PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL TEXTS
1. IB Text Type: BLOG ENTRY
A blog is a difficult text type to define because so many people write them in
different ways and for many different reasons. The term blog comes from the
terms “web” “blog”, a log is an account of what happens. It allows you to keep
a record, look back and reflect on something that has happened. At a more
complex level, your blog could focus on a specific topic rather than a series of
events. It is also important to write about an issue that interests you; one that you have some passion. It
is also important to have a clear point of view. This will give your blog a focus.
Tip: Blogs often offer advice or help, especially “How to”
blogs. Use imperatives for this.
“Here is a suggestion:.....”
Personal experience: Blogs can be like public diaries or
journals. Anecdotes are common.
“I recently read…”
Topical: Popular blogs are often about current affairs that
are important to people.
“Last week, …”
“I recently read…”
* Thesis statement/main idea
“The focus of this blog is….”
Voice: Popular bloggers have a style that followers
recognise and like. It may be informal and impersonal at
times.
“Why can we ladies just get
along?” “Hakuna matata”
Opinion #1: Many blogs clearly state the writer's opinion.
“Some will call this progress: to
me it seems like throwing out the
baby with the bathwater.”
Examples: For any opinions, arguments or
suggestions blogs readers will expect to be given
real-life supporting examples.
“Sports is one obvious
example….” “For example…”
Opinion #2:
Examples:
Opinion #3:
Examples:
Concluding opinion: Final thoughts, conclusion and
reflections
“No matter what…”
“Considering previous
thoughts…”
Sample of a PERSONAL BLOG ENTRY
Blog by Carly Fallon, 15 May 2022
____________________________________
Cyberbullying, a current issue among co-workers:
Believe it or not there are many long-lasting effects
on people involved. What are these effects?
As Chavez (2010) said that our society needed to recognize
cyber bullying first and then the suffering of
thousands
silent victims would end.”
Should work environments in the community be dealing with cyberbullying issues
and its negative effects? It is time to think about its dangerous consequences and
react against it by being proactive and stopping it before it happens.
I myself suffered from cyberbullying at work. A friend of mine posted an ugly photo of
me and my co-workers at a party without my permission. It was very difficult to keep up
with work as I was always thinking about my colleagues' comments on it. Now that I
think about it, I think it did a lot of damage then. One of my good friends had to move to
a different work base. She said that the idea of going back to work considering this
situation was terrifying and that she could not stop herself from feeling ashamed.
Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social
media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and mobile phones. It is repeated
behaviour, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Some
examples of cyberbullying include: the spreading lies about or posting embarrassing
photos or videos of someone on social media, the sending hurtful, abusive or
threatening messages, images or videos via messaging platforms, and or the
impersonating someone and sending mean messages to others on their behalf or
through fake accounts (Hall and Silva, 2021). The effects of cyberbullying can be most
detrimental to the victim, as they may experience a number of emotional issues that affect
their social, academic, professional performance, as well as, their overall mental health.
Previous research has identified a link between mental health and cyberbullying,
primarily in studies of youth. However, fewer studies have examined cyberbullying in
adults or how the relation between mental health and cyberbullying might vary based
on an individual's social media use. These studies have found that depression, anxiety,
and substance are the result of cyberbullying in adults. In a study with U.S. adults
recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (Holfeld & Mishna, 2019) completed an
online survey that included measures of mental health and cyberbullying. It revealed
that significant interactions between mental health, degree of social media use, and
gender are great predictors of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, Specifically,
for men. In contrast, depression and anxiety were uncorrelated with cyberbullying for
women.
A number of studies (Kim et al., 2019) have also found that social media use is
predictive of poorer mental health. Meta-analyses, for instance, have revealed a small
but statistically significant positive correlation between degree of daily social media
use and depression with evidence of a stronger link in adults compared to adolescent
samples. Also, greater daily social media use has also been associated with anxiety
disorders. Of course, not everyone responds to cyberbullying in the same way; the Pew
report (Holfeld & Mishna, 2019, p. 567) revealed that 54% of people who suffered
cyberbullying was “extremely upsetting,” leading to significant emotional distress.
Since the use of technologies has increased in terms of internet communities and
social networking web sites, chat rooms, and mobile phones, it is important to consider
some regulations for the use of technology at work, school, and home. Parents,
teachers and students need to “Be aware of this danger”
Although internet and smartphone use come up with numerous benefits, it also has
negative consequences and public health concerns in the present time. Cyberbullying
victimization can lead to low levels of self-esteem, psychological insecurity and fear of
loneliness resulting in depression and suicidal ideation. Examining this issue can help
inform policymakers the importance of interventions in current mental health policy and
pre-existing multi-level approaches supporting mental health and anti-bullying efforts.
__________________________________________________
Modified from https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-022-04238-x
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.674298/full
https://www.unicef.org/end-violence/how-to-stop-cyberbullying