Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA 1

Research Essay
COMM 1007
Overview
Objective:
● Upon completion of this assignment, students will be able to strategically select and
analyze evidence from reliable sources in order to logically defend and coherently
develop their perspective on a debatable issue
Due Date & Submission Instruction:
● Due Sunday April 9, 2023 by 11:59 pm EST
Percentage of Final Grade:
● 20%
Course Learning Outcome(s) Assessed:
● Analyze post-secondary sources to distinguish purpose, organization, and logic of an
argument across a variety of platforms.
● Demonstrate research skills by locating, evaluating, and organize information from a
variety of sources.
● Produce organized, unified, and coherent work using correct grammar, mechanics,
diction, and a standard formatting and documentation style.
● Create informative and persuasive texts in which the main points are supported by
appropriate evidence.
Purpose
Whether we are scrolling through social media or reading a newspaper, it seems like everybody
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has an opinion about something; however, not everything is up for debate. An issue is
debatable or contentious when it provides different perspectives and it matters to members in
our community.
The purpose of the Argumentative Research Essay (1,250 words) is to assert your own informed
and valid opinion on a debatable issue (select one of the prompts on p. 3-4). What do you have
to say about the issue? Contribute a new or refreshing perspective to the existing conversation
amongst experts.
Your goal is to create a well-researched and well-developed essay that successfully persuades an
intelligent but skeptical audience that your perspective is valid, logical, and reasonable. Use
audience-and-purpose appropriate language, incorporate and analyze at least 5 compelling and
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Created by S. Narinesingh & A. Song; Edited by Rachael A. Lewitzky

reliable research sources (primary and secondary), and appeal to logical reasoning to prove,
support, and ultimately defend your position.
To support you in developing an informed opinion about the debatable issue, we will engage in
a semester-long research and writing process; the three separate assessments leading up to the
Research Essay will prepare you to produce the final product.

Created by S. Narinesingh & A. Song; Edited by Rachael A. Lewitzky

Possible Topics (Recall: Library Assignment)

1. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and amplified the social, economic, gender, and racial
inequalities in our community. If you choose this topic, you may choose to explore the
inequities experienced by a specific group amid the COVID-19 pandemic. You may also
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choose to explain how this group is impacted and oppressed by social, economic, gender,
and/or racial barriers that prevent them from receiving healthcare, increase their
vulnerability to the disease, and exacerbate poverty.
2. Some criticize social media platforms for promoting unrealistic beauty standards; others
praise social media platforms for democratizing representation and celebrating diverse body
shapes and facial features. If you choose this topic, you may explore the debate around
social media and beauty standards. You may also choose to identify the “face” that social
media promotes and investigate how social media influences current beauty standards and
the users/consumers who scroll through social media.
3. Microaggression refers to subtle, indirect, and/or unintentional discrimination against
members of culturally marginalized groups. If you choose this topic, you may choose to
explore the debate around microaggressions and their impact. You may explain how
microaggressions operate in specific contexts, such as in the media, the workplace, at
school, etc., and analyze the message being sent by these microaggressions and their impact
on folks in our community.
4. Along with healthcare workers, food processing workers, grocery store cashiers, warehouse
workers, truck drivers, and couriers are all essential workers who ensure our health and
safety during the pandemic. Essential work, however, is often precarious, dangerous, and
low-paid. If you choose this topic, you may choose to explore the debate around the
treatment of essential workers. You may Identify the importance and the nature of a specific
essential work. To what extent is this work currently being treated, represented, and/or
compensated fairly and humanely? Offer specific solutions to encourage fairer treatment,
representation, and/or compensation.
5. Over the past few years, the #MeToo Movement has gained momentum, traction, and
critical mass around the world. As a result, folks are now taking a closer look at the
persistent problem of sexual assault and sexual violence in the hospitality industry. If you
choose this topic, you may choose to explore the debate around #MeToo and the hospitality
industry. Evaluate current solutions and policies, and offer how you think the hospitality
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industry can and should respond to sexual violence.

6. There is an emerging debate about the value of promoting harm reduction in public spaces,
such as drug testing at music festivals and safe injection sites across Toronto. If you choose
this topic, you may choose to explore the debate around harm reduction measures in public
spaces. Evaluate current solutions and policies, and offer how you think public health
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Created by S. Narinesingh & A. Song; Edited by Rachael A. Lewitzky

policies should approach drug use.

7. Because of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report and Recommendations, there
is a greater effort to begin events with an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement (ILA);
however, many critics argue that ILAs are not achieving their purpose and failing to
contribute to the spirit of truth and reconciliation. If you choose this topic, you may choose
to explore the debate around performing ILAs in public spaces. To what extent are ILAs
powerful and for whom? Analyze the impact ILAs have in public spaces, especially for
Indigenous folks, and to what extent ILAs contribute to reconciliation.

