I have a love-hate-relationship with Social Media. It is true that I am a digital immigrant, according to the poignant label Marc Prensky uses to define people in my situation. I embrace technology, but I remember the good old days when I wasn’t expected to know what everyone was continuously doing through social media. Currently, I have not been on social media for 18 months because I do not have enough free time in my day. At this moment in my life, I view social media as a distraction from spending quality time with my young children. In addition, I hope to give my children some anonymity (which is almost impossible these days).
I recognize the immeasurable benefits social media platforms have provided for society. At it’s best, social networks allow users to share their ideas instantly, network with anyone in the world, and provide information in real-time. Clay Shirky provides a perfect example of its benefit with his story on how China experienced a devastating earthquake, and citizens were notified immediately by each other through social media. Unfortunately, social media has a negative side. At it’s worst, young adults are falling off of cliffs to take the perfect photo for their social-feed.
As future teachers, how do we reconcile all of the negative possibilities of social networks and learn to use the benefits in our classrooms? We teach digital citizenship to our students. We provide them with the tools to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of social media. Teachers cannot escape the reality that social media is an integral part of their student’s lives. We should introduce them to programs where they are safe to have a voice and interact in positive ways with their peers, such as Edmodo and Edublog.
I found this video created by The Atlantic reassuring as a parent and a future teacher:
For more info on Digital Citizenship, visit:
Trisha's University Blog 
Trisha I applaud you for staying away from major social media, you are right how it definitely has its benefits helping out society though. My life without YouTube would be so much harder when it comes to school and DIY’s, and Pinterest has helped me in so many ways too, currently with ideas for a renovation in my house. These two outlets have been a tremendous help in my life. The video you posted is a great way for parents to support their children, yet be in control of what their kids are doing while using social media. It never crossed my mind that social media could be educational, but knowing its not going anywhere it makes sense to “join” students as they were born into this technology era and teaching needs to adapt to it in order to not loose students interest to learn.
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