causal argument-honeysucklelilac

Posted on April 11, 2021 by honeysucklelilac

Shopping At Thrift Stores Is Trendy

The convenience of the internet has made shopping for virtually anything extremely accessible. Now, if somebody sees something they like that is owned by someone else they can easily type into Google the description of the item and find it, or something similar, in seconds. Online shopping has become the norm for consumers when looking for clothes. A study by NPR found that as many as 84% of Americans have purchased clothes or shoes from a digital retailer. Clearly online shopping is popular and will continue to rise, particularly amongst young adults as the world becomes more technologically advanced. In the EU, e-commerce picked up, that over the 2010-2020 period those aged 16-24 had the biggest increase of online shopping at 29%. Younger generations are driving the increase of online shopping more than any other age group. 

Generation Z, (those born from 1990-2010) are in the most impressionable part of their lives right now. The desire to fit in and conform to cultural norms to get a positive reaction on social media is a factor that influences their eating habits, hobbies and clothing choices. Much of this generation is preoccupied with social acceptance and coolness associated with the clothes they wear. People liked to be liked, and tend to conform to popular trends in order to feel accepted. In an article for Mindless Mag, Rachel Howel makes the point that, “Although fashion can contribute to aiding an individual with good mental health, the immense pressure for young people to stay up to date can be jarring.” Trends in the world of fashion are constantly changing with every season so consumers need to buy more clothes before they’ve even worn through their old ones in order to keep up. Those on social media feel pressure to keep up to date with the newest trends because they want the validation received through likes on the pictures they post. Generation Z is also looking for lower priced clothes because most of them cannot afford to pay much more for their wardrobe. They are focused on putting their money towards other things and don’t want to pay designer prices if they can find something that looks the same for less. The most common solution for those in Generation Z has been to turn towards fast fashion websites. Fast fashion has allowed people to keep up with the newest trends at the cheapest price.

High school and college students are looking for clothes they can buy for cheap to wear once out at a party or other social event. They are looking for something to fit the theme of the outing they’re going to without breaking the bank. It’s known when they begin the process of looking for new clothes that the quality of the clothes isn’t going to be the best but that’s what they are expecting. If the clothes are damaged or the purchaser does only wear it once before it’s out of style, it doesn’t matter because they didn’t spend a lot of money on it to begin with. Due to the low price of the clothes, the quality of the material is also going to be low. A study done by Laitala K. and Klepp I.G. through PLATE, found that of the 620 clothing items used by 16 households, 50 of the garments were never used. In total every fifth garment was either never used or used only a couple of times by the current owner. Klepp and Laitala also found that of all the age groups studied, teenagers and young adults had the shortest average lifespan of all their garments at less than half compared to older generations. 

It is becoming more popular for these younger generations to shop at thrift stores. The motivation to shop in thrift stores is shifting towards being for fashion purposes.Thrift stores are trying to get rid of the stereotype that they are dark, disorganized and dirty. The motivation to shop at thrift stores is shifting away from being purely economic. For example, Plato’s Closet is a second hand store that specifically asks it’s donors for brand name clothes like Free People, LuluLemon and Urban Outfitters. They ask for name brands so that they’re target market knows that Plato’s Closet is a place to go to find those popular clothing brands. 

The problem is that the younger generations shop at thrift stores more than they donate. In Roger Bennett’s study for Factors Underlying the Inclination to Donate to Particular Types of Charity, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, he found that 60% of donations come from those aged 60-70. The reason these fast fashion clothes are being thrown away before their full potential is used is because there aren’t advertised places and ways to easily donate clothes.Data found in a study, Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviours found that “fast-fashion consumers had positive attitudes towards the environment, yet they did not participate in recycling.” Author Hyun-Mee Joung, concluded that the want for these consumers to recycle was there, fast fashion companies just need to implement and remind their customers of the importance of sustainability. 

References

15 eye-opening online Shopping statistics for 2020. (2021, February 25). Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Age and active life of clothing. (2016, October 27). Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Bennett, Roger (2003), “Factors Underlying the Inclination to Donate to Particular Types of Charity,” International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing,” Vol. 8, pp. 12-29. 

Commerce statistics for individuals.  (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2021. 

NPR/Marist poll: Amazon is a Colossus in a nation of shoppers. (2018, June 06). Retrieved April 12, 2021. 

Howell, Rachel (2020, October 10)  Gen z’s pressure to keep up with fashion trends.  

Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Joung, H.-M. (2014), “Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviors” , International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 8, pp. 688-697.

Posted in Causal Argument, honeysucklelilac, Portfolio HoneySuckleLilac | 1 Comment

Rebuttal Rewrite-RowanRat

Posted on April 11, 2021 by rowanrat

Far Fetched or The Truth?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the term conspiracy theories? If it is along the lines of “crazy,” “dramatic,” or “nonsense,” then you have a similar opinion compared to the vast majority. These theories have been around for as long as we can remember. Oftentimes with conspiracy theories, it involves the exaggerated ideas resulting from reading too far into something. While it may seem probable that the idea of specific lyrics containing themes of mental illness is embellished, that is not the case.

Mental illness has gained a poor reputation in today’s society. This is as a result of the influx of people claiming that they have certain illnesses, especially depression and anxiety. This makes the idea of mental illness being apparent in song lyrics that much more unbelievable. However, being that music is a form of communication, there is a guaranteed reflection of the artist’s mental state in their creative writings.

To begin with, we must understand the true meaning of conspiracy theories. According to wikipedia, it “refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, such as an opposition to the mainstream consensus among those people who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy.” Rather than this information being understood as factual, it is instead represented as opinion based. In the International Review of Social Psychology, “A ‘Conspiracy Theory’ Conspiracy Theory? A Mixed Methods Investigation of Laypeople’s Rejection (And Acceptance) of a Controversial Label,” “The label ‘conspiracy theory’, while part of everyday media discourse, is considered by many as problematic.” There is a divide between those who do and don’t believe in conspiracy theories, and that divide plays a significant role when it comes to music artists and their believed mental situations.

In an article, J. Wonya speaks of the scenario involving the suicide of Chester Bennington following Chris Cornell’s death. She says, “A few years later, I overheard a coworker talking about how she didn’t believe Chester killed himself, and that it was a “setup” to get more record sales”(medium). There were many theories going around of how he wasn’t actually depressed. However, this is not the case, and can be proven through the lyrics he has created. For example, in his song, “Crawling,” he states, “crawling in my skin, these these wounds, they will not heal…to find myself again, my walls are closing in…discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me distracting, reacting against my will I stand beside my own reflection. It’s haunting…” Based off of these lyrics, it is apparent that Chester Bennington was dealing with some troubles, more so than the average feelings of sadness.

