Social Media Trends Impacting Students This Week: Rise in student cyberbullying, TikTok algorithms, and Google releases top 2022 trends
From new research surrounding Cyberbullying and Tiktok to Google’s top searches for 2022, here are the social media trends from this week that are impacting students.
- Nearly half of U.S. teens have been bullied online
- New research finds that TikTok may push harmful content to teens within minutes of creating an account
- Google’s top searches and trends of 2022
Nearly half of U.S. teens have been bullied online
The Gist: A new report by Pew Research Center found that nearly half (46%) of U.S. teens ages 13-17 have experienced cyberbullying. The most common type of cyberbullying is online name-calling, with 32% of teens sharing that this has happened to them. Other types of cyberbullying include the spreading of false rumors, sharing explicit images, physical threats, and persistent questioning of personal information. The report also found that age and gender are correlated to cyberbullying, with older teen girls more likely to face cyberbullying.
TSI’s Take: Cyberbullying is nothing new. And with students spending an average of 8.3 hours a day on screen media, it’s more important than ever to empower and equip students with the skills to navigate social media and Cyberback each other, or have each others’ backs and support each other online. In our Grade 7 #WinAtSocial Curriculum Lesson, Handling Online Hate With Pro Tips From TikTok’s Biggest Stars, students learn the latest facts about bullying, identify signs of bullying, and create strategies to speak up.
Is your school community experiencing cyberbullying? Watch our on-demand webinar with Sarah Spain of ESPN to equip your students with modern strategies to Cyberback each other.
New research finds that TikTok may push harmful content to teens within minutes of creating an account
The Gist: A recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that it takes less than three minutes after creating a TikTok account for users to see content related to suicide, and five more minutes for users to see content promoting eating disorders. The researchers created eight brand new accounts in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, and found that TikTok showed videos about body image and mental health about every 39 seconds in a 30-minute period. A spokesperson for TikTok shared, “This activity and resulting experience does not reflect genuine behavior or viewing experiences of real people.” They shared that TikTok continues to roll out safeguards for content to filter out problematic content.
TSI’s Take: News like this can be scary, but we’re on a mission to make social media a positive space by empowering students to navigate their social world positively and filling their social feeds with positive influences. When we follow positive influences that reflect our values and interests, we are more likely to see content on our feed that empowers us to Play To Our Core values. Encourage your students to make social media a positive place with these tips from the team at The Social Institute.
Google’s top searches and trends of 2022
The Gist: Social media is a powerful tool, where users across the world can find information at their fingertips about relevant topics impacting them. With 2022 coming to an end, Google released the top searches, trends, and keywords of the year. Their report revealed ‘Wordle’ as the top word searched and Ukraine as the top news searched. Check out more trending searches here.
TSI’s Take: Google’s top trends are a helpful reminder of how students are connecting with the world around them and getting their news. This year, we also found that more and more students are taking to social media to get their news, instead of popular search engines like Google. With this new trend, educators have the opportunity to help students recognize the importance of fact-checking for misinformation. Misinformation is nothing new, but in a media-saturated world, it’s not always easy to find the truth. Read this blog to empower your students to spot and fight misinformation.
You can help your students navigate social media, tech, and their well-being by contacting us today to gain access to our #WinAtSocial Curriculum and more that will empower your students to make 2023 their best year yet!
We know it can get overwhelming to try and keep up with the ever-changing updates happening in tech and social media. So, follow us on our social media, @thesocialinst, to stay up-to-date and ahead of the curve as we empower students to navigate social media trends, tech, and their well-being in high-character ways.
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.