I absolutely love social media. To be honest, I have to think that life probably stunk a bit before we had it by comparison. Thanks to social media, I am able to keep up with the growth and adventures of my nieces and nephews who live on the other side of the country. Thanks to social media, I made contact with a nursing instructor in Portland Oregon and together we wrote an informal paper providing guidelines to Facebook users on how to respond when someone is threatening to commit suicide. Thanks to social media, corrupt governments, companies, and other organizations have been disrupted. Thanks to social media, people are sharing their DIY knowledge and families are saving money! Woohoo!
I just completed my 12th year as a school counselor at a K-8 public charter school in Florida. Although our school boasts fewer problems with bullying and general unkindness than most, we do still have our issues. With social media use on the rise over the past several years, of course it has cropped up as an issue with the kids at school. On line bullying is on the rise. And when bullying is happening on the web, it happens at lightning speed.
I could write forever about the pros and cons of social media. The list is endless. And social media has a list of pros and cons just as every single other advancement in our culture has had before it . . . and will after it. It really does come down to how we choose to use the tool.
I, for one, will continue to don my rose-colored glasses and view our Web 2.0 as a powerful force for good.
What do you think? What are some of the pros and cons that you see connected with online communication? Remember the list is endless! Can you come up with a new one?
Tally-ho!
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With the advent of Web 2.0, the very nature of how relationships can be initiated has been radically altered. Most people I know have some f...
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I absolutely love social media. To be honest, I have to think that life probably stunk a bit before we had it by comparison. Thanks to socia...
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I spent too much time on Facebook today, and now I am in the dark place . (aka: "People suck. The world is horrible. Why try? Etc.&qu...
Huge pro: crowdsourcing. Have a question, problem or need? People are willing to help, if only they know.
ReplyDeleteWhile I strive to have a balance between my online and offline life, even though I may be guilty of being more offline than on but I don't hate it. I agree though that social media has altered our world mostly for the better.
ReplyDeleteSome pros for social media for me would be: Information push and pull! I can't tell you how many times I Google or surf Twitter and Pinterest... oh Pinterest. Information sharing and the collaborative aspect is also something I favor. While I would prefer face-to-face majority of the time, connecting online has been a great solution when that's not possible.
Cons for social media: the demise of authentic relationships and a distorted sense of self. This TED talk gave me insight about this (https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together). I find that many people are trying to keep up with the Jones in a whole new way thanks to the highlight reels of Facebook and Instagram.
Great thoughts! And thanks for sharing the TED talk. Can't wait to watch it!
DeleteA big pro of social media for me is that I can connect with my social network from anywhere around the world! As you know, I'm living in the US for 1.5 years and most of my friends and family are in Singapore. Social media is a way for me to get updates on how my 10month old son is growing up and how my friends are coping on with life.
ReplyDeleteA huge con would be the amount of distractions it gives. I find myself gravitating towards opening up a social media app and just blind surfing when I have so much work to do!
As my vote in the poll reflected, a very big pro of social media for me is the ability to connect with others (an extra bonus if they are a great distance away.) I've made many friends through shared interests discovered on various social media platforms whom I would not have had the pleasure to interact with had it not been for social media.
ReplyDeleteThough I agree with you that the issue of bullying/general unkindness that can exist on social media is concerning. I often wonder how that will be addressed in the years to come.
One thing I've often thought about social media, and new technologies in general, is that they allow us to magnify ourselves. This means that there will be many pros in cons in a virtual classroom, just as there is in a real classroom. I ALSO choose to wear the rose-tinted shades at this point though, and look for the best outcomes. Students are able to communicate with each other as well as community members in ways that may not have been possible before. I know that one of the instances that made my students excited about my art class is when we got a social media response from a professional artist after emulating their work in class. Our class was able to connect with someone, and getting a response motivated my students in ways I couldn't.
ReplyDeleteSo awesome. I think we need to get shirts made that say "Rose-colored-classes wearers unite!"
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