Have you ever thought about how many hours you spend on social media a day?

Whether you spend a few minutes or hours scrolling through social media, there are negative and positive effects that can change how you view yourself and others. Those effects are elevated when you are navigating through school, making friends, and growing up.

Learning Targets

Throughout this lesson, we'll be reflecting and learning about those effects by addressing the following targets:

1.) Define social media.

2.) Identify aspects of social media that can affect a student.

3.) Discuss how administrators and parents can support students with social media.

What is social media?

Social media can be defined as, “various internet-based networks that enable users to interact with others, verbally and visually” (Keles, McCrae, & Grealish 2020). Popular apps today include: Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (Bannourah, 2019), Tik Tok and so many more.

Although there are hundreds of ways to connect and communicate with others on social media, common content today ranges from sharing about one’s personal life through pictures and videos, to creating dancing and singing videos for trends.

As a result of how normalized it is to use social media, Bannourah (2019) explains that the platforms have power beyond the name and logo and into the personal life of the user. Keles, McCrae and Grealish (2020) reference a study done by the Pew Research Center that claims 92% of teenagers use social media daily.

I decided to do a poll...

Because I have my own social media platforms, I decided what better way to hear out what my family, friends, or fellow classmates had to say about their own social media usage throughout their time in school than utilizing Instagram! If you follow through the slides, it will show you the questions I asked, how many people responded, and personal experiences they wanted to share.

DISCLAIMER: All participants were told that their responses (poll and written) would be used in my essay. They were given an option for me to share or keep it between us.

Social Media

So How Does Social Media Affect Students' School Experiences?

The ugly nature of social media becomes apparent when it becomes addictive, unrealistic, and personal. Here are some examples of the negative parts of social media:

It interrupts time management, which is crucial for students. (Bannourah, 2019)
Distracting of school work or activities.
Lacks representation of body types, culture and people of color.
Can encourage cyberbullying, which impedes on a students' motivation to be active socially in school.

On the other hand, Shafer (2018) claims that while there are negative effects of online media, the positivity persists. Here are examples of positive aspects of social media:

Opens another outlet for adolescents to express themselves, explore the culture and tradition around the world, and connect with others.
Many school clubs, sports and fundraisers have started to use social media to spread information about events and share accomplishments of the students.
Encourages creativity when incorporated in school activities.
Students are more likely to be excited/invested when social media is a part of an activity.

How can administrators and parents support students' use of social media?

School administrators and parents can help students understand and accept the pros and cons of social media by opening up discussion frequently (Ellis, 2021), validating the feelings students may face, and educating themselves on social media’s potential (Shafer, 2018).

Examples of Resources Schools/Students Can Participate In:

Holding informative assemblies about cyberbullying, body positivity, and representation of diversity in media.
Offering sessions for students who are struggling with negative aspects of social media consumption.
Classes regarding tips and advice for time management.

Most importantly, try not to cut off the access that students have to social media completely. It could result in harsh consequences on the child by not allowing them to make their own boundaries or explore aspects of themselves that they don’t want to share with their parents (Ellis, 2021).

Shafer (2018) claims that most teens already know the potential negative effects social media has based on experience or level of usage, therefore, it’s the school’s and parents' support that helps the most. It’s crucial that administrators and parents guide the students by validating their experiences and sharing how to cope with them properly (Shafer, 2018) through the listed examples above.

Reflection

What drew me to this topic specifically, was my own terrible experience with the mixture of high school and social media. I have hope that as role models and caretakers, we can provide proper guidance for struggling students, like I always wished someone would have done for me.

Social media is always changing, and while I do grant that there are harsh effects it can have, I believe the power of how students can positively use it is stronger (Shafer, 2018).

Rather than assuming that all teenagers’ lack of sleep and struggles with depression are directly connected to their use of social media, current and future administrators must implement multiple strategies to address and understand any kind of issue students face (Shafer, 2018).

Which of the following is NOT an example of a positive affect of social media?

A.) Schools can use social media to entice students' participation.

B.) Social media encourages creativity in school activities.

C.) Social media can be used to share students' accomplishments.

D.) Social media can be distracting from school work.

A student is having issues with body image because of a social media influencer they follow. How can an administrator resolve the situation?

A.) Tell the student to delete social media.

B.) Hold an assembly that invites students to embrace their bodies.

C.) Direct the student to the counselors office for a professional to talk to.

D.) Both B and C.

References

Bannourah, Y. (2019). The effects of social media and technology on college students. The Banner. https://commons.marymount.edu/tbanner/2019/02/05/the-effects-of-social-media-and-technology-on-college-students/

Birkenstein, C., & Graff, G. (2018). They say/I say: The moves that matter in academic writing. WW Norton & Company.

Ellis, N. (2021). How social media platforms impact kid and teen mental health. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/watch-live-how-social-media-platforms-impact-kid-and-teen-mental-health

Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79-93.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851

Shafer, L. (2018). The ups and downs of social media. Usable Knowledge. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/18/05/ups-and-downs-social-media

Question Answers:

Page updated

Report abuse