Created by S. Narinesingh & A. Song; Edited by Rachael A. Lewitzky

Research Essay Structure

Introduction:
❑ Begin with a compelling and relevant hook
❑ Provide sufficient context (background information about the issue, a summary of the
existing debate, and definitions of key concepts) to interest and inform your audience
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of the significant and controversial issue you are tackling.

❑ Assert your claim or position on the issue (thesis statement), which should be specific,
arguable, and provable
❑ Provide your reader with a roadmap (TWO logically sound reasons and/or actionable
solutions) of how you will defend and prove your thesis, which you will elaborate in
your body paragraphs

Argument 1:

❑ Argue and defend your first logically sound reason for your position and/or actionable
solution for your urgent problem
❑ Incorporate reliable secondary and primary source evidence (facts, statistics, studies,
case studies, opinions of authorities, legal documents, documentaries, interviews,
podcast episodes, etc.) to provide persuasive supporting points, details, and evidence
to defend and prove your thesis
❑ After each evidence, provide a step-by-step analysis of your evidence that logically
explains why and how the evidence you selected supports your views
❑ Throughout your essay, consistently return to and link your body paragraphs to your
thesis using logical and appropriate transitional phrases and linking words

Argument 2:

❑ Argue and defend your second logically sound reason for your position and/or
actionable solution for your urgent problem
❑ Incorporate reliable secondary and primary source evidence (facts, statistics, studies,
case studies, opinions of authorities, legal documents, documentaries, interviews,
podcast episodes, etc.) to provide persuasive supporting points, details, and evidence
to defend and prove your thesis
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❑ After each evidence, provide a step-by-step analysis of your evidence that logically
explains why and how the evidence you selected supports your views
❑ Throughout your essay, consistently return to and link your body paragraphs to your
thesis using logical and appropriate transitional phrases and linking words

Conclusion:

Created by S. Narinesingh & A. Song; Edited by Rachael A. Lewitzky

❑ Restate your thesis statement and summarize the Argument paragraphs

❑ Conclude with a call to action or other final thoughts for your reader

Created by S. Narinesingh & A. Song; Edited by Rachael A. Lewitzky

Part 2: Research Essay

Research Essay Success Criteria
The following features are the success criteria for this assignment. Please follow this link to the
rubric, which also details how you will be marked:
❑ Produce approximately 1,250 words
❑ Communicate in grammatically correct sentences and a formal tone (i.e. no slang or
colloquialism)
❑ Include the use of “I” (use sparingly and appropriately)
❑ Include compelling and reliable research sources as evidence (at least 5 primary and/or
secondary sources)
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❑ Analyze evidence through fair, logical, and insightful reasoning

❑ Incorporate research sources as paraphrases; only quote when necessary and do not
include long/block quotations (40 words or more)
❑ Follow APA referencing and formatting (Reference page, title page, Times New Roman,
font size 12, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, headers).
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Criticism of social media for promoting unrealistic beauty standards

Student Name

University Name

Professor Name

Date
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Social media and beauty standards

Introduction

People use social media as a channel for communication with their loved ones. People

utilize this platform to stay updated on current events and the state of the world. Now that the

younger generation is getting increasingly insecure as a result of false beauty expectations, social

media is causing more harm than good. Unrealistic beauty standards are created by social media

and have an adverse effect on people (Laughter, Anderson, Maymone, & Kroumpouzos, 2023).

People have specifically encountered identity problems as a result of the inflated beauty

standards propagated by social media. It also contributes to a variety of mental health problems

like stress, anxiety, and depression. Social media should be avoided since it helps people live

better lives and solve identity problems. People should take back control of their technology use

and pay attention to their self-esteem.

Set Social media Boundaries

Regaining control over technology use can help people avoid beauty standards, so it is

important to do so. People must establish clear, unaffected social media limits. Permanently

logging out is neither a surefire nor an accurate way to ease people's anxieties in a world that is

increasingly dependent on social media. Because it is the danger individuals face when they cut

themselves off from significant amounts of important information. Nowadays, having access to

technology is essential for being informed about the world. Therefore, it is impossible to

disconnect from social media. But it is positively possible to be more considerate about handling

the impact of the digital world on people's mental health (Markova & Azocar, 2021). This is
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important to control the usage of social media because it set some unrealistic beauty stands such

as a woman must be slim, with long hair, white, and must have a good height.

A girl is not considered lovely if she lacks these attributes. It's difficult to look around

and not notice a group of women who are flawlessly beautiful, or who have flat stomachs,

magnificent breasts, intolerably long legs, and perky bottoms. Anxiety is brought on by all of

these criteria. According to the study, people, particularly women, are under pressure from the

media to adhere to particular aesthetic standards. Many women use cosmetics to meet the

inflated beauty standards of social media. The author of this study did a survey in Japan and saw

how social media pressures women and how they experience various mental health difficulties

(Ando, Giorgianni, Danthinne, & Rodgers, 2021). Further, it suggests that people need to avoid

all of these beauty standards. So, there is a need to avoid the usage of social media as much as

possible which helps to reduce identity issues in women.

