Rachel Banzhof

Susan Ingram
UWRT 1104
30 October, 2016

Populations distracted my social media reflection

My mother always said Be careful what you put on the internet because it never goes away.
This was proven true again and again when I watched my friends suffer the consequences of posting
inappropriate pictures online, of things they shouldn't be doing. When a population becomes distracted
by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public
conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public
business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility. (Postman
89) Now it is common to live a large portion of our lives online.The truth is, our society today is heavily
influenced by the internet. Being active on social media can do you good or cause you harm, it also has
completely changed society.
Personally I have reaped much benefit from my accounts. Because of my following online, I was
picked as a teen ambassador for the company BANGS shoes. With them I work on social media posts and
ideas for products and how the company can continue to do good around the world(I also get paid and
free stuff). The company focuses on helping small businesses grow so people in need can earn money and
reap the benefit of climbing the socioeconomic ladder. With this experience I have been able to see hands
on the good that social media can do. It gives a voice to those who may have not had one previously.
Without this experience I wouldn't have been so curious about where social media came from and the
different effects it has in people's lives.
With my multi genre project my target audience is young teens, specifically middle school ages. I
picked this age group, because this age is usually when kids start to begin toying with social media.

Nearly one quarter of teens say that they log on to their social media accounts at least 20 times a
day.(Gordon, Serena)This is not always the case, but as of now teens are the average age to create a
instagram and twitter account. My audience also has a be of a socioeconomic status to be able to have a
phone or laptop to use these platforms. Originally, I had opened my audience to a larger age range, but
when I really thought about the purpose of my project for me I decided it needed to be specifically those
young kids. My purpose is to show my audience the power that social media has to do good and bad.
Targeting kids this could potentially have a bigger outcome than targeting a large range of ages.
For my first piece I wrote a essay on social media. In my essay I focused on why social media has
gained so much popularity and the history of social media, this pairs with my purpose of my project well
because, in order to fully understand where Im coming from with my presentation you need to
understand some background knowledge on popular social medias. My essay provides this background.
This then explains part of why social media is so popular, social networks provide many kinds of services
and benefits to its users like helping them to connect with new people, share opinions with like minded

people, and stay in touch with old friends and colleagues. (Fita, Maciej)
Because I chose young kids, for my second piece I wrote diary entries from the perspective of a
middle school girl. I modeled these entries from a true story. One of my close friends had the horrible
experience of people making a mock instagram making fun of her. Expressing this through a way that is
more relatable to that age than my essay would be a better way to reach my audience.
The modes of communication I used for my diary entries were mosty linguistic. I focused on
pathos using stories to communicate my point. For my essay, I also used mainly linguistic to
communicate my points. I used ethos and logos for this essay. I focused on making my sources credible
when I quoted them, and used suprising facts. In 20 years my projects will not be relevant. As social
medias progress this will no longer apply to them. I think that my essay is overall more effective than my

diary entries because of the way I used my language in my essay. My passionate perspective on social
media shows in my essay.

Works Cited

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.

New York City: Penguin Books, 2005. Print.

Gordon, Serena. Social Media Has Good and Bad Effects of Kids:Experts. US News. 28
March, 2011. Web. 28 Oct., 2015.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/childrens-health/articles/2011
/03/28/social-media-has-good-and-bad-effects-on-kids-experts
Fita, Maciej . 6 Reasons Why Social Networking Is So Popular These Days. brandignity. 28
November, 2012. Web. 23 April 2016
http://www.brandignity.com/2012/11/6-reasons-why-social-networking-is-so-popular-these-days
/