The Fear and Potential with Social Media

Social media is an important part of our society, functioning as almost universal communication between any and everyone. Social media has helped new ideas and developments spread like wildfire, and any voice can be heard. This great tool is often feared by many parents and teachers, because they fear that their children and students will misuse social media resulting in negative consequences.

In fairness, misuse of social media is common among many children, and can have negative effects on their futures. Like all things, kids need to learn how to use social media correctly if they are expected to use it in a positive way. Not everyone can just pick up a book and know how to read, there needs to be teaching if social media is to be used in both a private and academic setting.

Administrators and teachers at my school are still trying to find social media's place in the classroom. One thing that is acknowledged about social media is that students need to know how to use it without getting themselves in trouble. This is a very important part of getting students involved with social media. Teaching the dos and do nots are incredible helpful in creating positive use of social media. Even with all this advice and guidelines, social media has huge potential that isn't tapped into by many schools. Social media can be a students voice to the world, a place to share their opinions and ideas. In Language Arts, a very important idea is developing your writers voice. Social media is similar in the sense that people have a voice, and something to say. If students take the writers voice one step forward and share it with the world via social media, then they are leaving their mark.

Now, the term social media pertains to a lot more than Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Social media is any website or app that allows people to communicate and connect. So websites like YouTube and Blogger are technically social media. Each website has its own uses and advantages. It would probably be better to share a three page paper on blogger compared to tweeting two lines at a time. If social media is to be used in the classroom, students will need to be educated on social media. Once this hurdle is crossed however, there is little resistance. When social media is used to display projects, students will take the time and effort to make sure their project is something they would want to show the world. I know personally that if I had to post a project on social media, I would want to make my project as good as possible. I also find it easier to see a clear purpose when writing one social media. I know that not all students are like me but I do know many students that would agree with me on this.

I would like to know what everyone reading my blog thinks about social media in the classroom. Comment down below and I will try to respond to as much as possible.