Speech Critical Review: Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? (TED 2018)

Bailey Parnell got off to a good start with her speech. She began by saying internal monologues from social media users, such as “She is 19 years old, but she does not believe in barriers and break them. What should I do with my life?” (0.16). She gave an example of case study where we often compare ourselves with others after accessing social media and this will draw the audience’s attention. She also stated the purpose of her speech, namely to discuss about - “The unintended consequence social media is having on your mental health”.

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Parnell’s also integrates three elements of rhetoric: logos, ethos, and pathos. She builds her logos with the statement “What is social media doing to me? That was only four days and it was anxiety-inducing, it was stressful and it resulted in withdrawals” (2.03). “We spent on average two hours a day there” (3.31). These statements attract the audience's experience because on this day, it is difficult to escape from social media. Opening up social media seems to be something that everybody must do these days. In the speech, she also mentions expert research from The Canadian Association of Mental Health (10.08) “...grades 7-12 students who spent over 2 hours on social media reported higher depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts” and “I worked in social marketing primarily in higher education. That means I work with a lot of 18-24 years olds, which also happens to be the most active demographic on social media” (2.24). All these said shows the ethos and credibility of the speaker, which she included references and work's experience in her speech. “...we are already experiencing... with every like, you get a shot that feel-good chemical, dopamine” (9.25). This is for the pathos, she provides a case that we often experience in using social media, where this will bind the emotions of the audience who feel the same way. It is undeniable that getting a large amount of likes makes us happy. We'd like to keep uploading photos. A unique phenomenon that I often find on the social media platform Instagram is when my friends choose a specific time to post images in order to receive a large amount of likes.

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During the speech, she always provides a clear topic sentence to describe what will be explained next, such as “When social media use goes unconfronted overtime, that’s when we see the rising levels of anxiety and depression” (9.54). Parnell also makes flashy statements that we sometimes don't even notice. “When we talk about this dark side of social media, what we really talk about is the dark side of people” (11.17). This statement creates a serious bond with the audience when we open social media and look at people’s highlight reel and compare them to our lives. Or when we don't get many likes, we'll take down our posts. It has a long-term effect on our perceptions of social media.

In delivering her speech, she has good body language and maintains a relaxed gesture. Not much movement was made during the speech. The volume, pause, and intonation of the voice are all properly controlled. She also uses PowerPoint to assist her in conveying her statement to the audience. Parnell's speech was overall very professional, with a relaxed speaking style.  And there’s no points that were missed or difficult to understand.

References :

Caulfield, J. (2020). How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis. Scribbr. Retrieved from                      https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/rhetorical-analysis/ 

Warm Regards,

Ramadhani Widita Andini Pratinawang (195110507111004)

Critical Reading C