Dark Side of Social Media and Schools

In looking at social media and schools, one needs to consider the dark side of social media. Unfortunately, there are instances of cyberbullying, sexting, and inappropriate comments posted. So there are a couple of avenues to explore here: what are the teens themselves saying about the dark side of social media and what can schools do.

According to Pew Internet and American Life Project, 90% of teens ignore the rude comments posted. 80% of teens defended someone who was being ridiculed; 79% have posted to others to stop their rude comments; 69% of teens said their peers wrote positively about others. However, there is a flip side to these percentages. 21% of teens reported that they have joined in posting derogatory statements; 8% of teens have been cyberbullied; 25% have had a bad experience online and it ended up in a face to face confrontation and 22% of teens said that their poor experience with social media ended a friendship. Clearly teens have had experience with the dark side of social media.

So what can schools do to help prevent the dark side of social media within its walls? The first step is to have a clear policy with the main purpose of social media being for educational uses. This ensures the safety of students as well as staff members. Social media tools need to have an educational value. Just chatting online is not an appropriate use of social media in school. A second step is to educate the students. Educating the students in the appropriate use of the site and appropriate language is imperative when introducing social media in school. Just like explaining to students that texting language is acceptable in some venues and not others, teachers need to demonstrate and monitor student interactions with the social media tool. Schools need to be considered safe places for student expression. When students are shown the correct way to respond to posts in school, then educators can encourage the same behavior in the students online conversations outside of the classroom. A final way schools can prevent the dark side of social media is to apply appropriate consequences. Unfortunately students will write something inappropriate. When the student does, immediate action needs to take place. Being proactive and having a plan in place will benefit the school and ensure the integrity of the social media tool. In North Dakota, by the year 2012, all schools must have a cyberbullying policy in place. Most of the states in the country are also looking into enacting policies concerning social media and the appropriate use in schools.

There is a dark side to social media in schools. However, by educating the students, staff, and administration, most of the problems associated with social media will be eliminated. Checking posts made by school personnel is important too. With educating and monitoring done in schools, hopefully this enables and encourages students to continue posting appropriate responses in their own personal lives.

Key words: dark side of new media, education