Hi everyone! This week’s post will cover social media and cell phone use, as well as the issues caused by changing technology in schools. Last week’s post was supposed to be about drugs and how they affect students and districts. My post was on screen time because screens and phones are just as addicting as drugs. The first few minutes of the documentary “Plugged-in: The True Toxicity of Social Media Revealed” describes how social media connects with your brain using the “dopamine reward system”. Dopamine is a feel good neurotransmitter, it plays a large role in addictions. When someone does cocaine they get a “fast increase of dopamine in their brain”(Cristol, H.). The same thing happens when people use social media. People start to crave the dopamine which inturn makes them do the action that supplies it, this is the dopamine reward system.
Personally, the only good thing that all of the new technology has brought for me is that I no longer have to rely on teachers/professors reading my terrible handwriting. I am basically technologically illiterate, being 21 I am too old to have been just raised with iphones and all that, but too young to not understand how it all works without being judged. I was raised to not post anything on social media as you never know what choices when you were a teenager will come back to bite you when you're an adult looking for a real job. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and did not want to do anything to jeopardize that. This habit has also helped me as a coach, it is completely inappropriate for the 8 year old girls to be knowing what I am doing on a friday night. Those girls are much better at the social media and stuff then I am.
As far as the classroom goes there are a few things I am very grateful for. If it wasn’t for calculators and online calculators such as Wolfram Alpha, I would probably still be in high school. I think as educators we should teach our students about the tools technology has to offer, as well as the dangers it may pose. A big problem in my high school was girls sending naked pictures of themselves to guys, then those guys saving them and sending them to their friends. The problem is well a) everyone was under the age of 18 so it was child pornography, and b) those girls pictures were just out there with no like control anyone could save them and send them out. We had assemblies and meetings on the dangers of sexting and sending pictures only after it was too late for some people. I really believe it is our job as educators to ensure our students know how important it is to be safe online. I feel that technology should be used in the classroom in very specific ways, calculators are great but students should still have to read physical books. Cell phones are cool and allow people to connect with each other but in school students should be connecting with each other face to face not screen to screen.
References
Cristol, H. (2019, June 19). What Is Dopamine? WebMD; WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dopamine
Sexting. (n.d.). The School Superintendents Association (AASA). Link
Klein, A. (2019, September 6). Schools say no to cell phones. But is it a smart move? Education Week. Link
Kamenetz, A. (2019, August 27). NPR's The Scientific Debate over Teens, Screens, and Mental Health. National Public Radio. Link
Willett, R. (Director). (2019). Plugged-In: The Toxicity of Social Media Revealed. [YouTube Video]. Brick in the Wall Media.
Hi Emma,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post on social media and agree with many of your viewpoints. We are the same age and I also am not that in to social media because growing up I was taught to be very careful about what you put out about yourself. There are dangerous people who utilize the internet looking to hurt others and our digital footprints can significantly impact our futures. I find it very crazy that some of the children I babysit who are ages eight and under are constantly on devices and social media platforms. Personally, I believe this is too young and supervision should be taken seriously if a child is on the internet or social media platform. Similarly to when we discussed mental health issues, it is important that we make ourselves trusted adults that our students can confide in. You discussed the scary issue of sexting amongst students and it is important that our students confide in us to help prevent these things from happening or worsening. It is our job to teach them the dangers of the internet and social media. Also, I believe the positives that come from technology can be used in the classroom as educational tools. However, I agree that it is still important to utilize physical books and other things. Overall, great post!