Social Media and its Impact – What’s New?
The impact of social media on young people has been in the news on an all-too-regular basis in recent times.
However, now the ground rules appear to be changing somewhat – a ban on social media for young people under the age of 16 has bipartisan support from both sides of Federal Parliament, and the entities responsible for different platforms are going to be charged with the responsibility of managing the access of people.
How? Well, that is unclear at this stage. Age verification software has been touted as the main piece of weaponry in the armory, but this is not proven as yet. Will a ban be a good thing? There are many different opinions about this.
Some school systems have placed a ban on mobile ‘phones in their schools. This is the case in South Australia, for example, where there is an “off and away” policy during the school day.
This mirrors in essence what we do at HVGS. Some initial findings from a survey of school administrators and staff suggest that there has been a noticeable improvement in attention in class, and in the level of physical activity students undertake during breaks. There reportedly has been a significant drop in social media related issues, which school Wellbeing Staff have had to contend with over the time the policy has been in place.
In a school setting, issues arising from poor and even inappropriate use of social media certainly draw greatly on the time of Wellbeing Teams, so a ban might sound like a wonderful idea – at least on the face of it. However, the other side of social media is that it does provide a significant number of people with a sense of connection, and a way of making healthy connections with other people which might not happen if it is removed. Taking this away could well highlight any vulnerabilities they have.
When students themselves are asked about mobile phones at school, there is an interesting mixture of views as you might expect. In a recent survey of over 1,500 students responding to open-ended questions, they articulated clearly what the main aspects of this debate are for them*.
This is summarised in the following table. Each section is clearly labelled and colour-coded and reflects that students themselves are clear on the benefits and the drawbacks of phone use and see the positives and negatives of the types of bans which are in place in various locations around the world.
At HVGS, we have long had in place a policy which restricts the use of mobile phones during the school day, at the same time as recognising that we need to educate young people in the appropriate use of these devices.
A similar situation should be in evidence in the home, where parents are in the position of being able to demonstrate the appropriate use of mobile phones and to put in place restrictions on their use in collaboration with all phone users, so that these devices do not impact on daily life in a negative way.
What we are noticing at school during the day is the increase in the amount of mobile phone usage even despite the usage guidelines which are in place. There is an increase in the use of mobiles when visiting the toilets, and whilst in Treetops.
Mobile phones are now even more connected to students with the exponential acquisition of Smart Watches. Students can bypass the security systems and monitoring the School has in place via the use of their mobile phone, and this is causing concern as the level of distraction in a classroom is potentially quite high.
In grappling with this ever-evolving situation, we will be seeking student voice along with introducing measures to again reinstate a balanced approach to the use of technology. This might include; “tech-free days”, locks on lockers with mobiles left there unless expressly required for a lesson, storage of mobiles in special envelopes on the wall of each classroom.
What is the current state of play with respect to young people online?
The latest information from the ESafety website tells us that the “Top 5” social media services used are: YouTube (86% of teens, against 80% of young people aged 8-17); then Facebook (75% against 26%); then Snapchat (67% against 26%); then Instagram (70% against 24%); Google + (29% against 23%).
If we look at gender differences, girls are significantly more likely to be using Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Musical.ly and Tumblr than boys. Boys, on the other hand, are just ahead of girls when it comes to the overall use of YouTube and Reddit.
On average, it seems young people are spending over 1.5 hours per day on social media, and this is worthwhile bearing in mind as we reflect on what a significant part of their lives this is, with girls spending substantially more time on their “socials” than boys.
Of concern, over a six-month period, over 40% of young people experienced something negative online (but this is probably under-reported). These negative experiences range from a stranger trying to contact them online, to being deliberately excluded from events or social groups. And then there are the scams of which all of us need to be aware.
As far as managing their own privacy is concerned, some 68% of young people actively manage their online privacy, with girls leading the way. The most common steps young people think to take are – blocking people, increasing privacy settings and not allowing automatic location on posts. While all of this is encouraging, there are still many young people online who do not take steps to manage their accounts.
Article By
Mr Greg Robinson - Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School