[Draft 1] Essay

Racist commentary about the minority racial groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because internet users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of the social media are not being heavily monitored by the law. The Media Authority Development (MDA) can work with social media companies to block users who post racist commentaries on their social media pages. The Ministry of Education can also urge schools to stress on the educating students about the responsible use of internet to prevent online racism from happening in the future.

Racism is the idea or belief that characteristic and abilities are attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that Singapore have preserved. The internet provides prevalence for people to voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel “empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in real life” (Younge, 2012)

This leads us to a familiar issue back in 2012 when Ms Amy Cheong posted her profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). This resulted in anger among Singaporeans especially the Malay community in Singapore who retaliated using the social media to the offensive remark made by Amy Cheong. These are the consequences of online racism in Singapore.

There exist a law in Singapore under the Sedition Act 3 whereby anyone who publish remarks or comments that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both” (Sedition Act, 2013). For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). Some Singaporeans felt that her punishments were not fair because it was not the same punishment as stated in the law.

The punishments she received from the authorities was deemed not enough to compensate for her irresponsible actions which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not much follow-ups on the consequences she faced which might give people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. The use of internet in Singapore are also not being heavily monitored by MDA. There were various others such as “Heather Chua” who boldly criticized the Malays and Indians (Today, 2014). The actions taken against these irresponsible internet users needs to be more firm in order to prevent it from happening again. MDA can work with social media companies such as Facebook to remove or block users that post racist commentaries online. The law can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. Singaporeans cannot just depend on the law to prevent such occurrences but instead they can also cooperate with the law by being more conscious of what the consequences are.if they post racist commentaries and social media users can also prevent this by flagging or reporting any racist comments they encounter online to stop it from spreading around.

[Draft 1] Essay Outline

Main problem:  An increasing number of racist commentaries about members of the minority race on social media in Singapore.

Affected target group/stakeholder: Members of the minority race in Singapore such as the Malays and Indians

Agent of change/stakeholder: Media Development Authority (MDA), Network Operators such as Starhub and SingTel as well as the Singapore Legislative Council.

Solution 1: Internet regulation by the Media Development Authority and the introduction of Sedition Act 3 on the offences of racism in Singapore.

Evaluation 1: The use of internet in Singapore are not being heavily monitored as Singaporeans continue to post racist commentaries against the minority racial groups in Singapore. Actions taken against these irresponsible are not firm enough to prevent the other Singaporeans from posting further racist remarks online.

Solution 2:

Ministry of Education in Singapore can urge school to stress on the responsible use of internet.

Implication/Conclusion: Students will be educated about responsible use of internet and social media. When they start using social media, they will know what they can post and what they cannot post. This is an early prevention method.

 Thesis: Racist commentary about the minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because internet users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of the social media are not being heavily monitored by the law. The media government authority could advise social media companies to remove the racist posts or blocking the users from posting further. Also, the Singapore government should introduce stricter laws to prevent online racism from happening in the future.

[Draft 3] Reader Response

Parker-Pope (2015) mentions in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. Parker-Pope quotes a study performed on 40 Duke University freshmen which demonstrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieved better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify problems and tackle them. The author cites a story of Siri, a client at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, whom discovered the actual cause of her failure in achieving her fitness goal.

The author’s claim that writing down thoughts enable to identify problems and tackle them is justified because writing down will allow people to eliminate their emotional distress which can guide them to concentrate on the appropriate solutions to their problems and change their perceptions of problems that can enable them to be more objective and optimistic.

Expressive writing allows people to convey their thoughts and feelings that are disturbed by the problems they face in their daily lives. Often, when people are burdened with problems, they tend to hide it which may lead to emotional instabilities (“In brief”, 2013). People’s minds can be devoid of the problems they face when they pen down their thoughts and emotions. Park et.al (cited in Power 2014), demonstrated how “Writing can also alleviate students' anxiety about mathematics”. Students who often perform badly in Mathematics due to the high anxiety they have on Mathematics had to write down their feelings before the following Mathematics test. The experiment testified that students who expressed their anxiety on the paper performed as well as their peers who were not anxious before the test and some even outdid their peers. Writing down could have made the anxious students’ minds vacant of the anxiousness they had earlier on, allowing them to completely focus on solving the Mathematical problems in front of them. The unnecessary stress will slow down people’s minds which will deter them from concentrating on finding the solutions to their problems (Bressert, 2006). They will be calmer after writing down and will be physically and emotionally ready to face their problems.

