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How to Write the Community Essay – Guide with Examples (2023-24)

September 6, 2023

Students applying to college this year will inevitably confront the community essay. In fact, most students will end up responding to several community essay prompts for different schools. For this reason, you should know more than simply how to approach the community essay as a genre. Rather, you will want to learn how to decipher the nuances of each particular prompt, in order to adapt your response appropriately. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that, through several community essay examples. These examples will also demonstrate how to avoid cliché and make the community essay authentically and convincingly your own.

Emphasis on Community

Do keep in mind that inherent in the word “community” is the idea of multiple people. The personal statement already provides you with a chance to tell the college admissions committee about yourself as an individual. The community essay, however, suggests that you depict yourself among others. You can use this opportunity to your advantage by showing off interpersonal skills, for example. Or, perhaps you wish to relate a moment that forged important relationships. This in turn will indicate what kind of connections you’ll make in the classroom with college peers and professors.

Apart from comprising numerous people, a community can appear in many shapes and sizes. It could be as small as a volleyball team, or as large as a diaspora. It could fill a town soup kitchen, or spread across five boroughs. In fact, due to the internet, certain communities today don’t even require a physical place to congregate. Communities can form around a shared identity, shared place, shared hobby, shared ideology, or shared call to action. They can even arise due to a shared yet unforeseen circumstance.

What is the Community Essay All About?             

In a nutshell, the community essay should exhibit three things:

• An aspect of yourself, 2. in the context of a community you belonged to, and 3. how this experience may shape your contribution to the community you’ll join in college.

It may look like a fairly simple equation: 1 + 2 = 3. However, each college will word their community essay prompt differently, so it’s important to look out for additional variables. One college may use the community essay as a way to glimpse your core values. Another may use the essay to understand how you would add to diversity on campus. Some may let you decide in which direction to take it—and there are many ways to go!

To get a better idea of how the prompts differ, let’s take a look at some real community essay prompts from the current admission cycle.

Sample 2023-2024 Community Essay Prompts

1) brown university.

“Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)”

A close reading of this prompt shows that Brown puts particular emphasis on place. They do this by using the words “home,” “College Hill,” and “where they came from.” Thus, Brown invites writers to think about community through the prism of place. They also emphasize the idea of personal growth or change, through the words “inspired or challenged you.” Therefore, Brown wishes to see how the place you grew up in has affected you. And, they want to know how you in turn will affect their college community.

“NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Here, NYU places an emphasis on students’ “identity,” “backgrounds,” and “diversity,” rather than any physical place. (For some students, place may be tied up in those ideas.) Furthermore, while NYU doesn’t ask specifically how identity has changed the essay writer, they do ask about your “experience.” Take this to mean that you can still recount a specific moment, or several moments, that work to portray your particular background. You should also try to link your story with NYU’s values of inclusivity and opportunity.

3) University of Washington

“Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. (300 words max) Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.”

UW ’s community essay prompt may look the most approachable, for they help define the idea of community. You’ll notice that most of their examples (“families,” “cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood”…) place an emphasis on people. This may clue you in on their desire to see the relationships you’ve made. At the same time, UW uses the words “individual” and “richly diverse.” They, like NYU, wish to see how you fit in and stand out, in order to boost campus diversity.

Writing Your First Community Essay

Begin by picking which community essay you’ll write first. (For practical reasons, you’ll probably want to go with whichever one is due earliest.) Spend time doing a close reading of the prompt, as we’ve done above. Underline key words. Try to interpret exactly what the prompt is asking through these keywords.

Next, brainstorm. I recommend doing this on a blank piece of paper with a pencil. Across the top, make a row of headings. These might be the communities you’re a part of, or the components that make up your identity. Then, jot down descriptive words underneath in each column—whatever comes to you. These words may invoke people and experiences you had with them, feelings, moments of growth, lessons learned, values developed, etc. Now, narrow in on the idea that offers the richest material and that corresponds fully with the prompt.

Lastly, write! You’ll definitely want to describe real moments, in vivid detail. This will keep your essay original, and help you avoid cliché. However, you’ll need to summarize the experience and answer the prompt succinctly, so don’t stray too far into storytelling mode.

How To Adapt Your Community Essay

Once your first essay is complete, you’ll need to adapt it to the other colleges involving community essays on your list. Again, you’ll want to turn to the prompt for a close reading, and recognize what makes this prompt different from the last. For example, let’s say you’ve written your essay for UW about belonging to your swim team, and how the sports dynamics shaped you. Adapting that essay to Brown’s prompt could involve more of a focus on place. You may ask yourself, how was my swim team in Alaska different than the swim teams we competed against in other states?

Once you’ve adapted the content, you’ll also want to adapt the wording to mimic the prompt. For example, let’s say your UW essay states, “Thinking back to my years in the pool…” As you adapt this essay to Brown’s prompt, you may notice that Brown uses the word “reflection.” Therefore, you might change this sentence to “Reflecting back on my years in the pool…” While this change is minute, it cleverly signals to the reader that you’ve paid attention to the prompt, and are giving that school your full attention.

What to Avoid When Writing the Community Essay  

• Avoid cliché. Some students worry that their idea is cliché, or worse, that their background or identity is cliché. However, what makes an essay cliché is not the content, but the way the content is conveyed. This is where your voice and your descriptions become essential.
• Avoid giving too many examples. Stick to one community, and one or two anecdotes arising from that community that allow you to answer the prompt fully.
• Don’t exaggerate or twist facts. Sometimes students feel they must make themselves sound more “diverse” than they feel they are. Luckily, diversity is not a feeling. Likewise, diversity does not simply refer to one’s heritage. If the prompt is asking about your identity or background, you can show the originality of your experiences through your actions and your thinking.

Community Essay Examples and Analysis

Brown university community essay example.

I used to hate the NYC subway. I’ve taken it since I was six, going up and down Manhattan, to and from school. By high school, it was a daily nightmare. Spending so much time underground, underneath fluorescent lighting, squashed inside a rickety, rocking train car among strangers, some of whom wanted to talk about conspiracy theories, others who had bedbugs or B.O., or who manspread across two seats, or bickered—it wore me out. The challenge of going anywhere seemed absurd. I dreaded the claustrophobia and disgruntlement.

Yet the subway also inspired my understanding of community. I will never forget the morning I saw a man, several seats away, slide out of his seat and hit the floor. The thump shocked everyone to attention. What we noticed: he appeared drunk, possibly homeless. I was digesting this when a second man got up and, through a sort of awkward embrace, heaved the first man back into his seat. The rest of us had stuck to subway social codes: don’t step out of line. Yet this second man’s silent actions spoke loudly. They said, “I care.”

That day I realized I belong to a group of strangers. What holds us together is our transience, our vulnerabilities, and a willingness to assist. This community is not perfect but one in motion, a perpetual work-in-progress. Now I make it my aim to hold others up. I plan to contribute to the Brown community by helping fellow students and strangers in moments of precariousness.    

Brown University Community Essay Example Analysis

Here the student finds an original way to write about where they come from. The subway is not their home, yet it remains integral to ideas of belonging. The student shows how a community can be built between strangers, in their responsibility toward each other. The student succeeds at incorporating key words from the prompt (“challenge,” “inspired” “Brown community,” “contribute”) into their community essay.

UW Community Essay Example

I grew up in Hawaii, a world bound by water and rich in diversity. In school we learned that this sacred land was invaded, first by Captain Cook, then by missionaries, whalers, traders, plantation owners, and the U.S. government. My parents became part of this problematic takeover when they moved here in the 90s. The first community we knew was our church congregation. At the beginning of mass, we shook hands with our neighbors. We held hands again when we sang the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t realize our church wasn’t “normal” until our diocese was informed that we had to stop dancing hula and singing Hawaiian hymns. The order came from the Pope himself.