In similar fashion, let’s take a look at some more proof by various artists who have been diagnosed with some type of mental illness. There are many songs with dark lyrics that are a result of the artist having mental illness. In the first place, Eminem has been diagnosed with depression and his song, “Stan”, writes “You coulda rescued me from drowning / now it’s too late, I’m on a thousand downers now, I’m drowsy / and all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call.” Another by Eminem, “Rock Bottom” writes “My life is full of empty promises and broken dreams / I’m hopin’ things look up; but there ain’t no job openings / I feel discouraged, hungry and malnourished.” These lyrics reflect Eminem’s diagnosis of depression through the negative phrases he encompasses in his music. Secondly, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day has been diagnosed with panic disorder and his band’s song, “Basket Case,” writes, “Sometimes I give myself the creeps / sometimes my mind plays tricks on me / it all keeps adding up I think I’m cracking up / am I just paranoid or am I just stoned?” Through this song, Billie Joe Armstrong includes his personal feelings and thoughts that continue to go through his mind. In addition, Morrissey of The Smiths has been diagnosed with depression and his band’s song, “I know It’s Over” writes “Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head.” All of these songs demonstrate how mental illness affects and is apparent in the lyrics of those artists who are suffering.

In an article titled, “Stop Reading Too Much Into Things!(You’re NOT as Intuitive as You Think” by Counseling for men, it is expressed that, “When it comes to being intuitive, I believe people are a lot worse at reading into things than they think.” This statement confirms that when you are reading into things, you are not correct in your assumptions. Moreover, you should stop reading into things all together. This will prevent any incorrect presumptions. However, not everything is as it seems. A sad song written by an “emo” band or artist is just written for the sake of their theme. But that’s not always the case. If you were to halt any sort of investigation, you will be unable to find potential proof. And in this case, the truths of what’s going on in the artist’s minds.

As has been noted, it is completely understandable that searching for hidden clues in song lyrics that reflect some sort of mental illness is rather excessive. A song may be sad, chaotic, or fearful, but to assume that it is as a result of showing signs of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other illnesses does seem to stretch the truth. These beliefs are fathomable, but it is important to realize that it is not the case in this situation. There is a common link between creativity and mental illness. Many songs reflect the type of life an artist has. Further, one’s mental health is a significant part in one’s life. Therefore, it is more than likely that if an artist suffers from some type of mental illness, it will show in the songwriting of those artists. With that being said, before making a decision that will deem something unlikely, have an open mind. Some conspiracy theories may be beyond belief, but not all.

References

Chester Bennington’s life story and the influence of his Dark passengers. (2021, April 11). Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://thedawnrehab.com/blog/chester-bennington-life-story/

Conspiracy theory. (2021, April 10). Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory

Nera, K., Leveaux, S., & Klein, P. (2020, October 19). International review of social psychology. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.rips-irsp.com/articles/10.5334/irsp.401/

Stop reading too much into things! (you’re not as intuitive as you think). (2020, June 23). Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://parkslopetherapist.com/stop-reading-into-things/

Wynona, J. (2020, June 25). Conspiracy theories ignore music artist’s mental health – office hrs. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://medium.com/@writerontheradio/conspiracy-theories-ignore-music-artists-mental-health-office-hrs-d90f10b3cdae

/* custom css */.tdi_98_160 .tdb-author-name-wrap{ align-items: baseline; }.tdi_98_160 .avatar{ width: 20px; height: 20px; margin-right: 6px;, Bartleet, L., By, & Bartleet, L. (2020, December 08).

50 songs about depression. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://www.nme.com/list/50-songs-about-depression-1109

Posted in Portfolio RowanRat, Portfolios FA20, Rebuttal Rewrite, rowanrat | 6 Comments

Rebuttal-RowanRat

Posted on April 11, 2021 by rowanrat

Far Fetched or The Truth?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the term conspiracy theories? If it is along the lines of “crazy,” “dramatic,” or “nonsense,” then you have a similar opinion compared to the vast majority. These theories have been around for as long as we can remember. Oftentimes with conspiracy theories, it involves the exaggerated ideas resulting from reading too far into something. While it may seem probable that the idea of specific lyrics containing themes of mental illness is embellished, that is not the case.

Mental illness has gained a poor reputation in today’s society. This is as a result of the influx of people claiming that they have certain illnesses, especially depression and anxiety. This makes the idea of mental illness being apparent in song lyrics that much more unbelievable. However, being that music is a form of communication, there is a guaranteed reflection of the artist’s mental state in their creative writings.

To begin with, we must understand the true meaning of conspiracy theories. According to wikipedia, it “refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, such as an opposition to the mainstream consensus among those people who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy.” Rather than this information being understood as factual, it is instead represented as opinion based. In the International Review of Social Psychology, “A ‘Conspiracy Theory’ Conspiracy Theory? A Mixed Methods Investigation of Laypeople’s Rejection (And Acceptance) of a Controversial Label,” “The label ‘conspiracy theory’, while part of everyday media discourse, is considered by many as problematic.” There is a divide between those who do and don’t believe in conspiracy theories, and that divide plays a significant role when it comes to music artists and their believed mental situations.

In an article, J. Wonya speaks of the scenario involving the suicide of Chester Bennington following Chris Cornell’s death. She says, “A few years later, I overheard a coworker talking about how she didn’t believe Chester killed himself, and that it was a “setup” to get more record sales”(medium). There were many theories going around of how he wasn’t actually depressed. However, this is not the case, and can be proven through the lyrics he has created. For example, in his song, “Crawling,” he states, “crawling in my skin, these these wounds, they will not heal…to find myself again, my walls are closing in…discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me distracting, reacting against my will I stand beside my own reflection. It’s haunting…” Based off of these lyrics, it is apparent that Chester Bennington was dealing with some troubles, more so than the average feelings of sadness.

