Blog Post #8: Social Media
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Social media use amongst children and young teens has been a huge point of debate in our society today, but especially the use of cell phones. Cell phones have pretty much taken over the world, as it is uncommon to see someone without one now, and it's pretty uncommon to see someone without some sort of social media account as well. In my opinion, social media has many positives, but also several negative issues, which has me pretty split on the debated issue on social medias relationship with schools. However, after reading through the articles, and watching the documentary, I'd say I lean more towards social media having more of a negative effect on students, than a positive effect. According to the article "The Scientific Debate Over Teens, Screens And Mental Health", More teens and young adults are reporting being depressed and anxious, compared to the past, and suicides are up in that time period as well (Kamenetz, 2019). During this time of higher rates of depression and anxiety, social media use has obviously increased as well, making it a very possible, and probable cause for these higher rates. According to Jean Twenge, who is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, these rates started to increase around 2012, which was also the first year that "most cell phone owners had switched to smartphones"(Kamenetz, 2019). To me, it isn't really surprising that there have been so many negative effects on mental health for teenagers and students since the rise of social media, as multiple different negative things can take place online such as cyberbullying, sexting, and many others negatives. These negative effects are also explained in the documentary "Plugged-In: The Toxicity of Social Media Revealed", as Bethan Jones explains "it has a grip on me" referring to social media on how controlling and addictive it can be, especially on young teens. Because of this, I believe educators need to make sure students aren't abusing social media, and using it for things that may hinder their learning, as explained in "Schools Say No to Cellphones in Class. But Is It a Smart Move?", some negative effects in the classroom can include "Googling test answers. Taking a picture of a quiz and sending it to friends who have the same class later in the day. Paying more attention to Instagram notifications than biology class"(Klein, 2019). |
As a future educator, I believe the best approach is to regulate cell phone and social media use amongst children, instead of taking it away. Taking it away during class, will only make the students want to use their phones more once class is over, as I remember several times having all of our phones taken away during class, and being distracted by it during my entire walk in the hallway to my next one. As it states on 'The School Superintendents Association", instead of taking phones and social media away completely, schools should "consider a variety of actions around raising awareness of and increasing education about sexting", and also "provide staff trainings on bullying, cyberbullying and computer/internet safety, including sexting and safety on social networking sites"(AASA, 2019). I believe this is the best way to ensure social media can be used more for it's positive effects, then it's negative effects, especially as it continues to evolve and become an even bigger part of all of our lives.
Nick Incalcaterra
References
Sexting. (n.d.). The School Superintendents Association (AASA). Link
Klein, A. (2019, September 6). Schools say no to cell phones. But is it a smart move? Education Week. Link
Kamenetz, A. (2019, August 27). NPR's The Scientific Debate over Teens, Screens, and Mental Health. National Public Radio. Link
Willett, R. (Director). (2019). Plugged-In: The Toxicity of Social Media Revealed. [YouTube Video]. Brick in the Wall Media.
Hi Nick, great post! Teen social media and cellphone use definitely has both positive and negative effects. However, I had to decide whether the positive effects outweigh the negatives? My stance in this debate is that social media and cellphones do more harm than good. Parents are allowing their kids to have social media and cellphones way too young, and they are misusing them. Social media is known for cyberbullying and teens also may compare themselves to others which damages their mental image and mental health. I personally have had a lot of bad experiences with social media. For instance, I have had some minor bullying on social media, and it feels as if people are constantly analyzing and judging my social media accounts. I agree with you that social media and cellphone use should not be eliminated but it must be regulated. I believe that parents and teacher should also teach students how to use social media and cellphones responsibly.
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