Eventually, I lost faith in God and organized institutions. I thought the banning of hula—an ancient and pure form of expression—seemed medieval, ignorant, and unfair, given that the Hawaiian religion had already been stamped out. I felt a lack of community and a distrust for any place in which I might find one. As a postcolonial inhabitant, I could never belong to the Hawaiian culture, no matter how much I valued it. Then, I was shocked to learn that Queen Ka’ahumanu herself had eliminated the Kapu system, a strict code of conduct in which women were inferior to men. Next went the Hawaiian religion. Queen Ka’ahumanu burned all the temples before turning to Christianity, hoping this religion would offer better opportunities for her people.

Community Essay (Continued)

I’m not sure what to make of this history. Should I view Queen Ka’ahumanu as a feminist hero, or another failure in her islands’ tragedy? Nothing is black and white about her story, but she did what she thought was beneficial to her people, regardless of tradition. From her story, I’ve learned to accept complexity. I can disagree with institutionalized religion while still believing in my neighbors. I am a product of this place and their presence. At UW, I plan to add to campus diversity through my experience, knowing that diversity comes with contradictions and complications, all of which should be approached with an open and informed mind.

UW Community Essay Example Analysis

This student also manages to weave in words from the prompt (“family,” “community,” “world,” “product of it,” “add to the diversity,” etc.). Moreover, the student picks one of the examples of community mentioned in the prompt, (namely, a religious group,) and deepens their answer by addressing the complexity inherent in the community they’ve been involved in. While the student displays an inner turmoil about their identity and participation, they find a way to show how they’d contribute to an open-minded campus through their values and intellectual rigor.

What’s Next

For more on supplemental essays and essay writing guides, check out the following articles:

• How to Write the Why This Major Essay + Example
• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
• How to Start a College Essay – 12 Techniques and Tips
• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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5 Reasons You Should Join a Student Club or Society

Illustration by Tyler Doupe from Student Life Network

From meeting new people to gaining administrative, creative, and leadership experience—joining a student club can set you up for wild success. Here’s the drill. You want to get some of that free swag or maybe a nice-looking baked good from one of the groups at your school but you know it often comes with a hidden cost: […]

From meeting new people to gaining administrative, creative, and leadership experience—joining a student club can set you up for wild success.

Here’s the drill. You want to get some of that  free swag  or maybe a nice-looking baked good from one of the groups at your school but you know it often comes with a hidden cost: time spent listening to the students offering said goodies, explaining to you why joining their club or society will be the greatest thing ever.

Here’s the thing: they’re probably right .

I began my first year of university with the dream of becoming a writer. However, first-year English was not all sunshine and roses. I was repeatedly told that my essays were “too imaginative” and “too implausible”. I felt defeated, but didn’t give up— I started my own writing club with one clear vision: empower fellow dreamers. By the end of the year, I had 7 executive members by my side, a published book, a photo project, and 40+ helping hands of young aspiring writers across the city.

The experience was a total game-changer.

So whether you’re starting one or joining one, getting involved with the right student club or society will help you in ways that will dramatically improve your student experience.

1. You meet new people.

https://giphy.com/gifs/dzaUX7CAG0Ihi

You might not identify with any particular student club or society. Maybe, you simply want to join one to do something with your spare time. Either way, you’re almost guaranteed to make new friends. If you’re joining to explore opportunities within your field, you can find a way to meet professionals at companies you’re interested in. Certain clubs and societies even curate experiences to connect students with these professionals, some of whom are alumni. This could make your life a whole lot easier when you graduate and pursue a career in your desired field.

I’ve been able to meet amazing professionals through the society I joined. In fact, I was able to speak with an education coordinator from Microsoft at their headquarters! The opportunity helped me to better understand that I’m not the best fit for that role/company, which is still a valuable thing to learn early on. On another occasion, I met a marketing director at a creative agency. This opened up the door to an internship that left me believing that a career in marketing and public relations was what I truly wanted.

2. You find people who have similar interests.

https://giphy.com/gifs/xUOxeZy7TXZYptBMSA

If you’re someone who has no idea what they want to do with their career, participating in extra-curricular activities will bring you closer to people who have the same hobbies or interests as you. By surrounding yourself with people who have similar interests, you gain:

• Peer Motivation.  Their hard work, motivation, and dedication to their education and professional development will positively impact your mindset. Your friends will push you and encourage you to study with them, attend events together, and keep you accountable.
• Shared Information.  Your friends will want what is best for you. On occasion, they will share with you opportunities or information about important companies, career paths, job fairs, and professional conferences.
• Empathy.  You’ve got a stronger shared experience with your friends. You’ll understand their goals, their challenges, and their feelings a lot better.

You can also use this opportunity to explore different interests. You don’t need to be a philosophy major to join the philosophy club. Want to learn to dance? There’s usually a club for that too. You get the idea.

3. You discover that there’s more to school than assignments, tests, and a degree.

https://giphy.com/gifs/TfelnmQ8VU3K

In the words of Steve Jobs:

“Do what you love. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

Although a college dropout, Jobs created a company worth over $1 trillion and initiated several paradigm shifts in consumer technology. Joining a student club or society will bring you closer to people who want to do big, creative, and imaginative things. In fact, it’s how Steve Jobs met Steve Wozniak.

By being around people you want to be like, it’s easier to feel motivated and to know that you are on the right track. Most people around you in school focus on going to classes only to go home soon after. By making friends and connecting with a community who are constantly striving to do more with their time, you will find it easier to do more with yours.

4. You get valuable administrative, creative, and leadership experience.

https://giphy.com/gifs/l4JyUZYnfZlMB7ShO

When graduation comes around, you’ll quickly discover that your academic experience is not always enough. With internships, co-op placements, and facilitated networking happening all around you, you need to take advantage of every single competitive edge you can get. It might seem like “just a student club” to some, but in reality, being a part of a student club builds a lot of valuable skills, including:

• Team management
• Volunteer coordination
• Stakeholder management
• External relations
• Event planning

Many of these skills can be transferable to a wide variety of industries. They can be the difference between you and another candidate. Make “fail fast, fail often” your mantra; by putting yourself through more experiences, and giving yourself opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them. It’s better to make mistakes while in school than at your first corporate job.

5. You can find job opportunities through club alumni.

Speaking from experience, my society focused on connecting students to alumni who graduated with the same degree as theirs. We created events where students met with alumni who took on jobs in industries they were interested in. Some students were even lucky enough to receive job opportunities using these connections. These events were so important because they made first-year students feel comfortable connecting to the alumni, who went through the same struggles as them. Knowing that the hard work would pay off someday encouraged them to stay motivated.

Likewise, many students find it difficult to write and format resumes , so another event we created was The Resume Critique night. We invited students to perfect their resumes with professionals from various industries and it was yet another professional resource students could pick up from a club.

BONUS: Even more reasons to join a student club or society.

And if all of the aforementioned reasons weren’t enough for you, here’s a quick list of even more reasons why you should join a club. You will…

• Get to indulge in your passions and build your skills (sports, creativity, leadership, social justice).
• Have valuable experience to put on your resume when you graduate (or even before, when you are looking for a summer job or internship).
• Learn and make mistakes when you are young and with fewer consequences.
• Be able to pursue your own ideas with the funding and human resources available to you.
• Learn how to communicate, work in, and manage a team.
• Wear multiple hats. If you work for a small company, you will learn how everything works. In a club, that holds true even more strongly.
• Be more productive. Joining a club or society can motivate you to get out of bed every day.
• Experience the joy of providing meaningful and valuable opportunities to other students.

University doesn’t always challenge you in practical, hands-on ways. A student club or society can. Remember: you’re a student. Your coworkers are students. You all get it. In a club or society, you can pretty much find the most accommodating work experience you’ll ever get.

How about joining our student club?

*Opinions expressed are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Student Life Network or their partners.