In similar fashion, let’s take a look at some more proof by various artists who have been diagnosed with some type of mental illness. There are many songs with dark lyrics that are a result of the artist having mental illness. In the first place, Eminem has been diagnosed with depression and his song, “Stan”, writes “You coulda rescued me from drowning / now it’s too late, I’m on a thousand downers now, I’m drowsy / and all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call.” Another by Eminem, “Rock Bottom” writes “My life is full of empty promises and broken dreams / I’m hopin’ things look up; but there ain’t no job openings / I feel discouraged, hungry and malnourished.” These lyrics reflect Eminem’s diagnosis of depression through the negative phrases he encompasses in his music. Secondly, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day has been diagnosed with panic disorder and his band’s song, “Basket Case,” writes, “Sometimes I give myself the creeps / sometimes my mind plays tricks on me / it all keeps adding up I think I’m cracking up / am I just paranoid or am I just stoned?” Through this song, Billie Joe Armstrong includes his personal feelings and thoughts that continue to go through his mind. In addition, Morrissey of The Smiths has been diagnosed with depression and his band’s song, “I know It’s Over” writes “Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head.” All of these songs demonstrate how mental illness affects and is apparent in the lyrics of those artists who are suffering.

In an article titled, “Stop Reading Too Much Into Things!(You’re NOT as Intuitive as You Think” by Counseling for men, it is expressed that, “When it comes to being intuitive, I believe people are a lot worse at reading into things than they think.” This statement confirms that when you are reading into things, you are not correct in your assumptions. Moreover, you should stop reading into things all together. This will prevent any incorrect presumptions. However, not everything is as it seems. A sad song written by an “emo” band or artist is just written for the sake of their theme. But that’s not always the case. If you were to halt any sort of investigation, you will be unable to find potential proof. And in this case, the truths of what’s going on in the artist’s minds.

As has been noted, it is completely understandable that searching for hidden clues in song lyrics that reflect some sort of mental illness is rather excessive. A song may be sad, chaotic, or fearful, but to assume that it is as a result of showing signs of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other illnesses does seem to stretch the truth. These beliefs are fathomable, but it is important to realize that it is not the case in this situation. There is a common link between creativity and mental illness. Many songs reflect the type of life an artist has. Further, one’s mental health is a significant part in one’s life. Therefore, it is more than likely that if an artist suffers from some type of mental illness, it will show in the songwriting of those artists. With that being said, before making a decision that will deem something unlikely, have an open mind. Some conspiracy theories may be beyond belief, but not all.

References

Chester Bennington’s life story and the influence of his Dark passengers. (2021, April 11).

Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://thedawnrehab.com/blog/chester-bennington-life-story/

Conspiracy theory. (2021, April 10). Retrieved April 12, 2021, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory

Nera, K., Leveaux, S., & Klein, P. (2020, October 19). International review of social psychology. 

Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.rips-irsp.com/articles/10.5334/irsp.401/

Stop reading too much into things! (you’re not as intuitive as you think). (2020, June 23). 

Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://parkslopetherapist.com/stop-reading-into-things/

Wynona, J. (2020, June 25). Conspiracy theories ignore music artist’s mental health – office hrs. 

Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://medium.com/@writerontheradio/conspiracy-theories-ignore-music-artists-mental-health-office-hrs-d90f10b3cdae

/* custom css */.tdi_98_160 .tdb-author-name-wrap{ align-items: baseline; }.tdi_98_160 .avatar{ width: 20px; height: 20px; margin-right: 6px;, Bartleet, L., By, & Bartleet, L. (2020, December 08). 50 songs about depression. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://www.nme.com/list/50-songs-about-depression-1109

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Rebuttal Rewrite-person345

Posted on April 11, 2021 by person345

The Truth About Travel

Over the course of time, we have seen that going on a vacation is a healthy way for people to enjoy themselves and to escape their busy lives at home. It helps relieve stress and anxiety and overall, going on a vacation and travelling relaxes the mind and the body as shown in the Stages of Travel. However, it is obvious that travelling and going on a vacation also leads to some risks and other negative effects. Traveling in moderation is healthy, but it when we travel constantly in a short period of time is then these negative effects take hold.

When someone travels through multiple time zones in one flight, they experience what is called “Travel Fatigue.” An article titled, “The Stresses of Travel” by J Waterhouse, T Reilly, and B Edwards explains this. Travel fatigue can be caused by multiple factors. according to the article, Travel Fatigue is “Long-distance travel is associated with a group of transient negative effects, collectively referred to as ‘travel fatigue,’ which result from anxiety about the journey, the change to an individual’s daily routine, and dehydration due to time spent in the dry air of the aircraft cabin.”

For many people, travel is an escape from their daily routines and to enjoy themselves. When we travel, we feel exhilarated and excited to get to our destination. This positive disruptive change in our routine is healthy and benefits our mental health. It helps us escape the stress and anxiety of our regular lives. Going on a vacation and anticipating it blocks out many of the negatives of travel including Travel fatigue and others fears.

Many people also experience Jet Lag when crossing over many time zones. This impacts sleep because time is different across time zones. Jet Lag makes traveler sleep deprived since they cannot get enough sleep. People’s sleep schedules are messed up because of the time zone changes. In this sense, travelling constantly and crossing many different time zones wears down the body and the mind. Most of the time, travelling increases happiness and lowers anxiety and depression since they are escaping from all they hardships they are facing. Yeah, people may be always on the move and getting less than they are used to, but the benefits of travel outweigh even the slightest of negatives. Traveling is essential to both physical and mental health.

Another viewpoint that someone may take concerning travel is the rising chance of terrorism. Traveling anywhere in the world has its risks. An Article titled, “Tourism and the Globalization of Fear: Analyzing the Politics of Risk and (in)Security in Global Travel” written by Raoul Bianchi in 2006 expands upon this idea even further. Bianchi is a senior research fellow in the at the International Institute of Culture Terrorism and Development at London Metropolitan University. ” When people travel to places either nationally or internationally, there is chance of risks in security and terrorist attacks.  In the article, Bianchi adds,” Tourists have increasingly become the specific target of ‘terrorist violence’”. This statement leads to the idea that travelling does in fact lead to more violence because terrorists in foreign nations are constantly targeting tourists from the United States and Europe as well. In these scenarios, it is safe to say that not being travel deprived increases violence but by terrorist groups not by the tourists themselves. It would be foolish to live in fear of violence for the rest of our lives. Violence will be a part of society forever and there is no real way around it. Travel benefits all and it makes people visit cool places to escape the stresses of their lives.

