Posted: November 14th, 2022

ISM310 – Assignment 4: Social Media and Manipulation

ISM310 – Assignment 4: Social Media and Manipulation
DUE: Nov 14, 2022 by 11:58p. QUESTIONS?? Ask me!
You will be submitting a PDF file that does NOT exceed 3 total pages. REQUIRED: be sure your
responses are answering all of the questions asked and all responses are numbered.
To complete this assignment, first answer questions 1 through 3. Then, you will need to read the
following link (also posted to Canvas) on Facebook’s 2012 manipulation study before answering the
remaining questions.
1. Name and section TIME
2. Discuss. Do you currently have, or have you had, any social media accounts? If so, which ones
are they and WHY do you use them/the importance. If no, you have NEVER had any, are you
considering getting any? Be clear and discuss. Not just a list.
3. The BAD?? Have you DROPPED or are you considering dropping any social media
accounts? Discuss WHY. If you have never had any social media accounts, why not? Be clear
and discuss.
Next, read the following article on Facebook’s manipulation study from 2012:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/
4. Facebook’s study examined and manipulated “emotional contagion”. What does that mean? In
your own words, explain what it is that Facebook did and why it is perceived to be negative. Be
sure to be clear.
5. Now that we understand the study of what Facebook did, what are YOUR thoughts on this? Do
you agree that it is negative? Why or why not?
6. The article discusses the effect of the study and the effect being “as little as one-tenth of a
percent of an observed change”. Why is the effect still so very important? Explain in YOUR
OWN words.
7. The article discusses 2 main problems with this study. One was the lack of institutional review
board (IRB) approval. The second had to do with the design of the study. Describe in YOUR
OWN words, the problem with the design.
8. This article was from 2014 and discussed Facebook’s study from 2012. Find a more recent
article (published 2019-2022) regarding questionable ethical or moral practice(s) by ANY social
media platforms. Be sure your link is of an article with a date and not simply a website.
a. Provide the URL of your link.
b. Provide a brief summary of the questionable practice(s).
9. NOW, after reading these articles, might you question whether you wish to maintain your social
media accounts? Why or why not? Explain clearly.