Aida Jahjah

Aida is a professional writer, poet, aspiring designer and event manager (and an occasional model). Check out her thoughts, photographs, and inspiration at aidajahjah.me

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6 Example Essays on Social Media | Advantages, Effects, and Outlines

Got an essay assignment about the effects of social media we got you covered check out our examples and outlines below.

Social media has become one of our society's most prominent ways of communication and information sharing in a very short time. It has changed how we communicate and has given us a platform to express our views and opinions and connect with others. It keeps us informed about the world around us. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn have brought individuals from all over the world together, breaking down geographical borders and fostering a genuinely global community.

However, social media comes with its difficulties. With the rise of misinformation, cyberbullying, and privacy problems, it's critical to utilize these platforms properly and be aware of the risks. Students in the academic world are frequently assigned essays about the impact of social media on numerous elements of our lives, such as relationships, politics, and culture. These essays necessitate a thorough comprehension of the subject matter, critical thinking, and the ability to synthesize and convey information clearly and succinctly.

But where do you begin? It can be challenging to know where to start with so much information available. Jenni.ai comes in handy here. Jenni.ai is an AI application built exclusively for students to help them write essays more quickly and easily. Jenni.ai provides students with inspiration and assistance on how to approach their essays with its enormous database of sample essays on a variety of themes, including social media. Jenni.ai is the solution you've been looking for if you're experiencing writer's block or need assistance getting started.

So, whether you're a student looking to better your essay writing skills or want to remain up to date on the latest social media advancements, Jenni.ai is here to help. Jenni.ai is the ideal tool for helping you write your finest essay ever, thanks to its simple design, an extensive database of example essays, and cutting-edge AI technology. So, why delay? Sign up for a free trial of Jenni.ai today and begin exploring the worlds of social networking and essay writing!

Want to learn how to write an argumentative essay? Check out these inspiring examples!

We will provide various examples of social media essays so you may get a feel for the genre.

6 Examples of Social Media Essays

Here are 6 examples of Social Media Essays:

The Impact of Social Media on Relationships and Communication

Introduction:.

The way we share information and build relationships has evolved as a direct result of the prevalence of social media in our daily lives. The influence of social media on interpersonal connections and conversation is a hot topic. Although social media has many positive effects, such as bringing people together regardless of physical proximity and making communication quicker and more accessible, it also has a dark side that can affect interpersonal connections and dialogue.

Positive Effects:

Connecting People Across Distances

One of social media's most significant benefits is its ability to connect individuals across long distances. People can use social media platforms to interact and stay in touch with friends and family far away. People can now maintain intimate relationships with those they care about, even when physically separated.

Improved Communication Speed and Efficiency

Additionally, the proliferation of social media sites has accelerated and simplified communication. Thanks to instant messaging, users can have short, timely conversations rather than lengthy ones via email. Furthermore, social media facilitates group communication, such as with classmates or employees, by providing a unified forum for such activities.

Negative Effects:

Decreased Face-to-Face Communication

The decline in in-person interaction is one of social media's most pernicious consequences on interpersonal connections and dialogue. People's reliance on digital communication over in-person contact has increased along with the popularity of social media. Face-to-face interaction has suffered as a result, which has adverse effects on interpersonal relationships and the development of social skills.

Decreased Emotional Intimacy

Another adverse effect of social media on relationships and communication is decreased emotional intimacy. Digital communication lacks the nonverbal cues and facial expressions critical in building emotional connections with others. This can make it more difficult for people to develop close and meaningful relationships, leading to increased loneliness and isolation.

Increased Conflict and Miscommunication

Finally, social media can also lead to increased conflict and miscommunication. The anonymity and distance provided by digital communication can lead to misunderstandings and hurtful comments that might not have been made face-to-face. Additionally, social media can provide a platform for cyberbullying , which can have severe consequences for the victim's mental health and well-being.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the impact of social media on relationships and communication is a complex issue with both positive and negative effects. While social media platforms offer many benefits, such as connecting people across distances and enabling faster and more accessible communication, they also have a dark side that can negatively affect relationships and communication. It is up to individuals to use social media responsibly and to prioritize in-person communication in their relationships and interactions with others.

The Role of Social Media in the Spread of Misinformation and Fake News

Social media has revolutionized the way information is shared and disseminated. However, the ease and speed at which data can be spread on social media also make it a powerful tool for spreading misinformation and fake news. Misinformation and fake news can seriously affect public opinion, influence political decisions, and even cause harm to individuals and communities.

The Pervasiveness of Misinformation and Fake News on Social Media

Misinformation and fake news are prevalent on social media platforms, where they can spread quickly and reach a large audience. This is partly due to the way social media algorithms work, which prioritizes content likely to generate engagement, such as sensational or controversial stories. As a result, false information can spread rapidly and be widely shared before it is fact-checked or debunked.

The Influence of Social Media on Public Opinion

Social media can significantly impact public opinion, as people are likelier to believe the information they see shared by their friends and followers. This can lead to a self-reinforcing cycle, where misinformation and fake news are spread and reinforced, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

The Challenge of Correcting Misinformation and Fake News

Correcting misinformation and fake news on social media can be a challenging task. This is partly due to the speed at which false information can spread and the difficulty of reaching the same audience exposed to the wrong information in the first place. Additionally, some individuals may be resistant to accepting correction, primarily if the incorrect information supports their beliefs or biases.

In conclusion, the function of social media in disseminating misinformation and fake news is complex and urgent. While social media has revolutionized the sharing of information, it has also made it simpler for false information to propagate and be widely believed. Individuals must be accountable for the information they share and consume, and social media firms must take measures to prevent the spread of disinformation and fake news on their platforms.

The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health and Well-Being

Social media has become an integral part of modern life, with billions of people around the world using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay connected with others and access information. However, while social media has many benefits, it can also negatively affect mental health and well-being.

Comparison and Low Self-Esteem

One of the key ways that social media can affect mental health is by promoting feelings of comparison and low self-esteem. People often present a curated version of their lives on social media, highlighting their successes and hiding their struggles. This can lead others to compare themselves unfavorably, leading to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.

Cyberbullying and Online Harassment

Another way that social media can negatively impact mental health is through cyberbullying and online harassment. Social media provides a platform for anonymous individuals to harass and abuse others, leading to feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression.

Social Isolation

Despite its name, social media can also contribute to feelings of isolation. At the same time, people may have many online friends but need more meaningful in-person connections and support. This can lead to feelings of loneliness and depression.

Addiction and Overuse

Finally, social media can be addictive, leading to overuse and negatively impacting mental health and well-being. People may spend hours each day scrolling through their feeds, neglecting other important areas of their lives, such as work, family, and self-care.

In sum, social media has positive and negative consequences on one's psychological and emotional well-being. Realizing this, and taking measures like reducing one's social media use, reaching out to loved ones for help, and prioritizing one's well-being, are crucial. In addition, it's vital that social media giants take ownership of their platforms and actively encourage excellent mental health and well-being.

The Use of Social Media in Political Activism and Social Movements

Social media has recently become increasingly crucial in political action and social movements. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have given people new ways to express themselves, organize protests, and raise awareness about social and political issues.

Raising Awareness and Mobilizing Action

One of the most important uses of social media in political activity and social movements has been to raise awareness about important issues and mobilize action. Hashtags such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, for example, have brought attention to sexual harassment and racial injustice, respectively. Similarly, social media has been used to organize protests and other political actions, allowing people to band together and express themselves on a bigger scale.

Connecting with like-minded individuals

A second method in that social media has been utilized in political activity and social movements is to unite like-minded individuals. Through social media, individuals can join online groups, share knowledge and resources, and work with others to accomplish shared objectives. This has been especially significant for geographically scattered individuals or those without access to traditional means of political organizing.

