Response Assignment #1

I thought I would share the response assignment that I recently had to write for my composition class. We were asked to chose a statement from a list provided and play the believing and doubting game. You spend the first part of the paper believing the statement and the second part doubting. We were to try to make it so the reader isn't able to tell what side you are actually on. So here it is- 

"The statement I will be writing about is, “Facebook or other social media provides a good way to make new friends.” This would be true in small towns where there are not a lot of people that you could be friends with. If you used Facebook or other social media sites you would open yourself up to a bigger community filled with possible friends. This is also true for people with chronic illnesses that are not able to get out of their house often or participate in other activities that you would otherwise make friends through. With social media, they can use their phone or computer to connect with people that may have the same illness as them. Sometimes these people could be continents away, but they can still be friends thanks to social media ie. messaging, Skype, etc. They can also use social media to vent about their day and receive advice and love from their online friends that they may not get from their families or friends in their town. Another situation where this statement would be true is with someone with agoraphobia or severe social anxiety. Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder where you fear or often avoid public places, making it hard to find and meet new friends. They would be able to use social media to meet friends without having to go somewhere that causes them panic or fear. Lastly, Facebook or other social media would provide an easier way to meet new people with similar interests as you, which then might turn into a friendship.

This statement would be untrue when you start spending more time on Facebook or other social media than interacting with the people or your friends that are around you. This could then cause you to lose friends instead of making them. Another situation where this statement proves to be wrong is when you use social media to play games or just post things instead of actually interacting with other people online. You are not going to make new friends by playing games on the internet. Facebook or social media are also really easy places to become victim to online predators or people pretending to be someone they are not. They could find information through your profile, posts, and conversations to learn things about you and target you. You could also become a victim to cyber bullying. Someone could say that they are your friend and then slowly start to degrade you by saying mean things, commenting hurtful responses to your posts or pictures, making hateful posts, and even making a hate page, with pictures or posts saying, “I hate Jane Doe, isn’t she so ugly and fat?” People are more likely to type something mean than say it to that person's face. Social media would become something that you would hide from instead of going there to make new friends. Some people would also argue that the friends you meet online are not actually “real friends.” They think that they don’t count because you don’t see them everyday or you haven’t actually met them so how do you know they are who they say they are or like what they say they do? Lastly, there seems to be a lot of drama on Facebook and other social media. Other people or groups will gang up on you if you don’t believe the same things that they do. People also like to spread rumors about others online. Why would you want to go there to find new friends?"

What do you guys think? :)