Assessed Written Speech English for debating Dear readers, fair chair people, eloquent members of the jury, and timely bell person, thank you for being here. Altruistic members of the government and self-absorbed, socialmedia-obsessed members of the opposition, thank you for joining me on this debate. Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all. Social media platforms promote egocentricity. People nowadays, ranging from celebrities to “normal” teenagers to even your friendly neighborhood grandma, have platforms where they can share –and overshare– their lives, their opinions, but most importantly, their image. In fact, they can live off of the likes and views that they gain, which makes them focused on themselves only, and become completely oblivious to what happens around the world. The Journal of Personality analyzed how social media promotes narcissism and found out that young adults are becoming increasingly narcissistic and egocentric because of the frequent use of platforms such as Instagram, or the latest ADDIcTION to the Internet world: TikTok. Speaking of the latter, one peak at its never-ending cringe worthy feed will show you what the latest –quite embarrassing– trends are: tall, handsome but shameful young boys stripping down while claiming to be uninteresting and unattractive, trying desperately to get some sweet comments denying what they said; girls showing how tiny their waists are by wearing tight clothes, then pretending to be surprised as if they did not know how slim their bodies are; dramatic people trying to get the latest bit of attention before they become completely irrelevant: all in all, it is quite a mess, and it “messes up” people’s heads as well. Social media addiction is a growing concern for many around the world, and with that comes the fear of having the next generation being made of completely self-obsessed, conceited people who do not know and do not care what is happening outside of their social media bubble. Although, many might confuse this selfishness with confidence, which is concerning in and of itself, the two are completely different. Confidence is not determined by a certain number of views, likes or comments. Indeed, confident people do not need to get recognition for posting a “selfie” on their feed to be able love themselves. Conversely, folk on social media –notably on TikTok–, knowingly and purposefully bring themselves down by critiquing their own person –mainly their physical appearance– trying to “fish” for compliments and praises. These people need that daily dose of validation which sets their mood, but also makes them feel more entitled and egocentric. Consciously or not, these influencers are prone to becoming narcissistic because of the satisfaction that they get, not only from the nice comments and likes that they receive, but also from the thought that they have successfully tricked and manipulated people into complimenting them the way they wanted. In conclusion, it is quite obvious that social media platforms promote egocentricity. Thank you for reading and I beg you to accept this motion.
