I joined a #whatisschool Education Twitter chat on 9/12/19 that was inspiring and refreshing and titled: Growing a Peaceful School. (Below is the screenshot of the series on PEACE.)
Rather than focusing on these unpeaceful times in our cities, communities, and schools, this group chatted about clarifying our definitions for what we are aiming for in seeking peace in our schools and what are helpful and workable ideas for change. Interestingly, the participants were from everywhere: Northern Colorado (co-host @ShiftParadigm), North Carolina (co-host @deem_ellen), Greater Boston Area, Alberta Canada, Los Angeles, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and even Ireland and Jakarta! The discussion was well organized and my use of TweetDeck was helpful as well. Below is a screenshot of the questions that were discussed (and it was great that these were available in advance of the meeting).
There was a range of ideas shared for peace in our schools:
Practical: “quiet halls, lectures limited, ability to move around”;
Psychological: “3 keys to a peaceful school for teaching & learning: 1) Teachers are encouraged to bring their whole selves into their work. 2) Research about anxiety is considered when thinking about classwork & homework. 3) Mindfulness is practiced by faculty and students”;
Inspirational (see screenshots below – which were presented as posters):
Kindness and
Respect were key themes. And each of the ideas was emphasized as important practices
for all roles: teachers, students, parents, staff – from janitors to
principals.
It was a
great experience and made me realize that Twitter chats can be avenues for hope
and encouragement for those of us in the field of education.
So one of my assignments this week, was to attend an
Educational Tweetchat. As I reviewed the list of chats, they were almost all
geared towards K-12th grade teachers. Being an instructional designer in
corporate America for the past 20+ years, I had a difficult time choosing what
might be applicable to me and had some doubts about the assignment.
The assignment, briefly, was to participate in a Tweetchat
and blog about the experience. So I found a “Weekly Learning and Teaching in
Higher Education” chat that said it was geared towards both teachers and
students. As a student getting my Masters in adult learning and education, I thought
this might be the one for me.
The first thing that struck me was that most of the participants were from the U.K. and a few shared photos of their cats. That in itself felt so cool to me: not only was I connecting with teachers from the UK, but they were sharing their pets. A personal touch is not a bad thing. I soon found that the questions, however, were a bit out of my area of expertise. For example, one question posed was “What advice might you give to someone considering presenting or publishing pedagogic research?” To be perfectly frank, I had to look up pedagogy. (This is only my second semester, after all.)
After the 3rd question, I realized I was not
going to add to this conversation, but instead listen quietly and try to learn
as much as I could. As the other participants spoke about the importance of sharing
your findings through publishing and presenting, I realized that this is the
whole point of Tweetchat: learning from each other and sharing what you know so
that you don’t have to duplicate efforts.
Collaboration became a huge theme of the chat. Even though at first this chat seemed a bit beyond my understanding and experience, I learned a few important points. First, collaboration is a necessity, as I saw just from the Tweetchat alone. It still is an amazing concept to me, having previously not known these scheduled chats even existed. Now I realize that I can search for chats that are more specific to instructional design and my professional endeavors in order to enhance my skills and broaden my knowledge, and I plan to do so.
Another theme that also arose over and over again was blogging. If publishing is too difficult, too expensive, too time-consuming, just blog! So here I am, doing exactly what was suggested. I had no idea when I began this assignment that the assignment itself would give credence to me blogging about it.
Bill Hudson’s searing images of the civil rights era documented police brutality and galvanized the public. Credit Bill Hudson/Associated Press
This photo is one of a select few that have been credited with the growth of support of the Civil Rights movement. This photo had to be taken by a photographer, then picked up by a newspaper, then it had to be picked up by the national news, to be seen by many to spark outrage. That is a lot of layers of people deciding whether or not to run this picture. There is a good chance that no one ever sees this picture and that the Civil Rights movement struggles to gain traction.
Thankfully that was not the case; however, how many other social movements lost support, or shriveled and died because one picture, or one story was not shared by the traditional media? Social media has changed that.
In their paper, “Why Civil Resistents Works” Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan estimate that a social movement needs the support of about 3.5% of the total population in order to be effective. Examples of this can be found in the People Power Revolution in the Philippines and the Rose Revolution in Georgia. These protests sparked change with little to no help of social media, but they were difficult to organize and it took a long time for the change to happen.
