Module #8: Social Media in Education

 Social media has truly taken over the lives of millions upon millions of people around the world. Our lives have been engulfed by devices and technology. This generation's youth are struggling to make it through their school days without their cell phones in their hands, and their grades are suffering as a result. Schools all around the country have been trying to solve the problem that is cell phone usage in the classroom, yet it appears that we are all without much luck. Many of us struggle to understand why young people can not seem to put away the phones, and I believe that it is necessary for the teachers to learn more about why there is such a struggle. 

The "Why"...

Greg Taranto's Edutopia article, Understanding the Science of Social Media starts off by quoting Brian Solis' comment that social media is more about sociology and psychology than it is about technology. The article discusses the chemical reactions that occur in the brain when using social media, including the repeated dopamine hits and how it negatively impacts our behavior and decision making. I find this point to be very interesting and valuable as an educator who struggles with student cell phone use in the classroom. Many students are clearly addicted to their devices and, as mentioned earlier, many educators can not seem to understand why and do not know how to handle it. Learning about how cell phone and social media usage is impacting the brains of our students can help give us some insight into how to handle this situation. 

Derek Lartaud's KQED article, When Is Your Brain Ready for Social Media? talks about the age limit of 13 being placed on social media usage and how it became a law due to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Although the concern for youth being subject to data mining is real, there are many additional reasons for why there should be an age limitation to social media usage. A substantial reason would be safeguarding the mental health of young people. 

Lawrence Robinson and Melinda Smith's article on Help Guide, The Role Social Media Plays in Mental Health discusses the pros and cons of social media usage and gives more insight into how it is impacting the minds of our students. The article discusses the negative impact that social media usage has on mental health, specifically for young people. It can lead to inadequacy about your life or appearance, fear of missing out, cyberbullying, depression and anxiety, social media addiction, and many other negative outcomes. 

My Thoughts...

After looking through the various articles available on the topic, my findings confirmed my opinions on social media usage. Although there are many positive aspects of social media usage, there are just as many negatives, if not more, if not used responsibly. There are serious dangers presented to young people who are exposed to social media from an early age, and we are witnessing those dangers in our schools and communities on a daily basis. 

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