Disconnect Paper

– Do not plagiarize.

– Requirement:

Step One: Set aside roughly 36 hours where you will completely disconnect from any and all forms of virtual communities and social media. Please plan ahead so that you are able to do this without complication. Virtual communities and social media includes all of the following: text messages, messenger apps, Facebook, Twitter, other social networking sites, the Internet, online apps, online games, email, forums, podcasts, live streaming, etc. Take notes on this experience, as necessary.

Step Two: Write a 750 words reflection paper analyzing this experience. In the paper, (1)focus on one effect that you experienced as a result of disconnecting from virtual communities/social media. Be specific and describe the experience in detail, providing concrete examples whenever possible! (2)Relate this to one of the assigned readings from the attachment. Connect your experience to a specific part of the reading. The Citations should be in APA format.

You will be graded on the level of specific detail you provide to explain and provide concrete examples for your experience. You will also be graded on the level of insight, self-reflection, and meaningful connection you make to a specific part of the reading(s). 

Think before you start writing and consider choosing just ONE effect you experienced as well as ONE specific aspect of the reading to focus your connection on. 

Example: For example, if you said you felt isolated, then you would provide multiple concrete, specific examples of when and how you felt isolated (what was the trigger, when did you feel this way, how would you deal with it, etc.). But if you were to write about that AND also write about another completely different effect, then I think you’ll run out of room to analyze or you probably did not do a good enough job of providing specific, concrete examples of the first effect.

Look for a page of the reading where they discuss or define a concept in more detail. Then compare your experience to whatever the article talked about. Make these connections clear and explicit–for example, “AUTHOR defines X as Y. In my experience I definitely also experienced Y. When I was…, this is an example of Y because…”.

We DO NOT need you to quote the reading–in most cases, a paraphrase and a citation, possibly with a page number, is more than enough. Quotes should only be used if you plan on directly discussing the quotation in some detail because of the specific wording. The Citations should be in APA format.

The Citations should be in APA format.