Bruce Bello

Lashoda Renne Carter

Writing 39B

3 March 2017

Drugs and alcohol on teenagers

The usage of drugs and alcohol has had a tremendous impact on our society. It has led to many people ruining their lives, the lives of others and eventually dying. I decided to make an internet TMZ blog titled ““Movable” Beast found dead in the forest of Bastardville” that talks about an unnatural creature celebrity who is a rapper and music producer, who is found dead because of an overdose of drugs and alcohol. I decided to choose this type of genre because the audience which I am targeting are teenagers between the ages of 13-22. Since I am talking about a celebrity, a TMZ blog was the perfect choice because teenagers have access to the internet and get most of their celebrity news from these types of website. My overall message is demonstrating the effects of drugs and alcohol on the human body and discourage teenagers to use these types of drugs.   Through the usage of ethos, pathos, and visual images, I want to convince teenagers between the ages of 13 to 22 that alcohol and drugs most specifically, heroin and cocaine, causes critical damage to their body without them even noticing. 

In my internet blog, I specifically make the use of ethos. Ethos is an important component especially if my audience are teenagers because they are superficial in topics relating to the drugs and alcohol. By being a TMZ blogger, I have the credibility of the audience because many teenagers are interested and rely on their news feed on this website. The credibility is acquired by working with TMZ. Based on Forbes, TMZ is located in “The top 30 celebrity Gossip sites” (Goodson). It is not an easy task this achievement, especially based on the thousands of websites and magazines that specialize on this topic. I also make usage of a doctor’s autopsy and opinion. In the blog, I incorporated the doctor’s viewpoint in relation to how the drugs and alcohol were damaging the Beast’s body in this case his teeth, “It was not the first time the Beast used this amount of heroin. Based on his teeth’s color and conditions, the heroin wore off the enamel of the teeth and began to rot them.” I clearly state in the essay some background of Dr. Dick’s experience. He attended “Harvard Medical School” which is a huge honor and prestige. Based on the “U.S News: Best Medical Schools: Research” Harvard is in first place having an acceptance rate of just 3.7 percent. We are sure that Dr. Dick has knowledge to explain the consequences especially if he was able to attend such an elite school. Credibility is an essential part in conveying a message, but without an emotional appeal with the audience, it is much more difficult to transmit your message especially if it is regarding the consumption of drugs and alcohol in teenagers.

Having an emotional appeal with the audience is a very important factor because it makes the work enjoyable and interesting for the audience. By portraying the death of a celebrity, I am able to get the attention and interest of teenagers. In today’s modern society, many teenagers attain their source of information from the internet, especially if it relates to a celebrity in this case like the Beast who is an “artist and music producer” and “has won 6 different Billboard awards”.  Based on the U.S Department of Health and Human Services “94 percent of teens who go online using a mobile devise do so daily”. By having a great number of teenagers relying on their information on my website relating celebrities, when they hear that their favorite artist has passed away, they end up having an emotional response ranging from anger to tears. It is an important aspect in making teenagers more involve in the internet blog. An internet blog has many components that attract the attention of the audience but nothing functions as efficiently as visual images.

Visual features allow a better depth of understanding, especially if you are trying to deliver a message to teenagers who have a concentration span of five minutes. By incorporating images in my internet blog, I am able convey my message more clearly in the effects of drugs and alcohol do to your body. Like many people, say “a photo is worth more than a thousand words”. By incorporating pictures into the blog, I am able to have an adequate ration between sentences and images. The images which are portrayed in my internet blog are not for people who are easily disgusted because some images might be too disgusting. An example is when I incorporated the images of the brain before and after the usage of cocaine. By having images, I am also intimidating teenagers about the effects of drugs and why they should not use them. I am not explicitly telling them do not use drugs, instead, I am portraying that if they continue to use these substances they will eventually look like the pictures demonstrates and end up having the same fate as their idol: death.

By the implementations of ethos, pathos, and visual features in my TMZ web blog I am able to convey more adequately my message to teenagers between the ages of 13-22 that the usage of drugs harm the human body without lecturing or boring them. If we want our teenagers to attain a message instead of lecturing them, we should try to make use of factual examples which they find interesting in order for them to realize that it is not a myth what their parents or professors are trying to tell them. Teenagers are getting exposed to drugs earlier in their life every year because of the internet, songs, and different types of social media. Most of the time if a teenager is told not to do something they ignore it and do the action which he was told not to do. It’s the psychology of teenager: to defy people in charge.                      

Bibliography

"Top 10 Most Popular Recreational Drugs." Listverse. N.p., 16 June 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

The article demonstrated the “Top 10 Most Popular Recreational Drugs” which people are consuming the most. The source help me to choose the drugs that my celebrity creature was consuming to make it more relatable to the audience.

Hater, Hilton. "22 Celebrities Who Died from an Overdose." The Hollywood Gossip. The Hollywood Gossip, 03 June 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Hater Hilton’s article demonstrated the most popular celebrities that died because of a drug overdose. I used this source give me an idea of the type genre that I wanted to choose which concentrated on celebrity news. 

"Top 11 Doctor Insights on Cocaine Lead Brain Memory Problems Cognitive Impairment." HealthTap. N.p., 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

The internet page explains the doctor’s opinions and research about the different effects cocaine has on a person’s body. I used this article to get my supporting evidence about the consequences of using cocaine. 

            "Effects on the Body." Think Before You Drink. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

The article explains the different effects that alcohol has on the body, such as impairing and damaging it. I incorporated the information from the article to demonstrate teenagers the effects of alcohol. 

            "What Is Cirrhosis?" WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

This internet page explained and described what was cirrhosis and how it could be attained. I used this as evidence and visual image to demonstrate the effects of alcohol in a human liver.

"2017 Billboard Music Awards." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 08 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

This article describes what are the Billboard Music awards and the different categories that constitutes to this event. I used this to create credibility that my unnatural creature was a prestigious and successful celebrity.  

MarketShare. "The 30 Most Popular Celebrity Gossip Sites And Why Big Brands Love Them." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 May 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Marketshare article describes the top 30 most popular celebrities gossip sites and a small description on their attributes. I used the article to establish credibility with the audience because there are thousands of sites that dedicate to these types of information. Being considered by Forbes to be on the top 30 is a great achievement.  

"The Office of Adolescent Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." Office of Adolescent Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

            This article describes the dangers in which teenagers face when they are consuming drugs or alcohol. I used this article to view the different methods in which the government is trying to convince teenagers to stop consuming drugs or alcohol. 

Ryon, Ashley. "What We Learned from Marketing to 2 Million Teenagers." The Next Web. N.p., 07 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Ashley Ryan’s article described the different ways to attract the attention of teenagers and making them more interested in a subject. This source help me think about the different rhetorical features I may have used to attract the attention of teenagers. 

"Watch Truth About Drugs Documentary Video & Learn About Substance Addiction. Get The Facts About Painkillers, Marijuana, Cocaine, Meth & Other Illegal Drugs." Foundation for a Drug-Free World. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

This video described the facts about different drugs which teenagers have consumed. I used to this video to get more information about the effects of drugs on a teenager and how different foundations are trying to tell teenagers to stop consuming drugs.