Write 2 short essays (paragraph form) of approximately 1000 words for each answer (approximately 4 pages double spaced PER answer for a total of 8 pages–you should NOT go over 9 pages in total).
Format: Times New Roman, 12-pt font, 1-inch margins (all sides), double-spaced! Submit in .doc, .docx, or .pdf (.pages seems to not work with the bCourses SpeedGrader). When citing readings, please use the simple parenthetical citation, for example, (Baym 2010). If you cite lecture, please just cite (Lin, “Title of Lecture,” Date).
No works cited/bibliography page needed–assuming you only cite course readings and lecture.
Please write a short essay, which means a (very) short introduction and conclusion. As a suggestion (which means you do not have to), you may use a sort of 5-paragraph essay format for each question. Your short essay should have a thesis/argument that answers the question in the prompt directly. Then, your subsequent paragraphs should each be devoted to a key arguments, examples, or cases that prove your overarching argument. You may consider counter-arguments in your conclusion or where most applicable/obvious.
Essay One:Technology is often thought of as a solution to many problems, including issues of social capital, political involvement, making friends, finding love, etc. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of social media and virtual communities. What kinds of problems do social media and/or virtual communities have the power to solve (or at least make considerably better)? And what challenges or limitations do social media and/or virtual communities have that limit their problem-solving capacity? Use at least three examples/cases from readings, lectures, in-class, videos, etc. to prove your argument.
Question 2.Some have argued that the internet has made our physical, face-to-face lives less social but our online, virtual lives more social (Hampton 2010; Castells 2014). First of all, what are the most important ways that virtual communities have changed and shaped our physical, face-to-face communities? Second, using at least two examples from readings/lectures/videos, etc. in what ways are virtual communities an adequate replacement for face-to-face communities, and in what ways do they fall short?