Challenges and Limitations

As a vehicle for political action and social movements, social media has faced many obstacles and restrictions despite its many advantages. For instance, the propagation of misinformation and fake news on social media can impede attempts to disseminate accurate and reliable information. In addition, social media corporations have been condemned for censorship and insufficient protection of user rights.

In conclusion, social media has emerged as a potent instrument for political activism and social movements, giving voice to previously unheard communities and galvanizing support for change. Social media presents many opportunities for communication and collaboration. Still, users and institutions must be conscious of the risks and limitations of these tools to promote their responsible and productive usage.

The Potential Privacy Concerns Raised by Social Media Use and Data Collection Practices

With billions of users each day on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, social media has ingrained itself into every aspect of our lives. While these platforms offer a straightforward method to communicate with others and exchange information, they also raise significant concerns over data collecting and privacy. This article will examine the possible privacy issues posed by social media use and data-gathering techniques.

Data Collection and Sharing

The gathering and sharing of personal data are significant privacy issues brought up by social media use. Social networking sites gather user data, including details about their relationships, hobbies, and routines. This information is made available to third-party businesses for various uses, such as marketing and advertising. This can lead to serious concerns about who has access to and uses our personal information.

Lack of Control Over Personal Information

The absence of user control over personal information is a significant privacy issue brought up by social media usage. Social media makes it challenging to limit who has access to and how data is utilized once it has been posted. Sensitive information may end up being extensively disseminated and may be used maliciously as a result.

Personalized Marketing

Social media companies utilize the information they gather about users to target them with adverts relevant to their interests and usage patterns. Although this could be useful, it might also cause consumers to worry about their privacy since they might feel that their personal information is being used without their permission. Furthermore, there are issues with the integrity of the data being used to target users and the possibility of prejudice based on individual traits.

Government Surveillance

Using social media might spark worries about government surveillance. There are significant concerns regarding privacy and free expression when governments in some nations utilize social media platforms to follow and monitor residents.

In conclusion, social media use raises significant concerns regarding data collecting and privacy. While these platforms make it easy to interact with people and exchange information, they also gather a lot of personal information, which raises questions about who may access it and how it will be used. Users should be aware of these privacy issues and take precautions to safeguard their personal information, such as exercising caution when choosing what details to disclose on social media and keeping their information sharing with other firms to a minimum.

The Ethical and Privacy Concerns Surrounding Social Media Use And Data Collection

Our use of social media to communicate with loved ones, acquire information, and even conduct business has become a crucial part of our everyday lives. The extensive use of social media does, however, raise some ethical and privacy issues that must be resolved. The influence of social media use and data collecting on user rights, the accountability of social media businesses, and the need for improved regulation are all topics that will be covered in this article.

Effect on Individual Privacy:

Social networking sites gather tons of personal data from their users, including delicate information like search history, location data, and even health data. Each user's detailed profile may be created with this data and sold to advertising or used for other reasons. Concerns regarding the privacy of personal information might arise because social media businesses can use this data to target users with customized adverts.

Additionally, individuals might need to know how much their personal information is being gathered and exploited. Data breaches or the unauthorized sharing of personal information with other parties may result in instances where sensitive information is exposed. Users should be aware of the privacy rules of social media firms and take precautions to secure their data.

Responsibility of Social Media Companies:

Social media firms should ensure that they responsibly and ethically gather and use user information. This entails establishing strong security measures to safeguard sensitive information and ensuring users are informed of what information is being collected and how it is used.

Many social media businesses, nevertheless, have come under fire for not upholding these obligations. For instance, the Cambridge Analytica incident highlighted how Facebook users' personal information was exploited for political objectives without their knowledge. This demonstrates the necessity of social media corporations being held responsible for their deeds and ensuring that they are safeguarding the security and privacy of their users.

Better Regulation Is Needed

There is a need for tighter regulation in this field, given the effect, social media has on individual privacy as well as the obligations of social media firms. The creation of laws and regulations that ensure social media companies are gathering and using user information ethically and responsibly, as well as making sure users are aware of their rights and have the ability to control the information that is being collected about them, are all part of this.

Additionally, legislation should ensure that social media businesses are held responsible for their behavior, for example, by levying fines for data breaches or the unauthorized use of personal data. This will provide social media businesses with a significant incentive to prioritize their users' privacy and security and ensure they are upholding their obligations.

In conclusion, social media has fundamentally changed how we engage and communicate with one another, but this increased convenience also raises several ethical and privacy issues. Essential concerns that need to be addressed include the effect of social media on individual privacy, the accountability of social media businesses, and the requirement for greater regulation to safeguard user rights. We can make everyone's online experience safer and more secure by looking more closely at these issues.

In conclusion, social media is a complex and multifaceted topic that has recently captured the world's attention. With its ever-growing influence on our lives, it's no surprise that it has become a popular subject for students to explore in their writing. Whether you are writing an argumentative essay on the impact of social media on privacy, a persuasive essay on the role of social media in politics, or a descriptive essay on the changes social media has brought to the way we communicate, there are countless angles to approach this subject.

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Transition Stories: Eastern Kentucky Social Club binds Lynch community

The building that was once the black high school in Lynch, Kentucky, now houses the Eastern Kentucky Social Club. But the social club began far away from here, in Cleveland, Ohio, when a couple of eastern Kentucky boys were missing home.

For nearly 45 years, the Eastern Kentucky Social Club has provided a connection among Lynch residents and thousands of African Americans from eastern Kentucky who have migrated to other places. The story of the social club is a prominent thread in the history and fabric of Lynch.

Lynch was established in 1917 in Harlan County by U.S. Coal and Coke Company, which built schools, churches, hospitals and houses. At its peak in Lynch, U.S. Coal and Coke employed 4,000 people and owned 1,000 structures housing people of 38 ethnic backgrounds. By 1945, Lynch and the nearby coal town of Benham had a combined population of nearly 10,000 people, according to the 2004 book African American Miners and Migrants: The Eastern Kentucky Social Club by Thomas E. Wagner and Phillip J. Obermiller.

Today, Lynch has about 750 people and is still one of the most racially and ethnically diverse communities in eastern Kentucky. The town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and many of Lynch’s original structures remain.

After mining’s peak in the 1940s, people began to leave Lynch to find work in cities to the north: Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland. But for many, Lynch would always be home.

In 1969, two men were having a drink in a Cleveland bar and started talking about pulling together a reunion of people they grew up with in Lynch. In 1970, the first reunion was held in Cleveland.

A document called “The Most Noteworthy Characteristics of the Eastern Kentucky Social Club Cleveland Chapter” states that the central objective of the EKSC has been to “stay together.”

Sitting in club headquarters at the old high school in Lynch, with banners of EKSC’s chapters and hundreds of reunion pictures on the walls, Rutland Melton and Bennie Massey talk about the social club.

In addition to serving as the physical headquarters for the club, the Lynch chapter caters local events, opens its doors for reunions and meetings, and hosts the Lynch homecoming on Memorial Day weekend.

“That’s what I think really kept the chapter together, us working together as a community and staying in touch with each other,” Massey said.

And once a year, members board a bus for the annual EKSC reunion, which has been held each Labor Day weekend since 1970. This year the reunion is in Burbank, California, and members will spend a week. Both Melton and Massey plan to attend, and this time they will fly.

“Whatever we can do to keep the heritage here, that’s what we’re trying to do.”         - Bennie Massey

The reunion is held in a different city each year and usually includes a gospel fest and a lot of reminiscing. “Really, it’s just getting together to talk about old times,” Melton says.

“You had a lot of people who had to leave here to get jobs, but every year we come together and we get to see each other,” says Massey, who joined the club in 1972. “That’s what I like about it. Still get to see some of the older people who used to live here and the young people coming on.”

Melton, who joined the club in 1978, points to a picture from 1984. “See that picture back there on the wall? That was in Connecticut. That was over 3,000 people.”

