Christine William

Professor Malcolm Campbell

WRDS 1104

2/20/2022

Questions Proposal: Writing in Social Media and Text

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

● How does Snapchat, texting, and other casual online forms of writing change the way

people think?

Research

In this section, demonstrate that your question(s) is/are researchable by sharing sources

that you used to begin exploring your question(s). Address the following:

Why is/are your topic question(s) significant? Why is your question worth asking?

My topic question is significant because writing in the form of texting or through social

media is the most frequent medium of written communication. This form of writing is

different from the typical formal writing, but is still effective in communicating a

message. The question of how this impacts how we think is an important question

because we should be aware of the effects of our writing through text and social media

especially since most people use it on a daily basis.

Who else is asking your question(s)?

Researchers and journalists interested in learning more about the impact of writing

through text and social media have raised questions about this topic. Research was

conducted by the American Psychological Association and researchers at San Diego State

University to associate lack of attention in reading long text articles to the use of social

media and texting. Researchers at Cornell University conducted a study among college

students about the behavior and communication style that Snapchat allows users to

experience.

Where are these questions being asked? Where are the conversations about your

topic happening?

Most of these questions are being asked in scholarly journal articles or educational pages

that report findings of researchers, like the Cornell University page, the Washington Post,

or The New Yorker.

What implications for the future do your questions have? (In other words, what new

developments are ahead for your topic? What future questions will be asked?)

There are a lot of future developments in this question because social media is constantly

upgrading and developing, so there are going to be a lot more communication methods

using it. There may be a lot more questions about how we express our thoughts on social

media which are public versus private. There also may be questions about whether our

writing in text or social media imitates what others write in such settings.

What do you hope to learn based on the research you’ve done so far?

I hope to learn more about how our writing through text or social media relates to how

we process information and communicate our ideas outside of that setting. I hope to have
 a deeper understanding of how our identities, thoughts, and other forms of

communication are influenced by texting and social media.

Source 1:

https://cis.cornell.edu/cornell-research-study-shows-how-snapchat-changing-way-we-share-infor

mation

Snapchat allows for more honesty or openness in writing, takes away the fear of being read by a

people the message was not intended for or privacy leaks. There is a lot of control given to the

writer, like controlling the time limit on the message or picture, which makes them write more

openly and honestly.

Source 2:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/08/20/for-american-teens-texting-a

nd-social-media-are-replacing-books/

The article discusses the issue around a reduced interest in reading long text material in students

and the growing need for things to be short and to the point. It addresses social media and texting

from the perspective of causing a short attention span or overall impatience among people.

Children report a lot more time on social media than reading books, risk of poorer performance

in college, mental health issues.

Source 3:

https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-social-media-shapes-our-identity
This source discusses the way writing through social media often leaves a permanent mark. In

some ways this is welcomed because it allows people to relive moments that they cherished, but

in a negative way it also traps certain people in a memory or identity that they wish to move past.

Snapchat seems to be different from other social media in a way that allows people to feel less

stressed about their writing or posts being permanent and public.

Source 4:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/07/24/the-surprisingly-positive-po

wer-of-texting-according-to-science/

This article discusses the positive impacts that texting has on our mental health and overall

mood. It references research by the University of California at Berkeley which indicates that

people who text often reach out to their loved ones and experience better emotional well-being

and less feelings of loneliness. Texting has also allowed people to receive more urgent help

through crisis text lines or easier access to healthcare professionals through text lines.

Interest in this Topic

I am interested in this topic because I send multiple texts and use social media to write everyday,

but I haven’t considered how this affects my thinking. I find it interesting to read about the

research that shows how this impacts our behavior and thoughts. I hadn’t even realized some of

the ways it influences the speed I expect communication to happen at or the privacy expected

from social media like Snapchat. I definitely relate to the feeling or pressure associated with

writing things on social media that are public and going to be seen by a lot of people who may
not know me personally. I found it interesting to learn about the positives and negatives

associated with writing through social media or texting which is different from the typical

assumptions that it makes you less efficient writers or antisocial. From the research I have done

so far, I am eager to learn more about how this method of writing influences our sense of privacy,

honesty, attention, emotional well-being, and social abilities.