First: Evaluate your own level of interaction with social media. On which platforms to you have accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, Pinterest, Tumbler, Google+, YouTube, Blogger, LinkedIn, others?). What does your online presence say about you? Have you ever completed a Google search of your name? What were the results?
Second: Discuss how social media use has affected your view of friendship and your interactions with friends. How has this changed in the era of “Social Distancing”?
Of your friends on social media, how many do you a) know in person, and b) consider close friends? What is your criteria for considering someone a close friend?
Do you feel that expanding circles of friends and acquaintances on Facebook or through online interest groups has affected face-to-face interactions with friends? If so, has the effect been largely positive or negative?
Finally: What is it doing to our sense of self?
Are we becoming more narcissistic? Are we becoming more insecure?
Is technology harmful to our sense of accomplishment, worth, or identity?
Has this online interaction helped you stay connected to others during a pandemic crisis?
What sites did you find helped you manage through this crisis?