Reunions today don’t draw quite as many, but Melton and Massey expect 300 to 400 people for the Burbank reunion and more for next year’s reunion in Indianapolis.

In addition to being active in the Greater Mount Sinai Baptist Church, the Mount Sinai Spirituals gospel group and the EKSC, Massey and Melton are members of KFTC, have served on local boards and government, and have participated in Southeast Community and Technical College’s Higher Ground theater performances, which are drawn from oral histories about life in Appalachia.

The social club collaborated with KFTC to host the Appalachia’s Bright Future conference in Harlan County in 2013, and the two organizations will team up next year to host a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the book Blacks in Appalachia, edited by Dr. Bill Turner, another Lynch native and member of the EKSC, and Edward J. Cabbell.

Melton’s and Massey’s ancestors came to Lynch from Alabama and Mississippi, where a man named Limestone recruited black families to work in the coal mines. Both were born in Lynch, raised their families here, and both worked in the mines.

They have stayed in their hometown and worked to keep it viable. Massey says he feels “blessed to be here,” and both men mention people they grew up with who would like to come back to Lynch if they could.

“When they come home, they just feel like they’re at home,” Massey says. “They feel good. They walk the streets. Everybody has a good time.”

Massey was recently named an Appalachian Hero by the Appalachian Community Fund for his work to protect his community from the impacts of surface mining and build a brighter future (see story in this issue).

Melton and Massey understand that building a bright future in Lynch will take work and time. They want to renovate the spacious old high school and open the upstairs rooms for community use. “It is a landmark here,” says Massey. “We’re trying to get people to invest in it so we can keep it.”

They’d like to see many of the old houses renovated so retirees can return to Lynch or people visiting for reunions can have a place to stay. They wonder if the pure waters of nearby Looney Creek might supply a water bottling plant. And,  most of all, they want young people to stay and keep their town and the EKSC alive.

Dr. Frank Callaway of Houston is a member of the Eastern Kentucky Social Club. He and some other eastern Kentucky natives in the Houston area formed a chapter there and hosted the Labor Day reunion in 1988. He was born in Benham and recently went back home for his 50th high school reunion.

Callaway compares the importance of the annual reunion to that of a family reunion – multiplied. “You get to see people that when you were little bitty – you get to see them once again. And our legacy, our heritage, our history, as it was in Africa, is orally passed down and we get to know what happened.”

Like Melton and Massey, Callaway speaks of the importance of the next generation. Most of the founders of the social club have passed on. “And so it’s been passed down generation to generation, and now a new generation is taking it on.”

Callaway, whose family had 15 children, left Benham at age 17 to attend Kentucky State University, joined the Air Force and eventually went on to earn a doctorate. Like many who grew up in Benham and Lynch, his home community is still dear to him, even though he has not lived here in decades. “The house that I was born in is still standing.”

But Callaway worries that mining in the area will compromise the community’s water supply and its future. “Years from now this won’t be here.”

But if Melton, Massey and the Lynch chapter of the Eastern Kentucky Social Club have anything to say, young people will stay around because they have good jobs and opportunities for their families. And retired people will come back to Lynch because it’s a good place to live.

“Whatever we can do to keep the heritage here, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Massey says.

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How to Write a Great Community Service Essay

College Admissions , Extracurriculars

Are you applying to a college or a scholarship that requires a community service essay? Do you know how to write an essay that will impress readers and clearly show the impact your work had on yourself and others?

Read on to learn step-by-step instructions for writing a great community service essay that will help you stand out and be memorable.

What Is a Community Service Essay? Why Do You Need One?

A community service essay is an essay that describes the volunteer work you did and the impact it had on you and your community. Community service essays can vary widely depending on specific requirements listed in the application, but, in general, they describe the work you did, why you found the work important, and how it benefited people around you.

Community service essays are typically needed for two reasons:

#1: To Apply to College

• Some colleges require students to write community service essays as part of their application or to be eligible for certain scholarships.
• You may also choose to highlight your community service work in your personal statement.

#2: To Apply for Scholarships

• Some scholarships are specifically awarded to students with exceptional community service experiences, and many use community service essays to help choose scholarship recipients.
• Green Mountain College offers one of the most famous of these scholarships. Their "Make a Difference Scholarship" offers full tuition, room, and board to students who have demonstrated a significant, positive impact through their community service

Getting Started With Your Essay

In the following sections, I'll go over each step of how to plan and write your essay. I'll also include sample excerpts for you to look through so you can get a better idea of what readers are looking for when they review your essay.

Step 1: Know the Essay Requirements

Before your start writing a single word, you should be familiar with the essay prompt. Each college or scholarship will have different requirements for their essay, so make sure you read these carefully and understand them.

Specific things to pay attention to include:

• Length requirement
• Application deadline
• The main purpose or focus of the essay
• If the essay should follow a specific structure

Below are three real community service essay prompts. Read through them and notice how much they vary in terms of length, detail, and what information the writer should include.

From the Equitable Excellence Scholarship:

"Describe your outstanding achievement in depth and provide the specific planning, training, goals, and steps taken to make the accomplishment successful. Include details about your role and highlight leadership you provided. Your essay must be a minimum of 350 words but not more than 600 words."

From the Laura W. Bush Traveling Scholarship:

"Essay (up to 500 words, double spaced) explaining your interest in being considered for the award and how your proposed project reflects or is related to both UNESCO's mandate and U.S. interests in promoting peace by sharing advances in education, science, culture, and communications."

From the LULAC National Scholarship Fund:

"Please type or print an essay of 300 words (maximum) on how your academic studies will contribute to your personal & professional goals. In addition, please discuss any community service or extracurricular activities you have been involved in that relate to your goals."

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Even after you understand what the essay should be about, it can still be difficult to begin writing. Answer the following questions to help brainstorm essay ideas. You may be able to incorporate your answers into your essay.

• What community service activity that you've participated in has meant the most to you?
• What is your favorite memory from performing community service?
• Why did you decide to begin community service?
• What made you decide to volunteer where you did?
• How has your community service changed you?
• How has your community service helped others?
• How has your community service affected your plans for the future?

You don't need to answer all the questions, but if you find you have a lot of ideas for one of two of them, those may be things you want to include in your essay.

Writing Your Essay

How you structure your essay will depend on the requirements of the scholarship or school you are applying to. You may give an overview of all the work you did as a volunteer, or highlight a particularly memorable experience. You may focus on your personal growth or how your community benefited.

Regardless of the specific structure requested, follow the guidelines below to make sure your community service essay is memorable and clearly shows the impact of your work.

Samples of mediocre and excellent essays are included below to give you a better idea of how you should draft your own essay.

Step 1: Hook Your Reader In

You want the person reading your essay to be interested, so your first sentence should hook them in and entice them to read more. A good way to do this is to start in the middle of the action. Your first sentence could describe you helping build a house, releasing a rescued animal back to the wild, watching a student you tutored read a book on their own, or something else that quickly gets the reader interested. This will help set your essay apart and make it more memorable.

Compare these two opening sentences:

"I have volunteered at the Wishbone Pet Shelter for three years."

"The moment I saw the starving, mud-splattered puppy brought into the shelter with its tail between its legs, I knew I'd do whatever I could to save it."

The first sentence is a very general, bland statement. The majority of community service essays probably begin a lot like it, but it gives the reader little information and does nothing to draw them in. On the other hand, the second sentence begins immediately with action and helps persuade the reader to keep reading so they can learn what happened to the dog.

Step 2: Discuss the Work You Did

Once you've hooked your reader in with your first sentence, tell them about your community service experiences. State where you work, when you began working, how much time you've spent there, and what your main duties include. This will help the reader quickly put the rest of the essay in context and understand the basics of your community service work.

Not including basic details about your community service could leave your reader confused.

