stemmed from. I did not know that these stereotypes are a result of people discouraging Chinese immigration beginning in the 1850s. I also learned that rephrasing a claim doesn’t change the purpose of the claim; it’s still the same claim.