Reflection: After changing up my research question to emphasize inquiry I realized that the previous question was far too general and wasn't worded to help me develop ideas towards it. As I worked on revising my research question I kept asking myself is this what I want to research because I didn't want to be stuck composing an essay that I wasn't interested in. But as of now, the research question that I have chosen is my main focus. In my original question I used the word "we" and I realized that it was way to general and I needed to focus in on a certain age group or a group of individuals. So I used teenagers instead which I think is a much more specific target group to research which will lead to a better end result. So as I begin to research my new question I assume that I will be able to find much more specific information pertaining to social networking and how it has transformed the way teenagers communicate.
OLD QUESTION: "How has social networking changed the way in how we communicate?"
NEW QUESTION: "How has social networking transformed communication for teenagers?"
Summary: The article I read was about how technology has become more important in the lives of adolescents. As a whole adolescents are heavy users of electronic communication such as e-mail, instant messaging, and text messaging. The article examined the adolescents' relationships with friends and strangers in the context of their online interactions. The study showed that they are using these communication tools to reinforce existing relationships, with friends and partners. The article also makes a point by saying that online content in general can be both positive and negative depending on the context. A specific example that it uses is that teens can find help on homework on information websites but they can also "encounter racism and hate messages." The article also states that electronic communication is enhances peer communication at the expense of the parents, who might not know what their children are doing online. Finally, the article also analyzes the school aspect, and this is apparent because schools across the country are trying to eliminate the negative uses of the Internet and cell phones while in educational settings while trying to sustain their positive supplements and social connections.
Source: Subrahmanyam, Kaveri, and Patricia Marks Greenfield. "Online Communication and Adolescent Relationships." The Future of Children, 2008, Vol.18(1), P.119-146, 18.1 (2008): 119-146.
How will I use source: After reading the article about online communication and adolescent relationships I realized that the research question I have generated is much better than my previous . I will be using this source to develop my ideas by using quotes, in-text citations and the general idea of the article to improve my essay. This article has many great sections that I would insert in my essay because it relates to my thesis very well. Obviously the source I chose will have a great impact on my paper because it contains much of the information that I was looking for while research my keywords on the databases. After doing some research on the credibility of the source, I found that Patricia Greenfield recieved her Ph.D. from Harvard University and is now working at UCLA's department of psychology. Kaveri is also a professor working at UCLA in the College of Natural and Social Sciences Department of Psychology. So I think that since the article is written by college professionals, I have no reason to not give credibility to this source.
This will work, Henry, but you'll need to be specific about what you mean by "communication," "social networking," and "transformed." To me, it seems like you're still assuming that it HAS transformed communication-- when there are theories that it might not. So, keep this in mind.
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