Week #1.1 Discussions: Instagram and Depression

As we explore Rogerian argument throughout this session, one topic that is constantly in the news is the impact, positive or negative, that social media has on our everyday lives.  While the popularity of platforms continues to change, one that has remained popular is Instagram, and a recent study produced some interesting results.

Read the article below that claims that Instagram is good for people with insecurities and depression.  In the latter half of the article is a link titled “reasons to believe Instagram is bad for self-esteem.”  Click on that and read it after you are done with the first article.

What do you think of the claims and research being done here?  While social media was first seen as a harmless distraction (and a waste of time), the idea that the potential impact it has, positive and negative, is currently being advanced more than ever before.  Who makes the better case in the arguments here?  What is the most compelling evidence? What anecdotal evidence do you have that supports either one of these points of view?

Week #1.1 Discussions: Instagram and Depression Answer

The claims and research done between the two articles show that these are two different writings. Maggie Parker’s article uses research, while Olivia Fleming used investigative journalism. One difference is that Parker used deductive reasoning for her claims, using a generalized view towards the individual experiences of people she described in the article, while Fleming used inductive reasoning, promoting individual experiences to come up with the general view of the situation.