Step 3: Include Specific Details

It's the details of your community service that make your experience unique and memorable, so go into the specifics of what you did.

For example, don't just say you volunteered at a nursing home; talk about reading Mrs. Johnson her favorite book, watching Mr. Scott win at bingo, and seeing the residents play games with their grandchildren at the family day you organized. Try to include specific activities, moments, and people in your essay. Having details like these let the readers really understand what work you did and how it differs from other volunteer experiences.

Compare these two passages:

"For my volunteer work, I tutored children at a local elementary school. I helped them improve their math skills and become more confident students."

"As a volunteer at York Elementary School, I worked one-on-one with second and third graders who struggled with their math skills, particularly addition, subtraction, and fractions. As part of my work, I would create practice problems and quizzes and try to connect math to the students' interests. One of my favorite memories was when Sara, a student I had been working with for several weeks, told me that she enjoyed the math problems I had created about a girl buying and selling horses so much that she asked to help me create math problems for other students."

The first passage only gives basic information about the work done by the volunteer; there is very little detail included, and no evidence is given to support her claims. How did she help students improve their math skills? How did she know they were becoming more confident?

The second passage is much more detailed. It recounts a specific story and explains more fully what kind of work the volunteer did, as well as a specific instance of a student becoming more confident with her math skills. Providing more detail in your essay helps support your claims as well as make your essay more memorable and unique.

Step 4: Show Your Personality

It would be very hard to get a scholarship or place at a school if none of your readers felt like they knew much about you after finishing your essay, so make sure that your essay shows your personality. The way to do this is to state your personal strengths, then provide examples to support your claims. Take some time to think about which parts of your personality you would like your essay to highlight, then write about specific examples to show this.

• If you want to show that you're a motivated leader, describe a time when you organized an event or supervised other volunteers.
• If you want to show your teamwork skills, write about a time you helped a group of people work together better.
• If you want to show that you're a compassionate animal lover, write about taking care of neglected shelter animals and helping each of them find homes.

Step 5: State What You Accomplished

After you have described your community service and given specific examples of your work, you want to begin to wrap your essay up by stating your accomplishments. What was the impact of your community service? Did you build a house for a family to move into? Help students improve their reading skills? Clean up a local park? Make sure the impact of your work is clear; don't be worried about bragging here.

If you can include specific numbers, that will also strengthen your essay. Saying "I delivered meals to 24 home-bound senior citizens" is a stronger example than just saying "I delivered meals to lots of senior citizens."

Also be sure to explain why your work matters. Why is what you did important? Did it provide more parks for kids to play in? Help students get better grades? Give people medical care who would otherwise not have gotten it? This is an important part of your essay, so make sure to go into enough detail that your readers will know exactly what you accomplished and how it helped your community.

"My biggest accomplishment during my community service was helping to organize a family event at the retirement home. The children and grandchildren of many residents attended, and they all enjoyed playing games and watching movies together."

"The community service accomplishment that I'm most proud of is the work I did to help organize the First Annual Family Fun Day at the retirement home. My job was to design and organize fun activities that senior citizens and their younger relatives could enjoy. The event lasted eight hours and included ten different games, two performances, and a movie screening with popcorn. Almost 200 residents and family members attended throughout the day. This event was important because it provided an opportunity for senior citizens to connect with their family members in a way they aren't often able to. It also made the retirement home seem more fun and enjoyable to children, and we have seen an increase in the number of kids coming to visit their grandparents since the event."

The second passage is stronger for a variety of reasons. First, it goes into much more detail about the work the volunteer did. The first passage only states that she helped "organize a family event." That really doesn't tell readers much about her work or what her responsibilities were. The second passage is much clearer; her job was to "design and organize fun activities."

The second passage also explains the event in more depth. A family day can be many things; remember that your readers are likely not familiar with what you're talking about, so details help them get a clearer picture.

Lastly, the second passage makes the importance of the event clear: it helped residents connect with younger family members, and it helped retirement homes seem less intimidating to children, so now some residents see their grand kids more often.

Step 6: Discuss What You Learned

One of the final things to include in your essay should be the impact that your community service had on you. You can discuss skills you learned, such as carpentry, public speaking, animal care, or another skill.

You can also talk about how you changed personally. Are you more patient now? More understanding of others? Do you have a better idea of the type of career you want? Go into depth about this, but be honest. Don't say your community service changed your life if it didn't because trite statements won't impress readers.

In order to support your statements, provide more examples. If you say you're more patient now, how do you know this? Do you get less frustrated while playing with your younger siblings? Are you more willing to help group partners who are struggling with their part of the work? You've probably noticed by now that including specific examples and details is one of the best ways to create a strong and believable essay .

"As a result of my community service, I learned a lot about building houses and became a more mature person."

"As a result of my community service, I gained hands-on experience in construction. I learned how to read blueprints, use a hammer and nails, and begin constructing the foundation of a two-bedroom house. Working on the house could be challenging at times, but it taught me to appreciate the value of hard work and be more willing to pitch in when I see someone needs help. My dad has just started building a shed in our backyard, and I offered to help him with it because I know from my community service how much work it is. I also appreciate my own house more, and I know how lucky I am to have a roof over my head."

The second passage is more impressive and memorable because it describes the skills the writer learned in more detail and recounts a specific story that supports her claim that her community service changed her and made her more helpful.

Step 7: Finish Strong

Just as you started your essay in a way that would grab readers' attention, you want to finish your essay on a strong note as well. A good way to end your essay is to state again the impact your work had on you, your community, or both. Reiterate how you changed as a result of your community service, why you found the work important, or how it helped others.

Compare these two concluding statements:

"In conclusion, I learned a lot from my community service at my local museum, and I hope to keep volunteering and learning more about history."

"To conclude, volunteering at my city's American History Museum has been a great experience. By leading tours and participating in special events, I became better at public speaking and am now more comfortable starting conversations with people. In return, I was able to get more community members interested in history and our local museum. My interest in history has deepened, and I look forward to studying the subject in college and hopefully continuing my volunteer work at my university's own museum."

The second passage takes each point made in the first passage and expands upon it. In a few sentences, the second passage is able to clearly convey what work the volunteer did, how she changed, and how her volunteer work benefited her community.

The author of the second passage also ends her essay discussing her future and how she'd like to continue her community service, which is a good way to wrap things up because it shows your readers that you are committed to community service for the long-term.

What's Next?

Are you applying to a community service scholarship or thinking about it? We have a complete list of all the community service scholarships available to help get your search started!

Do you need a community service letter as well? We have a step-by-step guide that will tell you how to get a great reference letter from your community service supervisor.

Thinking about doing community service abroad? Before you sign up, read our guide on some of the hazards of international volunteer trips and how to know if it's the right choice for you.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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U.S. Senator, Missouri

2011-Present

Personal Background Martial Status: Married to Abigail Blunt Education: B.A. History, Southwest Baptist University (1970) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt M.A. History, Missouri State University (1972) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Previous Experience: Clerk of Greene County, Missouri (1972-1984) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Missouri Secretary of State (1985-1992) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt President, Southwest Baptist University (1993-1996) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt U.S. House of Representatives (1996-2010) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt

Committee Assignments:

Appropriations Committee 2011- present https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Commerce. Science, and Transportation Committee 2011-2016 https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Rules and Administration Committee 2011- present (became chairman 2015) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Joint Committee on the Library 2015- present https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Joint Committee on Printing 2015-present (vice chairman) https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt Committee on Armed Services 2013-2014 https://ballotpedia.org/Roy_Blunt

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   David Fincher's Fight Club is a fable about postmodern consumer society, loss of masculine identity amongst male gray-collar workers and the social stratification created by our materialistic society. The story line begins with a nameless narrator referred to as Jack, (Edward Norton) explaining to us how exactly he came to know Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who we come to find out in the end is actually the alter ego of our narrator. The "two of them" create a men-only underground boxing club and as Tyler Durden progresses closer to becoming the dominant personality, Fight Club evolves into Project Mayhem, multi-celled secret society of oppressed gray-collar workers. The narrator and Tyler hold conversations as if Tyler was really a person and the narrator tends to refer to his current emotional state with phrases such as "I am Jack's sense of rejection." (Fincher 1999) We also come to know Marla Singer, who the narrator met while touring support groups, as the femme fatal that Tyler was sleeping with and antagonized Jack's relationship to Tyler. She knew him as Tyler because it was he who related to her. Through the whole process, Marla Singer's role in the narrator's life eventually causes him to realize that he is the elusive Tyler Durden and he was merely projecting a figment of his imagination.

