The Evil Social Media Corporations | W12 Q1 | Forum

The Greenhow, Galvan and Staudt Willet (2019) paper is a review of social media literature focused on how social media might be used to enhance student learning, teacher PD, educational research practices, and scholarly communication. The Krutka et al. (2019) article discussed the “dark side” of social media. Namely, that the largest and most influential social media companies are motivated by wealth and profit as opposed to the ethics and values of society. Finally, the Ahn, Bivona, and DiScala (2011) study examined differences between how K-12 school districts framed technology use in their acceptable use policies (AUPs).

One area of the readings I found compelling, and which also highlighted an area where progress might be made is from the Krutka et al. (2019) paper. This piece encouraged individuals to think at a high level about what role social media plays, and what role it should play, in society more broadly, and education more specifically. It is compelling to me because considering the extent to which social media influences many aspects of society little has been done to reflect on the ethical implications of social media’s reach. The article makes numerous comparisons between laws regarding information collection and privacy in the USA and in Europe. It appears that European laws might be a good starting point for American and international laws and policies as they place more emphasis on individuals’ right to privacy and their right to choose how their data is used, instead of corporate profits.

I also found Ahn et al.’s study of AUPs to be compelling, and an area worthy of policy focus. Krutka et al. discussed the role that educators may play in helping students to understand how social media might influence individuals, and how they might protect themselves and their privacy while using social media. This directly connects to Ahn et al.’s study of AUPs at various K-12 school districts around the country. With a district level policy focus on creating strong AUPs which emphasis teaching students about privacy and data concerns when using social media those same students may start to demand more comprehensive regulations and policies at a national or international level. Pressure directly from users, and from governmental laws and regulations, would most likely change the way social media companies deal with privacy and user data.

I like the idea of AUPs to guide schools’ stance towards technology; however, I found the Ahn et al. article’s connection between AUPs and actual implementation of technology in classrooms to be less than compelling. I question how many teachers have actually read a school’s AUP, let alone implement it with fidelity in their teaching. So, although AUPs focused on teaching students social media literacy is a useful start, teachers must embrace and internalize the message of AUPs for true change to occur.