Social Media

Social media is a broad term that encompasses social networks. It stems from any media that allows social links and relationships between users with similar interests. It can be broadly thought of as a tool for allowing easy communication and collaboration (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2011). When using the term about social media, we should keep in mind that social media is not the same thing as a social network or a social media site. The sites, such as Facebook or Twitter, are what many people discuss in terms of media. However, social media consists of the post or content that is shares with the social network or group of friends. Some popularized social media are GIFs, Vines videos, and memes. These media are popularized when people with large social networks share or like the media; usually this can cause the media to go viral and make it to mainstream, pop-culture media that is wildly reused to piggy-back off the popularity.

Seeing presidents and other political figures on social media made me realize that it has just become another medium for people with power to manipulate a topic in order to gain popularity and support while only providing quips and no satiating information. Therefore, I avoid social media like the plague that it is. Social media, while a fantastic opportunity to connect with young people, is also a cesspool of infringed personal information where hackers lurk, collecting information so they can eventually take advantage of the less savvy users of social media. Many people think I exaggerate, but I’ve assisted in federal investigations where nefarious individuals were doing just that. People are naïve to think it doesn’t happen.

I’m not a fan of filling social media sites with facts about yourself. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t have accounts with minor information about me so that I can connect with family, friends, and colleagues around the world. Additionally, young people have been desensitized to the risks of oversharing on social media (Nates, 2018). Therefore, they continue to overuse and overshare social media. However, since this is where they are at in life, educators need to meet them there and help guide them down a safer usage of social media sites. Connecting properly will open the doors to allow a teacher to connect with students like never imagined.

References

• Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2011). Personal Learning Environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural. Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 3-8. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.06.002
• Nates, C. (2018, Janurary 19). The Dangers of Oversharing on Social Media. Retrieved from Pure Moderation: https://www.puremoderation.com/single-post/The-Dangers-of-Oversharing-on-Social-Media