This brings us to Hong Kong. It is a city that I absolutely love. I have been there on a few occasions and hope to live in someday. Here is a picture I took from Victoria Peak.
This city is unique in that it has a system of its own operating in another country. It is “one country, two systems” as both the Chinese and Hong Kong people call it. Hong Kong does not operate behind the Great Firewall of China. One can go onto social media when in Hong Kong, but cannot access the same websites while in mainland China. There was a bill recently introduced that allowed for people in Hong Kong to be taken and prosecuted in mainland China without due process. The idea of due process is a right that Hong Kong citizens enjoy that their fellow countrymen on the mainland do not. This sparked massive protest.
These protests have gain momentum because of social media.
Pitcures like these have shown up on social media, helping to gain, not only more support within Hong Kong, but all over the world.
Activists in Hong Kong protest against an extradition bill on June 16. Studio IncendoNew York Times
There certainly is a dark side of social media; however, there are good uses for it. One of which is to get to that 3.5% support for social change. No longer do stories and pictures have to pass through multiple layers to be seen, but instead, anyone with a phone can become an agent for social change. The use of social media may become what traditional media was once known as, and that is the 4th branch of government. A way for people to hold those in power accountable.
I have taken a lot of time this week trying to figure out just what to write. I agree with all of the reponses people listed in Dr. Dunlap’s blog, Five Problems with Social Media. I also think I have come across all these problems with either myself or people I am close to. One of my best friends is completely addicted to social media. But I also have another who is completely addicted to Netflix.
What I think Paul Miller found during his year of the internet, is that the internet is not to be blamed for everything. I think that is also true for social media. When the age of the internet started in the 90’s, it’s true that everything started changing and changing at an exponential rate. Growing up with no internet, then easy access to the internet at home and then having basically 24/7 access with the advent of the smartphone has changed people’s lives. But when I think back, we all had things we were addicted to before the internet and social media came. The addictions have changed, it may have even made us a more addictive society, but the basic habits are nothing new.
The one thing I think social media has contributed more to anything else is the level of bullying that occurs. Bullying has a perception of being a school age thing with words and fistfights. But adults bully more often and harsher than any teenager I have seen, especially online through cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is using texts, photos, videos or any other electronic communication to make someone feel angry, sad, embarrassed,etc.
Many people don’t realize they are initiating or participating in cyberbullying when it happens because they don’t see the victim and their virtual friends validate their thoughts, comments and viewpoints. People at a base level are reactionary, but online, this has become even more so. Since you are just putting words out there, they don’t take a beat and think before talking. Instead, whatever is in their head, comes out and it is too easy to hit post. There is also no one talking back saying “wait, let’s look at this another way.”
Cyberbullying reminds me of rioting. You may be at a peaceful march, but then people start shouting, others jump in, and now you have a riot. I like how Molly Edmunds explained this in her article, “How Riots Work.” She explains “They lose their individual values and principles and adopt the group’s principles, which, during a riot, are usually to cause destruction and avoid detection… Being in the midst of a mob can be exciting and powerful, and it can make people feel invisible — they are part of a huge group, and they won’t be detected or held responsible for their actions.”
Riot mentality has been around forever. It’s just much fast with the internet. I think a lot of the problems in social media are around this idea of instant, fast communication. Online communities can be just as valuable as in person communities, they just do not contain the filters you have in a group of people. I think we need to start putting our own filters on ourselves and realize virtual consequences are just as real as in person consequences.
These statements are true to some extent. However, I also
think that these issues have been going on for much longer than the internet
and that our online life just exacerbates our natural tendency to “fit-in” or
compare ourselves to others. Before Instagram models, there were fashion
magazines. Way before the phone, people avoided social interaction with the
newspaper.
Miller brings up a good point when he says that we are in
control of our lives and we can decide how we want to use our tools. He
mentions how his parents use the internet in a much more efficient and productive
way, participating but not letting it consume their days. Yes, there is an addictive
quality to the internet. It provides constant stimulus and relief from boredom.
However, if you are unable to balance your consumption, your social-emotional
health begins to decline. Miller mentions several times that he had way better
conversations with people when he was off the internet. He was able to focus
fully on them and not have the internet in the back of his mind. He also says
that he missed out on a lot of social occasions with friends and family. Balance.
