An Influential Event

I have three cousins in my family and we are very colse. Four of us are living or working at four different places and have little opportunities to meet. In my gap year, finally I had a chance to celebrate the Spring Festival at my home and this gave me a precious opportunity to have a meet of my cousins. We talked about our living and even the plans for the future. It seems that it cannot be called an influential event, however, it was quit inportant for me. I have living in Singapore alone for many years, and every time when I get back home, I feel the improtance of spending time with my own family and caring about the one you love.

Essay Draft 1

Human flesh engine, a powerful product of social media in China. It is not the traditional searching engine like Google or Bing, but collaborative efforts to share information online.. It was first appeared as the name of a forum on Mop.com - a discussion website popular in China. Internet users can post and answer various questions on it. The first flesh search was the kitten-killer incidence in 2006. Internet users use this kind of search engine to pursue the justice and dig out the truth in the real life. Due to the increasing use of the flesh search engine ,many of the ordinary citizens are also got attacked. Because of that, People's congress of Zhejiang province has already made it a prosecutable crime for Internet user to publish the address and private activities of anyone without their permission. Furthermore, there should be more education about privacy issues on the Internet users as well.

Internet users arise a flesh search in order to correct some actions they deem wrong,but ordinary citizens are also deeply affected by being falsely accused of actions they do not commit. On the social media platform, flesh search this sleuthing process involves the probing and posting of personal details in pursuit of romance,kinship,justice or vindication. Citizens are exposed to the deluge of home and email address,bank statements and other private information. Sometimes, the exposed information does not belong to the person under "search". Innocent people have got attacked by those angry, dissatisfied and unaware Internet users. Take an example of Yin Feng, a part time taxi driver. Internet users posted a news about a taxi driver, who rolled down his window to spit on an elderly homeless person lying on the street. Witnesses recorded the first digits of the spitter's number plate and began to flesh search it. Through the flesh search engine, Internet users put their eyes on Yin, whose number plates partially matched, and some anonymous users posted his mobile number online. Numerous callers berated innocent Yin, screaming obscenities. As other private information such as ID number,  home address and even relatives phone number were also posted, Yin even got threatened by those callers. There are a lot of persons facing the same situation as Yin. Their daily life were dramatically disturbed and their reputations were also ruined. Ordinary people begin to scare human flesh search engines and against it. 

In order to preserve the right of online users, some parts of China has polished some protection laws to against the human flesh search engine. In 2010, "Zhejiang Province's Informatization Promotion Regulations(Draft)" stated that "any unit or individual must not publish,distribute,delete,or edit another's related information without permission". The State Council office also published a white paper on "The State of China's Internet",which indicated that Chinese citizens would receive protections under the law for online free speech(1). Chinese government tried to use law to crack down the flesh search. However, it seems that it was not working well. According to the online research conducted by the Renmin Net, over 90% of the Internet users were against the ban of flesh search(2). Internet users thought that flesh search was an effective way for the public, especially the ordinary citizens, to supervise the government officers and expose their corruption actions.Through the collective work of online users, a lot of prodigal behaviours of officers are exposed. In this way, people are unwilling to give up this useful tool, even if they face the same risks of information leakage. Furthermore, many of the Internet users are anonymous when they share information online. This results the difficulties of tracking them for the prosecutions. People will also avoid the troublesome of suing attackers when the influence is in the small scale.

Another move to reduce the damages that bring by the flesh search engine is the education and the restraints on the online users themselves. After seeing many ordinary people are getting attacked, Internet users are voluntary listing some rules about flesh search, called "8 Flesh Search Self-discipline"(3). This is an essential action to produce an orderly online environment.In the self-discipline, online users try not to search the private information about someone and use the flesh search engine as a mutual helping platform instead of satisfying self-interests. Instead of law regulations, this kind of self-discipline improves the reliability of shared information and try to use the search engine on a right way. It is the ideal online environment if every online users are following this kind of rules, making full use of flesh search engine. However,there are still some selfish users disrupt the correct use of flesh search engine and also abuse the shared information.It will be a long way to make sure that the flesh search engine is an helpful in people's life, instead of a sharp sword hurting innocent people.

