Social Media and the Public Sphere

For this paper, you’ll analyze a social media platform (like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter…the list goes on) as a contributor to our public sphere. To do this, your paper will:

introduce the social platform and analyze the affordances of social media as they are used by that platform;
identify and contextualize a representative entry or post from your social media platform that you feel is a good example of how your platform engages the public sphere; and
connect the example/platform to Habermas’s idea of the public sphere.

Your paper should, as always, have an arguable thesis statement; since this paper is asking you to work with 2-3 elements/ideas, that thesis will take time to evolve.

Nuts and Bolts:

This essay is 20% of your grade.
Length: 750-1250 words
Style: MLA
Sources allowed: Habermas article
(Links to an external site.)
, Notes on Baym’s affordances
(Links to an external site.)
, your social media platform, news articles that contextualize your chosen post
Your paper MUST include a screenshot or embedded video of your selected media entry/post.