What Should I Write My Persuasive Essay About?

Question by Euclace: What should I write my persuasive essay about?
The subject is supposed to be pop culture, somehow relating popular cultural trends to the values of U.S. society at large (eg, Rihanna and Chris Brown or whoever getting into domestic abuse disputes being indicative of kids growing up too fast or of violence becoming more or less acceptable). He also said we could write about anything we wanted as long as we had an argument, but I think he’d prefer that we met his guidelines.

So what should I write about?

Best answer:

Answer by Elbie
Argue about how society is influenced by the following quirky aspects of society:

__A. SLANG TALK: Each generation’s popular social practices, often become accepted into our formal language and lexicon. In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. What is understood as the “general vocabulary” is itself an ongoing social process which privileges certain groups and perspectives; therefore, despite its critics, the slang talk that becomes apart of the general vocabulary, is created by a “privileged” class of people.
__B. -FOOD: In each culture there are both acceptable and unacceptable foods, though this is not determined by whether or not something is edible…it is determined by the values, beliefs, and attitudes of the culture. For example, Americans have become a nation of Fast Food Junkies which is largely in part because of our instant-gratification, fast-paced lifestyles in an individualistic culture. Whereas, some other cultures view our “fast food addiction” as absurd and disgusting. Likewise, horses, turtles, and dogs are eaten (and even considered a delicacy) in some cultures, though they are unacceptable food sources in other cultures.
__C. -PHOBIAS: These fears come in all different, and sometime strange, forms. Cross-cultural psychologists point out that phobias are influenced by cultural factors. Agoraphobia, for example, is much more common in the United States and Europe than in other areas of the world. A social phobia common in Japan but almost nonexistent in the West is “taijin kyofusho”, an incapacitating fear of harming others through one’s own awkward social behavior or imagined physical defect.
–SCHOOL BURN-OUT: This controversial issue is concerning the amount of school-related activities and requirements young people face now in school or the community and how that often leads to “school burn-out.” Faced with an unlimited amount of choices combined with the pressure of a fast-paced-world, young people are spreading their selves too thin by engaging in a number of commitments. Besides physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, there are several more pressing consequences of school burn-out.
–YELLOW JOURNALISM: Media for many people are a source of information on topics and news. But the current trend has showed how sensationalism in journalism is becoming widespread. These sensational and scandalous stories are called “Yellow Journalism,” which is journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers or viewers. Tired of news on TV that exploit other people’s misfortunes? Why it is unethical for journalists to make money from stories on victimizations, scandals, natural disasters, deaths, and war?
–CYBER-BULLYING: (cyberbullying is defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.”) Cyber-bullying has grown as a means of threatening, intimidating or harassing others over the past several years. It can take many forms, including posting private or embarrassing photos of someone, developing websites to rate people’s appearance, creating hateful blogs about someone, stealing electronic passwords, or spreading lies. This controversial issue explores the arguments of censorship, the freedom of speech, the definition of ‘willful harm/harassment.’

The following are questions and topics that can easily be structured to fit a persuasive essay format:
–Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Modern technology is creating a single world culture… OR… Telephones / email have made communication between people less personal.
–When famous people such as actors, athletes and rock stars give their opinions, many people listen. Do you think we should pay attention to these opinions?

What do you think? Answer below!

Chapter 15: Abuse, Addiction, and Dependency – Focus: Alcohol and Excessive Drinking.