Claire Solomon10/25/14 Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric Part 1: Research Proposal YOUR NAME: Claire Solomon TOPIC: I am studying the impact of social media on the body image of young girls. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: I am studying this because I want to understand the less obvious effects of the ever-popular social media craze. I want to find out how these outlets can act as a sort of market to sell products to young people – girls in particular – and how these websites are positively or negatively affecting the next generation of women. AUDIENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE: My research assignment would primarily be aimed at young girls and their parents. This topic is important for parents to understand in order to better raise young girls and help to form them into confident, happy people. It is wise for parents to be educated about these possible dangers in order to prevent or stop young girls from developing a negative body image or low self-esteem. In addition, it is vital for young girls to be aware of the hidden risks involved in becoming active in the world of social media. They may not realize what’s happening to them until it is too late. CONTEXT: As the effects of social media on youth are being unveiled through numerous research ventures, it’s important to be aware of how this media affects the lives of young people because more and more companies are taking advantage of its commercial benefits. Social media is a straightforward, inexpensive, and effective way to advertise products to young people. The issue is also especially timely since social media is taking over many aspects of life today. KEY SOURCES FOUND SO FAR: MLA Citation Type of Source Russello, Salenna (2009) "The Impact of Media Exposure on Self-Esteem and Body Satisfaction in Men and Women," Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research: Vol. 1, Article 4. Article from the Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Clay, Daniel, Vivian L. Vignoles, and Helga Dittmar. "Body Image and SelfEsteem Among Adolescent Girls: Testing the Influence of Sociocultural Factors." Journal of Research on Adolescence (2005): 451-77. Print. Mabe, Annalise G., BS, K. Jean Forney, MS, and Pamela K. Keel, PhD. "Do You “like” My Photo? Facebook Use Maintains Eating Disorder Risk." International Journal of Eating Disorders 47.5 (2014): 516-23. Article from the Journal of Research on Adolescence Article from the International Journal of Eating Disorders What does the source offer to your project? It offers a lot of interesting facts and outlines different topics surrounding the topic: internalization of sociocultural ideals, selfesteem, weight issues, and social comparison – all things that can result from exposure to social media. It also describes an experiment that concerns these issues in college students. It offers another professional look at the issue. It’s interesting because it compares the general self-esteem of women and men. It addresses media in general – not just social media sources. Although I haven’t read the article in full yet (I am going to obtain a hard copy at the library), the article addresses Facebook – social media royalty – and its affects on women – specifically in the realms of anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and the development of eating disorders. Print. "Impact of Social Media on Teenagers – Dove Self-Esteem." Doveselfesteem. Unilever, 26 June 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. Online article from the website of Dove’s SelfEsteem Project This article discusses the impact of social media on teenage girls and gives advice for parents to avoid the problems that can come with social media. Part 2: Exploratory Draft I am studying the impact of social media on young girls in order to shed light on a source of insecurity in these teens in order to better combat depression and other mood disorders in adolescents. This topic is exceptionally engaging for me because I have a couple close friends and relatives who have struggled with low self-esteem, insecurity, and other disorders that can arise from these issues. I have always tried my hardest to help my friends and be a reliable support system. The topics of depression, anxiety, and insecurity have been becoming more popular as more is being learned about these devastating diseases; social media has been rapidly taking over from traditional means of communication. Many people might not link these two seemingly unrelated aspects of our world, and because of this, many young girls are becoming victims to the devastating effects that can result from increased exposure to social media, one of which is lowered self-esteem and increased insecurity. Young girls and their parents are the main audience members for this project. The young women are especially important to address because they are the ones who can suffer from these effects of social media. It is important to educate them in order to prevent negative feelings that may cause problems later in life, as well as equip them with the tools they need to recognize if they’re already suffering from social media in order to become wiser users of this new form of communication. Parents are also important audience members because they can help their children develop responsible Internet habits as well as a healthy, positive self-image. I realize that my topic is a little broad, but I think it will give me the freedom to explore different aspects of the effects of social media on young girls – lower selfesteem, development of altered eating habits, increased competition with friends for the “perfect” social life, and other effects that I may not even be aware of at this point. I don’t want to only focus on the lower self-esteem aspect, because I don’t know if I could pull out a whole 8-10 page paper on that alone. Having this topic will allow me to research and choose a few consequences that really interest me further and help me firmly develop my claim. So far, I’ve found a lot of articles from scholarly journals, which provide accounts of different studies that have been performed on the topic. That information will definitely be helpful because they provide concrete, scientific evidence behind my claims. It will provide proof to those who may disagree with me. I think some young girls might disagree with me because they cannot recognize the effects that can appear from using social media, or by those who are not impacted. I want to find more nonfiction books that may address the topic and some first-hand accounts of those who were negatively changed by social media. I really like my topic so far, but I’m a little anxious about narrowing it down to a few specific points. I’m not used to getting materials from the school’s library, so I’m interested in learning about how to check out books and other materials as well as use the photocopying machine. Knowing me, I think I’ll have a little trouble stringing my thoughts and points together to form a coherent, logical argument. I haven’t written a research paper in a while, so this project will definitely be a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.