Do you think anxiety is a serious problem among young people? - By Shannon Doyne
Summary:
Doyne's article has an extract from Alex Williams book called "Prozac nation is now the Untied State of Xanax". In this extract Williams states that almost a 1/3 of students aged 13 to 17 have an anxiety disorder in collages in America. He then goes on to tell us how phones and the internet are a big cause of anxiety due to the sensationalized stories of global warming and other "scary as hell stuff". However Williams brings up a good point on how if social media has cased this epidemic, it can also be used to relieve it. Anxiety is now more well known and not as stigmatized thanks to its presence on social mediaMy thoughts:
The purpose of this text is to show society how many people suffer from the disorder and that we can help them. I believe it also shows an insight into the power of social medias and how much they affect people. That, in addition, is also why it's interesting to me because it let me see how little I knew about how big anxiety is and furthermore how powerful social media is.Must we really be a nation of fat-shamers? - By Sonia Sodha
Link to the article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/02/must-we-really-be-nation-of-fat-shamers
Summary:
This opinion article shows Sodha's goal of trying to shift
society's view of obese people to become a more accepting society
wherein the obese aren't stigmatized and are instead treated with kindness.
Although Sodha believes fat-shaming is wrong, she understands that being obese
isn't healthy and wants to try and help the obese by challenging the
stereotypes in order to have more of an effective reform. As she puts it
"It’s a tricky line to tread. But we have got to find a way of doing it,
not least because fat stigma makes it harder, not easier, for people to lose
weight."
My thoughts:
The article was made for the purpose of promoting a better
way of challenging obesity, which leads me to believe it's aimed at society as
a whole but more specifically obese people, the NHS and also those who do fat
shame. what I found interesting was that it made me think of the broader
picture of obesity, like the psychological reasoning behind why these people
are obese. This leads onto her point of why a kinder approach to fighting
obesity would be better.
When will sport stop treating women as a joke? - By Barbara Ellen
Link to the article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/01/lizzie-armitstead-sexism-cycling-barbara-ellen
Summary:
Barbara Ellen's opinion article tries to tackle sexism in sport by using the example of British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead, former world race champion, and reigning Commonwealth road race champion. She then goes onto show how sport shows favoritism towards males. Ellen is challenging the sports community in order to make it a fairer place for both sexes. Ellen brought up some good points about how some female athletes are seen as less feminine because they are more "butch".
My thoughts:
I did agree with Ellen that there is a double standard in sport and that it's harder for women to get into sport, this lead me to do some research and I found that the women's NFL in America has them wearing bikinis which further shows the sexism in sport. However, sport is changing and more and more women are taking part in sport because of role models such as Jessica Ennis and Serena Williams.
How often do you talk to yourself? - By Caroline Crosson Gilpin
Link to the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/learning/how-often-do-you-talk-to-yourself.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Flearning-student-opinion&action=click&contentCollection=learning®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection
Summary:
A student opinion article by Caroline Crosson Gilpin contemplates the benefits of speaking to yourself. Apparently it can make you more motivated to do something; the example given was playing basketball, those who spoke to themselves passed the ball faster. So this begs the question: would you rather look like you have a few screws missing in order to be more motivated, or be 'normal' and worse at something? My thoughts:
In response to that question I would happily look like a loony in order to be more successful. Gilpin's articles purpose is to spark conversation between everyone with there even being questions for us waiting at the end of the column. I found reading this interesting because it shows us how our brains function which I find quite intriguing.Didn't he do well: How Bruce Forsyth made Saturday nights swing - By Mark Lawson
Link to the article: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/18/didnt-he-do-well-how-bruce-forsyth-made-saturday-nights-swing
Summary:
Mark Lawson pays tribute to the legacy of sir Bruce Forsyth and how he made generations smile in his over 70 years on the TV, from a teenager playing "Boy Bruce, the mighty atom" all the way to now and Strictly come dancing. Lawson does this on his article for the Guardian.
My thoughts:
I think that the article does a great job of describing Forsyth's show biz career and showed me, who only really saw him on Strictly come dancing, that he was there from the very start really and had 7 decades of his life on the TV. So, the purpose was to let everyone see the amazing career of the late sir Bruce Forsyth. This opinion article by Mark Lawson allowed me to realize that without Bruce, TV today may be a very different thing.
Where is all of your most recent work, Lewis? E.g. language and technology, language and gender
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