Lockdowns have made us anxious and unrestricted travel makes us fearful because of potential terrorist attacks. This is seen during the Covid Pandemic. We are anxious and depressed because we were not allowed to travel due to travel restrictions. As the time went on with the restrictions still in place, society shifted the blame towards others such as their governments and people.  When we are deprived of something, we feel trapped and seek a way forward.  The January 6th riots at the United States capital and the shootings of Asian Americans in Atlanta are the most recent examples. Americans at the capital stormed the building to overturn Joe Biden’s presidency. They felt threatened by Biden winning the election. Americans are targeting Asian Americans to blame China for the spread of the Coronavirus and other events. Those two events are the most damaging events we have seen due to governments depriving people their right to travel or go on a vacation. It is dangerous forcing people to stay home. From this past year, we have seen that slowing down travel has damaging effects on society. The benefit of allowing travel outweighs all dangers. Allowing travel runs the risk of getting killed or seriously injured in potential terrorist attacks. But not allowing people to travel sparks revolutions and even more violence. Placing limits does not make sense and is unreasonable.

References

  1. Bianchi, R. (2006). Tourism and the globalization of fear: Analyzing the politics of risk AND (IN)SECURITY in global travel – RAOUL Bianchi, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1057/palgrave.thr.6050028
  2. Ettema, D., & Timmermans, H. (2006, October 27). Costs of travel time uncertainty and benefits of travel time information: Conceptual model and numerical examples. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968090X06000684
  3. Waterhouse, J., Reilly, T., & Edwards, B. (2011). The stress of travel. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640410400000264
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Rebuttal Rewrite- Icedcoffeeislife

Posted on April 11, 2021 by icedcoffeeislife

The Reality of the Splash

As many people may have anxiety, everyone will at some point in their life experience a form of anxiety. From social anxiety to anxiety with an important event, or they just naturally have high-level anxiety. Anxiety can be higher in different ways for each person, there is no true way to show how anxiety truly affects a certain person in a sport. Swimming being one of the sports where there is a lot of anxiety that is experienced. There is no true way that can show how a person is suffering from anxiety specifically from swimming. Some studies have shown that a person’s anxiety is higher from the sport, but it does not state that every person is affected by it.

 Each person is affected differently, anxiety cannot be the only thing that affects how a person swims or approaches a certain situation. Anxiety in some way is used as a scapegoat for reasons on why swimmers may have a bad race. If a swimmer has a bad race, they may say that they were overthinking the races and let the anxiety of the races get to them and that they never could get over it.  They may not be fully prepared to race, or they just wanted to sandbag the races because it was not their focus event of the meet. Anxiety is one of the complicated mental illnesses because it can affect you at one point or another, or does not. This is seen throughout swimmers’ careers, but there is still not a strong evidence that shows how anxiety affects that swimmer now.

The studies that have been done so far on anxiety in sport, but more importantly in swimming have shown how anxiety affects an athletes performance. The flaw in their studies is showing how it truly affects a person because a swimmer could be living how they feel after or before a race. They could be using the excuse of anxiety as a way of saying that is why they swam badly. The studies are inconclusive on their research of anxiety in the sport. This brings into question the effect the study as a whole is truthful on the finding that they have found. The study down in the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics was looking at the amount of stress that swimmers go through during the season. The studies state “findings are limited by program competition schedule, as it is probable that some mid-season meets and championship meets occurred before or after our survey was sent out.” This information opens the question of the anxiety of an athlete only comes when the swim season is in session. When they are out of season they can relate more than they would during the middle of the competition season. But where the study is hard to understand is that many different swim conferences have different seasons making it hard to see if the anxiety is something that will affect their racing. Division One swimmers are in season for most of the year, whereas Division Three swimmers are only in official training from September to early March. This makes it hard to say that every swimmer is affected by anxiety. Athletes that are training more often than others may be feeling more anxiety or stress than a swimmer that is in here offseason.

Each athlete has their own experiences with any type of anxiety, some of the anxiety that swimmers face is not always a negative thing. Anxiety has always been viewed as a negative thought in sport, where in reality it can help an athlete perform better. Positive anxiety can be seen as some type of adrenalin that a swimmer gets before a race. The extra push that they need to reach the next level of their swimming. Athletes that turn anxiety into a positive will have more positive outcomes than a swimmer that uses their anxiety as a negative. Positive anxiety will lead to self-confidence in a person swimming, having confessed will little the effects that anxiety has on an athlete. An athlete that only has positive anxiety will be completely different than an athlete that suffers from negative anxiety. In a study done by Psychology of Sport and Exercise, the study takes a look into how self-confidence will lead to a better level of performance in swimming. According to the results of the study, they state, “high levels of self-confidence, leading to increases in motivation and effort, athletes were able to maintain a confident outlook towards performance.” When swimmers can compete with a high level of self-confidence in their swimming, their levels of anxiety will lower down to a point where they no longer affect the athletes. Even putting together their anxiety and self-confidence into fuel to help them race better. There are too many conclusions that an athlete that has anxiety will be hurtful to their performances. Where in reality it does not have any effect on how they perform in a race. 

There is a known truth that some swimmers will experience some time of anxiety in their swim career either if it is a positive or negative type of anxiety. But it is untrue when people say that every single swimmer will have anxiety. There is no true way of proving that every swimmer will have anxiety. Each swimmer is so different, has different backgrounds, and different experiences in the sport. There is also a negative light that anxiety brings on to the sport of swimming.  This is a turnoff for them to join swimming. Why would you want to join a sport that is going to add more anxiety into your life? In the swimming community, there are many swimmers that will never be affected by anxiety or will never have to experience how to cover their anxiety. Some people are going to experience some type of anxiety in their life, but it is unfair to say that everyone will. 

Refences

Stoa, R., Fogaca, J., & Johnsen, L. (2020). Feel the Pressure: Stress and Intrinsic Motivation in Collegiate Swimmers. Retrieved from http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RA_2020_13.pdf

Hanton, S., Mellalieu, S., & Hall, R. (2003, October 20). Self-confidence and anxiety interpretation: A qualitative investigation. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

Posted in icedcoffeeislife, Rebuttal Rewrite | 2 Comments

Rebuttal- Icedcoffeeislife

Posted on April 11, 2021 by icedcoffeeislife

The Reality of the Splash


As many people may have anxiety, everyone will at some point in their life experience a form of anxiety. From social anxiety to anxiety with an important event, or they just naturally have high-level anxiety. Anxiety can be higher in different ways for each person, there is no true way to show how anxiety truly affects a certain person in a sport. Swimming being one of the sports where there is a lot of anxiety that is experienced. There is no true way that can show how a person is suffering from anxiety specifically from swimming. Some studies have shown that a person’s anxiety is higher from the sport, but it does not state that every person is affected by it.

