The downfall of finding love through social media
There is no doubt that social media can affect one’s mental health, but what happens if online dating can have the same impact? In Kelly Burch article “How Online Dating Affects Mental Health” published on May 2018, she addresses how online dating may lead to one’s low self esteem, online addiction, and depression. She specified people who are involved in online dating struggles with body insecurities, rejection pain, and may have unhealthy obsession of finding a potential match. While this is an interesting topic, I was curious about how Kelly Burch’s credibility changed my perspective about her article.
The article I reviewed for its credibility, and it is concluded that her article is trustworthy and credible. I was able to find a credible website that documents in her “about” section she displays qualified credentials and contact information, displaying her self-evident author characteristics. Her views on the topic is objective rather than subjective, as a result shows the quality of a unbiased writer. Throughout the article, Burch provides various credible research, statistics, and studies about how online dating affects mental health done by experts. She also includes links and cites the evidence that supports her arguments which allows me to verify her research.
Is Kelly Burch Credible?
One of the key ways people can check if a source is credible is to check the author’s credentials. Kelly Burch is known for writing about addiction and mental health issues and how it affect families. With further research, Kelly Burch graduated with a journalism degree at Boston University’s College of Communication. She has been featured in notable websites such as The Washington Post, Parade, and Parents Magazine. She is also an editor of Renew Magazine mainly about those who are recovering from addiction. She has a website and blog called kellyburchcreative.com where she openly writes about personal experiences of mental health and addiction within her family. I conclude that Kelly Burch is more than qualified to write about this topic because she specializes in writing about addiction and mental health and is what she does for a living.
Credible Research
One could tell that the author of a specific article is credible if the author incorporates credible and working links. After analyzing and discovering the links and research provided by Kelly Burch, I believe that the article provided factual evidence and studies to prove that online dating may affect a person’s mental health. She uses studies on social habits of college aged people done by Jessica Strübel who has a PhD and teaches social-psychology behavior. I was able to find the links and verify that she was using a scholarly source. Burch’s proves that her article is credible because she uses studies done by people who specialize in psychology and provides authentic facts. Burch also includes other studies and statistics on how social rejection can activate brain activity which lead to physical pain and links a scientific and credible research paper. She concludes her article stating, people who have addictive behaviors with cellphones and the internet have a higher chance of developing depression and anxiety. Yet again, Burch does not fail to provide working links and substantial evidence and studies done by psychology professors.
The final assent
There are times where I’ve stumbled upon websites and articles and question whether it is credible or not. It can be difficult to determine and evaluate internet resources; however, the author’s credibility, purpose, accuracy, links, and currency are all the factors I look for when I search for a trustworthy site or article. “How Online Dating Affects Mental Health” by Kelly Burch is a prime example of a trustworthy and credible article because she has experience and credentials behind the topic. She provided various working links with recent and accurate studies and statistics done by experts. Burch did not share any of her opinion and stayed objective throughout the article. Overall, I would use this article to write a scholarly essay in the future.
Works Cited
Burch, Kelly. “How Online Dating Affects Mental Health.” The Fix, 31 May 2018, www.thefix.com/how-online-dating-affects-mental-health.
