More Specific Plan

I am going to do a survey using GoogleDoc, unless I find a more efficient online survey website. I will post the link to  it on my Facebook and Twitter, and ask my family members to post it places, as well. I will ask adults, children, teenagers, males, and females how they use social networking websites. I will ask their age, gender, and location, and then how they use the websites, what kinds of things they post, what they hope to get from the sites, which sites they use, if they think it is having a positive or negative effect on society, how they have seen it impact their relationships, businesses, etc., and where they see social networking going in the future. I hope to send out this survey in the next week or two.

Suggested Research Method

For the semester project, I think that I am going to use a survey to conduct my research. I am going to use GoogleDoc to make it and then post it on my Facebook and Twitter. I am also going to ask my parents to post it on theirs. The reason why I want so many people to take it is because I am going to focus my research on the ways that different demographics, especially different age groups and genders, use social media. I will start by asking them personal questions in order to sort them into demographics, and then probably ask them about how much time they spend on social media, which websites they use, the purposes for which they use it, and how important they consider it. I will ask if they have used it for political updates, catching up with friends, business, gaming, meeting new people, etc. I will ask the kinds of pictures they post, like selfies, pictures at parties, pictures with family, pictures of their businesses, and so on. I want to know their opinion on colleges checking Facebook before admitting a student, and if they think Facebook is  a passing trend. I think it is important to focus on age and gender demographics, because I can already picture they way different members of my own family would be answering these questions.

Social Media and Election Hysteria

So, I'm sure everyone has noticed the influx of election-related tweets in their Facebook and Twitter timelines every time a debate is aired. And it's not just presidential candidates and informed adults. It is children and teenagers ranging from middle school through senior year voicing their opinions on each candidates' strengths and faux pas. But here's the thing: the Tweets themselves are sparking debates! Some people are responding and questioning whether or not people too young to vote can really be informed on the issues, or if their opinion really matters. Supposedly, they are only getting their information from their parents and shouldn't be passing it off as their own. But the people tweeting get defensive: Why can't they use social media outlets to express their opinions? I think it is interesting how users of websites designed to express opinions are also being told that they should keep it to themselves. Also, it is interesting how the use of social media is vital in this election, by both citizens and the nominees. But here's my question: What do you think? Should people use social networking as an outlet to express their opinions? And what if these people are under the voting age? Does their opinion still matter?