Photo by Kerde Severin: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-person-using-iphone-x-1542252/
During this class, guest Jesse Miller discussed with us how human beings use the internet. This was a very interesting lecture, where I found myself reflecting on how I used the internet and why. The associated behaviors that we discussed related to the evolving internet mainly revolved around how much communication has increased in the past 20 years. There is a huge difference in what I experienced in my education versus what students of this generation are experiencing in technology: they now have more exposure to information that can often cause more harm than good. This has resulted not only in the increase of sharing and receiving information, but also the spread of misinformation, and breaching of privacy. Students need to be taught to be careful of what they put on the internet, as they don’t often realize the consequences that could occur if that information got into the wrong hands, or used in a situation against them. Technology users now have the ability to make decisions that we do not have laws to enforce, and these choices can have incredibly negative impacts on students.
We also discussed how dependent we have all become on technology. During the lecture, Miller asked how many of us in the class looked at our phones the second that we woke up. I embarrassingly put my hand up. He then asked us how many of us were instagram users (I, once again, put my hand up) and then asked if we would still use instagram if we had to pay a dollar a day for it. This question forced me to think about my dependence on social media. I hate to admit it, but instagram is one of my most used apps on my phone, and I wish I would spend less time on it. I really have wasted so much life on this app, and I really don’t think that it is worth it (and I definitely don’t think I would want to pay for it), so this discussion really opened my eyes, and helped me reflect on my technology use throughout my day to day life.
Bringing it back to our future students- we need to be aware of their dependency on technology, especially in terms of its effect on privacy, safety, bullying, and consent. As future educators, we have to be aware of how students are using their personal technology in the classroom, yet balance their use and find ways to navigate professional boundaries.