WRT 205 Blog

In “Turning Hate On the Internet Into Humor,” Endless Thread presents Reddit as a space where meaning shifts constantly, as users can transform communities that once promoted hate into something absurd or harmless. The artifact that stood out to me most was the post announcing that r/pocketpussy had been redefined as “about cats in pockets.” At first, it seemed inappropriate, but it ended up demonstrating how a subreddit’s identity can be completely reworked through moderation and collective user participation, rather than remaining tied to its original, explicit, or offensive purpose. Another key artifact is r/redditrequest, which enables this kind of change by allowing users to formally request control over inactive subreddits and reshape them. A third artifact is the episode artwork, “Escape From Destruction” by u/Ocomum, which visually reflects the episode’s central idea: online spaces can be chaotic or harmful, yet people continue trying to reclaim and reinvent them, showing h...

  For this activity, I chose Paul at Home by Michel Rabagliati as my graphic novel. What stood out to me most while reading was how grounded and personal the story felt. Instead of being fast-paced or overly dramatic, it focuses on everyday life, relationships, and the passage of time. The way Rabagliati combines simple visuals with reflective narration makes the story feel very real, almost like I'm reading someone’s memories rather than a fictional plot. One thing I really liked about this graphic novel was how it explored themes of aging, family, and change in a quiet, honest way. There aren’t huge dramatic moments, but the emotional weight builds through small interactions and reflections. The artwork also adds a lot to this feeling because it’s neither overly detailed nor flashy, yet it captures expressions and environments in a way that feels intimate and relatable. It made me slow down and think more about what was happening, rather than just moving quickly through the pa...

  Reflection    For my Unit 3 Project, I chose to transform my Unit 2 project into a song for a few reasons. My Unit 2 topic was already deeply personal and centered on my own artistic expression, so it only felt appropriate to extend that work into a medium that is inherently emotional and expressive. In my essay, I argued that social media “shapes and distorts teenagers' identities by pushing us to present highly curated versions of ourselves.” Because that argument is rooted in lived experience, I felt that a song could capture the emotional reality of that pressure more effectively than a traditional essay or slide presentation. Music allows for nuanced tone, vulnerability that mirrors the internal spiraling I described in my writing.   I also considered my audience carefully when choosing this medium. My intended audience is primarily teenagers, college students, and especially young performers who use social media frequently. In my Unit 2 essay, I dis...

  Reflection!          For my Unit 2 project, I chose to focus on how social media shapes and distorts teenagers’ identities, with a specific emphasis on young performers. I chose this topic because it feels very relevant to my own life and experiences, especially as someone studying acting. Social media is something I’ve grown up with, and I’ve always been aware, even at a young age, that I was presenting a version of myself online that wasn’t fully real. Because of that, I wanted to explore this idea further and understand not just my own experience, but how it affects other people as well. When thinking about my audience, I wanted to write something that would be interesting both to people in the entertainment industry and to people outside of it. I think this topic is relatable to almost everyone, but I made specific rhetorica...

"I'm Always On" : Social Media, Acting Career in 2026, and the Pressure to Be Perfect On Social Media Social Media and Identity   In today’s digital world, social media plays a major role in how teenagers present themselves and understand who they are. Apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat allow people to carefully control what others see, creating a space where identity can be shaped, edited, and distorted. Social media shapes and distorts teenagers’ identities by pushing us to present highly curated versions of ourselves. This especially affects young performers who feel extra pressure to maintain an image online.  While social media can offer opportunities for self-expression, it pressures teens to present idealized versions of themselves. As a result, social media significantly distorts teenagers’ identities by encouraging them to create curated, performative versions of themselves that differ from their real-life personalit...

  In this draft, I focused on the objective facts about my topic. As I continue working on my final, I will add my own personal stance on the facts given.  S ocial media significantly distorts teenagers’ identities by encouraging them to present curated versions of themselves, especially among young performers who face added pressure to maintain a public image. Introduction: Social Media and Identity In today’s digital world, social media plays a major role in how teenagers present themselves and understand who they are. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat allow users to carefully control what others see, creating a space where identity can be shaped, edited, and sometimes distorted. While social media can offer opportunities for self-expression, it often pressures teens to present idealized versions of themselves. As a result, social media significantly distorts teenagers’ identities by encouraging them to create curated, performative versions of themselves that di...