For this final reflection, you will select an issue of social justice that you are interested in and want to learn more about, and you will think about it through the lens of language as used in social media.
Think about what you have learned about language and social media. In this final reflection, you should conceptualize and describe a social media account, focused on a specific social justice issue, that you might create to educate, promote or call to action.
I Research
Look at many different platforms (X (Twitter) Instagram, Threads, Snapchat, Reddit, Facebook, etc.) and observe the way social justice issues are presented. Take notes. Take special note of the accounts that are effective and presenting the issue, and function to education or call to action. This research is for you; you do not need to include your notes in your final reflection, but you will include a summary of your findings in Part 2 of your reflection).
Identify the social justice issue that you would (hypothetically) create a social media account for. Search at least two platforms and take note of the kind of accounts already in existence for your particular issue. Some possible issues:
Climate change
Global health issues
Education and access to education
English-only movements
Disability awareness
Black Lives Matter
This is a partial list, and you may choose any social justice issue that is important to you (check with your instructor for any topic not on this list).
II Write Your Reflection (Write a description in paragraph form. The questions are provided to guide your writing).
Part 1: Social Justice Issue and Platform
Briefly explain why you have chosen the social justice issue. Why is it important to you? Explain why you have chosen the social media platforms that you have chosen to promote this issue? Be specific. Include information that you have learned about language and social media in this course.
Part 2: Part 2: Examination of Issue on Social Media
Examine how the issue is presented on the two platforms you have selected. You may choose to select a section of a conversation (e.g. it could be a single Facebook or Twitter post and multiple responses), or multiple posts about the same topic; that is up to you, depending on which platforms you choose.
Examine the following aspects and present your findings in a narrative format:
Who participates in the conversation?
What type of information is provided in the posts?
What claims are made?
Are the claims supported by credible evidence? How can you tell whether the evidence is credible?
How are others responding to the posts?
What do people do to make sure others will notice their post and find them? What strategies do they employ?
How do the two platforms compare in addressing your particular issue? What are the pros and cons of each?
For example, Instagram is geared toward images, whereas Twitter uses words much more easily; thus, issues such as climate change might be easier to tackle on both platforms, using both images and words, while other issues such as English-only movements may not be as suitable for Instagram. Nevertheless, people get creative in how they use their favorite social media platforms.
Part 3: Account Purpose, Design and Audience
What kind of account will you create? What will the name of the account be? What kind of information will you include? What is the purpose of the account? Who is your target audience for this account/issue? What kind of language will you use to attract followers? Will you use any other strategies that we have learned about (hashtags, influencers, etc.) to bring more attention to your issue?
