Social Media in Schools: A Necessary Education or a Distraction?

Image generated with the help of chatgpt

Should Social Media Be a High School Course?

I wouldn't sugarcoat it when I say that the social media of this age has done a lot more damage to the youths than any amount of benefit it has given society as a whole. And when you put it like this without elaboration it would sound like it is social media that did the only harm. But the bitter truth is that it is we humans who have damaged social media and its true purpose so much that it now hurts us both physically, psychologically, socially, and morally.

We have totally changed the importance of social media in students' lives. It's a very important aspect of students' life yet many neglect its full impact.

---

Potential benefits of making social media a course

A structured course will definitely teach responsible use and make available the following potential benefits

1. Digital awareness: many students don't know that much about the many dangers of social media and often fall victim to them.
   A structured course can make a good amount of students aware of:
   • Cyberbullying: some students aren't really aware that they are committing cyberbullying or that they have been victims of cyberbullying.
   • Identity theft & scams: nowadays, people on social media are easily scammed, especially because they aren't aware and mindful of identity theft.
   • Many students aren't aware of the risks of all these including misinformation.

2. Mental health effects:
   Unrealistic lifestyles on social media can harm self-esteem. There are so many opinions and lifestyles we are exposed to online that can affect us.

3. Content creation skills (monetizing platforms like Hive, ethical influencer marketing).

4. Digital footprint:
   Social media is decentralized, and multiple people have access to whatever you post online, whatever is posted online, whether presently or in the past, will surely affect the future (e.g., job opportunities, etc.).

---

The Downsides of Making social media a Course in school

There is always a downside for everything, just as making social media a course has some of its own too:

1. Encouraging More Screen Time: Instead of reducing social media addiction, it might reinforce it. Surely, many will be attracted by the potential of monetization of social media and might overdo it, thereby reinforcing excess screen time.

2. Potential Bias in Teaching: Schools may promote certain platforms or ideologies over others. Some people are bound to promote their ideas and preferences over others.

3. Distraction from Core Subjects: Some argue students should focus on traditional subjects instead.

---

A Better Alternative: Integrating Social Media into Existing Courses

To balance out these downsides instead of making it a full course, schools could:

1. Teach online safety in Civic Education.

2. Cover content creation in English/Literature. You could even use writing competitions on Hive to teach.

3. Introduce digital marketing & monetization in Business Studies.

4. The use of a strict curriculum to be adhered to in the course would regulate bias in teaching.

---

Should schools educate students about social media, or is it something they should learn on their own?

I wouldn't really say I have had any bad experiences with social media; besides, I wasn't really exposed to it at an early age. Although I wish I knew the things I know now.
If I had social media as a course back then I would have at least the slightest difference in approach to social media. And I am sure I don't know all the right ways to go around this social media stuff yet.

If you had the opportunity to study social media as a course in school, would it have changed your approach to social media?
Or do you think it is unnecessary?