Social Networking Fears Via The Media

Adelaide's only daily newspaper, the Advertiser, has run a number of articles this week with an emphasis on the negative impact of social networking sites.
Dec. 4 - Kids keep online threats secret from parents
plus the Editorial.
Dec. 5 - Parents warned against child Net risks
What seemed to feature prominently was the apparent powerlessness of parents in being able to track their child's online activities. I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of teachers and politicians feeling pretty much the same way.

Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith, in an emailed statement to The Advertiser, said an anti-bullying coalition, formed in July last year between government, Catholic and independent schools, would meet in January to discuss a state campaign to alert parents about cyber bullying.

She said the Government released an information package on cyber bullying to schools in July, 2004.

Wow, that's really dealing with the here and now. The thing that probably amazed me the most was that cyber-bullying, vilification of teenagers and other technology enabled issues is only just getting some column space and mainstream media attention now. Sure the technology makes this sort of behaviour easier and more viral in nature but it worries me that blogs, social networking sites, SMS, video sharing sites and so on are being identified as the problem. It seems to infer the incredulous assumption that if you got rid of or clamped down on these web-based or mobile phone-based technologies, then all of the bullying, the anti-social behaviour, the risk-taking and the low self esteem will fade into irrelevance.

As my retiring deputy said to me, "I don't live in the same world as my students anymore. It's moving too fast for me to keep up. I can't relate to their experiences."

I would say that the majority of teachers fall into that category. Unless, they willingly go online and explore the web and become familiar with the students' tools of choice (as many edubloggers do) then how are they to teach strategies and offer advice to their students? If their online experience is restricted to the Allowed Categories of the filter, then how could they be familiar with Social Networking and all it can entail. Yet that's who parents turn to for solutions and who politicians saddle with the responsibility. Education, a slow moving conservative institution, is charged with keeping pace with the exponential changes and offer methods and strategies to help our students avoid the pitfalls and to deal with the consequences of online life.

While on the subject of online fear, the website RateMyTeachers.com (I won't dignify it with a link) got a run in the local rag as well.  I had to shake my head whilst in conversation with some other local school educators who basically said that they don't discuss anything like this in their classroom because they feared making the kids aware of a site like this would attract them to it. I think they are missing the point - the teachers will be the last to know, not the students! I actually wish that people wouldn't get so hot and bothered over sites like this that are nothing more an advertising fueled site that thrives on its own notoriety. I would hope that my next position in education isn't go to depend on a review from RateMyTeachers.com.

Lastly, on the topic of local papers and very closely related to the topic at hand, my photo and thoughts featured in an article in the Independent Weekly out today titled "Web technology leaves SA schools behind". There's no link yet to the article but the reporter, David Sly, interviewed me by phone on where I think education is relation to Web 2.0 in this state. Mike Seyfang is also featured in the article and was responsible for pushing David my way for my views. Funny how there is still a buzz in seeing my own words and photo in a very old medium, the newspaper. 

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6 thoughts on “Social Networking Fears Via The Media

  1. bill kerr

    hi Graham,

    Yes, I’ve noticed the escalation of strident moral panic, including at the local Messenger Press level.

    You write:
    “Sure the technology makes this sort of behaviour easier and more viral in nature but it worries me that blogs, social networking sites, SMS, video sharing sites and so on are being identified as the problem. It seems to infer the incredulous assumption that if you got rid of or clamped down on these web-based or mobile phone-based technologies, then all of the bullying, the anti-social behaviour, the risk-taking and the low self esteem will fade into irrelevance.”

    I think the argument will be not so much “fade into irrelevance” but that youth access to the read/write web means that problems of online bullying, pornography and pedophiles are spiralling out of control.

    As you point out Schools have abdicated their educative responsibility in this matter, through a centrally imposed inflexible filter. Now the media editorial line is to make parents responsible for monitoring and filtering what their children download.

    This follows on from seven years of government exploration as to whether porn etc. can be blocked at the ISP level. They have for now decided it can’t be and so the answer is the “National Filter Scheme”. Do to the home what we have already done to SA schools.

    This won’t work of course. The moral panic, beat up and gut wrenching editorials will continue and probably escalate into the future. My main worry is the government will at some time renew it efforts to block stuff at the ISP level as part of a more generalised attempt to control the internet. More analysis needed.

    Reply
  2. Claire Adams

    My AP spoke to me about her fears regarding ratemyteacher.com last night…. the kids over here have yet to discover Nintendo’s Wii (which I am incredibly enthusiastic about and can’t wait to get my hands on next year) – if they can’t find a new gaming system on the interwebs, how on earth are they going to find a site about teachers and social activism (in a sense)?