Balance is the lesson I have learned about social media use. Share
those special moments with the world, but don’t miss out on them by being glued
to your rectangle. Use apps such as “Time Out” that warn you when you have
reached your daily limit of internet surfing. Avoid following people that are
putting forth an unrealistic profile of their lives. Follow people who have an
inspirational message and are genuine. It is our tool and we can choose how to
control it.
When I was in my second year of college I decide to delete my profile on Facebook, I stopped using social media for a year. It was an interesting experience mainly because it was not a relief, but a stress’er. In college the best way to get ahold of people and make plans was through facebook, it was how I was invited to parties and new about events going on around me.
We are constantly inundated with information from social media and the internet, but we have also relied on it more than when we were younger. This could be seen as a problem, in the way that we were never taunt how to balance, our parents did not have the same issues as us because of how technology has developed in the last several decades.
As a high school teacher, I see many of my students tied to their phones, it is almost an essential way to connect with their peers and to the world around them. But I have to wonder if this is creating more issues, several studies have show a connection with increased rates of depression and phone use. This is especially prevalent in teenagers. What the teachers of today need to do is not a simple task, we have to change how we teach and teach something that we have not mastered and that is a balance. The balance of our constantly global connected online presence and the physical reality of the world that surrounds us everyday.
I am not advocating to disconnect from social media, but instead learning how to be able to put it down and enjoy the world outside the LCD monitors of our phones and computers. To be able to take time away, to lean how too let go of the snapchat streaks and our instant reply mentalities, so that we can find a balance.
This is not a teetotaler response, rather it is closer to teaching internet users to “drink responsibly.”
Within the “problems with social media” shared in the 30-Day Writing Challenge on Facebook, there were a variety of what one might call truths and others that could be categorized more as exaggerations. Take, for example, that the internet “destroys relationships.” I would counter that it might have just as much potential to build them up. In fact, social media might be where you find those relationships in the first place.
To Paul Miller, reflecting back on his year offline in his article in The Verge [May 1, 2013), I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet, the have or have not of the internet became a relational issue, and that it still is. The internet is simultaneously the hero and the villain. Paul felt a degree of freedom without his “Twitter interactions”; although I wonder what he really means by “interactions.” Scrolling through tweet after tweet, hashtag after hashtag, can be overwhelming, overstimulating, mind-blowing (in a not-so-good way). On the other hand, having a Twitter Chat with close friends and followers can be rejuvenating, connecting, even community-building. Hopefully Paul’s return to Twitter a year later was with a more relational and conversational perspective, rather than as “passive consumption,” as he described his downfall into people-less pastimes.
On a potentially important sidenote, as Paul’s internet-less year continued, it was quite telling when he confessed how he began spending his time on “offline vices.” It is well documented that a main cause of isolation in young people (or older people, for that matter), is video game “use”; and my reference to addictive behavior, as in “drug use,” is intentional. Video games need not be on the internet to be distracting, all-consuming, and isolating. In addition, Paul referenced his switch from paper book reading to audio book listening. Certainly book reading is considered positive brain ‘exercise’; but I haven’t heard that book listening provides the same benefits. Furthermore, multi-tasking these activities can be downright exhausting – even when done on the couch. How ironic. It might very well be that Paul’s choices of offline vices were just as detrimental to his relationships as his online ones.
The good and evil debate about the internet continues. It reduces our in-person engagement, the see-hear-feel of human connection. Yet it also allows for networking that could otherwise never take place – across thousands of miles and time zones. For example, FaceTime includes real live tone and expression that the snail mail written word could never provide. My family members are more connected than they have ever been; with dozens of communications a day, rather than a phone call every week…or month.
And in this battle against the internet, I wonder if there aren’t those who are fighting a fight that they can’t win, when they could be victorious if they were to change their perspective on what the fight really is. “Get people off the internet!”, they cry, restrict their phone time, remove that SnapChat app. But let’s rethink this. As Paul put it, the internet is where the people are, where they can be connected. The internet natives are “people who need people” and social media is a place they can find them.
