Kaveh1

NadiaKaveh
Ms.Gardner
English10H/p.6
9November2015
TyrannyofSelectiveExposure
Wehaveallbeenthere,everysingleoneofus.Wekeepsomepartsofthestoryto
ourselves,makingsureourpeerswillagreewithus.Everyone,selectiveexposuresurrounds
ourdailylives,whetherweknowitornot.1Inbasicterms,ChristinaPeterssaysthestudyof
selectiveexposure
isthatpeopleexposethemselvestoexternalstimuliinaselective
way,(Peters).
Ourdailylivesconsistofbelievingwhateveryonetellsus,forthatswhatwe
WANTtobelieve.Thegirloninstagramwhoisconstantlypostingaboutherwonderful,
adventurous,goallifestyle,andtheknownrelationshipthatconsistsoftravelingtheworld,
postingabouttheirloveforoneanother,andtellingtheworldthattheyarehappiesttogether.
Whenwillwelearntonotbelieveeverythingwehear?2

Recently,moreandmorepeoplehavebeencreatingmoreandmoretypesofsocial
media.Weallcanagreethatmediaallowsustosharesomeofthebesttimesofourlives
however,thiscanbetakencontrolofandtoanextreme.Youpostwhatyouwant,andwant
whatyoupost. 3Butthefactis,thatperfectlife,thatperfectfamily,thathappiness,isnotalways
reality.Socialmediaisavastocean.4Anoceanwhichallowsyoutomakeafakelife,alifethat
youcancontrolwhatyouraudiencesees,alifethatallowsyoutodecidewhatpartsofyourlife
arepublic.Itcreatesadifferentworldofawholenewdimensionoflivesthatmaybelies.Many
peopleuseselectiveexposureasatooltoconvinceotherstofavorthesamethingstheyfavor.

DirectAddress
Alliteration
3
Chiasmus
4
Metaphor
2


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AsEssenaONiellsays,socialmediaisnotreallife.ONiell,aformermodelwhofinally
admittedtoillustratingalifeonsocialmediathatshedoesnttrulyhave,changedallher
captionsonherphotosoninstagramtoonesthatactuallyrelatedtothepictures.Ononephoto,
sheadmittedthattheOnlyreasonwewenttothebeachthismorningwastoshootthesebikinis
becausethecompanypaidme,(qtd.inWilbur).SocialmediaisthenoseofPinocchio,the
deeperwefallin,thelargerourliesbecome.5 Thatgirlwhoyouthinkhasaperfectlife,may
nothaveanythingatall.
Theyareeverythingyoucouldpossiblywantinarelationship,yettheymaybelies.
Relationshipsareanotherprimeexampleofselectiveexposure.Commonly,peopleleaveout
importantinformationintheirrelationships.Thisleadstoconfusion,confusionleadstofights,
fightsleadtosadness,andsadnessleadstoemptiness.6 Selectiveexposureallowsapersonto
keepthingstothemselves,thingsthatshouldnotbekepttothemselves.Thethoughtsthatare
notsaidleadtofeelingsthatarenotreal.Peoplecancompletelyandhopelesslyforgea
relationshipwithselectiveexposure.Withinrelationships,thepeopleinvolvedhavethechoiceto
include,andnotinclude,everythingtheyfeelordo.Thisgivesthempowerovertheother
personintherelationshipandallowstheselectiveexposuretobecomeatyranny.
Selectiveexposureisatyrannythataffectsalmosteveryone.Itisonethatmakespeople
questionthelivesthey,orothershave.Itisonethatneverseemstogoaway.Allthepeoplein
thisclass,alloftheschool,allofthenation,havebeenaffectedbythefeelingofthinkingthey
arenotgoodenoughduetootherpeopleslifestyles.Weallcompareourselvestoothers,itis
partofhumannature.Wecravetobethebest,wecravetoshowoffwecravetobethepeople
otherscravetobe.7 Throughsocialmedia,wecanconquerthesecravingsandcreatealifestyle

Allusion
Antithesis
7
Anaphora
6


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thatisinnowayreality.Isthatwhatwewant?Tocreateamadeuplife?Itistooeasytoget
awaywiththingsinrelationships,butisthatwhatisright?Isthatevenhealthy?No.8Wemust
makeachangeforourways.Iencourageyoutotakeastepbackwhenyouseesomethingyou
wishyouhad.Iencourageyoutolookatthingsineveryperspective.9Iencourageyoutonot
believeeverythingyouhear,norsee,norread,norwhatyourpeerstellyou.10 Whenwetakea
secondlookiswhenthetyrannyofselectiveexposurewillbeover,butwillrelationshipsand
socialmediabetoo?11

ShortSentenceafterseverallongones
ImperativeSentences
10
Polysyndeton
11
RhetoricalQuestion


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WorksCited
Peters,Christina."SelectiveExposureCommunicationOxfordBibliographiesObo."
Selective
Exposure
.N.p.,23Feb.2011.Web.17Nov.2015.

Wilbur,Hayley."InstagramModelQuitsPostingSelfiestoTelltheTruthaboutSocialMedia."
Mashable
.N.p.,02Nov.2015.Web.17Nov.2015.