Silencing the Social in Social Media

("Quitting Social Media" happenings.Ipn.in)

Over the last two days I have tried very hard to not use social media and to shut it out of my life—completely disconnecting—and it was practically impossible. Not only could I not see things posted that other friends were talking about through text messages, but I had to hear about things much later than I otherwise would have. I’ll be completely transparent here… I didn’t make it through a full 24 hours, which made me realize how deeply entrenched I am in the world of social media and its prevalence on each of my devices. My failure at the social media shutoff got me thinking about those I know that do not use any social media. Surprisingly…. Not my grandparents! My brother. Therefore, I asked him several questions about why he chooses to not use social media.

Why do you not use social media? Do you feel a social media shut off has benefitted you and why? How do you connect with others online, or keep in touch with those in certain networks? Is there anything specific that you do use?

By shutting off social media, I have regained the lost art of interpersonal communication. That’s my secret! I was spending the bulk of my day hunched over my device viewing life’s experiences through other people’s lenses. I value my privacy all too much to post my life for the world to see. Social media makes life’s moments seem artificial… idk living a life without social media works for me, and I speak on my behalf only. I understand pro-social media advocates’ perspective(s), I was one for a long time. To each their own.

(Chase Elder, personal interview, 2018)

While I found the task of shutting social media off a challenging one, my brother finds it an easy one. I appreciated what he had to say about viewing life’s pleasures through the lens of others, rather than living and experiencing life through our own… sparking the connection to when I go to concerts and find that more and more people are recording the concert(s) through their phone cameras connected to social media, rather than actually experiencing and appreciating the moment for what it is. I would agree that social media does have its benefits, but it is also important to live without constantly trying to represent a moment in a solitary image, but rather, letting it live on its own as a fond memory or passing fancy. I, personally, love being able to simultaneously share in the lives of everyone I know and have known, but can see how privacy goes a long way when you do not want people to know everything about you and what is currently going on in your life.

Social Media, New Ideas, and Moving Forward

(novarecoverycenter.com)

I still believe social media is an excellent tool for learning and should be utilized to a certain extent in every classroom—that limit being students must also be dedicated and committed stake-holders in class discussion, which means just as much face-to-face interaction. It has been so nice having technology resources in the classroom because students are more excited, engaged, and willing to contribute, no matter their ability level.

While I do not have any children of my own, I do feel that by reading my classmates posts and other articles for parents and children safety online, I would offer this advice: don’t try to over-control. Our kids need their friends and sometimes for those who feel alone, can find others like themselves online to talk to, find support, and confide in. The important part is allowing them to forge their own way in a manner that is ethical, safe, and will not negatively represent them in any way. Eventually, when I have kids, I want to do as Jennifer Smith suggests, “Children who are taught early on how to digest and use social media in a healthy way are children who can be more likely to use it responsibly in the future.” By educating your children and taking the time to show them both the positive and negative elements of the internet, the more likely they are to be open about sharing with you, and possibly, letting you share and partake in their online network(s).

It definitely depends on what age my students are, acknowledging my experience both at the secondary and primary levels, because when students are middle-school ages and above, then they are cognitively more capable to think critically about the content they are consuming. The process of using technology with children in the lower age ranges need a lot of more handholding when exposing them to new software and learning applications, but also nuancing that learning with something non tech-related… For example, my school teaches kids coding at very early ages (starting in 1^st grade), so there is a lesson where they cut out arrows and symbols to demonstrate the direction they would have to travel in order to get to a desired object, which helped them conceptualize the way the little BeeBot robots would move based on the “code” they build for it. 

We have very useful tools available to us in the tech world, but we cannot lose touch with the real world. As the famous Spiderman quote goes... "with great power, comes great responsibility," so we must work to become responsible digital citizens, ourselves, and work tirelessly to inspire future generations to use tech in a responsible way as well.