All in all, it is hard to solve the problems that human flesh search engine brought about in the short run. There will are innocent people still getting attacked by this flesh search. Despite the established laws and self-discipline rasied by responsible online users are trying to protect them, a lot more attention should also be paid on this kind of search.



(1)http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2010/06/human-flesh-search-engines-identity-crisis/
(2)http://www.infosec.org.cn/news/news_view.php?newsid=1721
(3)http://www.lawtime.cn/info/xingfa/xfnews/2010082559009.html

Reader Response draft 3

In the article “Writing Your Way to Happiness”,  Parker-Pope (2015) states that writing one’s own experience can develop mental health and bring a good mood to give people the happiness. The author believes that our world outlook and self-positioning dependS on these personal statements.These claims were illustrated by examples. Stanford researchers once carried out a study on the college freshmen. Results showed that writing could encourage people and give them confidence towards their future. Parker-Pope also mentions that writing can help people to face the difficulties in their life truly. By taking an example of a woman, Siri in the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, she realized her real problems through writing.It is asserted in the article that writing indeed helps people recognize what hinders them and lead them towards the happiness. 

However, writing and editing one's stories is not sufficient to bring happiness and improve physical health.

In the article, the author states that "by writing and then editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves". In order to be happy and shed the negativity, people are trying to subjectively ignore their shortcomings and delete them from their stories. By doing so, they can have more positive attitude to live on their lives. However, only looking at the good side of oneself is not helpful in leading a happy life in the long term. Through editing, people will get into an imaginary story easily and wallow in unreal happiness. Belmer (2013) mentions that in order to achieve happiness, people have to be honest about themselves. Even though people can put more attention on their strength, they still need to know their weaknesses well.After getting to know oneself better, they can be more rational and treat things in a more mature way. There are less trifles that bothering them and this will make them enjoy a more happy life.

Furthermore, the author believes that people can realize the real problems that stop them from happiness through expressive writing. It is true that writing allows people to calm down and recognize their real obstacles. However, writing does not give them the solutions to those problems. In reality, sometimes people might actually know what real problems are, yet they just deny them and get stuck. Writing indeed is a way to talk to oneself. It becomes difficult for people to solve those problems when they do not want to admit those. Instead of talking to oneself, Williamson and King(2014) states that "our relationships with other people are the most important thing for our happiness". People need to build a close and strong relationship with someone else and look for the solutions to the problems together. This is an effective and more useful tool to move away the obstacles on their ways towards happiness. For instance, there are many suicide cases of young people all over the world.From their last words, most of them were struggling against something but finally could not resolve them.In such a situation, expressive writing gives little help.In order to achieve happiness, writing is not sufficient. People ought to get more suggestions from their trusted which help them solve their issues.

The author also argues that writing about personal experiences can improve one's physical health,like reducing symptoms among cancer patients. However, in my point of view, writing is just a way to shift their attention to other things. It is not sufficient and they need more physical exercise to maintain health, including mental health. For most of the people, being overweight or not eating nutritious foods can have a negative effect on their mood.These root of unhappiness cannot simply solved by express writing. Widrich(2014) mentions that exercise is a cure for nearly everything in life and leads people to the happiness. Exercise has been known to have a positive impact boosting self-esteem, sense of control and endorphin levels which gives people a feeling of happiness.According to these evidences, physical exercise is also essential to have happiness.

All in all,Parker-Pope's assertion that express writing can help people to achieve happiness is not complete as there are lots of other important elements on the way to happiness. Other things,like knowing the weakness of oneself, building strong relationships to look for solutions,appropriate physical exercise, are all important to bring people a happy life.

