Instagram (Student Examples)
Potential Uses (How do you use it now or how might you use it in the future?)
I use Instagram personally and professionally. Like Pinterest, there are a ton of teaching ideas, resources, etc. on Instagram. I find information about current events from many perspectives. I can connect with educators from around the world. Personally, I use it to connect with friends, follow public figures I care about, and post photos of my adorable dog.
User interface (UI) Reflection
The design is simple and clean. The colors of the app itself are warm, but also contrast against a really plain background. Most photos and videos stand out against the app’s interface. The notifications draw you into the check it. I have to double tap to “like” something, and that makes me either pause and look at a photo, or go into automatic mode and like the photos of friends whether I interacted with them or not. I need to click to hear sound on videos. The design as a whole prompts me to interact endlessly with the content.
User Experience (UX) Reflection
The infinite scroll and the simple design make it easy to spend a long time interacting with content on Instagram. If I’m not on it with a goal- to find information about an event, for example- it’s easy to spend a lot of time on it, and I honestly feel bored after a while, yet still motivated to continue to use it. I’ve known how I feel using Social Media, but thinking about the design made me reconsider why and when I use it.
Digital Wellness Considerations
Instagram doesn’t necessarily foster a great relationship with technology for me. The infinite scroll feature makes it difficult to put my phone down, and after a long day on the screen working on homework, it isn’t necessarily the healthiest choice. Some relationships that are important to me, however, I maintain through Social Media because of social distancing. To maintain a healthy relationship, I’m setting a goal of using Instagram less and for supporting healthy relationships. I’ll check Screen Time on my phone and set a reasonable goal for myself.
Thoughts on Accessibility (more to come on this topic next week)
It is free to individuals with a tablet or phone who create an account. It is offered in multiple languages and is very visual. Alternative text features are available, but not every photo or video has a description, Alt text, or captions.
Applications to Practice: How might being aware of design (UI & UX) and wellness considerations benefit you as a future teacher?
Thinking about the way that technology impacts well-being is something that you can only teach to children if you understand it yourself. Being mindful of how apps are designed can help you avoid endless scrolling or other functions that you don’t enjoy. It also can help you identify why certain apps or websites are helpful to you. As a teacher, this will be a huge benefit because I can both take care of my own digital well-being and teach my students how to foster a healthy relationship with technology from a very young age.