Weekly Reading #5

I grew up in an age with few technologies and no social media that I know of (I was pretty sheltered).  As social media first came on the scene, I was constantly hearing about young people who were "tricked" into giving personal information or "hacked" to the same result and was ultimately assaulted, kidnapped, or even killed by the strangers that befriended them.  These are things that I heard from all of the adults around me.  Many adults feared the Internet and the use of social media for our youth.  I have to say that I was one of them because of all of the horror stories that I heard.  I now know that the danger of meeting strangers online is not as frequent of an occurrence than I thought (pg. 91, p2), however, I think the majority of change in my beliefs comes primarily from getting familiar with some of the sites.   As I read the chapters, I did read some interesting facts that I had never thought about.

First, one survey suggests that social media helps develop less homogenous connections (p. 89, p 1).  I think that meeting others who have different interests and backgrounds are great.  It can lead to a more well-rounded individual and open doors that otherwise wouldn't have even been knocked on, especially if those that they meet are from different cultures and backgrounds than their own.   It gives them a different point of view.

Second, in the Making Friends section, I learned that, in general, there is a stigma associated with “meeting” friends online, and that many teens find it “weird” and label those people who do as “freaks” (pg. 91).  However, on the other hand, teens that are “marginalized” and/or “ostracized” often connect with strangers for the simple fact that they are strangers (pg.89-90, p4).  I can totally relate to this.  Social media allows them to search and find people with many of the same beliefs and/or interests and gain support when they need it and are (maybe) unable to get it from the people around them.

Finally, Melanie, explained that “Facebook makes it easier to talk to people at school that you may not see a lot or know very well” (pg. 89, p 3).  I never really thought about that, but it has actually happened to me.  My son ran track this past year and I met the parent of another runner and we spoke some and worked in the concession stand a couple of times.  I logged into my Facebook account one day to find that she had sent me a friend request.  Of course I confirmed her because I did not want to be rude, and we have become good friends.  It makes perfect sense that this would happen with our youth.  I imagine that knowing more people might help kids feel more like they fit in a little better.  It’s like being in a room of 100 with two friends, or being in that same room with twenty-five friends.  I think that most would choose the latter.

Overall, I think that the assigned chapters counter what many adults think about social media being destructive and frivolous.  There is a lot of good that can come out of our youth “hanging out” with their friends online.  One implication for learning in school is the developmental advantages.  Children come to school to learn academics, but also to learn how to socialize and act according to the norm.  Using social media forces them to make important choices about many different aspects of their lives and how to interact with others, whether it’s face-to-face or not.

Just an extra note:

I always have to have noise when I work on homework, so the television was on and the news started.  Oddly enough, the first story was about the FBI arresting a woman, who posed as a man on a social media network to elicit sexual relations with a minor.  WOW!  Ironic.