Word count:717 words

References:

Parker-Pope.T(Jan 19,2015). Writing Your Way to Happiness[Weblog post].Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?_r=0

Belmer.C(Feb 22,2013). 17 Ways to Shed Nagativity and Achieve Happiness.[Weblog post].Retrieved from  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7806/17-ways-to-shed-negativity-and-achieve-happiness.html

Williamson.M & King.V(Nov 3,2014).Ten Easier Step to Happier Living.[Weblog post].Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/03/ten-easy-steps-that-will-make-you-a-happier-person

Widrich.L(Feb 4,2014).What Happens to Our Brains When We Exercise and How It Makes Us Happier.[Weblog post].Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3025957/work-smart/what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier

Reader Response draft 2

In the article “Writing Your Way to Happiness”,  Parker-Pope (2015) states that writing one’s own experience can develop mental health and bring a good mood to give people the happiness. The author believes that our world outlook and self-positioning depends on these personal statements.These claims were illustrated by examples. Stanford researchers once carried out a study on the college freshmen. Results showed that writing could encourage people and give them confidence towards their future. Parker-Pope also mentions that writing can help people to face the difficulties in their life truly. By taking example of a woman Siri in the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, she realized her real problems through writing.It is asserted in the article that writing indeed helps you recognize what hinders you and lead you towards the happiness. 

However, writing and editing one's stories is not sufficient to cause happiness and improve physical health.

In the article, the author states that "by writing and then editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves". In order to be happy and shed the negativity, people are trying to subjectively ignore their shortcomings and delete them from their stories. By doing so, they can have more positive attitude to live on their lives. However, only looking at the good side of oneself is not helpful in keeping happy in the long term. Through editing, people will get into an imaginary story easily and wallow in an unreal happiness. Belmer (2013) mentions that in order to achieve happiness, people have to be honest about themselves. Even though people can put more attention on their strength, they still need to know their weaknesses well.After getting know oneself better, they can be more rational and treat things in a maturer way. There are less trifles that bothering them and this will make them enjoy a more happy life.


Furthermore, the author believes that people can realize the real problems that stopping them from happiness through express writing. It is true that writing allows people to calm down and tell the true obstacles. However, writing does not give them the solutions to those problems. In reality, sometimes people actually know about what real problems are, they just deny them and get stuck. Writing indeed is a way to talk to oneself. It becomes difficult for people to solve those problems when they do not want to admit those problems. Instead of talking to oneself, Williamson(2014) and King(2014) states that "our relationships with other people are the most important thing for our happiness". People need to build close and strong relationship with someone else and looking for the solutions to the problems together with people surrounding. This is an effective and much useful tool to move away the obstacles on their ways towards happiness. For instance, there are many suicide of young people all over the world.From their last words, most of them were struggling against something and finally could not get over them.In such situation, expressive writing gives little help.In order to achieve happiness, writing is not sufficient and people ought to get more suggestions from their trusted ones as well to really solve those problems.

The author also argues that writing about personal experiences can improve one's physical health,like reducing symptoms among cancer patients. However, in my point of view, writing is just a way to shift their attention to other aspects. It is not sufficient and they need more physical exercise to maintain health, including mental health. For most of the people, being overweight or not eating nutritious foods can have a negative effect on their mood.These root of unhappiness cannot simply solved by express writing. Widrich(2014) mentions that exercise is a cure for nearly everything in life and leads people to the happiness. Exercise has been known to have a positive impact boosting self-esteem, sense of control and endorphin levels which gives people a feeling of happiness.According to these evidences, physical exercise is also essential to have happiness.

All in all,Parker-Pope's assertion that express writing can help people to achieve happiness is complete as there are lots of other important elements on the way to happiness.

Word count:694 words

References:

Tara Parker-Pope.(Jan 19,2015). Writing Your Way to Happiness[Weblog post].Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/writing-your-way-to-happiness/?_r=0

Cynthia Belmer.(Feb 22,2013). 17 Ways to Shed Nagativity and Achieve Happiness.[Mindbodygreen].Retrieved from  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7806/17-ways-to-shed-negativity-and-achieve-happiness.html

Mark Williamson & Vanessa King.(Nov 3,2014).Ten Easier Step to Happier Living.[Weblog post].Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/03/ten-easy-steps-that-will-make-you-a-happier-person

Leo Widrich.(Feb 4,2014).What Happens to Our Brains When We Exercise and How It Makes Us Happier.[Weblog post].Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3025957/work-smart/what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier

