Today in class we had social media guru, Jessie Miller, come talk to us on the subject of social media and the internet. He was very engaging, knowledgeable and entertaining. He has worked for the Vancouver police prosecuting the rioters in 2011 in Vancouver through going through social media (facebook and text messages) as well as child exploitation on the internet.
When I have the resources ($$) as a teacher I would definitely hire him to come to my class and talk about the dangers and things to watch out for on the internet (ie importance of being careful what you share) and impacts social media can have on your mental health.
I really enjoyed learning about how easy it is to find information on people on the internet (ie how easy it is to find photos of people on instagram even if your account is private). His presentation really made me think about my digital identity and where people could find information and photos of me on the internet. And I also thought about my use of communication networks – and if I am actively maintaining social channels to differentiate between social and professional and how I separate the two (ie not adding all my coworkers to facebook because I feel I have to).
He also talked about how contested screen time like social media and videogames are not the problems – it’s how we regulate ourselves to use them. We shape our tools but our tools also shape us. Most kids who are violent at school (mostly boys) are violent not because they play violent videogames, but because they are experiencing domestic violence at home.
Jessie holds that there is no such thing as a screen addiction – it’s about what you’re doing and what sort of comfort our screens are giving us. For me, I often have trouble regulating my own time with netflix and instagram and facebook – netflix because it gives me comfort and entertains me at the end of a long day and it requires little effort on my part, and social media because it gives me affirmation and a feeling of connection to others when I’m feeling lonely.
Amy Orbin has done work involving screen time and technologies with kids https://newatlas.com/screen-time-digital-technology-adolescent-mental-health/5801
We also discussed the importance of understanding the school expectation and policies around cell phone and social media use (eg texting between student and teacher, facebook messenger use to communicate with students (Surrey)). Because every school district is a little different.
I learned about E-Sports – how big it is and how much kids can make! So incredible. You can make a career out of playing and developing video games, so why are we telling kids they are all bad?? This is not to say that kids can spend too much time on videogames and are not getting enough varied activity in their day.
Jamie recommended some books that I am very keen to check out:
The People’s Platform, Taking back power and culture in the digital age – Astra Taylor
The Impossible Fortress – Jason Rekulak
Personal Connections in the Social Media Age – Nancy K. Baym
