Social Media Etiquette

For those interested in the original essay, I have included it below in its entierety.  

High Schools and The Looming Threat of Social Media:  Should Social Media Etiquette Be Addressed In High School Classrooms?

               As a tool, social media can compliment literacy as it does communication.  On par with literacy and communication, social media requires amenities that allow for it to function.  It is a technology that was unleashed to the world without much instruction.  It is no wonder why we see cases in the news comparable to that of Alexandra Wallace or Dharun Ravi, who have suffered much personal downfall after exemplifying questionable social media etiquette (Arroyo, “The Idiocy of Videocy:  Four Case Studies”).  What is proper social media etiquette?  More importantly, how can social media etiquette be taught?  Many believe that it is the responsibility of parents to teach it to their children.  If this were a common expectation, would it be appropriate to expect parents to be able to distinguish proper social media etiquette as well?  It seems unrealistic to assume so, taking into account the amount of parents that have victimized themselves and their children through similar social media mishaps as that of Wallace and Ravi (see When Parents Publicly Shame Their Kids).  Another common opinion on the subject is that it should be integrated into school curriculums.  Teachers around the nation have taken note of the everlasting harm tweets and Facebook comments can have on an individual yet alone a youth.  Some of those teachers think that the responsibility falls into their hands since they have been victims of online abuse themselves and are not provided with enough protection from their schools (Schools Fail to Protect Teachers).  There are also some teachers who think that they already teach enough outside of the curriculum and feel that adding social media etiquette to an already expanding course of study can be daunting (Schools Teach Social Media).  At Paramount High School West Campus where I am currently observing two, ninth grade Language Arts classes, the manner in which students project themselves on the Internet through social media has become an important topic during lecture.  So much so, that it is the current topic of an essay some of these classes are writing as a group.  The time I have spent observing so far, along with the access to high school teachers’ assessments on the topic through one-on-one interviews, has led me to believe that this age group (high school students) could be the target age for an introduction to social media etiquette.  Incorporating lessons on this topic in high school classes may well be the optimal way for the masses to be educated in proper social media etiquette. 

          When speaking to a few teachers from West Campus, as well as some from Bell Gardens High School, I found out that all of them had at least thought about the possibility of having to discuss social media etiquette in class.  To preserve the anonymity of these teachers, I will be referring to them by aliases.  When I asked Mr. R over at Bell Gardens High School, his opinion on the topic, he stated: “high school students already have a hard time watching what they say in class.  I hear every curse word in the classroom at least 20 times by the end of the day.  The thing is, on the Internet, these things could end up haunting them their whole lives.  Especially when they involve criminal activity like we’ve seen hear on campus.  Students need to know this.”  Mr. R was referencing an incident that took place in 2014, where a male teacher was banned from the classroom after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a female student (Bell Gardens High Teacher Accused...).  The female student had sent pictures to a friend, of herself and the teacher having sex, which later found there way to Facebook.  Although the Facebook posts that are related to this incident have all been taken down, it was not enough for the student to redeem herself.  According to Mr. R, she had to switch schools shortly after, due to excessive bullying initiated by the incident.  Mrs. K, another teacher from BGHS stated: “whatever happened between this teacher and student is one thing, the wildfire of bullying that was unleashed on the student afterward is something else.  Shortly after she moved schools, I felt the need to teach my students that you cannot go around posting theses things without consequence.  If you saw the images, you witnessed a crime.  Your first reaction should have been to call the authorities, not crack jokes about it on Facebook.  This is something serious.”  Although both Mr. R and Mrs. K felt the need to teach their students how to handle social media, both felt that they “lacked the resources” and “support” of the school to do so (Mrs. K, Personal Interview).  They also in part, believed that some of the aspects of social media etiquette “need to be addressed at home” (Mr. R, Personal Interview).  I then asked them, if they had all the necessary means (support from parents and schools) to provide some lessons on social media etiquette, would it be a good idea?  Mrs. K responded:  “…absolutely.  I strongly believe that this is an issue that is not being taken seriously enough.”  Mr. R on the other hand, stated: “the question is not whether or not it is a good idea since it most certainly is one, the question is, how can it…or how should it be done?”

          At West Campus, Ms. D had some interesting things to say about how she has been treated on social media.  “I was getting links to tweets where students were calling me names like ‘cold hearted bitch’ and ‘skinny ass.’  I had never been so embarrassed in my life.  And the worst thing was that when I brought it up to people to have something done about it, nothing ever happened.  So I thought, I have to take matters into my own hands.”  Instead of unleashing a full on search for her slanderers, Ms. D thought she should approach it by engaging in a discussion with her students, on how you should treat yourself and others online.  The result turned into a group essay assignment where students were given the opportunity to voice their opinion on the topic, as well as incorporate some first hand experience from their social circles.  “This way, not only are [the students] engaging in writing, the awareness of social media etiquette and the severity of the consequences that come from inappropriately presenting yourself on websites like Facebook and Twitter, is organically taking place” (Ms. D, Personal Interview).  Ms. G, another teacher at West Campus, shortly followed suit.  “I can see how implementing a whole lesson on social media etiquette can stifle a teacher.  It is a lot of work.  Luckily, most students express interest in the topic so bringing it into discussion is an easy start.  No extra planning necessary.  Essay writing is something that has always been planned at the beginning of the school year.  Changing the topic of an essay is a very small compromise to get our students to better themselves for the future.” 

          Ms. G made a good point.  What about the students that do not express any interest in the idea?  What about the students who will refuse to listen to the reasoning behind learning such a thing?  Or those who feel like there is nothing wrong with the way they present themselves online, regardless if it will harm their future?  How can teachers engage these students into this very serious issue?  There is no one right answer but Ms. D certainly attempted something that was acknowledged as a good start.   I feel that districts have to take the initiative and provide more resources for our teachers to develop some more concrete lessons, in order to create an audience of all students.  Enough people have made examples of themselves for us to see the negative impact improper social media etiquette can have.  Parents need to be on board with this too.  They need to educate themselves as well.  They have to voice to their children’s schools that this issue is serious.  After all, these school systems have always been founded on bettering our children’s futures; why not work together to do so with our teens? #SocialMediaEtiquette

Works Cited

Baeder, Ben. “Bell Gardens High Teacher Accused of Inappropriate Relationship with Student.”

            Bell Gardens High Teacher Accused of Inappropriate Relationship with Student. Whittier

            Daily News, 07 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

D, Ms. Personal Interview. 19 Feb. 2016.

G, Ms. Personal Interview. 19 Feb. 2016.

K, Mrs. Personal Interview. 20 Feb. 2016.

Leston Robert, Geoffrey, V. Carter, Sarah J. Arroyo, and Sherrin Francis. “the Idiocy of

            Videocy: Four Case Studies / Itineration.” Web log post. The Idiocy of Videocy: Four

            Case Studies / Itineration. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

Miller, Jake. “Why Schools Need Social Media Etiquette.” The Educators Room.  The

Educator’s Room LLC, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

Palmer, Ewan. “Schools Fail to Protect Teachers from ‘traumatising’ Online Abuse by Parents

            and Pupils.” International Business Times RSS.  International Business Times, 02 Apr.

            2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

R, Mr. Personal Interview. 20 Feb. 2016.

Schrobsdorff, Susanna. “When Parents Publicly Shame Their Kids.” Time. Time, 25 June 2015.   

            Web. 18 Feb. 2016.