Sample From Social Media Project

“Kids today are not doing as much socializing with one another and instead are wrapped around the finger of their social media feed. This constant need for updates does not give kids the opportunity to live in the moment because they have an obsessive need to see what else is going on. Twenge supports Turkles point that kids today are constantly connected but “hiding” (Turkle 3:53) from one another by asserting her point that iGen-ers are less social than in the past Twenge 8). When kids do get together to hangout however, they do not enjoy each other or what they are doing. They update statuses and upload pictures to let everyone else know what they are doing. Rather than being present, they are with each other, “hiding” (Turkle 3:53) in their social media rather than interacting with one another. Turkle makes the point that adolescence is the time when young people learn how to have face-to-face relationships (5:24); and based on Twenge idea that iGen’s have a longer adolescent time period (6), one could infer that they are using this longer amount of time to learn how to interact with others. Though I agree with both claims, I believe young people are not developing the skill needed for in-person interactions because they are more focused on on-screen interactions. While this younger generation may be able to navigate the nuances of Twitter or Instagram better than people of the past, they cannot and do not know how to have an in-person interaction or connection because they do not spend enough time doing it. These inadequate skills will leave the world with a generation of socially incompetent people thoroughly lacking what it takes to connect and be with people face-to-face.”

Integrating sources into our social media project was something I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone with and ultimately made my paper better as whole I think. I tried to incorporate Barclay’s Formula and the lasagna idea in my analysis to string together the mean ideas of my paper. Though difficult at first, it became easier to handle and think through as I revised my paper. I also used They Say, I Say quite a bit, especially for the “I say” piece. I tried to use their templates and identifying words to signal the reader as to who was talking and what I was trying to say. This style is something I had never really put much thought into but I think using it helped show my voice versus my references’ voice in my paper. During my revisions process I was able to work with these strategies to help solidify what I was trying to say and who was saying it. Using these strategies was difficult at first but became easier as I revised my paper and I definitely became more confident using them as I finished my paper.