The use of technology is used as an escape for some students. A way to relax and have the pleasure to just scroll aimlessly while blocking out the thought of school. But what it does to our inner thoughts is not relaxing. I believe that social media is very damaging to our influence and upbringing, especially for our students. Social media might be platforms to bring people together, but I think it is used to draw people apart. In the documentary, Robert McCarthy stated that people "constantly want that validation and likes towards your dopamine" when posting on social media. It's a thrill that we all get, but in reality, is it truly providing our body with "dopamine"? Some of the things we post on social media are not even things we enjoy or who we really are McCarthy pointed out, it's just something we do to get attention. Yet there is such a power surge behind the screen. Cyberbullying is a source of a power surge over others because they can easily emotionally affect people. The power of leaving mean comments can linger with someone for a long time thus developing a sense of depression or anxiety. Students can easily fall into this category when scrolling through an Instagram feed. Drowning themselves in the false reality of social media is harmful to our teens. Depression comes into play with social media because a lot of the time we are viewing either hate comments, or things we wish we could have or be doing. People spend a lot of time on social media being jealous and lowering their self-esteem. Young teens are very impressionable and anything they see on social media can affect their mental health. The article, "The Scientific Debate Over Teens, Screens, and Mental Health" talks about the rise in suicide rates in females and states that "they have more access to information online-potentially harmful information about how to harm yourself". This all connects to the leading factor that social media is not a platform that truly spreads positivity and connections for all. People can easily leave hate comments on how to harm themselves making it easy for teens to act upon it. The use of social media just puts a distraction on students and their education. In reality, every student is going through something outside of school. Chances are they are using social media as a coping mechanizing or it is making the problem worse. These platforms engulf teens and make them self-conscious and depressed, thus leading to harmful acts upon themselves.
Even though I believe that social media is somewhat damaging to all, I do agree with the superintendent of Saint Mary's Area School, Brain Toth stating "it's better to keep cellphones in school and help train students how to use them responsibly, rather than just banning their use" (Schools Say No to Cellphones in Class. But is it a Smart Move?). By keeping cell phones in the hands of students during the school day can leave a valuable and responsible lesson. Students need to learn that there is a time and place to be on their phones. By learning to keep your phone off in class while learning will help students regulate a sense of balance between school and social media. It can also teach them that when they are in school and learning, they are to be paying attention and not distracted on their phones. It is the teen's responsibility to know the difference of when they can or can not be on their phones, thus teaching them limitations with their devices. It is important that we educate our students on phone edict and social media because everyone is doing it. As future teachers, it is our job to warn our students about the scares and truth of social media. That there are bad people in this world that will leave hate comments. Or that some pictures are unrealistic and it is all photoshop. Educating our students on social media edict is extremely important for their own mental health. Educating our students on sexting is another important topic we must expose our students to (at the right age level). Once students enter high school or maybe even middle school, talking to them about the dangers of sexing is important. Sexing can affect our students in many ways. One example that was discussed in the article AASA The School Superintendents Association: Sexing, talks about how a "girl committed suicide after photos she sent to a boyfriend were sent to hundreds of people. The girl received harassing messages through her MySpace, Facebook accounts, and in person." Using real examples like these can put fear in students to not sext and use social media properly.
I believe that as a future educator I need to teach my students about the harsh reality of social media. Yes, it might be a relaxing and harmless thing to do by scrolling through feed, but educating students on potential situations on social media is important. Educating students that what they see online might not be true. For students to idolize models is unrealistic because a majority of them are photoshopped. Teaching our students to ignore hate comments and be the bigger person is another important aspect. My personal opinion is that students should just be educated on different scenarios on social media situations. That way if they do encounter one, they are prepared in what to do and who to talk to. I also think it's important to teach our students to lessen their screen time. Spending hours on end on social media will eventually cause teens to feel depressed. So it is important as future educators, we take the time to teach our students social media edict and the harsh reality of using it.
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.
Helen. (2019, August 19th). The Curse of Social Media-How Social Media Causes Depression and Anxiety. Link
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