Our Changed World

Does anyone remember when TikTok was Musical.ly? I remember my friends and I being outraged that they were taking away our favourite app. But they didn’t, they only changed the name and aesthetic. Despite some influencers showing disdain on the change of our beloved app, everyone started to transition into the new norm, and today, TikTok is one of the top social media apps in the world.

This is only one small part in technological evolution. It goes back all the way to the lightbulb. In my childhood, I went from watching television with a big box on the  back of it to a flat screen, having to use discs to having a Netflix subscription, and using a landline to my cellphone. With the evolution of technology, human behavior changes.

An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

In Michael Wesch’s video, he talked about trends regarding human behaviors in participation involving the use of internet. At around the four-minute mark, Michael talks about the new cultural order. He describes how one person can do something – whether it’s big or small – and set off a chain reaction. In the video, he describes how one man did a dance and posted it. Shortly after, he gained attention and thousands of people saw his video and recreated it.

What does this mean for our future classroom? Well, it’s the same thing that’s happening in classrooms today. Think back to when we were in high-school; what was considered ‘cool?’ Everyone wanted to fit in in whatever way they could. In my school, TikTok was the top attractive trend, and everyone would learn all the dances, all the new sayings, and spend hours upon hours on the app. As teachers, when we go into classrooms, the up and coming generations pose more and more obstacles. Due to the grip technology has on all of us, children get more easily distracted, and tend to rely on technology more than we have in the past.

We must also think of some of the more severe consequences in letting children and young teens have technology. Bullying, especially cyberbullying, has been a struggle that many children face. It can be something as small as a rude comment on a post, to creating an anonymous account and sending terrible messages to someone. With technology, students need to be aware off all the negatives that come with it, and know that they can go to someone – a parent, teacher, friend – to help them sort out whatever situation they are going through.

To balance all the challenges this poses for us, we must think about what we wanted when we were in school. Personally, I loved when teachers proposed assignments and projects that let us use our technology. For the future students, they will no doubt want to use technology in any way they can while in school. With phone bans it does halt many resources in elementary schools. However, children in elementary schools should have no use for project materials related to technology, unless they are nearing their middle school years and use a laptop for writing work. For middle school years and up, allowing the students to have the creative freedom to choose between using a cell phone or regular poster board will offer them more options and skills to put in their back pocket for adulthood.