Responses to the Meta outage and new TikTok bill highlight the importance of empowering students to strike a balance
Be sure to check out the suggested Huddle question at the bottom of this article to discuss this important topic with your students in class, if you feel it is appropriate.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, experienced an unexpected social media outage on March 5th that captivated global attention. Platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Messenger, stopped working for a little more than two hours, leaving users momentarily disconnected from their online communities.
That same week, it was also announced that a bill that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban is gaining momentum in the United States.
With 51% of students ages 13-19 spending at least 4 hours on social media daily, these events came as a shock and concern to many students. The recent Meta outage and potential TikTok ban underscore the significant impact of social media on students’ daily lives. It’s a reminder that social platforms are more than just entertainment hubs; they’re essential tools for connection, storytelling, exploring new ideas, and even making money (if you’re a content creator).
While social media can be a powerful tool, the response to the outage and the new bill is a reminder of the importance of striking a balance with devices by prioritizing in-person connections and important tasks or responsibilities, such as spending time with family and studying. By doing this, students can strengthen their relationships, improve their academics, and even have more time for self-care. Let’s break down how educators can use this outage and the new TikTok bill as a launching point to discuss striking a balance with their students.
What happened with Meta and TikTok?
The recent outage of Meta’s social media platforms sparked widespread attention, as users found that popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram stopped working or logged them out. Meta’s platforms ended up being down for around 2 hours, with about 500,000 users reporting the issue. While Meta got their platforms up and running again later the same day, many users were left shocked and unsure of what to do while their favorite social media apps were down.
On March 7th, two days after the Meta outage, a House panel unanimously approved a bipartisan bill banning TikTok in the United States. This bill stated that TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, must divest TikTok and other applications it owns within six months of the bill’s enactment, or it will be banned in the USA. While the bill has not yet been enacted, it is gaining traction in the U.S.
For students, social media is simply being social. So, while the outage of Meta platforms and approval of a bill to ban TikTok may not seem like a big deal to many, it could pose a new challenge to students. These events could lead to a loss of connections, disruptions in routines, and lost access to vital information.
The temporary and potential closure of social media platforms highlights social media’s influence on students’ daily lives. Their reactions also shine a light on some students’ over-dependence on technology. By empowering students to strike a balance with technology, students won’t feel so dependent on their devices and can have daily routines with breaks from technology.
Empowering students to take breaks from their devices
Social media is a great tool for students, from connections to story creation. However, like most things, social media is best in moderation. While platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok are fun, they can create challenges for students who are used to scrolling for hours. By spending hours watching reels, sharing posts, and commenting on others’ feeds, students distract themselves from their most important priorities, which could hinder them from achieving their goals.
While it’s easy to get lost in the videos, TikTok challenges, and memes, you can empower students to strike a balance with their devices by huddling with them on responsible tech use. By doing this, you’re equipping them with the resilience needed to put their device away when necessary and focus on achieving their personal and academic goals. Here is how you can huddle with your students to empower them to strike a balance with their devices:
- First, acknowledge that social media is an integral part of students’ lives: When huddling with students, it’s important that they feel heard and understood. When it comes to social media use, it’s important to recognize that it is not going anywhere and that students might need help in managing, it instead of trying to restrict it.
- Have discussion questions ready: When empowering students to strike a balance, have them evaluate how they use their devices. Ask questions such as: “Do you feel like social media can sometimes serve as a distraction?” and “How do you recommend limiting social media use when you need to focus?” These questions help you understand your students better and foster collaborative problem-solving.
- Provide some resources to help students strike a balance: A variety of strategies and tech tools exist to help students take a break from their screens. Encourage students to put their phones on silent or in another room when they need to work. You can also share apps like RescueTime, Freedom, Space, Forest, and Flipd.
Huddling with students is a great way to help them positively navigate challenges that arise from social media and tech, like striking a balance with their devices. By using a positive and proactive approach, like #WinAtSocial, to huddle with students on topics such as dealing with screens during the day, you can empower your students to always strike a balance with their tech and social media.
#WinAtSocial Huddle Question
Huddle with your students
Reflecting on the recent events surrounding the Meta outage and the proposed TikTok ban, how do you think students’ experiences on social media affect their daily lives and well-being? How would you feel if there was a TikTok ban?
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.