    I talk to my students about as much technology stuff as I can cram in. I talk to them about gaming (it still stuns them that a chick plays games 😛 ), i sneak in the info i read ‘the other day’ on digg about water on mars, and i shove copies of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) in their faces.

    Yes, you read right. I talk to my students about sites like digg. I do my utmost to incorporate my geek vocab, knowledge & understandings into our lessons (whether it’s “Science”, “Maths” or “IT”).

    Gees, I wish those things weren’t blocked. I’d actually use them with my students (or use them myself at school in my NIT, rather than staying up to all hours at home to continue my PD as a geek).

    If “The Government” (state or federal) were to censor MY connection to my COLLEAGUES (my access to anything, everything, anyone and everyone on the internet) I’ll be protesting with every other geek in the nation.

    Reply
  3. Scott Weber

    I will be pithy in my comments, I think.

    No technology lets people do things aren’t the sort of things they do anyway. It can only let them do the same things, faster.

    And yeah, yet another thing that disinclines me towards reading The Advertiser.

    Reply
  4. stu

    Agree with Scott, ratemyteacher is just a modern version of toilet grafiti and worth about as much. I don’t think it is threatening the foundation of modern education though. I have no philosophical problem with it. There have always been avenues to vent at teachers.

    Those very avenues also present an alternative to the garbage churned out by the mainstream media. As long as we take care to preserve their independence. Independent blogs and websites are the soapboxes of this generation. You then have to take he good with the bad.

    I do however disagree with Graham’s analysis of the pace of youth culture and the AP who felt he couldn’t keep up. This sentiment is no different to the attitudes of our own forebears, and the forebears before them…..generational cyclic thing. I don’t think you need to move in the same circles as youth to appreciate the disenfranchising nature of modern society or pick the pressres, scams and concerns this new generation face. Human nature isn’t changing. Grandparents seem to have that bond that crosses the divide and they have less connection with the speed of communication growth.

    I also know plenty of teachers who are inspirational without feeling the requirement to keep up with the ideas and technologies of the new generation. And some that do and are not worth a lot as teachers.

    anywho, onto the bullying kneejerk reaction. The potential for abuse has certainly increased and over the years we have seen problems with covert surveillance technologies, the explosion of digital imaging, unauthorised recording and obviously hacking. I have seen examples of (low level) identity theft amongst school students. Like any technology (cars, weapons, information) there does need to be an informed and capable body set to watch over it. It is all very well sending out a Cyber-Bullying pack to schools (which I’ll admit is a start) but another to identify ways of controlling the misuse of cyberspace. Just how are you going to find the AV bug placed in the teachers’/students’ toilet that the student purchased on ebay for $50 ? Or prevent that abominable DVD produced in Victoria ? I guess protective behaviour education is the new curriculum area.

    Reply
  5. Graham Wegner

    Thank you all for the great conversation here. It’s great to hear from you again, Stu, preventing this place from becoming an echo chamber. This is indeed my own soapbox to some degree and I can see where you are coming from in your take on the generational differences. I do however think there is a difference between communication and learning – many grandparents have the communication gap completely covered and highly skilled teachers do that as well, with or without technology. What I was trying to point (perhaps not very well) out is that many teachers (and parents, I might add) only know about youth culture and their associated use of technology via media like the Advertiser and commercial television. I don’t think that’s enough in this day and age. If you aren’t inclined to believe what mainstream media is telling us about the internet and how our kids use it, then what other option is there but to go and find out for yourself?

    Reply
  6. stu

    “only know about youth culture and their associated use of technology via media like the Advertiser and commercial television. I don’t think that’s enough in this day and age. If you aren’t inclined to believe what mainstream media is telling us about the internet and how our kids use it, then what other option is there but to go and find out for yourself?”

    same would go for drugs, cars, music, recreational activities, clubs, gangs, jewellry, clothing, spending habits, games and so on. I agree the widespread use of comms tech has the potential to put a lot of power into the hands of the user so is high on the watch list. Parents will always have to chase what the young uns are up to. It is annoying the media feel the need to sell papers filled with alarmist rubbish and this is a prime information source for many. Day time talkback radio is also an interesting listen.

    ratemyteachers is a strange phenomenon though. Access blocked in SA state schools due to an apparently innappropriate comment left about a SA teacher. Blocking it is futile and is a form of fairly pointless censorship.

    Reply

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