   Jack spends his days at a job he despises and his nights ransacking mail-order catalogs, desperate to give some meaning to his life all the while giving himself severe insomnia. As Tyler proclaims at a particular session of Fight Club: "We are an entire generation pumping gas - waiting tables - slaves to the white collars. Advertisement has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we don't need." (Fincher 1999) These men, gray-collar workers are proletarians, "people who sell their productive labor for wages." (Macionis 196) In reference to stratification, gray-collar employees are higher than blue-collar employees but are still serving the capitalists above them. They can never achieve the advertised ideal because according to the social-conflict paradigm "stratification provides some people with advantages over others" thus causing an overwhelming sense of alienation due the reality of their powerlessness. (Macionis 196)

© 2002-2007 Jaime Kozlowski of domspe.org

“Fight Club” from the Sociological Perspective Essay (Movie Review)

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Movie description

Sociological concepts of the movie, sociological value of the movie, works cited.

An adaptation of a novel of the same name authored by Chuck Palahniuk in 1996, the American film “Fight Club” was released three years later in 1999. This uniquely grotesque storyline was brought to life on the big screen by director David Fincher and some of Hollywood’s most profound actors; Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter. The box office disappointment raised the eyebrows of critics as “Fight Club” became the most controversially talked about films. According to academic critics, the 1999 film portrays instances of consumerism and European fascism.

The film’s main characters; the nameless narrator (Norton), an employee of a travelling automobile company suffers from insomnia, Tyler Durden (Pitt), a soap salesman, who is a figment of the nameless narrator’s imagination and Marla Singer (Carter), a drug addict who ends up as the narrator’s love interest. The doctor of the nameless narrator refuses to treat his insomniac condition with medication, but instead refers him to visit support groups to watch other people’s suffering.

The narrator did just that, he went to a variety of support groups inclusive of a group for testicular cancer victims. He pretended to be a victim and to his surprise found emotional relief. It was at one of these meetings that he came across Marla Singer who was an imposter like himself. He negotiated with her to avoid meeting at the same place (Fight Club Film).

Upon his return from a business trip, he discovered that his condo had been destroyed by fire. He was devastated. Luckily for him, he had met Tyler Durden on the flight home, a homemade soap salesman who was able to host the homeless narrator at his rundown apartment.

Twistedly, the severity of the narrator’s illness made him unaware that Tyler was a personality he created in his head and that this personality was on a mission to put an end to commercialism by whatever means. They are in fact disassociated personalities trapped in the same body.

The minute the narrator is asleep; Tyler takes advantage and begins to dominate his body. In one scene, outside a club, Tyler requested that the narrator hit him and they both engaged in a fist fight. It started to get habitual for both men to have fist fights outside the club which started to draw spectators who later became members. That was the birth of the fight club and all the mayhem of this movie (Kozlowski)

The many concepts of sociology are related to the many interactions and development of people. The movie provided a lot of occurrences where sociological concepts were expressed and this gave the movie some amount of substance. Five most represented sociological concepts of the movie includes; violence, groups, consumerism, commercialism and fascism.

The concept of violence was an ever present in the movie. It was used to convey and at the same time act as a symbolic metaphor of the conflict between generations and the advertised norms and folkways of society. In other words, the conflict between the generations and what is ‘expected’ of them.

During the movie, the narrator knows no happiness and engages in the underground men-only boxing club, which may get really violent as a means of expressing himself. Viewers may notice also that at the start of the movie, the mentally ill narrator killed his parents, and with the influence of Tyler Durden “killed” his God and then he killed Tyler Durden who was his teacher.

The narrator never ideally fit into any groups in society. He felt somewhat alienated and defeated. He is desperately trying to fit in by being something he is not. This explains why he was so riveted in the establishment of the fist fighting group. In this group, shirtless men beat each other in messes of blood.

His life was boring and without meaning, he spent his days at a job he despised and nights ransacking mail order catalogs feverishly trying to give his life some meaning. His illness also leads him to promote the fight club as a way to feel powerful. (Fight Club Fascist).

Consumerism

According to Matthew Briggs’ review on the movie, the concept of consumerism was conveyed at the time of the explosion of the narrator’s condo. The narrator related that the destruction of his condo is not just the destruction of a bunch of things but the destruction of himself as well.

The movie addressed the excessive consumerism as a sign of emotional emptiness and self distinction. The movie portrays him as someone who buys things to fill his emotional voids, because he didn’t have any friends or family. His possessions defined him thus giving him a consumer identity.

Tyler tried to teach the narrator (who by the way is sometimes referred to as Jack) that his possessions and his job doesn’t define him as an individual. The film also asserted the fact that many individuals in society seek to replace spiritual happiness with material possessions.

Commercialism

Fincher’s adaptation of the novel showcased wildly issue of how commercialism and consumerism affected our societies. One of Tyler’s main goals in the film was to put an end to commercialism.

Viewers will notice that the character’s aim had him moving rampantly about in the movie, desperate to and destroying buildings which contained financial records for credit cards in an effort to eliminate society’s debt (Interpretations of fight club).

A fascist concept was also prevalent in the film ‘fight club’ and according to newspeak dictionary, the film is fascist in a sense that the violence portrayed is ideal and above the pre-existing forms of civilizations. This concept is relative to the character Tyler whose vision of the future was to return to an idealized past, not taking into consideration, the problems which that era underwent.

He considers the past as an era that had no corporations; therefore there was no promotion of consumerism. To achieve this, he utilized methods such as violence and destruction.

Not the typical action movie of everyday life, “Fight Club” incorporates many of the sociological issues societies are facing. If the film’s messages are interpreted correctly, the movie can have notably and high sociological value. The storyline can be related to by many individuals who are seeking to find their true identity, are materialistic or even narcissist.

The concepts may not always be expressed positively, but they all flowed cohesively to convey the many messages of the film. Critics bashed the movie because it overstressed the fact that the society was consumerist, but for many people who watch the film, it helps them to feel less inferior to the more accomplished classes of people. It also teaches them that their identity is not defined by their fine Giorgio Armani suit, real estate banker job title, posh condo or their extra fine Lamborghini but instead by who they are inside.

Briggs, Matthew. “America’s consumer club”, n.d. Web. < https://writing.colostate.edu/gallery/talkingback/issue1/briggs.htm >

“Fight Club Fascist.”, Newspeakdictionary.com , 2005. Web.

“Fight Club Film”, Wikipedia.org , n.d. Web. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_Club >

“Interpretations of fight club”, Wikipedia.org. , n.d. Web. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_Fight_Club >

Kozlowski, Jaime. “The fight club”, Dompse.org, 2007 Web. < https://www.domspe.org/fight_club/soc_fightclub.html >

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IvyPanda. (2018, October 17). "Fight Club" from the Sociological Perspective. https://ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-fight-club/

""Fight Club" from the Sociological Perspective." IvyPanda , 17 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-fight-club/.