So possibly the role to have is not one of mighty wrestler against the internet enemy, but rather of active mentor, guide, and social media navigator. This is not a teetotaler response, rather it is closer to teaching internet users how to “drink responsibly.” Possibly the conversation to have is about who the online connections are with, and what are the conversations they are having? Maybe a more effective discussion would be about how to branch out beyond snaps of what was served for breakfast (although there is something fun and whimsical about this too). Let’s explore together how we can pose (or post) a question, or make a thoughtful statement, that might just result in an answer with some content – with some heart. No, not every time… but sometimes. Let’s see if we can have a real conversational exchange once or twice a day – it need not be lengthy – although by definition a conversation seems to imply some actual content. On the other hand, what is real content? Let’s have that conversation. I welcome your thoughts.
Last week I wrote about the mental health issues related to social media. This week, let’s pull that critical lens back a little further to evaluate five additional problems with social media.
Problem #1: Social Media Is Addictive
Most social networks and their content creators are fighting for your attention. After all, why – with all the other things you could be doing online – should you pay attention to them?
To ensure that not only will you visit once, but you’ll visit again and again (and again), social media platforms and posters have every incentive to be as addictive as possible.
And they’re getting better at it. Social media addition has become prevalent enough to spark some serious discussion in the mental health field, as well as in the field of ethics.
Learn the basic stats of social media addiction here.
Check if you have any symptoms of social media addiction here.
Problem #2: Social Media Kills Productivity
This shouldn’t be a surprise given the addictive nature of social media, but turns out it’s difficult to focus – let alone get into one of those highly productive “flow” states – when you are only a ping or click away from social media.
What you intend to be a quick check on that notification that just popped up on your phone can turn into a massive time sink. That one thing leads to another ad infinitum (see: addictive nature of social media) in something I’ve heard referred to rather aptly as “going down the rabbit hole.”
Learn more about the effect of social media on workplace productivity here.
Problem #3: Social Media Enables the Spread of Misinformation
To quote that line frequently misattributed to Winston Churchill: “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.”
Misinformation spread by social media takes many forms. It could be benign, in which someone misquotes or misremembers something (like the falsely attributed Churchill quote). It could also be an intentional falsehood: catfishing, posing as someone else, lying to further yourself or a political cause, even propaganda.
For the vast majority of social media platforms, there is no fact-checking, no editorial staff ensuring that the information being spread is true.
To make matters worse, we are more likely to share information that we have an emotional gut-reaction to – which also happens to be information more likely to be false. This knee-jerk proclivity for sharing is something that attention-seekers and propagandists are happy to exploit.
Read about why social media is so good at spreading accidental and intentional misinformation and biases here.
Problem #4: Social Media Encourages Extremism and Echo Chambers
Analysts have demonstrated time and again that social media is more likely to encourage extremism and echo chambers where the only opinions we hear are the same as our own.
There are a number of reasons for this. Social media users tend to engage with like-minded users, which leads to framing your ideas for a specific audience of like-minded peers, and exacerbates in-group/out-group thinking. In certain cases, this culminates in stoking fears about out-groups and posting increasingly extreme content as that’s what gets the most attention.
Social media platforms also contribute to this by showing only cultivated content that aligns with your likes, as opposed to content that challenges your views. (This one-sided-ness is part of why I find my Facebook feed and YouTube recommendations so predictable and boring, I think.)
Read about how social media builds extremist divisions here.
Problem #5: Social Media Contributes to “Mean World Syndrome”
Mean World Syndrome is a concept originated by George Gerbner in the 1970s to describe how mass media’s content tends to make viewers believe that the world is much more dangerous than it actually is.
While Gerbner was originally focused on television’s impact on society, Mean World Syndrome has been argued to apply to many other mass media technologies, including social media.
When you log onto Facebook or Twitter and scroll through a list of grievances, horrors, tearjerkers, and nastiness, the feelings you come away with are fear, hopelessness, anger, and jaded cynicism about humanity. That is Mean World Syndrome.
Learn more about what Mean World Syndrome is and how it manifests in television and social media here.
Read about ways to combat Mean World Syndrome thoughts and perceptions here.
Have you experienced any of these problems with social media yourself? Share your thoughts below.
Social media can be a double-edged sword. They have
advantages and disadvantages and the key to a healthy social media life is
empathy, self-control, and moderation.
