Using Satire to Convict Social Media Social media has inspired a stronger set of issues in the lives of the current youth, according to Shannon Purtle in “Why Social Media Should Be Left Alone”, specifically issues dealing with authenticity. In a time when social media is on the rise, Purtle addresses the lacking of real connections and endangerments surrounding magnified typical teenage issues caused by those programs within the lives of young Americans. As a teenager, or young adult, there is an immense amount of exposure to assimilation from one self-conscious teen to the next unsure teen. Through using satirical strategies such as an ironic tone, ridiculous and contradicting rhetoric, ironic questions and analogies to common phrases, Purtle …show more content…
Purtle uses the questions “Quantity over quality right?”, “Does it actually matter if the numerous relationships are genuine?” and “why should the quality of life that a teenager is experiencing be put over the quantity of their experiences?”. These questions underly a basic cultural value of living for quality and satisfaction, especially when a person is of young age, rather than living for quantitative aspects. By ironically suggesting quantity over quality through the form of a question, Purtle is able to highlight the values at stake. She conveys the basic victims, or in this case values, that are being affected due to social …show more content…
She brings up a common idea of a “little birdie” known for gossipping and spreading information. The personality she portrays in the “birdie” is similar to that of the Mockingbird who is never seen as guilty just for being the transporter of sound. This strategy is satirical because she ironically uses an innocent idea to show how “the little birdie” or social media is actually guilty. By using this analogy, Purtle is able to further show through the manipulation of a common analogy that Social Media is causing negativity, and is not innocent in these current