Writing down problems and thoughts can positively change people's perceptions of the problems they face. Problems are commonly connoted as negative. Negative feelings will be relieved as people write their problems down. Klowsowski (2014) mentioned a quote by a “Mr Wilson” which goes, “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience.” People will steer away from their original perceptions and view problems more positively. For instance, problems will be seen as a challenge to help them improve themselves instead of looking at problems as a burden. Also, a study (Lyubomirsky et.al, 2005) have shown that those who often reflect on their lives were more positive and motivated in their lives. Optimism gives people the strength to tackle their problems and obstacles easily (Sasson, n.d.). The tendency to avoid problems will lessen as people see their problems from a wider perspective. In this case, expressive writing manifest the role of exploring people’s point of view to help them overcome their problems with an optimistic attitude.

In conclusion, expressive writing helps to eliminate the stress that can affect people’s concentration while trying to solve their problems. People’s minds will be free of unnecessary worries and their calm state will enable them to come up with useful solutions to their problems. On top of that, expressive writing may change people’s perceptions of the problems they face making them more objective in looking at their problems as well as more optimistic when encountering problems.

[641 words]

References

Bressert, S. (2006). The impact of stress. Psych Central. [Web log post] Retrieved on February 17, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-impact-of-stress/000104

In brief. (2013). Emotional dysregulation. Psychological Care & Healing Treatment Centre. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.pchtreatment.com/emotional-dysregulation/

Klosowski, T (2014, June 20). Recalibrate your reality. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality

Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon,KM., Schkade, D. (June, 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, Vol 9(2), 111-131.

Park, D., Ramirez, G. & Beilock, S. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(2), 103-111.

Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing your way to happiness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Powers, S.K. (2014, August 7). What writing does? [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html

Sasson, R. (n.d.). The power of positive attitude can change your life. Success Consciousness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.successconsciousness.com/positive_attitude.htm

[Draft 2] Reader Response

Parker-Pope (2015) mentions in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. Parker-Pope quotes a study performed on 40 Duke University freshmen which demonstrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieve better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify obstacles and tackle them. The author cites a story of Siri who discovered the actual cause of her failure in achieving her fitness goal.

The author’s claim on how writing down thoughts can help people identify their problems and obstacles and tackle them, is highly reasonable as identifying problems and obstacles is necessary in order to solve them. Writing thoughts and feelings down can help to clear people’s minds of the problems and obstacles they are facing. By writing problems down, it can also help people change the perception they have of their problems and obstacles, from negative to positive.

Expressive writing allows people to pour out their thoughts and feelings that are disturbed by the problems and obstacles they face in their daily lives. It is often that when people are burdened with problems, they tend to hide them which can lead to emotional instabilities. Expressing thoughts and feelings by writing them down can clear people's minds from the problems and obstacles they face. To strengthen the point on the ability of expressive writing to clear people's minds and to make way for solutions, Park, Ramirez & Beilock (2014) as cited by Power (2014) in his article, demonstrated how “Writing can also alleviate students' anxiety about mathematics”. Students with high anxiety on mathematical problems and often perform badly in mathematics were made to pen down all their thoughts and feelings before the following test. The results proved that students who expressed their anxiety on the paper did as well as their peers who were not anxious before the test and in some cases, outdid their peers. From the study above, researchers suggested that students became completely focused to working math problems. As a result, the students’ working memory becomes available for “more of the transitory information students need to apply” to solve the problems.
 

Writing down problems and thoughts can positively change people's perceptions of the problems and obstacles they face. Problems are commonly looked at as negative. As problems are being written down, negative feelings will be relieved which makes way for the positive ones. Klowsowski (2014) mentioned a quote by a “Mr Wilson” which goes, “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience.” This will distance people from their original perception which help them look at their problems in a new and a more positive way. For example, problems will be seen as a challenge by people to improve themselves instead of looking at them as a burden. Also, a study (Lyubomirsky, Kennon & Schkade, 2005) have shown that those who often reflect on their lives were more positive and motivated in their lives. The positive spirit may give people the strength to tackle their problems and obstacles easily.

 

[566 words]  

 

Reference:

Klosowski, T (2014, June 20). Recalibrate your reality. [Web log post] Retrieved from
http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality

 Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon,KM., Schkade, D. (June, 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, Vol 9(2), 111-131.
 

Park, D., Ramirez, G. & Beilock, S. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(2), 103-111.

 Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing your way to happiness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Powers, S.K. (2014, August 7). What writing does. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html

 

[Draft 1] Reader Response

Parker-Pope (2015) mentioned in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. A study done on 40 Duke University freshmen demonstrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieve better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify life obstacles and tackle them.

The author’s claim on how writing down thoughts can help people identify their problems and obstacles and tackle them, is highly reasonable as identifying problems and obstacles is necessary in order to solve them. Writing thoughts and feelings down can help to clear one's mind of the problems and obstacles he is facing. By writing problems down, it can also help people change the perception they have of their problems and obstacles, from negative to positive.

