Sam Hvizdzak
Mrs. Hilson
Sociology
Reaction Paper
During our last class I had the chance to observe the PCP process of my peers on the
subject of Employers terminating their employees due to occurrences on Social Networking
sites. Each participant had the chance to express their thoughts and concerns while
answering multiple questions on the matter. Though some participants seemed timid at
first, the group regained its composure toward the end of the process. In my personal
opinion, I was neither for favoring the matter or objecting to it. I was on the fence as you
could say. I believe people have the right to have a personal life away from work and it is
wrong for an employer to view someone’s Facebook and see them at a party and fire them
for it. There should be a separation between work and home. But then again, another valid
point was brought up in the session. One girl explained how she knew a person who was
talking very ill about the business they worked for and it was causing loss in revenue
because people would see it and choose not to go there. It gave the business a very bad
reputation. Therefore I believe if some of the material on a social networking site affects the
business than it should be seen and that employee terminated. As I watched I tried to keep
in mind that this was merely a discussion and not a debate, but it was hard not feel some
sort of tension with a person whom you strongly disagree with. I may have judged some of
the participants slightly but I know everyone is titled to an opinion, and your opinion defines
who you are. It did not make me feel negative toward anyone but it gave me an outlook on
what kind of person they may be. I watched a few of the participants get heated on some of
the topics being discussed, some who strongly disagreed with others. This was easy to tell
because I could watch their reactions as on participant would be talking and see a person
expression go from listening to a “What are you talking about” kind of look. Gauging the
participants on their reactions and expressions may it easy to determine whether they
disagreed or not. This process could be used in the future for me for surveys and collecting
information on a subject based on people’s opinions. Hopefully we can use this again during
the course because I feel it got the class involved and speaking to one another. Some topics
could be discussed such as important issues around the campus like inadequate parking and
opinions on the school food. What I liked most about the PCP process was that every person
could express their thoughts without the discussion getting hated or out of hand. It was
merely a group of individuals who could come together and talk, unlike a debate where the
participants attack each other’s thoughts. In the session, there is no winner. The one thing I
did not like about the discussion in class was the first question. It asked each individual to
choose a side. Many others like myself, viewed the agreed and disagreed with the matter. I
was neither opposing nor agreeing with the idea of an employer terminating an employee
based on the content of an individual’s social networking site. I do believe PCP could be used
outside of academia and in a large society. People of a community could use this to help
policies and improving their society, such as building more transportation or discussing
building policies.