Teaching Teens in a Social Media Era

Hey everyone! I am so excited to be sharing my very first blog post with you today. This will be the first of many in my adventure of learning about being an educator, and I am so happy you will all be reading about my experiences along the way.

Every generation of adolescents is defined by certain shared experiences. For me and my generation it was Ugg boots, flip phones, and Gangnam Style (strange times indeed). But for the young teens of America today, their interests appear more “mature” than silly dance trends and name brand obsessions. They are eager to advocate mature causes and dress in the same styles as people who are five to ten years older than them. What can explain this shift? Social media.

The presence of social media has been influencing our young teens by giving them a glimpse at how older people, dress, eat, and act. From watching Instagram stories of Kim Kardashian’s exercise routines to reading tweets about the Australian wildfires, our adolescents are constantly taking in information about the people and world around them. Now I am not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, there are many benefits to the improvements in our technology, but social media's use by children and teens does come with some confusing results.

In Tim Elmore’s book Marching Off the Map, he claims, “Our young are over-exposed to information far earlier than they are ready … This causes them to appear mature- they know a lot- but too often it is artificial, not authentic.” As educators, it is important to note these generational differences in the students we are teaching. While they may come into our classrooms looking and acting like young adults, emotionally and cognitively, they are still developing. We need to keep this in mind when interacting with our students- while they may look and act as though they have this whole “life” thing all figured out, underneath it all they are still finding their way.

This is where us educators come in. Students still need the guidance and structure we can provide for them in the school setting. Here are a few things I think we all need to keep in mind as we teach this new generation of social media users…

They are always taking in new information. More than ever before, children are rapidly consuming knowledge. Unfortunately not all of it is credible. We can help them sort through the endless sea of news and pick out which information is actually useful.

They are walking around with a “filter” on. On social media it is so easy to portray your life as being constantly fun and exciting. A student might look put together on the outside, but underneath may be facing struggles. Be sure to check in on how your students are doing beyond the classroom walls.

Don’t be afraid to offer advice. While we may not know how to advise them on what song to use in their new TikTok video, we understand the general stressors of teen life. They face the same fear of peer judgement that we did, the same roller coasters of young love, and the same stress of managing a hectic schedule. Share with them how you managed to get through it.

Finally, they are still growing children! Regardless of mature appearances, they are still developing. They need us more than ever to provide a space for childlike creativity, to set up structure, and instill in them “real-world” skills and habits.

Thank you all for reading my first blog! I hope my thoughts here are helpful to you guys! Stay tuned for the next blog!