Scroll, Collaborate and Listen.

Social Media. Lately, it feels like Social Media is a bad word. With books like “The Anxious Generation” becoming increasingly popular, apps like TikTok getting a bad rap for purposely addicting it’s users, and Provincial Governments invoking cell phone bans in schools, it seems like more and more people are moving away from using social media for a variety of reasons.

My own relationship with social media has been a rollercoaster at the best of times. I want to start by examining my professional use of social media:

Wikispaces: Wikispaces was something that I learned to utilize from the very beginning of my internship and teaching career. I was fortunate enough to have a cooperating teacher who was open to trying new things and always looking for ways to improve his teaching practice. We noticed that it was difficult to get students to write in their agendas, bring the agendas home, and use them correctly. We decided to try using Wikispaces as an online homework board to alleviate this issue. Students and parents could hop online at any time to see what needed to be done, and it was also helpful for kids who were absent to catch up.

I continued using Wikispaces right up until it shut down in 2018. By this time, it had evolved into a place where I could upload links and online assignments to reduce paper usage.

Google Classroom: Rebounding from Wikispaces led me to Google Classroom after being introduced to it by a colleague. He was using it primarily for the shared calendar function to keep his students on the same page, and together we began exploring the different ways we could utilize it in our classrooms. Google Classroom quickly became the new Wikispaces for a couple of years before I jumped to Edsby as my main platform.

Pinterest: Pinterest and I have had the most steady relationships both personally and professionally. Like an old friend, Pinterest has always been there for me and has never asked for anything in return. Looking back at  Pinterest Boards to rediscover teaching ideas and classroom decor has been a great way to adapt to the ever-changing world of education.

Instagram: Instagram was a short fling over the course of my teaching career. I created a private class account for a group of students I taught 8 years ago. It was a nice way to introduce the kids to the use of social media to stay in touch and share some of our favourite memories – almost like an online yearbook or some version of an Edsby Learning Story. I still feel that using this app in a classroom depends on the group that you have, as it is a relationship that can easily become toxic.

Musical.ly: Before there was TikTok, there was Musical.ly. My relationship with Musical.ly, like with Instagram, was fun and exciting albeit brief. I used this alongside Instagram to turn our classroom adventures into cute little videos to share on our class ‘gram and on Twitter.

Twitter: Speak of the devil… Twitter (now known as X) and I had a breakup that I did not see coming. Things were great for years – I joined the platform when it was first released in 2006 and continued to use it up until it was purchased in 2022. Twitter was a great way to connect with other educators and build a Professional Learning Network. I found that over time it became more and more political and I wasn’t getting the same benefit from using it, so I’ve slowly ghosted Twitter over the past few years.

BlueSky: BlueSky and I are just getting to know each other. I joined this platform just a few months ago and am still getting a feel for it. I’m looking forward to spending more time on it with this class and getting back into building a strong Professional Learning Network. PS, follow me at @mrspeeke.bsky.social !

My personal relationship with social media has been much different, as I’m sure is the case for most people.

Facebook: Facebook, like Twitter, has slowly disappointed me over the years. It started as a great way to connect with others and to keep in touch with family. Facebook has literally helped my aunts and uncles locate their cousin living in Ukraine when the war broke out, and it also allowed them to stay in contact long enough to help him send his family over to safety while he served his time with the military before joining them in Canada.

On the flipside, Facebook has also led to family issues. People post polarizing opinions on topics, and it leads to arguments and blocking on social media. It also seems to have become filled with more ads and irrelevant content that I don’t wish to see. For the last few years, I’ve made a point of only going on Facebook to check the Marketplace so that I can sell or give away items we no longer have use for.

Instagram: As Ross Gellar would say, we are on a break. Instagram has always been the main social media feed that I use to keep in touch with friends and family, but it has recently taken a negative toll on my wellbeing. Not only did I start to find myself spending more and more time endlessly scrolling through posts, but I fell into the bad habit of comparing myself to others and feeling increasingly jealous instead of focusing my attention on all of the good things happening to me IRL.In July 2024 I hit a breaking point and decided to take a step back from social media to protect my wellness and focus more on staying grounded and staying in the moment.

Snapchat: Snapchat is a tool that I enjoy using to stay in touch with my friends and family. I find people tend to post a very filtered version of their lives on platforms like Instagram, whereas on Snapchat, we send more raw experiences to a select few. I have lots of hilarious group chats where we share silly videos and crack jokes without worrying about filtering anything first.

Whatsapp: This is another platform that I use for group chats. I have one with my family where we keep in touch about how things are going and make plans to get together and see each other. It’s also where I keep in touch with a large group of friends who try to spend time together every month (the ability to use polls here is fantastic for that). Everyone seems to be so busy with so many different things, and I find that this is a wonderful way to set aside time for some meaningful connection.

What are your favourite platforms to use professionally and personally? Do you also find that certain apps have more filtered/artificial content than others? Have you ever found yourself needing a detox from social media?