 Each person is affected differently, anxiety cannot be the only thing that affects how a person swims or approaches a certain situation. Anxiety in some way is used as a scapegoat for reasons on why swimmers may have a bad race. If a swimmer has a bad race, they may say that they were overthinking the races and let the anxiety of the races get to them and that they never could get over it.  They may not be fully prepared to race, or they just wanted to sandbag the races because it was not their focus event of the meet. Anxiety is one of the complicated mental illnesses because it can affect you at one point or another, or does not. This is seen throughout swimmers’ careers, but there is still not a strong evidence that shows how anxiety affects that swimmer now.

The studies that have been done so far on anxiety in sport, but more importantly in swimming have shown how anxiety affects an athletes performance. The flaw in their studies is showing how it truly affects a person because a swimmer could be living how they feel after or before a race. They could be using the excuse of anxiety as a way of saying that is why they swam badly. The studies are inconclusive on their research of anxiety in the sport. This brings into question the effect the study as a whole is truthful on the finding that they have found. The study down in the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics was looking at the amount of stress that swimmers go through during the season. The studies state “ findings are limited by program competition schedule, as it is probable that some mid-season meets and championship meets occurred before or after our survey was sent out.” This information opens the question of the anxiety of an athlete only comes when the swim season is in session. When they are out of season they can relate more than they would during the middle of the competition season. But where the study is hard to understand is that many different swim conferences have different seasons making it hard to see if the anxiety is something that will affect their racing. Division One swimmers are in season for most of the year, whereas Division Three swimmers are only in official training from September to early March. This makes it hard to say that every swimmer is affected by anxiety. Athletes that are training more often than others may be feeling more anxiety or stress than a swimmer that is in here offseason.

Each athlete has their own experiences with any type of anxiety, some of the anxiety that swimmers face is not always a negative thing. Anxiety has always been viewed as a negative thought in sport, where in reality it can help an athlete perform better. Positive anxiety can be seen as some type of adrenalin that a swimmer gets before a race. The extra push that they need to reach the next level of their swimming. Athletes that turn anxiety into a positive will have more positive outcomes than a swimmer that uses their anxiety as a negative. Positive anxiety will lead to self-confidence in a person swimming, having confessed will little the effects that anxiety has on an athlete. An athlete that only has positive anxiety will be completely different than an athlete that suffers from negative anxiety. In a study done by Psychology of Sport and Exercise, the study takes a look into how self-confidence will lead to a better level of performance in swimming. According to the results of the study, they state, “high levels of self-confidence, leading to increases in motivation and effort, athletes were able to maintain a confident outlook towards performance.” When swimmers can compete with a high level of self-confidence in their swimming, their levels of anxiety will lower down to a point where they no longer affect the athletes. Even putting together their anxiety and self-confidence into fuel to help them race better. There are too many conclusions that an athlete that has anxiety will be hurtful to their performances. Where in reality it does not have any effect on how they perform in a race. 

There is a known truth that some swimmers will experience some time of anxiety in their swim career either if it is a positive or negative type of anxiety. But it is untrue when people say that every single swimmer will have anxiety. There is no true way of proving that every swimmer will have anxiety. Each swimmer is so different, has different backgrounds, and different experiences in the sport. There is also a negative light that anxiety brings on to the sport of swimming.  This is a turnoff for them to join swimming. Why would you want to join a sport that is going to add more anxiety into your life? In the swimming community, there are many swimmers that will never be affected by anxiety or will never have to experience how to cover their anxiety. Some people are going to experience some type of anxiety in their life, but it is unfair to say that everyone will.

References:

Stoa, R., Fogaca, J., & Johnsen, L. (2020). Feel the Pressure: Stress and Intrinsic Motivation in Collegiate Swimmers. Retrieved from http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RA_2020_13.pdf

Hanton, S., Mellalieu, S., & Hall, R. (2003, October 20). Self-confidence and anxiety interpretation: A qualitative investigation. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029203000402?casa_token=LADL5_IHHewAAAAA%3AyxdaGYQnDInNn8BqUIPdyllwy9A-9VmXbZ_Qc1KhvNIq1hOPjeK1-J58G81Q-kJuomHCmhZ6Rw#BIB4

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Rebuttal rewrite- JohnWick66

Posted on April 11, 2021 by johnwick66

Cancel Culture’s Reach

While cancel culture’s reach is boundless in its pursuit of “social justice,” it has completely avoided certain people, mainly celebrities. Recently, makeup youtuber James Charles(who was previously accused of grooming underage boys) was recently accused of exchanging inappropriate messages with two minors. After the allegations started gaining immense momentum on Twitter and Tik Tok, he posted a video accepting “responsibility” for ”…my actions and how they were wrong,” However he also claimed that he was told by the kids that they were 18 (apparently both kids were around 16). Despite these and several other disturbing accusations James hasn’t been cancelled yet for his actions. While he was replaced as host for a show he co-created called ” Instant Influencer,” he hasn’t nearly faced the full backlash of cancel culture as many others have . He faces zero legal action and hasn’t even lost his sponsors. Currently he’s still making videos as if nothing even happened.

Another prime example of someone escaping Cancel culture is actor Jussie Smollett, “Empire” actor who claimed he was attacked by two white racists in Chicago in early 2019. His assailants, who he described to be wearing “MAGA” hats and allegedly beat him, called him slurs, poured bleach on him and even placed a noose around his neck. His story picked up national attention as people called to “Stop Racism!” He received support from thousands of people calling for justice. As time passed, his story unraveled. Chicago police were led to the Osundairo brothers, former extras on “Empire” who claimed that Jussie paid them to beat him up in an attempt to earn more fame. Smollett would be arrested on “16 felony counts of ‘false report of offense.” But on March 26,2019 the Chicago/Cook County District attorney’s office dismissed Smollett on all charges. Something that would normally receive insane backlash. But instead the whole entire incident was sweeped under the rug. Instead of tearing Jussie to pieces for is unbelievable hate crime hoax, the media would proceed to bury it with the reason that” “hate crime hoaxes are vanishingly rare.” With the website “Quartz” going so far to proclaim, ”The Jussie Smollett Case Shows Exactly Why We Need to Take Hate Crimes More Seriously.”

