Educators are taking the lead on social media education
With most students having a social media account by the age of 12, there’s no doubt that social media plays a major role in the lives of teens. On one hand, it offers students a platform for connecting, sharing, and consuming content that aligns with their interests. On the other hand, the impact of social media on students’ mental health and overall well-being remains a topic at the forefront of educators’ minds.
Recently, educators are recognizing their role as frontline advocates for students and taking the initiative to address social media’s influence on students’ lives. By integrating discussions about social media into their classrooms and implementing programs to teach modern life skills, teachers around the country are equipping students to navigate the challenges associated with social media usage.
Let’s dive in and explore the recent efforts of educators in promoting student well-being in the context of social media, and how you can bring these initiatives back to your classroom next fall and beyond.
Recognizing the impact
Jennifer Rosenzweig, a 10th-grade teacher from Scarsdale High School in New York, raises awareness about the challenges students face when it comes to social media. Each year she has her class watch “The Social Dilemma,” a documentary that came out in 2020 about the challenges of social media. Rosenzweig emphasizes the importance of providing students with opportunities to discuss, think, and write about how social media affects their lives.
By recognizing the challenges that students face in an overstimulating and demanding digital world, teachers can equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate these challenges and use social media in ways that will fuel their health, happiness, and success.
How are some schools addressing the impacts of social media?
Recognizing the need to address the impacts of social media on student well-being, schools are taking proactive measures to support students and foster a healthy online environment for them. Here are some of the ways that schools are addressing the effects of social media on students:
1. Extending support to families:
To address the impact of social media, educators can collaborate with families to ensure the discussion doesn’t stop once students are out of the classroom. Offering workshops and keeping families up-to-date on the apps their children are using empowers the entire school community to be on the same page when it comes to social media and technology. Here at TSI, we offer valuable resources like our Family Huddles that help bridge the gap between school and home education and equip families to continue the important conversations surrounding social media and tech at home. By involving families, a cohesive approach can be created to address social media in school and at home.
2. Open Communication:
Encouraging open communication among students, families, and educators is vital to addressing the impact of social media. Creating a safe space allows individuals to openly share and address their concerns and experiences related to social media. Regular check-ins, parent-teacher meetings, and education sessions can foster a collaborative approach to addressing social media’s impact.
3. Social media and tech education:
Schools are integrating education into their curricula that address social media’s and tech’s impact on student well-being. At The Social Institute, we empower students to use their devices positively through our #WinAtSocial peer-to-peer technology. By covering topics like online reputation management and privacy protection, we lock arms with schools to help their students develop the modern-day life skills they will need to succeed in their tech-fueled and social media-filled futures.
TSI’s Take
Educators play a crucial role in addressing the impact of social media on students’ well-being. By integrating social media discussions in classrooms, we can equip students with the necessary soft skills for navigating their experiences, both online and offline, in positive and high-character ways.
Want to know what students really think about social media and how it directly affects their well-being? Hear from the students themselves! Download our 2023 Social Student Report to gain insights and real-life accounts from nearly 23,000 students nationwide.
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The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in understanding student experiences and creator of #WinAtSocial, a gamified, online learning platform that equips students, educators, and families to navigate social experiences — online and offline — in healthy ways. Our unique, student-respected approach incorporates topics like social media, technology use, and current events that have a significant impact on student well-being. Lessons teach life skills for the modern day to inspire high-character decisions that support the health, happiness, and future success of students, while capturing data that provides insights to school leaders to inform school policy and communications, and enable high-impact teaching and a healthy learning environment. For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities. For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities.