Social Networking

The research topic of my final paper is social networking, and the effect that social networking sites has on the development and maintainging of relationships among the BYU student population. I came across an article in my research pertaining to MySpace and social development entitled: "Self-Presentation and gender on MySpace." This article was published in the Journal of Applied and Developmental Psychology.

Audience: This article is most likely to be read by those who are researching the implications of social networking in the social development of adolescents. The article focuses on the social networking site MySpace, and the researchers behind the research present results from a study that shows how this site affects the identity development of its users.

Argument:

Claim: Social networking sites, such as MySpace, can have both a positive and a negative effect on social development of adolescents

Reason: because social networking sites allow adolescents to explore their identity, but also produce pressures from social comparison and idealized images that produce negative self-image and inhibit social development.

Goal: To encourage a balanced view of MySpace that presents the opportunities and the drawbacks of social networking sites.

How

Ethos: The researches included their methods and procedures to the study they conducted, which are both sound and practical. The results are based off of results from the obtaining of insights of college age students that use MySpace and also observing their behavior in connection on MySpace.

Sufficient:

First off, the authors of this article present the intentions behind their current research and the results of past research from which they are building. Then, they inform the reader of the methods of the study they conducted, after which the results are reported in depth and connected to the relevant aspects of their argument. Each aspect of their argument is discussed in detail before the presentation of the conclusive results of the study. After covering the connections of their research to the results of the study in depth, then they present their conclusions, thus providing adequate material for the reader as well as reliable conclusions.

Relevant:

There are several quotations used within the article providing insights and supporting evidence for the researchers’ argument. These quotations are coming directly from the group that is being studied, which helps the audience to know that the researchers aren’t simply organizing abstract results in order to reach a desired conclusion. The quotations help to validate the argument of the researchers and provide a critical connection to real life situations, as opposed to the presentation of hypothetical assumptions.

Is it effective? Yes. I consider myself a part of the intended audience, and this article has provided me with useful information for my research intentions. Not all of the results connect directly with my specific scope of research, but this has provided me with helpful insights and ideas from which to build subsequent research.