How are some people able to avoid the wrath of Cancel culture? Their isn’t a solid answer for it, but allow me to speculate. Certain people escape Cancel culture through political affiliation. Both examples along with several unnamed ones are all openly Democratic. People who tend to affiliate themselves with LGBT, POC, women, or other minority demographics rarely face cancel culture. It’s also possible that their followers turn a blind eye on their actions since it could damage their movements more than help them. Think back to Jussie’s or James allegation’s. If their actions were put on the front burner of the news and Social media, it would likely damage the groups they are representing(LGBT, POC). Can you imagine the potential setbacks the LGBT community would face if James Charles(a LGBT celebrity) grooming minors got on either Fox or CNN news? Or the how fast the the “Stop Racism!” calls would fizzle if Jussie’s hoax got the same national attention as his “attack” did? People “turn the other cheek” on theses awful actions in order to prevent their groups from receiving a damaged reputation.

Of course it could also be that they got lucky.

While certain people may avoid the wrath of Cancel culture. The rest of us aren’t as lucky. The idea behind it is to cancel the offender in order to fix the problem. But rather than fix it. Cancel culture makes it much worse. A example as to why can be seen in smokers. In a study conducted by researcher at UCLA two groups of smokers were brought in and given several tasks to do. Both groups were given several cigarettes of their favorite brand. The goal of the research was to see how long the groups could do their tasks before they need to smoke. The only difference between the groups is that group 1 was given a neutral message about their participation in the experiment while group 2 was randomly exposed to negative stereotypes about smokers culled from former antismoking campaigns. Through the experiment it was discovered that ”Participants exposed to the stigmatizing messages lighted up(smoked) sooner, on average, than participants in the control group. ” In fact after 40 minutes almost all of group 2 had started to smoke, while only 20% of group one did. One of the underlying reasons this happened is a psychological phenomenon known as stereotype threat were”…people are so anxious about being identified in a negative way that they end end confirming the behaviors they are trying so hard to disprove.” It’s basically like a self fulling prophecy, you end up becoming the thing your trying to avoid. Unfortunately this kind of behavior isn’t solely restricted to smoking either.

This kind of behavior can be seen by the targets of Human rights groups who are shamed as a tactic. In an article published by Cambridge university about rights groups shaming people it was stated that “Shame is indeed a potent motivator, but its effects are often counterproductive.” The article continues on by saying that “..shaming is likely to produce anger, resistance, backlash, and deviance from outgroup norms, or denial and evasion.” Meaning that through the efforts of shaming people the human rights groups are getting farther from their goals rather than closer to it. Resulting in the creation of more adversaries to their movement, causing the cycle to repeat. Cancel’s cultures attempts to snub out racism in people instead adds fuel to the fire. Pushing people away from their movements.

References

Reilly, W. Are Hate Crime Hoaxers Above the Law? . Acad. Quest. 32, 553–561 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12129-019-09829-x

Snyder, J. (2020). Backlash against human rights shaming: Emotions in groups. International Theory, 12(1), 109-132. doi:10.1017/S1752971919000216

 Shaming Smokers Can Backfire — Journal Report – ABI/INFORM Collection – ProQuest (rowan.edu)

Vujić, K. (2021, April 05). A guide to the many, many scandals of James Charles. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.thecut.com/article/james-charles-allegations-and-accusations-explained.html

Holding myself accountable. (2021, April 01). Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsjwRp8_lWA

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Rebuttal- JohnWick66

Posted on April 11, 2021 by johnwick66

Cancel cultures reach

While cancel culture’s reach is boundless in its pursuit of “social justice” , it has been seen over the years passing over or completely avoiding certain people, mainly celebrities’. For example a very recent event that has transpired over the last few weeks involves makeup YouTuber James Charles where he has been accused of exchanging inappropriate messages with minors. During most of the month of March he didn’t acknowledge the accusations and how they were rapidly gaining attention on social media platforms like Tik Tok and Twitter. Then towards the end of the month he released a video in which he accepted responsibility for the conversations that transpired between him and the minors. During this confession he admitted that what he did was wrong saying” I fully understand my actions and how they were wrong,”. However in the video he claimed that during both conversations he was told by the kids that they were 18(apparently both kids were around 16). This could have been a potential valid point if it wasn’t for the fact that this was just the most recent of several sexually related accusations that have been made against James over the past few years which includes of grooming underage boys(this accusation came very early in the year) which he denied. Despite these and several other accusations James hasn’t been cancelled yet for his actions. True their has been some actions, like him being replaced as host for a show he co-created called ” Instant Influencer” but over all he hasn’t nearly faced the full backlash of cancel culture as many others have had before. No cut ties from his sponsors, no major backlash from his fans, no legal action, nothing.

Another prime example is actor Jussie Smollett. Jussie was an actor on the popular show “Empire” who claimed that back in early 2019 he was attacked late one night by two white racists in Chicago. He described the assailants as have been wearing “MAGA” hats and proceeded to beat him, call him slurs, pour bleach on him and even placed a noose around his neck. His story took off as huge called to stop racism and he received support from thousands of people calling for justice. However as time progressed it became more apparent that nothing was a clear as it seemed. Eventually Chicago police were led to the Osundairo brothers, former extras on “Empire” who claimed that Jussie paid them to beat him up in an attempt to earn more fame. After searching the the brother’s apartment and finding a significant amount of evidence, Smollett was arrested on “16 felony counts of ‘false report of offense'” Instead of cancel culture tearing Jussie to pieces and the law charge him based on the overwhelming evidence, on March 26,2019 the Chicago/cook County District attorney’s office dismissed Smollett on all charges. While if this were to happen to almost any one else the Media would have a field day dragging not only them but the Attorney’s office through the mud. But surprisingly the opposite happened. The media buried it with the idea that “hate crime hoaxes are vanishingly rare”. That Smollett’s actions don’t excuse the idea that hate crimes don’t happen or that for one extremely bold title from the website “Quartz” ” The Jussie Smollett Case Shows Exactly Why We Need to Take Hate Crimes More Seriously.” The media used his lie to push the discussion of hate crimes, then when he got exposed rather than put his lie on the spotlight, they gently shuffled it to the back where it would be forgotten.

How are some people able to avoid the wrath of Cancel culture? To be honest their isn’t a solid answer for it, but their is a potential idea as to why. It should important to note these ideas aren’t backed by sources but based on observations that I have noticed over the last several years of seeing these incidents unfold. The potential reason as to why these people along with a few others have escaped Cancel culture is due to political affiliation. The one underlying factor that hasn’t been mentioned about Jussie, James and the others which weren’t mentioned is that they are all openly Democratic. Not to mention these people tend to file into certain groups that the Democratic party are pushing for their “rights ” (LGBT ,POC ,Women ,etc.). It’s possible that these people escape cancel culture due to the fact that if they are pushed into that kind of scenario it could either hurt the party itself, or the movements that back these celebrities. So the media will instead turn a blind eye towards these actions in an effort to cover it up. But then again it could also be that they so happened to get lucky and through chance avoided being cancelled.