Even while people might think they are idly skimming through such stuff, the human

psyche has already saturated it all, and before they even become aware of it, those flawlessly

sculpted bodies have established the benchmark by which they judge everything else. Within this

false perfectionism, there lies a misleading problem. The issue is that there is no reality and

everything is made up, but reading this post can lead to identity crises and a variety of other

mental health problems in people. Therefore, the best course of action is to steer clear of them,

establish social media limits, and stop following all the models and other brands that promote

false beauty standards.

Self Esteem
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Another way to avoid the effects of unrealistic beauty standards is to focus on self-

esteem. Every person has his or her own identity. There are no specific standards of beauty that

are used to judge people. People must know about their worth and avoid comparison with other

individuals. The comparison can harmful to people's perception of their looks. Moreover, social

media makes a false sense of impractical expectations as well as creates one standard for 'beauty'

on the basis of the goes viral on platforms of digital media. Ever-developing beauty standards

sort it more difficult to feel attractive in individual own skin and his or her own body. The

comparison lowers the self-esteem of the person and is now because of digital media (Mills,

Shannon, & Hogue, 2017). Comparison of the features of the body that has negative on people

and reduces their self-esteem and confidence. Further, It creates it that tougher to feel worthy

about themselves while they feel that they cannot living up to the pictures they perceive on social

media, particularly when the individuals who devise that good look are living 'perfect lives.

According to Henriques and fellows social media has a negative impact on the self-

esteem of the person. It does not only affect the person but also affects other people around him

or her. They analyze the book on beauty which analyzed how social media beauty standards

affect the self-esteem of the person (Henriques & Patnaik, 2020). It suggests that there is no need

to focus on beauty standards and compare themselves with others because it causes identity

issues that affect effect their lives. Further it also affects their confidence and reduces their

worth. For example, when a person feels worthless he or she avoids talking with anyone because

negative thoughts come to mind and affect their relationship. So, it is important for people to

compare with the people and understand their worth. They are worthy and they are beautiful in

their own way. In this world no one is ugly. Everyone is beautiful and so, individuals especially

women should avoid focusing on unrealistic beauty stands.

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The game of beating the individuals next to the person gets that much tougher when they

are contending with lots of strangers' posts such as their photos of their dazzling lives. If a person

finds it difficult to stop associating themselves with the images they realize on social media. So,

it is suggested that revolving their focus back to themselves. In addition, people need to think

about what they like best about themselves or what they are most satisfied with. Moreover, there

is a need to avoid the show up on social media (Ando, Giorgianni, Danthinne, & Rodgers, 2021).

People need to be happy with themselves. This way is useful for people to avoid unrealistic

beauty standards and also increase the worth of a person.

Conclusion

It is concluded that there is a need to avoid social media. People cannot stop utilizing

media, but there is a need to restrict how much time they spend on social media. Because of

unattainable beauty standards, people experience identity crises as well as a variety of mental

health problems. Nowadays, social media establishes idealized beauty standards for people that

have an impact on both men and women. They undervalue themselves and extol others as a

result of these norms. They begin to accept the unattainable false beauty standards. People

should concentrate on establishing limits that help to prevent all of these standards and also

reduce mental health concerns in order to reduce all of these issues. People who use social media

in moderation spend more time alone. Another method is that they should place more emphasis

on the system and think that each person is beautiful in their own right. The world has no

standard by which to judge beauty. People should therefore pay more attention to their value.
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References

Ando, K., Giorgianni, F. E., Danthinne, E. S., & Rodgers, R. F. (2021). Beauty ideals, social

media, and body positivity: A qualitative investigation of influences on body image

among young women in Japan. Body Image,, 358-369. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144521000668

Henriques, M., & Patnaik, D. (2020). Social media and its effects on beauty. In Beauty-Cosmetic

Science, Cultural Issues and Creative Developments. Retrieved from

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/73271

Laughter, M. R., Anderson, J. B., Maymone, M. B., & Kroumpouzos, G. (2023). Psychology of

aesthetics: beauty, social media, and body dysmorphic disorder. Clinics in Dermatology.

Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0738081X23000299

Markova, I., & Azocar, C. (2021). Body ideals of undergraduate women and the proliferation of

social media: An exploratory study. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal,

76-92. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fcsr.12412

Mills, J. S., Shannon, A., & Hogue, J. (2017). Beauty, body image, and the media. Perception of

beauty, 145-157. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.pk/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=Gv2PDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA145&dq=Social+media+and+beauty

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nepage&q=Social%20media%20and%20beauty%20standards&f=false