It is essential for young children to be aware of social media and all of its many facets. Yes, internet safety is a major topic of consideration and discussion, but just as important is teaching students how to create their persona in social media spaces. I feel like this is a slightly overlooked topic. We, as teachers, educators, parents, guardians, or whoever we may be, have a responsibility to give children an idea and understanding of both what it means to post and what is appropriate to post. Whether it’s a picture, blog, tweet, etc., to a website like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., young learners might not be equipped with the knowledge to truly understand what it is that they are posting, or the appropriateness of their post. Until children have been told, they do not know that everything they post is taken as a reflection of who they are as a person. As social media is a dominant mode of communication, it is important for role models, like teachers, to show their students how to make strategic decisions regarding how they portray themselves on social media. A little education on the matter goes a long way.
Though discussing social media personas may seem like extra and/or unnecessary work for teachers, especially those who are new to the field, this topic is very, very important. First, posting (or using other media platforms such as blogging) is a great way to get students engaged in learning, communicating with you, and collaborating with their peers. Second, you can make this topic fun, just as my media literacy class did when we were allotted time in class to tinker and create a personalized magazine cover page. For example, students can pretend to be a teacher, business man/woman, news reporter, scientist, zoologist etc. and reporting/creating columns/writing like a person in that profession would. Whether they know it or not, the students will be taking on the persona of another to portray themselves (as the persona they chose) in a certain light. This is a teachable moment in which students will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of creating a certain appearance for a specific purpose. Activities like this display how different types of language and posts/images should be used in specific settings, including something like their own blog. In addition, deconstructing and/or reconstructing advertisements is a great way to get students thinking critically. It is good practice for students to depict who is responsible for the add, what the add is actually saying, and what the add wants them to do because it may give them some insight into how people will be viewing their social media presence(s). Best of all, there are plenty of activities that, such as those explained above, that DO connect to the Ontario Curriculum (take a peek at any grade under the tab “Media Literacy” in the Language Curriculum document). The bottom line is that your students either will be, or already are, involved in social media. We just need to help set a foundation of skills and understandings so that they are aware of what types of posts might be helpful or harmful to their personal integrity or persona(s). Students need to know that their posts are public and the material that they post is the basis of how other people will view them. I think it would be great for students to create their own educational blog and discuss their learning and/or hobbies and/or educational or extra-curricular successes. Hopefully activities like these will not only teach students about the importance of creating a persona with a purpose, but also give them incentive to see themselves in a positive light. This could be a great way for students to build up self-confidence as they are encouraged to find their individual and unique values. It might even work out that in the process of constructing the perspective they want others to see, they will find some qualities in themselves that they might have overlooked otherwise.
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