Expressive writing allows people to pour out their thoughts and feelings that are disturbed by the problems and obstacles they face in their daily lives. It is often that when we are burdened with our problems we tend to hide them which can lead to emotional instabilities. Expressing thoughts and feelings by writing them down can clear people's minds from the problems and obstacles they face . To strengthen the point on the ability of expressive writing to clear people's minds and to make way for solutions, Park, Ramirez & Beilock (2014) as cited by Power (2014) in his article, demonstrated how “Writing can also alleviate students' anxiety about mathematics”. Students with high anxiety on mathematical problems and often perform badly in mathematics were made to pen down all their thoughts and feelings before the following test. The results proved that students who expressed their anxiety on the paper did as well as their peers who were not anxious before the test and in some cases, outdid their peers. From the study above, researchers suggested that students were now focused to working complex math problems. As a result, the students’ working memory will be free to allow “more of the transitory information students need to apply” to solve the math problems.

Writing down problems and thoughts can positively change people's perceptions of the problems and obstacles they face. Problems are commonly looked at as negative. As problems are being written down, negative feelings will be relieved which makes way for the positive ones. Klowsowski (2014) mentioned a quote by a “Mr Wilson” which goes, “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience.” This will distance people from their original perception which help them look at their problems in a new and a more positive way. For example, problems will be seen as a challenge by people to improve themselves instead of  looking at them as a burden. Also, a study (Lyubomirsky, Kennon & Schkade, 2005) have shown that those who often reflect on their lives were more positive and motivated in their lives. The positive spirit may give people the strength to tackle their problems and obstacles in a light hearted manner.

 

[544 words]  

 

Reference:

Klosowski, T (2014, June 20). Recalibrate Your Reality. [Web log post] Retrieved from
http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality
 
 Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon,KM., Schkade, D. (June, 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, Vol 9(2), 111-131.
 Park, D., Ramirez, G. & Beilock, S. (2014). The role of expressive writing in math anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(2), 103-111.

 

Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing Your Way to Happiness. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Powers, S.K. (2014, August 7). What Writing Does. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html

[Draft 1] Reader Response Outline

Parker-Pope (2015) mentioned in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down your thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change one’s perception of life positively which makes them happier. Studies on American students proved who engage in expressive writing achieve better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows one to identify life obstacles and tackle them. An example used was about someone who failed to achieve her goals for reasons she assumed only to discover the root of her problems when she wrote down her thoughts.

 

Thesis: The author’s claim on how writing down one’s thoughts can help him identify his problems and obstacles and tackle them, is highly reasonable as identifying problems and obstacles is necessary in order to solve them.

 

1^st Point : Writing down problems and obstacles can help us to clear our mind of the problems and obstacles we are facing.

 

Explanation of supporting idea: When our mind is clear from the problems and obstacles after writing them down, we can now focus completely on coming up with solutions to overcome them.

 

Examples or citation to supporting idea: Overcoming Math anxiety by writing down the stress and thoughts http://www.scottkpowers.com/2014/08/what-writing-does.html

 

2^nd Point: Writing down our problems and thoughts can positively change our perceptions of the problems and obstacles we are facing.

Explanation of supporting idea: As we write our problems down, our negative feelings are being relieved which allows us to make way for the positive ones.

Examples or citation to supporting idea: “Some researchers have developed a method where they say, if something is nagging at us, write about it in the third person so we can look at it as objectively as we can as opposed to immersing ourselves in a negative experience. That kind of distance can be really helpful to change our story and to look at it in a new way and give new meaning to it” http://lifehacker.com/5891564/recalibrate-your-reality

 

3^rd Point: Identifying obstacles and writing them down does not necessarily lead to the tackling of the obstacles.

Explanation of supporting idea: If the obstacles and problems are merely written down without any actions taken, the obstacles and problems will remain as it is.

Examples or citation to supporting idea: In the case of a problem like time management, we need to consult for advice or tips from others on how to manage our time wisely in order to tackle it. A problem as such require us to act upon it and not just merely expressing it on paper.

 

 

 

[Draft 1] Summary

Parker-Pope (2015) mentions in her article “Writing Your Way to Happiness” that writing down thoughts and problems improves physical and mental health. It can change people's perception of life positively which makes them happier. Parker-Pope quotes a study performed on 40 Duke University freshmen illustrated that those who engage in expressive writing achieve better results and are less likely to quit college. Also, expressive writing allows people to identify obstacles and tackle them. The author cites a story of Siri who discovered the actual cause of her failure in achieving her fitness goal.

[93 words]

 

Parker-Pope, T. (2015, January 19). Writing Your Way to Happiness. [Web log post]

Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=1