Discuss:
Sitting at home with a computer on your lap, sending messages all over the world to friends, acquaintances, or strangers, is so easy. However, even though contact is easy, it is in many ways impersonal. You don't always see the person, and, as a consequence, you are to a lesser extent able to judge their attitudes and reactions. It's not quite the same as meeting someone in person ... or is it?
Discuss with a partner: How do you communicate on social media?
- Do you feel as if you are speaking directly to a person?
- Do you say things in the same way as you would if you met someone face to face?
Make a dialogue:
Work with a partner. One of you will assume the role of a grandmother, the other will be a grandchild. Make a dialogue.
Your grandmother needs help! She has read a newspaper article about social media, and there were lots of words she did not understand. Go through the words with her and explain them all so that she can understand them.
Words grandma needs help understanding:
to go viral
troll
hater
vlogger
meme
mash-up
blogosphere
AMA
clickbait
influencer
phishing
streaming
Do a class survey:
Work together as a class and do a class survey. You may collect the answers from everyone and then fill them into a form manually, or you may use a survey tool like SurveyMonkey. (Link to SurveyMonkey's website)
Step 1. The whole class works together and maps your class.
- What is your main reason for being on social media?
- How many people are you in contact with on social media? (Followers / people you follow).
- Do you have friends you mainly communicate with on social media?
- How often do you contact strangers a) on a social network b) in person?
- Do you communicate with people in other countries on social media?
- Have you ever had a negative experience on social media?
- Have you ever considered deleting a social media account?
Step 2. Analyse the information gathered.
You can do this individually or in groups.
- Which social media platform is most popular in your class?
- Calculate how many social media platforms people use on average.
- Calculate the average number of social media contacts for the class.
- How many of you communicate with people in other countries?
Step 3. Discuss in class.
- Are friends you only have contact with on social media really friends?
- Are there any dangers associated with contacting strangers on social media?
- Does social media distract us from maintaining friendships in person?
- Does social media change the way we communicate with others?
Find out:
- The author uses the metaphor 'soap box' to describe how Twitter works. Explain its origin and what this metaphor means.
- Use the Fake News Generator and make one fake story, then find one true story that you also create a screenshot of. Share these among yourself in the classroom and see if you can distinguish the real from the fake news. For example, your fake news example could look something like this:
Write:
- Many people would claim that the time spent on the internet and social media results in less time being spent on real connections. Others will argue that they have reconnected with old friends and colleagues through social media. Would you say that social media is forging or destroying friendships? Discuss.
- Many people believe that social networking sites have had a very negative impact on both individuals and society. To what degree do you agree with this claim? Include relevant examples from your own experience in your discussion.
Harris describes the differences between social media and traditional tools in our everyday lives in the following way:
No one got upset when bicycles showed up. If everyone is starting to go around on bicycles, no one said, “Oh, my God, we’ve just ruined society. Bicycles are affecting people. They are pulling people away from their kids. They are ruining the fabric of democracy. People can’t tell what’s true.” We never said any of that stuff about a bicycle. If something is a tool, it genuinely is just sitting there, waiting patiently. If something is not a tool, it is demanding things from you. It is seducing you. It is manipulating you. It wants things from you. And we have moved away from having a tools-based technology environment to an addiction- and manipulation-based technology environment. That is what has changed. Social media is not a tool that is just waiting to be used. It has its own goals, and it has its own means of pursuing them by using your psychology against you (Orlowski, 2020, 30:40)
Use this description as a starting point and write a five-paragraph essay in which you discuss the following question: How has social media affected your privacy and individuality?
Research:
Pick one of the tasks to research: Task 1, Task 2, Task 3 or Task 4. Share your findings in a group or in class.
Task 1:
In recent years, social media, especially Facebook, has come under scrutiny for the way it has allowed the spread of political propaganda. This has led to calls for more regulation of social media.
Use the internet to find out how social media has been used to influence the outcome of elections and what measures are being taken to limit the political influence of social media.
Also consider: Is it possible to entirely stop the spread of political propaganda on social media?
Task 2:
How has social media affected the mental health of teenagers? Look at both positive and negative aspects.
Task 3:
Try to go a full week without accessing any form of social media. Keep a daily log where you write down how easy or difficult it was to stay off social media. If you slip up and use social media, explain why you did it, and make a note of each time it happens. Present your log, and also consider the following questions:
- Could you quit social media permanently? Explain why / why not.
- Is social media addictive or is it easy to give up?
Task 4:
Many feel safe on social media, but investigative journalism, for example by NRK in 2020, has revealed that social media is extensively used by sexual predators. Find out how sexual predators operate online, and discuss what can be done to protect children and teenagers from these people.