Social Media

Social media is interesting.  I am not quite sure that I am on board with social media.  I understand that it is the way of the future, but what is so wrong with the past?  To me, social media means no more privacy.  Social media almost insists that we need to be social creatures 100% of the time.  We are social creatures, but are we THAT social?  I'm not, nor do I ever want to be.  What ever happened to being anonymous, to have your OWN life that you do not post about 24/7.  There are social media outlets that are great for certain things; Facebook is great for keeping touch with friends and family around the country, to see pictures of loved ones and get periodic updates of what is happening without making a phone call.  Blogger is great if you have something to say and people who want to read it.  Picasa is great for storing and sharing pictures.  But Twitter?  I really have no need to know what street you are driving on, what you are eating for dinner, or anything else in your daily routine life.  Not interested.  Personally, social media is another task that consumes what little time I have to spend on myself for myself.  I have no need to share my daily routine with anyone so I don't need to hear about yours.   I only have Facebook because of my family, I will probably never blog in an open Internet forum after this class, and I have no need to store my pictures online.  I will NEVER have a Twitter account.

In an educational setting, social media can be a great way to enhance the learning experience.  However, social media today is mostly for personal use and the practical educational application of it pales in comparison.  You can get students to use for class for about 20% of the time, the rest becomes personal and no longer classroom related.  Students do not connect social media with education, they equate it to updating their friends about their status, making plans for after their class or whatever else they might think of.  Rarely do any of them say, "I am learning about animal cells today, that's cool!"  It reads, " OMG, I am so bored, can't wait to get out of this class."  Social media has a time and a place.  If a teacher can control it in a classroom setting, that's fantastic.  Realistically, that's a pipe dream.  Children today are much more savvy than their teachers when it comes to technology.  They will always win.