Social Media Good or Bad?

 

https://news.yale.edu/2021/08/13/likes-and-shares-teach-people-express-more-outrage-online

        In todays world, social media has become such a normal and popular part of our lives. Technology is constantly growing and in so many ways being very beneficial for schools, jobs and everyday life. Smartphones and laptops have become the main way we communicate nowadays. However, social media has many sides to it both negative and positive. 

        Thinking about how when I was in elementary school and middle school my teachers would collect our phones in the beginning of the day because we were not allowed to use them during school. Nowadays, schools incorporate using phones or technology into their classroom lessons. I believe technology has become very beneficial in the classrooms. Theres many different websites to use for quizzes, homework, projects and more. Things like Kahoot! to do fun review quizzes, or something like Canva to create projects. Even looking at how we do things at Molloy, we use Canvas to provide us with class reminders, homework's, grades and communication between classmates and professors. These are just some of the positive outlooks on technology use in the classroom. However, technology can be distracting for most students. All the social media apps there are to communicate, post and share things for all to see cause great distraction in young teens. I even find myself guilty of becoming distracted sometimes.

        The pandemic has also made us all turn to our technology for work, school, communication. "Experts said that the increase in screen use wasn’t necessarily a cause for concern in and of itself. For instance, when kids used screens to connect with friends during the pandemic, that was most likely a good thing, Dr. Heitner said."(Moyer, 2022). We have stayed connected through social media and for many even still now this is how they communicate with some family or friends.

 

https://tuftsresearch.wordpress.com/2019/02/24/social-media-addiction-an-epidemic/

        In the documentary they discussed the relationship between social media and mental health. They talked with Psychologist Sam Vankin, and he said how social media was designed to condition people and once conditioned like any addict, they become depressed. They talked about how the pressures of likes on social media and like we looked into in Blog #5 cyber bullying. Looking on social media and seeing people have more likes than you, or people look differently than you and causing depression and anxiety issues. (Willett, 2019).

        "Twenge also notes that young people who report spending the most time on smartphones — five to seven hours a day — are twice as likely to report being depressed as those who use their phones for one to two hours a day."(Kamenetz, 2019). The amount of time teens and students spend on social media can be what causes the problem. Then there is the issue with sexting. "Sexting is the act of sending pictures of a sexual nature between cell phones, or other electronic media such as the Internet. It is often done between minors." (Sexting, n.d.). Schools can hold assemblies and shine a light on the negatives of social media use and sexting.

 

        My opinion of the use of social media and cell phones in school is not a set yes or no. I believe for the reasons I mentioned above, social media and cell phones can be very beneficial for classroom usage. I also believe social media can have a negative impact on students relationships, body images, attentiveness, and mental health. I believe as educators we can allow for cell phone usage, however we need to have students and their parents aware of the issues we have seen from technology. "Some experts say it’s better to keep cellphones in school and help train students how to use them responsibly, rather than just banning their use." (Klein, 2019). I agree with this statement, and believe it can be done. Theres no getting rid of mental health problems completely,  but we can provide support needed for any and all students. We just want the best possible education for our students, and technology has helped us get to such a great advancement for it. However we want our students to use technology and social media the right way.

References

Kamenetz, A. (2019, August 27). NPR's The Scientific Debate over Teens, Screens, and Mental Health. National Public Radio. Link

 (Links to an external site.)Klein, A. (2019, September 6). Schools say no to cell phones. But is it a smart move? Education Week. Link

 (Links to an external site.)Moyer, M. W. (2022, March 24). Kids as young as 8 are using social media more than ever, study finds. The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/well/family/child-social-media-use.html

Sexting. (n.d.). The School Superintendents Association (AASA). Link (Links to an external site.)

Willett, R. (Director). (2019). Plugged-In: The Toxicity of Social Media Revealed. [YouTube Video]. Brick in the Wall Media.