When I overhauled the curriculum for my Journalism & Media class this past year, I discovered a surprising trend among my students. While most engage with some form of social media (mainly YouTube), not everyone is chronically online anymore.
Culture is shifting, and books like Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and platforms like Ben and Erin Napier’s Osprey empower parents to make the call to free their students from unhealthy relationships with smartphones. Some students are grateful, and others seem to feel a little left out. I wanted to normalize both options.
Out of curiosity, I asked the students to share about their social media use. It helped me create better content for my media course and gave me insights into where they consume information and entertainment. My research on these platforms and content creators/brands helped me craft assignments that referenced their culture and encouraged them to engage in classroom activities at a higher rate.
If you teach in a district or school that allows you to survey students about their social media practices (or lack of social media use—that’s important, too), here is a free resource to help you understand more about the digital world that shapes them.
Always Learning HQ 