The Role Of Social Media In The Scarlet Letter
As I was debating topics to discuss in my Scarlet Letter paper, I stumbled across one more than intriguing concept: the modern “scarlet letter.” Though societal expectations have changed over time, the authority that we allow society to hold over us has remained constant. Today, social media has become what used to be a literal scarlet letter “A” as seen in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel. To me, this is an extremely interesting topic, as I also find myself succumbing to behavioral pressures that society has placed upon us. Because I can relate to this on a personal level, I feel the need to learn why people such as myself allow the world to dictate everything we do. As seen by reading The Scarlet Letter or simply logging onto Instagram, it is
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In the 21st century, you would assume that as a society, we would know better than to label people by their mistakes. Any social media site would tell you otherwise. Tiger Woods, for example. One of the greatest golfers in the world committed adultery and to this day, there are news articles published reading “Tiger Woods: Serial Cheater?” or “A Brief History of the Tiger Woods Scandal.” Why does this concern me? Why does this concern you? Why does this concern anyone besides Tiger Woods and his (former) wife? The only thing missing from this story is the letter “A” embroidered onto his shirt. For some reason, we allow society to assert such authority upon us that it creates a pressure to act a certain way, to live a certain way, and to think a certain way. In order to find out why the world around has such a strong grip on our actions and emotions, I ask the question: Why is it that we feel such pressure to succumb to certain standards set in place by society even within the most socially and technologically advanced time period yet? From the bits of research that I have done so far, I have come up with a thesis statement in response to the previous question: Although social expectations in America have changed over time, the difference between what is socially “right and wrong” has continued for centuries to make it difficult to avoid feeling the utmost forms of shame and guilt for “stepping out of line”, allowing for society to assert authority over us through social media in a way that has created a 21st century form of the Puritan
In the 21st century, you would assume that as a society, we would know better than to label people by their mistakes. Any social media site would tell you otherwise. Tiger Woods, for example. One of the greatest golfers in the world committed adultery and to this day, there are news articles published reading “Tiger Woods: Serial Cheater?” or “A Brief History of the Tiger Woods Scandal.” Why does this concern me? Why does this concern you? Why does this concern anyone besides Tiger Woods and his (former) wife? The only thing missing from this story is the letter “A” embroidered onto his shirt. For some reason, we allow society to assert such authority upon us that it creates a pressure to act a certain way, to live a certain way, and to think a certain way. In order to find out why the world around has such a strong grip on our actions and emotions, I ask the question: Why is it that we feel such pressure to succumb to certain standards set in place by society even within the most socially and technologically advanced time period yet? From the bits of research that I have done so far, I have come up with a thesis statement in response to the previous question: Although social expectations in America have changed over time, the difference between what is socially “right and wrong” has continued for centuries to make it difficult to avoid feeling the utmost forms of shame and guilt for “stepping out of line”, allowing for society to assert authority over us through social media in a way that has created a 21st century form of the Puritan