Reader Response draft 1

In the article “Writing Your Way to Happiness”,  Parker-Pope (2015) states that writing one’s own experience can develop mental health and bring a good mood, thus giving people the happiness. The author believes that our world outlook and self-positioning depends on these personal statements. Stanford researchers once carried out a study on the college freshmen. Results showed that writing could encourage people and give them confidence towards their future. Parker-Pope(2015) also mentions that writing can help people to face the difficulties in their life truly. By taking example of a woman Siri in the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, she realized her real problems through writing. Thus, it is asserted in the article that writing indeed helps you recognize what hinders you and lead you towards the happiness. However, writing and editing one's stories is not sufficient to cause happiness and improve physical health.

In the article, the author states that "by writing and then editing our own stories, we can change our perceptions of ourselves". In order to be happy and shed the negativity, people are trying to subjectively ignore their shortcomings and delete them from their stories. By doing so, they can have more positive attitude to live on their lives. However, only looking at the good side of oneself is not helpful in keeping happy in the long term. Belmer (2013) mentions that in order to achieve happiness, people have to be honest about themselves. Even though people can put more attention on their strength, they still need to know their weaknesses well. Through editing, people will get into an imaginary story easily and wallow in an unreal happiness. Thus, it is insufficient to achieve happiness through writing and editing one's stories. People also need to reasoningly treat themselves.

Furthermore, the author believes that people can realize the real problems that stopping them from happiness through writing things down. It is true that writing allows people to calm down and tell the true obstacles. However, writing does not give them the solutions to those problems. In reality, sometimes people actually know about what real problems are, they just deny them and get stuck. Writing indeed is a way to talk to oneself. In one's subconscious, they do not admit the real problems, especially relate to themselves.Therefore,it is difficult for people to solve those problems. Instead of talking to oneself, Williamson(2014) and King(2014) states that "our relationships with other people are the most important thing for our happiness". People need to build close and strong relationship with someone else and looking for the solutions to the problems with people surrounding. This is an effective and much useful tool to move away the obstacles on their ways towards happiness.

The author also argues that writing about personal experiences can improve one's physical health,like reducing symptoms among cancer patients. However, I think writing is just a way to shift their attention to other aspects. It is not sufficient and they need more physical exercise to maintain health, including mental health. For most of the people, being overweight or not eating nutritious foods can have a negative effect on their mood. And also, exercise has been known to have a positive impact boosting self-esteem, sense of control and endorphin levels which gives people a feeling of happiness. Widrich(2014) also mentions that exercise is a cure for nearly everything in life and leads people to the happiness. Thus, people also need to take physical exercise in order to keep happy.

Belmer:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7806/17-ways-to-shed-negativity-and-achieve-happiness.html

Williamson(2014) and King(2014):
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/03/ten-easy-steps-that-will-make-you-a-happier-person

Widrich(2014):
http://www.fastcompany.com/3025957/work-smart/what-happens-to-our-brains-when-we-exercise-and-how-it-makes-us-happier

Outline of Reader Response

Thesis statement :
     Writing and editing one's stories may not be sufficient in improving physical health and leading them to the happiness.

First supporting idea:
     Writing may make people calm down and recognize the real problems. However, writing cannot help people to find the solutions to the problems they are facing. Thus, they cannot achieve happiness as the problems are still there.

Second supporting idea:
    Physical health cannot be improved simply through writing.
    For some patients, who need real physical exercise, writing is not helpful.

Third supporting idea:
    People may wallow in the fake story that he is writing on and lose himself in the unreal happiness.

To be continued...
 
 
   

Summary

In the article “Writing Your Way to Happiness”,  Parker-Pope (2015) states that writing one’s own experience can develop physical and mental health. The author believes that our world outlook and self-positioning depends on these personal statements. Stanford researchers once carried out a study on the college freshmen. Results showed that writing could encourage people and give them confidence towards their future. Tara(2015) also mentions that writing can help people to face the difficulties in their life truly. By taking example of a woman Siri in the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, she realised her real problems through writing. Thus, it is asserted in the article that writing indeed helps you recognize what hinders you and give you a chance to change them.