Reid 1

Myrlene Reid English II Professor Adam Padgett January 27, 2014 Inquiry Proposal I wasnt allowed to have any social media accounts until my freshman year in high school. My mom didnt know much about social media and got most of her information from talk shows that said the internet was too dangerous for children. I remember getting Facebook the day I graduated from middle school. My mom sat next to me and went through the account setup steps with me. I was so excited to finally be able to connect with my friends via the internet, since that was what everyone else was doing. After getting my first couple of friend requests I felt like I was finally able to understand this world that everyone I knew was a part of. After having the account over the summer, I quickly figured out that different people used Facebook for completely different things. You have the people who decide to rant about things they find important in long paragraphs that you simply ignore and scroll over in your news feed. Others use it to brag about how well their child is doing in preschool and to post family photos. Then you have this surprisingly large percentage of people who use their social media accounts as a way to build their own self-esteem. Posting pictures in hopes of receiving a lot of likes, adding friends in an attempt to reach over a thousand, and creating this life inside of their computers. If a picture or status doesnt receive a certain amount of likes they delete it. I remember having a friend that posted a selfie on Instagram to only receive one like and connected this to everyone thinking she was ugly. So many people believe that what others say
Comment [AP3]: This is really well said, and brings up the interesting topic of have a life online. Comment [AP2]: Ha! This is funny :) Comment [AP1]: Best title?

Reid 2

to them on the internet is the end all be all. That they are only pretty or wanted or popular if their accounts have a lot of followers and their pictures are getting a lot of likes. Because our generation is so plugged into the internet it is frightening to think that what happens in the real world isnt ranked as high in the youths mind as what happens on the internet. We are only in the 21st century and our world is growing rapidly when it comes to technology. The things we have to deal with such as online predators and cyber bullying may be minor compared to what is coming. I would like to research what effects cyber bullying has on an individual. Cyber bullying has become such a dangerous thing it is now illegal and someone can be convicted for participating in it. It has led to several suicides and is one of the terrors of children being on the internet. Before, one was only attacked at school and at least could know who it was, tell an adult, and go home after the school day to escape it. Now it is with them all of the time, with anonymous and ambiguous screen names that can be difficult to detect. Imagine someone you may or may not know attacking you on the internet. You sit down read it over and over again tryin to figure out who it is. You eventually give up on trying to know who said it and only focus on what they said. There is a saying that was floating through the internet that truly speaks on why cyber bullying is so harmful, When someone reads Anonymous hate, what really hurts the most is when you read it you dont hear the attackers voice, you hear your own. Children are already so easily influenced, by giving them a platform online to be attacked and to start to believe the things people say about them, can be extremely dangerous and something that is a cause for concern. I would also like to investigate whether self-esteem can be directly connected to the life one lives on the internet? If a person feels as though they arent fitting in with the people in their regular lives, can having an online world to escape to help boost their self-esteem? Can having

Comment [AP4]: What do you mean by this? Can you use more specific language, and less colloquial?

Comment [AP5]: Sounds like youre talking about the end times.

Comment [AP6]: True.

Comment [AP7]: This is a really interesting and really good point. So now you are finding something relatively positive about the internet/social media: the ability to relate to others dealing with similar hardships.

Comment [AP8]: Or maybe, how does selfesteem affect they way a person uses social media?

Reid 3

social media be a positive and negative thing for self-esteem? Ill be the first to admit that when a status or photo of mine receives a lot of likes, I am excited and a sense of pride overcomes me. I have absolutely no clue why this is. Half the people that like my things are friends that I never talk to in real life, family members I hardly see, or my mom commenting something embarrassing about how cute I am. Why is what we see people say about us online so important? I believe its because it is a sort of tangible proof that you are liked. If someone gives you a compliment when youre walking down the street and you later tell someone else about it, its not the same as being able to show them the amount of likes or retweets or comments a photo of yours got. Its a new, more permanent way of being able to feel good about yourself. Finally I would like to research the pros and cons of a child having social media accounts. These accounts have been linked to online predators, suicides, and depression. Does having a child who hasnt fully matured on these sites where what they are exposed to cant be controlled a good thing? Like I stated before, a child is easily influenced and having a place where you cannot fully protect them from others words, is a frightening thing. On the internet it is a free for all, anyone can say anything they want to without being reprimanded or told to watch what they are saying. A quote from a well-known actor is that People need to realize that they are always affecting someone else 24/7, in a negative or positive way. This is known for everyday life, but especially in the life people create on the internet. Children will see things being said that they may have never heard before. For fear of your parents seeing this and making you delete the accounts you worked so hard at having the privilege of having, you ask your friends or look it up yourself. Parents are losing control of what they want their children to be exposed to and what/how they would like to explain such things to their children. Parental blocks and controls can only go so far from protecting your child from the words and opinions of
Comment [AP12]: How? Comment [AP11]: Can you be specific and say who? Also how does quoting a famous actor grant authority or rhetorical advantage here? Comment [AP10]: What do you mean by permanent? What about people who photoshop pictures of themselves that they post? Comment [AP9]: So none of us are immune to the superficial nature of social media.

Reid 4

others. On another note, so many television shows focus on children being lured by adults on online sites. It happens all around the world and is a huge problem. Putting a child with no friends on the internet exposes them to being easily targeted by dangerous people. The internet may be a great place for those who are mature enough to handle it, but it can also be extremely dangerous for those who are not. I expect my research to open up a lot of questions rather than answers. The experience one receives from social media varies from person to person. No two people are going to have the same exact experience in their own lives, so why would that be so for the lives they have on the internet? I am assuming it will be difficult to have concrete data and answers to any questions involving the internet and its impact on people. I do expect to see an overwhelming amount of research on the subject because it is so new and prevalent in everyones lives. Although my answers may not be the overall experience for everyone;, I expect it to be that the Iinternet is a dangerous place for all, not just children. I think a potential thesis for my paper will be how does the internet change and impact a persons life? It will be interesting to see what experts on the subject have researched and what they have discovered about the World Wide Web. Myrlene, I think you have a really great inquiry proposal here. I especially like your conversation on self-esteem and how that affects the way we interact with one another. Although, I have seen a few student propose the question how does social media affect self-esteem? but I wonder if you might benefit from turning that question around: how does self-esteem affect they way we interact with social media? I wonder if posting pictures of ourselves , constantly creating a narrative of our lives, is indicative of high or low self-esteem. I dont know. Im just spit balling
Comment [AP13]: Im not sure what you mean by this. Youll have an opinion on the issue. I dont think you have to worry about how other peoples (or even just a few other peoples) experience will not fit your discussion. I imagine you will be writing about an issue and that issue will matter to someone. Comment [AP14]: A thesis cannot be a question. The question is your inquiry; your thesis will be an argumentative statement.

Reid 5

here, trying to find a new angle on an old question. I also like your discussion on our online selves. This is really interesting phrasing, and certainly harkens back to what we saw on Digital Nation. What are the losses and gains of committing more of our lives to the Internet? that could be an interesting direction to go as well. Looking forward to seeing how your idea evolves.