Running Head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2
Annotated Bibliography
Richard D. Reese
ENG 111-08A
Professor Traci Bryan Frey
Purpose Statement
The audience for my annotated bibliography is my curious academic peers in this English 111-08A class and my instructor, Traci Bryan Frey. We were to pick a core reading and identify an issue from the reading to research about that interested us. This issue is possibly known, but I hope to give more information as to why I believe it is important. While reading about our core readings about social media, my mind became intrigued about what happens when identities are hidden and when online anonymity is witnessed and what kind of effect it has on people. The purpose of my paper is to discuss the topic of online anonymity and the behavioral effects it could administer. Most people will encounter or already have encountered comments made by a person or individual they don't know. They will either be the victim or the witness; by accident or on purpose. I hope that my research will show the dynamics of online anonymity and what the effects on the psyche it may administer. The purpose of this is to show my audience what sources I used as well as a summary of what I learned from these. The medium of my paper is a formal academic manuscript. I am using credible, reputable sources to navigate the answers to my questions. The goal of my paper is to introduce my audience to the views of those for and against online anonymity. I also hope to gain more insight from the sources to help with later writing assignments.
Research Rationale
For Writing Project 3, I am planning on researching the behavioral effects of anonymity on social media and internet forums. I want to explore and specify both positive and negative effects that anonymity via social media and internet forums has on people. My topic was born from my research of the core reading “The Pointlessness of Unplugging” by Casey N. Cep. In that article Casey N. Cep talks about people taking a break from technology and social media to live a more “authentic” lifestyle. It was from this section in her article that I became curious about what the possible hazards of technology, particularly social media, are and why those hazards were causing people to feel the need to detox from using social media and online forums. Since the aforementioned article talked about people taking breaks from social media and internet forums to be, again, more authentic, it led me to wonder what the opposite of authenticity in the real world is opposed to the online world. That steered me towards how we conduct ourselves online behind a mask of anonymity in the form of usernames or screen names. This caused me to focus more on the hazards of online social sites and forums: changes in behavior due to being anonymous.
With this in mind, my research will consist of the perspective negative and positive effects of online anonymity. The other part of...