While some people may avoid the wrath of Cancel culture. The rest of us aren’t as lucky. The idea behind it is to cancel the offender in order to fix the problem. But rather than fix it. It makes it much worse. A example as to why can be seen in smokers. In a study conducted by researcher at UCLA two groups of smokers were brought in and given several tasks to do. The goal of the research was to see how long the groups could do the tasks and see if they would smoke or not. The only difference between the groups is that group 1 was given a neutral message about their participation in the experiment while group 2 was randomly exposed to negative stereotypes about smokers culled from antismoking campaigns. Through the research it was determined that ” Participants exposed to the stigmatizing messages lighted up(smoked) sooner, on average, than participants in the control group. ” In fact after 40 minutes almost all of group 2 started to smoke, while only 20% of group one did. One of the underlying reasons this happens is a psychological phenomenon known as stereotype threat were”… people are so anxious about being identified in a negative way that they end end confirming the behaviors they are trying so hard to disprove. ” This kind of behavior isn’t solely restricted to smoking either. This can be seen by the Human rights groups who use shaming as a tactic. In an article published by Cambridge university about rights groups shaming people it was stated that ” ..shaming is likely to produce anger, resistance, backlash, and deviance from outgroup norms, or denial and evasion.” Meaning that through the efforts of shaming people the human rights groups are getting farther from their goals rather than closer to it. Cancel’s cultures attempts to quell racism in people instead add more fuel to the flame, leading to more conflict down the road.

Citations

Reilly, W. Are Hate Crime Hoaxers Above the Law? . Acad. Quest. 32, 553–561 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12129-019-09829-x

Snyder, J. (2020). Backlash against human rights shaming: Emotions in groups. International Theory, 12(1), 109-132. doi:10.1017/S1752971919000216

: Shaming Smokers Can Backfire — Journal Report – ABI/INFORM Collection – ProQuest (rowan.edu)

Vujić, K. (2021, April 05). A guide to the many, many scandals of James Charles. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.thecut.com/article/james-charles-allegations-and-accusations-explained.html

Holding myself accountable. (2021, April 01). Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsjwRp8_lWA

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Rebuttal Rewrite-Justheretopass

Posted on April 11, 2021 by justheretopass

Is Online School Better?

Online school isn’t a new tool that was spontaneously created. “Many universities encourage faculty to develop online courses in order to address issues ranging from limited classroom and dormitory space to limited funds.” It’s been around for a while but the pandemic putting the world on hold, all of the school districts had no other choice but to go fully online. During that time teachers saw students grades improve drastically from being in person to them working from their home. Students were able to work from the comfort of their home and move at their own pace on assignments. Teachers in some classes saw grades rise for students that were uncommon. Most students’ grades drastically rose because of cheating and not having the teacher breathing down your neck on a test when you start to look around the classroom. “Before Covid-19 ProctorU, caught people cheating on fewer than 1 percent of the 340,000 exams it administered from January through March. During the height of remote testing, the company says, the number of exams it supervised jumped to 1.3 million from April through June, and the cheating rate rose above 8 percent.” Ninety-three percent of instructors think that students are more likely to cheat online than in person, hinting at why grades might increase significantly. 

Some colleges give tests to their students and don’t have a proctor to watch over them. Most kids would take that as a treat and use their notes, and the internet. In person school is a better option than online classes for this reason. Students in online classes tend to be more lazier on assignments which is why they resort to cheating. If students didn’t have the option to go online they would have to be prepared everyday for school on the topic the class is discussing. If a students doesn’t get something now and they are online they will most likely forget it and not even try and learn it, but if the student is in class they will have no other choice but to learn it because you never know when you will be called and when you take the test the likelihood of you being able to use your notes or the internet is slim. Some students might say that online school helps them in school and allows them to move at their own pace but studies show that, “for a typical student, taking a course online rather than in person would decrease his or her likelihood of course persistence by 7% point.”  

When a teacher asked in one class the number of students who used Chegg which is a cheating site 60 out of 250 students have done it, and 100 students in other classes were identified as having used Chegg in a similar way. There is no coincidence that cheating sites have increased when online classes have also increased. Even if students don’t need to cheat it is at their disposal any time of the day for almost every topic. “Online school helps me pace myself and allows me to go at my tempo” some students say. Although that might be true to an extent the real world doesn’t move at your pace. When you get a job and your boss wants you to learn something in a day you can’t tell him that you need an extra week because you like to work slowly on things. In person classes allow you to be self paced but to an extent which is preparing us for the real world. It also allows the students to build connections and relationships with people. That is very important in the real world because how some people obtain jobs is based on who they know. Having in person classes allows students to talk to each other and really see others rather than looking at a person’s name and sometimes never seeing their face. Online classes are more convenient because who wouldn’t want to wake up five minutes before class and then log into class and go about their day. Research shows that actually 70% of students prefer mostly or completely face-to face learning environments. 

People will say that “online school is cheaper than traditional learning.” Studies show that if colleges and universities deliver online courses correctly it could be more expensive than if they just gave out traditional classes. Most colleges and universities charge the same tuition for online and on campus classes, and some even charge more. About 5% of schools charge online students a lower cost according to a CHLOE report. Some online classes might also be more expensive due to the fact that students have to buy a suitable laptop for class and pay for technology fees that some students on campus wouldn’t have to pay. Online classes aren’t necessarily cheaper depending on the university you chose will help you determine that question. 

Allowing students to go back into the classrooms instead of staying online will help the students out. They will be forced to actually learn the assignment instead of googling the question. In person class gives students a stable schedule that they are held accountable to, they can’t just skip class and everything will be okay. If they skip class then they will most likely get detention unlike online school if you skip a class the teachers can’t really do anything to you. Returning back to classrooms will also allow students to interact with each other again and allow them to actually prepare for the real world and it’s challenges that it will hit you with daily.  

References

Koenig, R. (2019, December 11). Most Students and Faculty Prefer Face-To-Face Instruction, EDUCAUSE Surveys Find – EdSurge News. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-12-11-most-students-and-faculty-prefer-face-to-face-instruction-educause-surveys-find.

