Essay ASSIGNMENT: Social Media Essay

How does social media (and your use of devices which allow you to access social media) affect your life, your relationships with friends and family, your experience and performance at school?

Write an essay in which you describe your experience with social media (either direct experience or what you've observed in friends/family). Discuss the effects of social media, and try to arrive at some conclusions that sum up your thoughts and feelings on this subject.

In your discussion, refer briefly to one or two of the authors we have read on this topic, using a relevant quotation (or paraphrase or summary). Incorporating ideas from these experts lets the reader know that you are a serious person and are aware of what other people are saying about this topic. It's also to give you some points to agree or disagree with. However, the focus of the essay should be on your ideas. This one is about you. The quotations or references to other authors are just to lend you a little credibility. (For examples, look at how Shirky and Pinker refer briefly to other published works.)

This is a reflective essay, not an argumentative essay, so you do not have to try to convince your reader to agree with your point of view. Cruser's "Cropped Out of My Own Fantasy" is probably the best example of the kind of essay you are meant to write, though yours should be more of an academic essay rather than a newspaper article.

For this essay, "social media" can refer to such services as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on, which are used to communicate and share information, ideas, updates, and life events with friends.

(Not a social media user? If you do not use social media, or if you were previously a user and have given it up, write about that. What is behind your decision not to engage? Did something happen? What is your reasoning? How does your non-use of social media affect your relationships with other people who do use it? Do you feel more or less connected, or differently connected? Explain. What are your thoughts about social media?)

Do not try to say everything you can think of about every kind of social media.

Do not simply summarize your experiences with social media. Choose examples for specific reasons.

Do not simply make a catalogue of "positive effects" and "negative effects."

Think about your experiences and think about what they mean. Use a couple of illustrative examples that you can describe in some detail and explore and explain. You might even choose just one major experience you have had (the time my life was saved/ruined by something that happened on Twitter!) and use that experience as a way into a meaningful exploration and discussion. Again: Cruser's "Cropped Out of My Own Fantasy" is probably the best example of the kind of essay you are meant to write, though yours should be more of an academic essay rather than a newspaper article.

Here's a plan of action to get started:

• Begin by doing some brainstorming and freewriting on the questions raised in the description above. Think of some specific, concrete examples of things you have seen and experienced (or observed in others) which have shaped your thinking on these issues. Review any brainstorming work you have done.

• Re-read (or at least review) the articles, paying close attention to what the writers said which relates to your experiences. Find a couple of quotes or points that you can paraphrase or summarize in your essay.

• Play around with organizing your ideas (and those of the other authors you'll mention). Maybe make a visual map of the topic, as seen at the right.

• Finally, organize your ideas into an outline. This does not need to be a formal outline, but it should include major points and sub-points for each paragraph, to provide a guide for how you might write the essay.