The Menacing Social Media Reality?

Social media, when used appropriately by educators and students, can be a useful and powerful tool in the classroom. Teachers can use social media to share resources and activities, connect to other professionals in the field, provide or find professional development that is relevant to their field of practice, and supporting other colleagues in the profession. I have seen educators create shared OneNotes with grade specific resources that was shared amongst many teachers within the province. I have connected to colleagues in other school divisions to share resources or advice. Many of my colleagues find different resources and activities online, and share them with their grade-alike colleagues.

When used in the classroom, it allows for students to connect to the international community and experts that provide invaluable educational experiences for all involved. It can also provide valuable lessons regarding social media in their personal lives and its benefits or drawbacks. I use social media in my classroom to enhance my online critical literacy units. It is one thing to discuss the issue, but quite another to use real life examples that are current and students have come across in their daily lives. It allows for my students to connect with the material in a way that can’t be replicated with other resources. I have had numerous experts “enter” my classroom (via Teams) to provide lessons and presentations to my class, that would have been otherwise inaccessible.

Social media is a asset to education when the proper professional reflection has been considered and practices have been created for its inclusion in the classroom. When these have not been considered, social media is a detriment.

Social media has been proven to affect mental health, self image, and critical literacy not only in students, but also in educators. Educators can find echo chambers of toxic comparisons of Instagram perfect classrooms and activities. These comparisons can cause anxiety, thoughts of inadequacy or question level of ability in the field.  There are questions about copyright infringement when teachers shared their resources. There is a heightened sense that anything put online can be taken out of context and used negatively. Finally, it can create an environment where an educator feels it is necessary to misrepresent themselves to avoid vulnerability and negative comparisons. This idea of living your life “online” leads to a faux-representation of reality, and manipulates the idea of reality for those who fail to be critical when consuming online material. One thing that I noted from the TikTok documentary was an influencer saying that they could be their “ real self” online in one part of the documentary, and then in the next part talks about how your appearance and behaviour is all tied into your brand (therefore your success online). While some people are 100% authentic when they post, those who are looking for virality and fame care more about their brand than the reality in which they live. Teachers are just as susceptible to this concept like everyone else. If teachers aren’t professionally reflecting on their practices, they could be unconsciously instructing students unhealthy habits and lessons.

As a middle years educator, I find that most digital citizenship resources are quickly dated, and do not connect with the reality that our students face with social media. If this material does not reflect their reality, they are more likely to tune out. I understand that social media evolves rapidly, and school divisions don’t have the time, resources, or budget to keep digital citizenship lessons up-to-date. However, this can be an issue for educators who don’t keep up-to-date with the different platforms and the potential dangers they have. How are they to discuss safety online when they don’t know about the possible dangers online? Today, our students have a technology that allows the world to view their lives. Whenever students use their technology and post information online (without privacy settings taken into account) they are welcoming the world into their homes, schools, and bedrooms. It has also been noted that the introduction of filters into social media posts has severely affected our children by manipulating their self image and self-worth with unrealistic and unattainable standards set by these filters. Again, this is the argument that we have made for decades about pop culture and how it influences and affects the younger generations. However, this is the first time that pop culture is constantly readily available and consumed en masse by this generation. 

 

Coming from a place of innovation, critical literacy, and collaboration allows for teachers to provide positive examples of social media use in the classroom and the profession. It is important that we, as educators, come from a place of betterment of classroom resources and professional practices. When teachers use social media for self-validation and inauthentic representation, we start to see the breakdown of the professional collaborative community and unfair/inauthentic comparative classroom or professional practices. Furthermore, if teachers are unable to critically analyze their use of social media in the classroom, they will not be able to provide guidance for students and the issues social media is presenting them today.