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Statement of Purpose Draft

The sad girls phenomenon was an internet movement and aesthetic that gained popularity in the mid 2010s. It became popular on the social media platform and micro blogging site, tumblr. Members connected to this aesthetic shared similar memes, dressed them the same, and listened to similar types of melancholic music. The singer and songwriter, Lana Del Ray, is a great example of this aesthetic movement. We examined this aesthetic in class, and it seemed to me that social media was a huge part of why it became so popular. The purpose of my project is to examine if social media is causing people to be sad, or if it is what people are exposing themselves to on social media that is causing them to be sad. Through research, trips to the Benton Museum and Dodd Archives, and a little time annotating and writing poetry, I was able to come up with a result. Elements of the project that contribute to its message include peer-reviewed research articles, a painting, and a primary source. Through library research, I was able to find the hazards of adolescents using social media, and the connection of social media use to mental health. In the archives I found the book American Manifesto, by Todd M. Thyber. This book details all the issues in America. On social media these issues are only amplified to a greater effect, and it is hard to spend time on social media without seeing them. At the Benton I viewed a painting called What a Golden Beak! By Sue Coe. This picture depicted how politicians and mega corporations profit from all conflict. This can be applied to the loneliness, sadness, and depression epidemics of current and the past ten years. The Sad Girls movement actively promotes drug use and paraphernalia, encouraging their usage. This makes the government and pharmaceutical companies lots of money. All in all, this project looks at the influence of social media on mental health, exploring whether itself or the content consumed contributes to feelings of sadness. Through research, analysis of primary sources, and artistic interpretation, it becomes evident that while social media amplifies societal issues and promotes certain behaviors, people's mental health is shaped by the content they interact with and expose themselves to. 

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Archival Source From The Dodd With Annotation

The author of my selected archival object is Todd M. Thyberg, a Minnesota resident. Its audience is the American people. The text is meant to call citizens to action on a number of national issues. 

I noticed it shows the bad things in America from a more progressive perspective. I agreed with most of the information presented in the book, and that our country really is not #1 in many categories of day to day life and liberties.

Thelandersson can be placed into conversation with this archival object because both mention political and economic disparities, and these very well could be some of the reasons why Sad Girls are a thing. 

With my guiding question being, is it social media that causes sadness, or is it was users are exposing themselves to that does, seeing that a lot of the topics present in the book are shown on social media, possibly shows that social media, whether it be as a whole or what people are looking at, is making people sad. 

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Visual Text From The Benton With Ekphrastic

So as long as the boys keep going overseas

The politicians and corporations pockets will be lined

There are issues at home

But building tanks and planes seems to be more important

The streets are crowded

The roads need fixing

Crime is on the increase

Needs are becoming unaffordable

Debt is out of hand

But we have to keep fighting

We have to keep giving money out

Personal profits are more important than citizens lives

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Second Peer-Reviewed Source

Karim F, Oyewande AA, Abdalla LF, Chaudhry Ehsanullah R, Khan S. Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2020 Jun 15;12(6):e8627. doi: 10.7759/cureus.8627. PMID: 32685296; PMCID: PMC7364393.

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First Peer-Reviewed Source

Rajamohan S, Bennett E, Tedone D. The hazards and benefits of social media use in adolescents. Nursing. 2019 Nov;49(11):52-56. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000585908.13109.24. PMID: 31651777.