I think Paul Miller would say that it is not social media’s fault, but of how we use them and what our intentions are. When he disconnected, he thought his problems would end; he would modify his habits and be a productive member of society. However, this was not the result he obtained. He continued procrastinating, wasting his time and alienating himself even more from his friends and family. His conclusion: social media is not the problem. What happens in social media is only a reflection of who we are individually and collectively.
Also this week, in another class, we were reading about
empathy. The concept of empathy is a bit problematic to define. It takes a
little imagination and willingness to be empathetic and “put yourself in
someone else’s shoes” or better yet, “become the other” to
understand him/her. Although we read about empathy under the “Design Thinking”
framework, I believe that for our holistic development it must also relate to
our overall psyche and lifestyle.
Empathy leads us to make decisions with others in mind. Many of the problems that social
media have generated are due to self-centeredness and lack of empathy.
Source: Six Habits of Highly Empathic People, By Roman Krznaric on Friday September 9th, 2016
How do you solve some of the problems generated by social
media with empathy?
Problem One: Shaming, defamation, cyberbullying.
Before insulting and acting cruelly against someone with
whom we disagree or who has offended us, one must act with caution. What
consequences can a violent reaction bring to me and the other person? It is
better to respond than to react. Reacting is an impulsive act; Responding
requires thinking before acting.
Problem Two: Wasting time and being unproductive.
Instead of numbing the brain scrolling down forever through
Facebook or Instagram, you can take advantage of time with others. Have a
conversation with your partner, a friend or your mom. Take advantage of leisure
time to be productive: bake a cake for your family, play with your children,
volunteer at an NGO. Do something that helps others.
Problem Three: Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).
Be happy for the success of others. Envy produces nothing positive;
it hurts you and your relationship with others. Rejoice because others are
having great experiences and sharing them with you.
Problem Four: Privacy issues.
You don’t need to share every idea, thought, emotion in the
cyberspace. As the saying goes: We are
masters of our thoughts and slave to our words. There is no need to
oversharing, especially when you can affect or offend others for your opinions.
In conclusion, I think the biggest lessons are first, to be
empathic with others when it comes to social networks and other public forums
and, second, to think before posting. Life is too short to not live in harmony
with oneself and those around us, even in the cyberspace.
Social media is rampant in our society now and the average adult spends anywhere from 1-3 hours per day on social media platforms. Is this addiction or daily need for social media more impactful than we realize?
Issue #1: CYBERBULLYING
The first issue, and the most obvious to me is the amount of cyberbullying that occurs due to social media. Social media allows us to fully be ourselves but in turn it allows us to act without consequence or fear of true rebuttal. The amount of suicide and depression has steadily been increasing year by year and psychologists are suggesting cyberbullying may be the culprit.
ISSUE #2: WASTING TIME
Social media is excellent at getting our brains a break during the work day, but it is very easy to over use these breaks to the point where you are spending hours at a time on your smart devices taking meanless quizzes that attempt to guess your age based on your breakfast food choices. Websites such as Buzzfeed and Reddit can have you falling down the “Reddit Hole” and a five minute media break will quickly turn into a long sustained break as you read random news that have little to nothing productive about them.
ISSUE #3: ATTENTION SPAN
Having these quick posts to keep us entertained while waiting in line at the movies is great! But as all things, everything needs to be in moderation. The ability to have something engaging us in the palm of our hands has reduced our attention span. We are quick to move on from a post or article and often have the TLDR (too long didn’t read) mentality. This leads to a decrease in reading and literacy as it affects our younger generations.
ISSUE #4: JEALOUSY
Social media is great at sharing our experiences and letting everyone know what you are doing and how well you are doing. This is great for being able to keep tabs on friends and family, but unfortunately this often leads to jealousy if you feel they are having a better time than you. We all know that in social media, you put your best side on display which can make it appear as though you have it all together with no concerns. HA! No one has it all together.. The world is hard for each and everyone of us but we don’t show this side to our social media.
ISSUE#5: INABILITY TO SEE LIFE
Pics or it didn’t happen right? We have been trained to film, record, and write about everything that happens in our day that might be noteworthy. Sure this may be great to be able to look back and recount memories from a later date; however, we are so concerned about getting that “shot” that we miss the feeling of being fully engrossed in the present. The urge to capture everything pulls us away from our natural presence and our “in the moment” chances to truly experience life raw. So do yourself a favor and leave your camera home during your next trip out and see what small things you notice that you may not have before.