Krakoff, S. (n.d.). The cost of online education vs. traditional education. https://online.champlain.edu/blog/cost-of-online-education-vs-traditional-education.

Newton, D. (2021, April 8). Another problem with shifting education online: cheating. The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/another-problem-with-shifting-education-online-cheating/.

Pitt, D. (2020, April 8). Face-to-face learning is better than online. The Crimson White. https://cw.ua.edu/64870/opinion/face-to-face-learning-is-better-than-online/.

Students Get Lower Grades in Online Courses. Harvard Business Review. (2015, March 30). https://hbr.org/2013/12/students-get-lower-grades-in-online-courses.

Terry, C. (2020, August 7). Noodle. https://www.noodle.com/articles/are-online-classes-cheaper. 

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Rebuttal Rewrite – Mrmba1

Posted on April 11, 2021 by mrmba1

Drumming Monsters

With all good things, there are ultimately negatives that accompany the positives, and drumming is no exception. Even though there may seem to be a clear abundance of great health benefits from the act of drumming, there are physical and mental attributes that may seem to outway the good. Social inhibitors of drumming can be seen mainly through famous drummers of the twentieth century, where the pressure has gotten to them. Physically, there are all kinds of injuries that can be caused from this activity, some of which are irreversible such as hearing damage. However with all these negatives, it must seem like a claim that drummers live longer healthier lives couldn’t possibly be true.

The physical results that come from drumming are the most obvious, as they are the ones that can typically be the most dangerous and threatening to the drummer’s well being and career. Hearing damage is almost heavily associated with drumming, and is the most obvious negative outcome from the activity. In addition to simply hearing loss, the “most frequent hearing disorders that affect musicians are tinnitus, a sporadic, acute phenomenon of phantom noise… and hyperacusis, an increased auditory sensitivity to loudness.” (Halevi-Katz) However this irreversible impairment is easily avoidable as long as the drummer properly protects their ears. Overuse injuries of tendons and joints are almost as common, with injuries such as tendonitis and “tennis elbow,” or lateral epicondylitis seriously affecting the ability and health of the drummer. All drummers from professional to casual are required to hit hundreds if not thousands of notes constantly, and when those notes come from constant bombardment from a stick of wood hitting several types of surfaces, injuries are bound to occur. With all these notes, as explained by Alberto Selvaettis, a Sports Medicine physician, “a cumulative microtrauma can result, leading to the mechanical fatigue of a tendon, that becomes unable to withstand further stress.” While these injuries can be clear reasons to steer clear of drumming, with proper technique it is possible to avoid these injuries, and the positive physical attributes such as the vigorous exercise counteract this negative.

The art and act of drumming, while it does help to refine the mind, can also seem to lead to some seriously detrimental mental effects. Primarily seen in performing and professional drummers, the constant stress, pressure, and responsibility that comes with being the drummer can easily overwhelm anyone. Drummers have the responsibility to hold the band together and provide structure and stability to any song being played, which can be extremely stressful for those who don’t know how to handle it.  They must learn to be good leaders, as they are the heart of the band and can change the overall feel of any song just by changing the groove. As musicians that specialize in rhythm, there is constant pressure to attain rhythmic perfection, speed, and accuracy in everything that is played, and “perfectionism has been associated with higher levels of stress and burnout.” (Stoeber) Many drummers that stop playing drums quit for this exact reason. When their hobby is made into a career, many drummers feel a sense of burnout, which is also caused by this fear of not achieving rhythmic and musical perfection. “It is not striving for perfection that is associated with burnout, but negative reactions to failure to achieve perfection,” (Stoeber) and the pressure of not being perfect and not being good enough gets the better of them so it can become appealing to abandon the activity all together. Although overwhelming, these demands help force leadership skills and self discipline to be obtained, ultimately bettering them as individuals and making them stronger mentally.

The pursuit of rhythmic and musical perfection demands a lot of time and dedication, and those countless hours required can easily sweep drummers as well as other musicians away from having a healthy social life outside of music. For drummers looking to make it big or even just college drummers and musicians in general, these countless hours of practicing (when taken to the extremes) lead to social isolation to accommodate these demands. This isolation has been proven to host several “psychological, behavioral, and biological pathways by which social isolation and loneliness leads to poorer health and decreased longevity.” (Holt-Lunstad) Stepping away from college level, the travel that is required for touring drummers and the performance times required for studio drummers can also lead to this feeling of isolation. Of course, this only takes place if drummers shut themselves down to focus on achieving perfection, but for most musicians this rarely occurs and the social benefits of being a part of the community overcome this isolation. For touring musicians, many are away from home for months at a time or even a year. This time away can cause “a breakdown of personal relationships, with many musicians feeling alienated from loved ones back home.” (Britton) Outside of the music world, it is difficult for drummers to balance their social life. Although for many drummers, the music world is their only world and they wouldn’t have it any other way. This social cut off also allows musicians to meet hundreds of other people, that all love the same thing that they do. There is nothing comparable to the sense of community that comes with being a musician, and when it comes to drumming specifically, it’s like a universal family.

Like most things, drumming has its potential risks and negatives. With the physical, mental, and social benefits comes another side of the coin. To some it may seem as though the physical risks and mental demands of drumming are not worth it, and for many this may be a clear sign to avoid drumming either professionally or casually. But in the end, the benefits far outweigh the negatives and through the activity it is possible to become the healthiest version of one’s self. All negatives, whether physical injuries, mental stress, or social hindrances are easily avoidable and if approached properly can result in refinement and growth. 

References

Britton, Luke Morgan. “Insomnia, Anxiety, Break-ups… Musicians on the dark side of touring.” The Guardian. 2015. https://bit.ly/3wGzYGy

Halevi-Katz, Dana N. “Exposure to music and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among professional pop/rock/jazz musicians.” 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4918652/

Holt-Lunstad. “Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta- Analytic Review.” 2015. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614568352

Selvanetti, Alberto. “Overuse tendon injuries: Basic science and classification.” 1997. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-1872(97)80031-7.

Stoeber, Joachim, and Dirk Rennert. 2008. “Perfectionism in School Teachers: Relations with Stress Appraisals, Coping Styles, and Burnout.” Anxiety, Stress & Coping 21 (1): 37–53. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=27528905&site=ehost-live.

Vardonikolaki, Aikaterini. “Musicians’ Hearing Handicap Index: A New Questionnaire to Assess the Impact of Hearing Impairment in Musicians and Other Music Professionals.” 2020. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00165

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