Discussions of social media use amongst teens and phone use in the classroom have come up in each one of my classes so far. Jesse Miller provided us with some view on the subject that have largely differed from the perspectives shared by most of my professors and peers up to this point.
Jesse Miller provided an alternative viewpoint, generally insinuating that the perceived dangers of social media may be overstated and identifies an important role for phones to play in the classroom.
Jesse and his ideas can be found on Twitter or on the Mediated Reality website.
I thought I’d share a reading from my EDCI 773 class on these topics (you can access it here: This Is Our Chance to Pull Teenagers Out of the Smartphone Trap)
In this article, the authors view these next school years as an opportunity to radically change students’ phone and social media use. They argue two steps are most needed to initiate this transition: a) ensuring that students are unable to access their phones at school and b) delaying the use of social media until at least the age of 13.
I agree that ideally students would be able to focus solely on those they are physically with, both teachers and classmates. I personally believe that it is crucial for students’ social development, especially considering the past pandemic years, that they have opportunities to interact with their peers in meaningful ways outside of an online context. However, I do not think the authors have provided enough consideration into the logistical limitations of their solution of “lock[ing] up” phones at school.
At this point in time, I learn more towards the opinion of the NYT authors as opposed to what I’ve heard from Jesse; however, I would be very interested in hearing more of what he has to say, as it is difficult to get a full picture of anyone’s thoughts on a topic as expansive as this in the short time we had together. Social media and phones are not going away, and to pretend otherwise is of no service to anyone. Overall, I think this is a topic on which I want to keep an open mind and want to continue to revisit. I have not decided what approach to phones I would tae in my classroom, and I anticipate it is something I will decide through trial and error and by assessing a variety of tactics (thus the importance of an open mind!). I also anticipate that I will modify my approach depending on the specific student in the room. It is difficult to know the right answer to this problem, but I do now that there is not one answer that will work for all students (or teachers) in all situations.