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Essays on Fight Club

This cult classic film and novel by Chuck Palahniuk has captivated audiences with its gritty portrayal of modern masculinity and consumerism. Writing an essay about Fight Club can be a thought-provoking and engaging task, allowing you to explore complex themes and characters. Whether you're a fan of the story or looking for an intriguing topic for your next assignment, Fight Club offers a wealth of material to analyze and discuss.

Choosing a topic for your Fight Club essay can be an exciting process. You might consider delving into the themes of masculinity, consumerism, mental health, or identity. Alternatively, you could focus on the characters of Tyler Durden and the Narrator, or explore the film's unique storytelling techniques. With so many compelling elements to explore, you're sure to find a topic that piques your interest and offers ample material for analysis.

If you're considering writing an argumentative essay about Fight Club, you'll want to focus on presenting a clear thesis and supporting it with evidence from the story. Some potential topics include analyzing the film's critique of consumerist culture, exploring the portrayal of masculinity and its impact on society, or discussing the ethical implications of the characters' actions. Each of these topics offers a rich opportunity for debate and analysis, allowing you to delve deep into the themes of the story.

For a cause and effect essay, you might explore the consequences of the characters' actions, the impact of consumerism on society, or the effects of toxic masculinity. These topics provide ample material for exploring the interconnected relationships within the story and the broader implications of its themes.

If you're interested in writing an opinion essay, you could share your personal perspective on the film's messages and themes, discussing your interpretation of the characters and their motivations. You might also explore the impact of Fight Club on popular culture and its enduring relevance in today's society.

For an informative essay, you could provide an in-depth exploration of the film's background, production, and impact on popular culture. You might also delve into the themes and messages of the story, providing a comprehensive analysis of its significance and influence.

Thesis Statement Examples

• "The portrayal of masculinity in Fight Club reflects the societal pressures and expectations placed on men, leading to destructive behaviors and attitudes."
• "Consumerism is critiqued in Fight Club as a force that erodes individual identity and perpetuates a cycle of dissatisfaction and emptiness."
• "The characters of Tyler Durden and the Narrator in Fight Club represent conflicting aspects of the human psyche, exploring the duality of identity and self-perception."
• "The film Fight Club offers a scathing critique of modern society, challenging audiences to reconsider the impact of materialism and conformity on individual lives."
• "Through its subversive storytelling and thematic depth, Fight Club presents a thought-provoking exploration of identity, disillusionment, and the search for meaning in a consumer-driven world."

Paragraph Examples

• "In a world defined by consumerism and superficiality, Fight Club offers a stark and unflinching portrayal of the disillusionment and dissatisfaction that permeate modern society."
• "From its opening scenes, Fight Club captivates audiences with its raw and visceral depiction of masculinity, identity, and the struggle for meaning in a world driven by materialism."
• "As the credits roll on Fight Club, viewers are left reeling from the film's unapologetic critique of consumerist culture and the destructive impact of societal expectations on individual lives."
• "In , Fight Club invites audiences to confront the societal pressures and expectations that shape our lives, challenging us to question our own values and perceptions in the face of a materialistic world."
• "As the dust settles on Fight Club's explosive narrative, viewers are left to grapple with the film's powerful critique of consumerism and its impact on individual identity, leaving a lasting impression that demands reflection and introspection."
• "With its unflinching portrayal of masculinity, consumerism, and the search for meaning, Fight Club offers a provocative and thought-provoking exploration of the human condition, leaving audiences with a compelling and enduring message to ponder."

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The Brash New Sound of Hedonism

The Dare’s music is a blast, and a challenge to the psychological hang-ups of modern partygoers.

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The success of “brat summer”—Charli XCX’s color-coded rebranding of hedonism whose influence somehow traveled all the way to the presidential campaign —conveyed two lessons about what the masses have yearned for lately. One: People want to have a good time. Two: People want to talk about, think about, and be seen as having a good time … which does raise the question of whether anyone is truly having a good time.

That tension, between authentic pleasure and the performance of pleasure, defines What’s Wrong With New York? , the addictive new album by the much-hyped dance-rock act the Dare. The alias of the 28-year-old musician Harrison Patrick Smith, the Dare is very much aligned with the Brat aesthetic of chain-smoking to electro beats. He even produced Charli XCX’s “Guess,” a song that was hot enough to lure Billie Eilish in for a remix . His music is a blast—and a challenge to the psychological hang-ups of modern partygoers, including himself.

Once a struggling rock poet and DJ, Smith reinvented himself during the pandemic as a suit-and-tie-wearing bon vivant whose shtick is a throwback to prior eras of creative ferment in New York City: the gritty-but-arty 1970s scene, which gave rise to the Talking Heads; the sleazy-cool early 2000s, which were ruled by the Strokes. He started making music whose squelchy synths—combined with his own snotty vocal tone—heavily recalled LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, the rock historian who took ecstasy once and then set about giving blog-reading hipsters permission to dance in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Smith is clearly on a similar quest to jolt the squares, reacting to stultifying 2020s social trends: pandemic-exacerbated isolation, internet addiction, post-#MeToo inhibitions around sex. His underground hit, “ Girls ,” is a Seussian litany of the types of women he’s horny for: “girls who got degrees,” “girls on killin’ sprees,” and so on. “Girls” is built around a two-note riff that bounces and mutates like Flubber, accentuating the song’s silliness. Smith told GQ that the track was “a rejection of the last five years of music,” which he felt had become too gentle, too polite. The song “definitely doesn’t have the agenda of making me look like a really good guy,” he added.

Read: Pop music’s version of life doesn’t exist anymore

His transgressive intentions are even more explicit on What’s Wrong With New York? , the Dare’s first full-length album. “You can’t spend your whole life inside,” Smith yowls on the first song, before imploring listeners to open up figuratively and physiologically. “I’m in the club while you’re online,” he taunts on “Good Time.” He delivers these confrontational lyrics in a way that is, objectively, annoying—the sound of someone demanding attention. He is quite clearly rejecting the streaming-era ideal of making music for background listening, and he isn’t worried about being called “ cringe ,” that shaming buzzword.

The provocations land, mostly due to Smith’s talents as a producer. Structurally, his songs are predictable, accumulating energy and then exploding toward the end—but they’re full of textural surprises worthy of close examination. He bedecks every measure of music in rhythmic hiccups, bright splashes of instrumental color, and giddy backing vocals. Some tracks build to a climax that evokes the thought of war breaking out on the dance floor; other crescendos will make listeners feel like they’re getting sucked into space by a UFO. The spiky, hyper-speed “Movement” is a particular highlight that, in its final moments, achieves the intensity of heavy metal.

Part of the album’s novelty is how old-fashioned it seems. Most modern party music has a whiff of software; you imagine beats arranged on a screen. Smith, however, conjures an image of a mad scientist onstage with a pile of gear tangled in wires. He’s drawing on the same bouquet of sonic references as Murphy—the fidgeting synths of New Order, the scratchy guitars of Gang of Four—but whereas LCD Soundsystem aimed to create epic emotional journeys, Smith’s songs are brief and supersaturated. He’s mining the past in a way that’s suited for the TikTok era, and even the most distracted brain, or the most bed-rotted body, won’t be able to resist reacting.

In so insistently seeking that reaction, however, the music creates a very contemporary paradox. Smith is self-conscious about trying to shake people out of their self-consciousness; on “Perfume,” he even worries about how his corpse will smell to others when he’s burning in hell. He’s clearly thinking a lot about how he comes off, and like Charli XCX on Brat , he’s excellent at channeling his anxieties into action. But a sense of true abandon, a trancelike loss of identity, never sets in—because he’s constantly checking in, adjusting, goading. I enjoy What’s Wrong With New York? , but I’d hesitate before putting it on in a social situation; it’s too obnoxious for group listening, frankly. The Dare’s legacy may turn out to be oddly functional, propelling people to hit the gym or saunter the streets from the safety of their headphones, enjoying a private party without fear of judgment.

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