Research Paper Documenting the Media Revolution Mass media is redefining itsel – graduate researcher

Research Paper
Documenting the Media Revolution
Mass media is redefining itself at a speed and depth unmatched in human history. Basic
definitions of various long-established mass media are rapidly evolving to include digital
formats that would have seemed the stuff of science fiction a few years ago. Furthermore,
as mass media becomes more pervasive and powerful, its impact on individuals and the
larger society have increasingly become topics of scholarly research. Your paper will be
written about one of the mass media topics listed below. Choose a topic that interests you
and for which you can find a variety of high-quality sources.
1. The End of Privacy?
1.1 What does scholarly research have to say about the power of the Internet and
other media to erode or eliminate personal privacy?
1.2 Who is invading our privacy? Is it corporations, government, other people, or
ourselves?
1.3 How does “The Internet of Things” have the potential to create a further
erosion of our privacy?
1.4 According to the research, what types of privacy are most endangered in the
years ahead? What can we (as individuals or as a larger society) do about it?
2. Social Media Use and Mental Health
2.1 What does scholarly research have to say about the effects of social media use
on mental health?
2.2 What sorts of people are most susceptible to having their mental health
compromised by social media? What types of mental health problems are these at-
risk people experiencing?
2.3 Have changes in lifestyle caused by Covid accelerated these mental health
problems? If so, how?
2.4 According to the research, what are warning signs that you can look for if you
believe that someone has had their mental health damaged through social media
use? What can family members, friends and others do to help those who have had
their mental health damaged by social media?
3. Battling Misinformation Through Lateral Reading
3.1 According to the scholarly research, what is Lateral Reading? How does a
person engage in lateral reading?
3.2 According to the research, why is lateral reading a particularly relevant skill in
the internet age? How does it decrease the destructive power of misinformation?
3.3 What are some examples of lateral reading being successfully taught in
schools?
3.4 Find an internet site devoted to a current political or social issue. Engage in
lateral reading to determine the truthfulness and general fairness of the site.
Describe what you did and what you found.
This paper will be an analysis based upon your research. Research the four questions as
they pertain to your research topic. Divide your paper into six segments:
A. Introduction
B. Answer to Question 1
C. Answer to Question 2
D. Answer to Question 3
E. Answer to Question 4
F. Conclusion
Find credible sources to research your answers. You will be graded on the quantity and
quality of your sources, and how well you use them in your text. Cite your sources, MLA
style, as you use them in the text. Be sure to use full MLA-style citation information in
your works cited section. Students who merely provide a list of web addresses will be
marked down.
Length: Around 1500 words (plus works cited section).
Research
The depth and quality of your research matters. Citing your textbook or what is said
during class really isn’t impressive in a college research paper. Your research should
branch out beyond the classroom and the textbook. Dictionaries and encyclopedias
(including Wikipedia) have some value in leading you to appropriate sources, but should
not be cited as sources in the text. Be careful about using web sites as sources; many of
them are not credible. If you cannot clearly state who is the writer of the material on the
web site and what qualifies that person or persons to be an authority on the subject, then
you probably do not have a credible source.