JaJuan Battle

ENGL 1102 Adam Padgett

1-27-14

Social Networking and I

Social Networking plays a minor to moderate role in my life. I have both an Instagram
and a Twitter account, and I do get on and check the notifications on them regularly. I normally
would check them on my phone, but when my phone is dead, Ill check them on my laptop. I
dont check my social networking accounts when I am occupied or busy. I usually only check
them out of pure boredom or if I am being curious and want to look someone up.
I created my first social networking account when I was in middle school. Myspace was
the hip thing to do, and I was so excited to have finally made a Myspace page. At that age, all I
cared about was having the coolest page layout and comparing it to my friends pages. I
remember when I used to browse the internet for hours at a time looking for the best
backgrounds and the best songs to put on my pages. I wasnt concerned about who my friends
were or how many of them I had. As I grew older, everyone my age was making the change
from Myspace to Facebook. During this time, I took a break from social networking websites. I
was told by older peers and friends that I was too young for a Facebook page, I also lacked an
interest in social networking because playing video games were more important to me.
I finally made a Facebook page my sophomore year of high school. I hardly ever
checked my Facebook page upon making it. I honestly only made it simply to say that I had one.
Me Hhaving a Facebook page made me feel like I was cool and in the loop even though I didnt
maintain it. After Facebook, then came Twitter. My interest in females directly determined how
much effort I put into my social networking accounts from here on out. At this point in my life
my focus shifted from video games to girls, so I try to keep up with my Twitter account now.
Comment [AP1]: Okay, I really like how you
give the reader an intro to the role social
media plays in your life, but what does all this
add up to? In other words, why are you
sharing this information (aside from the fact
that the assignment requires you to)? What
point are you trying to make here?
Comment [AP2]: Why the excitement, do
you think?
Comment [AP3]: And why do you think this
is?
Comment [AP4]: Ha! Understandable.
Comment [AP5]: So is this the only reason
to engage in social media? To pursue amorous
relationships?
JaJuan Battle
ENGL 1102 Adam Padgett
1-27-14

I feel like social networking does not have a major role in my life like it does on my
peers. I feel this way because I am more of a face to face kind of person. Im not one to be
entirely open to meeting complete strangers through the internet. I would much rather meet
someone in person to get a more genuine sense of that person. A social networking account only
shows the viewer what that particular person wants him or her to see, and some people perpetrate
something that they are not on social networking websites.
Another reason why I do not care for social networking sites as other people may is
because I am very secure with myself. I tend to not care about what other people have to say
about me. I feel like we all need validity to a certain degree from other people, I just do not
think I need as much as other people do. I do not need a plethora of followers to feel cool or to
know my self-worth. I would not mind having an abundance of followers I just am not willing to
put the work in to get them. I feel like other people care about their followers more than I do
about mine. I would rather be out doing things and meeting new people in person than being on
a social networking site all day.
A line of inquiry that I would like to pose is Does the general public shun certain types
of people? I think this is a great question to pose because some people would agree and
disagree on the answer. This question may lead to Does social networking have a direct
correlation to ones self esteem? I think this is a good question because we do not know for
sure how much stock people really put into social networking. My last question is How is
someones privacy affected by social networking? I would pose this question because the user
controls what they put on the internet but they may not necessarily control who exactly sees what
they put on the internet.
Comment [AP6]: What does this mean
exactly? Can you more clearly define how you
prefer to meet and engage people?
Comment [AP7]: Very true.
Comment [AP8]: Interesting claim here. So
social networking is for the insecure?
Comment [AP9]: I think youre starting to
repeat yourself a little here.
Comment [AP10]: What, precisely, do you
mean by this word?
Comment [AP11]: This might be your most
rich and worthwhile line of inquiry here.
JaJuan Battle
ENGL 1102 Adam Padgett
1-27-14

In these next steps, I will research the above questions and record my findings in an
organized manner. I think that I already know the answers to a couple of the questions that I
posed earlier but, I can not let my personal opinions solely drive my ideas. I also do realize that I
do not know everything, and I have to do research to learn more about the topics. In my
research, I expect to learn more about how this generation of people are totally consumed by
social networks, even to the point where privacy may not even be appreciated. I cannot wait
until I do research and get answers to these questions.
JaJuan,
I think youve done a really excellent job explaining where you are coming from and how social
media has impacted your life. I really like your inquiry on privacy, but I would like to have seen
more of a discussion on privacy in your personal experience. Why are you so interested in
privacy as a topic of inquiry? Can you relate these things to current events? The other lines of
inquiry I think are a little too ambiguous for me. I think a really good idea for you is to look at
current events and see how your inquiry is relevant. Youve done a great job here and I look
forward to seeing how your topic will evolve. (this assignment is a little late).
Comment [AP12]: So how much of your
personal experience do you think you can
realistically incorporate in a research paper?
Comment [AP13]: :)