Students, Teachers, and Social Media: Benefits and Drawbacks

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The explosion of social media in recent years has initiated extensive debate, especially in education. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have been the focus of these debates. Much of this debate has been generated because of the general lack of education about social media. Because these tools are so new, not much is known about them. One of the largest controversies I have observed in my experiences is whether teachers and students should be friends on Facebook. No one seems to completely understand their benefits or consequences. What are the some of the preconceived notions and some of the options for educators when it comes to “friending” students on Facebook? This paper will discuss these topics further.

Many people believe that Facebook is a simply place where people chat, look at photos and “creep” on people. Others believe that Facebook is an unsafe place where child predators lurk, searching for their next victim. One out of every ten students have met someone face to face who they had only known via the web before (Thomson, 2009). A recent study has also shown that nearly 40% of teenagers have been exposed to pornography online (Thomson, 2009). Alternatively, some believe that Facebook is replacing face to face interaction in people and that people are beginning to use these social media outlets as their only source of socializing with others. There are also concerns that bullying is finding a new form through the means of social media. In fact 20% of teens have claimed to have been bullied online (Thomson, 2009).

What many people do not understand or consider when investigating Facebook is that it can be an extremely effective communication tool. In 2008, when Facebook was just beginning to take off, ...

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...es as a teacher to constantly reevaluate and reflect upon their practices. There are infinitely many ways to go about utilizing Facebook with students and teachers need to discover a way that works for them and their students. Teachers need to embrace this change and use it their advantage with their students.

Works Cited

Anonymous. (2008). The Changing Face(book) of Education. ATA News, 43(4), 2.

Roner, S. (2009, November 24). Using Facebook to Improve School Communication. Edbuzz.org. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://edbuzz.org/sroner/2009/11/using-facebook-to-improve-school-communication/

Thompson, B. (2009, December 3). Children Who Blog Or Use Facebook Have Higher Literacy Levels. TechXav. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www.techxav.com/2009/12/03/facebook-children/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+techxav+Tech+Xav

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