I/CCI Essay 2 Assignment Sheet

In this day and age, we no longer use social media simply to stay in contact with friends and
family who may be scattered all over the globe. Rather, social media allows us to celebrate our
achievements, interact with online communities, or kickstart businesses or charity campaigns.
But not all uses are this benevolent. Throughout this unit, we have read articles that examine
how we use social media in either alternative, innovative, or destructive ways. We have
discussed phenomena like digital intimacy, the ALS ice bucket challenge, Tumblr communities,
and Twitter revolutionsall of which showed us how social media is all about audience,
purpose, and context.

For this assignment, you will identify a cause or digital phenomenon (that we have not already
discussed in class) and analyze its relationship to social media. Your goal is not simply to say
that the cause is good or bad but rather to say something thought-provoking, unexpected, or
interesting about it. You can choose any cause (national or international), current issues Rowan
students are passionate about, a Twitter hashtag, or even an ad or marketing campaign.

In order to fulfill this assignment, you will need to:

Explain the cause or digital phenomenon you have chosen so that someone who is not
familiar with it has the appropriate background information

Analyze that cause or phenomenon and its relationship to social media, as well as
provide specific examples about/from it to support your ideas

Connect your discussion to the bigger questions weve been working through in class
about how social media affects the way we live now

Synthesize your own ideas with one of the readings assigned for this unit in addition to
one you find about your topic

Learning Goals and Outcomes:

Close and critically read different types of social media texts for rhetorical content and
meaning (CV2)

Understand how social media utilizes or ignores the importance of audience, purpose, and
context when it comes to conveying certain messages (CV3)

Recognize how social media enhances what it means to practice information literacy
(CV4)

Use the skills related to information literacy to locate sources that discuss a specific
social media phenomenon (CV4)
 Respectfully acknowledge the different stakeholders involved in/with a specific social
media phenomenon (CV5)

Formatting and Requirements: Your essay should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced, and in Times
New Roman 12-pt font, with the proper heading, header, and margins. You should also include
proper APA in-text citations and a formal References page. You must refer to at least three
sources (listed below), in addition to incorporating and leading with your own ideas and
observations:

1. Any one of the following readings:

a. Bine, Anne-Sophie. Social Media Is Redefining Depression

b. Byman, Daniel, and Jeremy Shapiro. We Shouldnt Stop Terrorists from

Tweeting

c. Gladwell, Malcolm. Small Change

d. Herper, Matthew. Think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Is Stupid?

e. Thompson, Clive. Brave New World of Digital Intimacy,

2. A primary source (website, online petition, Facebook page, hashtag archive) about your
chosen cause or digital phenomenon

3. A secondary source (e.g. an article) about your chosen cause or digital phenomenon

As with the first assignment, I fully encourage you to use additional sources you may find about
your chosen cause or digital phenomenon, granted you do not let those sources overwhelm your
own voice and ideas.
 Works Cited for E2 Readings

Bine, S. (2013, Oct. 28). Social media is redefining depression. Retrieved from:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/social-media-is-redefining-
depression/280818/

Byman, D., & Shapiro, J. (2014, Oct. 9). We shouldnt stop terrorists from tweeting. Retrieved
from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-shouldnt-stop-terrorists-from-
tweeting/2014/10/09/106939b6-4d9f-11e4-8c24-
487e92bc997b_story.html?utm_term=.f2af1e09013d

Gladwell, M. (2010, Oct. 4). Small change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted. Retrieved
from: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-malcolm-gladwell

Herper, M. (2014, Aug. 19). Think the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is stupid? Youre wrong.
Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2014/08/19/think-the-ice-
bucket-challenge-is-stupid-youre-wrong/#52e76c077c7a

Thompson, C. (2008, Sept. 5). Brave new world of digital intimacy. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?r1%E2%81%8441