Some Things to Think About

Social Media by xkcd. https://xkcd.com/1239/

I know a couple of people who aren't on Facebook or Twitter.  They either never joined or purposefully stopped.  I find a desire to also be part of that crowd at times.  The negatives of social media can sometimes feel so overwhelming.  Too much hate, uncivility, showboating, time sucking, ungenuine moments happening on these platforms.   At the same time, it is hard to ignore the good things coming from social media as well.  It can connect us in ways that transform our lives and our learning.  Being connected to ideas, experts, and supporters in an instant can open the world for us.  It can give us a voice and power when otherwise we would feel alone and hopeless.

The idea is that we should use technology in a way that is meaningful for us.  That we find a balance in our use so that we reduce the negatives and enhance the positives.  In George Couros's blog post Has Twitter Changed or Has Our View?, he argues, and I agree, that twitter can be what you need it to be.  If you want it to be a place to spark ideas for your teaching practice, it's packed full.  It can be a support system for gathering advice on a problem.  It can be a way to find out what is going on in the world or a place to debate controversial ideas.  Use it a lot or only once in a while.  Its value is different for everybody.  It's your choice how you use it.

😍  🠊 😟

I feel enlightened and exhilarated when I think about social media with this mind frame.  But then some worrying little thoughts start buzzing in my brain.  One thing is that these platforms and devices are designed to purposefully capture our attention.  They use techniques designed with psychology in mind to keep us on their product.   The leading technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are driven by their business models, not driven by ethics.  The money is not in the ethics.  This is why Wesley Fryer's article Why You Should Not Quit Facebook or Twitter is important.  As consumers, we have a voice in how we want these companies to behave.  Only by working together can change happen.  Quitting will help you, but not help the ecosystem.  The same problems will still persist.

I've had Tristan Harris on my radar for a little while now since hearing a few interviews with him on WNYC's Note to Self.  (His interview on this episode starts at the 8 minute mark.) He was a design ethicist at Google helping them consider how their code steers people's thoughts and actions.   He now runs his own company devoted to try to making our time with tech to be "Time Well Spent."  The point is to put pressure on the tech companies to make sure that they are being thoughtful about their design and how it affects the public.  The hope would be to reduce the negatives that make us all want to just quit.  And instead enhance all the positives to work toward a more just world.

The big idea from all of these thoughts though really boil down to this:  be thoughtful and purposeful.  Use technology with real purpose.  Help bring about change so that the systems are designed for maximum innovation, creativity, and freedom.  Let's help make the social media ecosystem what we want it to be.