"How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror" by Rachel Simmons has a title that speaks for itself by using logos to compare the toxicity of Social Media on the lives of teens today. Simmons educates us on the obscurity between social media and concerns regarding body confidence. She begins with using ethos by mentioning that she is an educator to build the credibility that has experience working with teens. I will be critiquing "How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror" by Rachel Simmons by stating her main arguments and using text throughout the article to support her theories.
Simmons begins by using logos to argue that social media does not necessarily cause the problem of body image concerns, but there is a strong association between them. Platforms …show more content…
With the use of free editing applications, which allows teens to "cover up pimples, whiten teeth, and even airbrush with the swipe of a finger" (Simmons 1). This results in a less than perfect view of our bodies due to the introduction of the modern age of social media like Instagram and Snapchat which promote filters that make your face appear slimmer and your skin to look smoother. She is successful in her argument by using pathos and introducing us to a young woman who says she does not get to choose how she looks today "if I could, my body would look different. But I can choose which picture makes my arms look thinner" (Simmons 1). Whether it is editing a photo, or selecting a certain photo because it creates the illusion of one appearing thinner, social media provides teens with control over how they want to be portrayed online, as opposed to reality which results in low self-esteem when it comes to physical social …show more content…
These fitness celebrities have millions of teens following their accounts who thrive to have a body like theirs and become intoxicated by the influence of their accounts and websites. Simmons uses pathos by educating us about websites which contain "strong language inducing guilt about weight or the body" (Simmons 2). As well as introducing us to Ruby Tandoh, a 24-year-old woman who "recounted how a focus on a 'healthy' and 'clean' eating and 'lifestyle' enabled her to hide her increasingly disordered eating and deflected concerned peers" (Simmons 2). She was easily able to convince her peers that she had "found wellness" (Simmons 2). When in reality she "was not well" (Simmons 2). Ruby was using the seemingly positive idea of clean eating to conceal her unhealthy eating
Simmons begins by using logos to argue that social media does not necessarily cause the problem of body image concerns, but there is a strong association between them. Platforms …show more content…
With the use of free editing applications, which allows teens to "cover up pimples, whiten teeth, and even airbrush with the swipe of a finger" (Simmons 1). This results in a less than perfect view of our bodies due to the introduction of the modern age of social media like Instagram and Snapchat which promote filters that make your face appear slimmer and your skin to look smoother. She is successful in her argument by using pathos and introducing us to a young woman who says she does not get to choose how she looks today "if I could, my body would look different. But I can choose which picture makes my arms look thinner" (Simmons 1). Whether it is editing a photo, or selecting a certain photo because it creates the illusion of one appearing thinner, social media provides teens with control over how they want to be portrayed online, as opposed to reality which results in low self-esteem when it comes to physical social …show more content…
These fitness celebrities have millions of teens following their accounts who thrive to have a body like theirs and become intoxicated by the influence of their accounts and websites. Simmons uses pathos by educating us about websites which contain "strong language inducing guilt about weight or the body" (Simmons 2). As well as introducing us to Ruby Tandoh, a 24-year-old woman who "recounted how a focus on a 'healthy' and 'clean' eating and 'lifestyle' enabled her to hide her increasingly disordered eating and deflected concerned peers" (Simmons 2). She was easily able to convince her peers that she had "found wellness" (Simmons 2). When in reality she "was not well" (Simmons 2). Ruby was using the seemingly positive idea of clean eating to conceal her unhealthy eating