Stanton University investigates "Does Facebook Make you Happy or Sad?"

Last week, I posted about the negative aspects of Facebook that can impact on the more vulnerable and sensitive children in classrooms. I feel vindicated by this post on "Edudemic", a website with serious academic credentials. A study of university students reveals that Facebook makes them feel 'inadequate'.

If Facebook can make young adults feel inadequate, should it be sanctioned in the classroom by teachers of young children? There are alternative social media platforms that are benign.

Does Facebook Make You Happy Or Sad?

Tags: Facebook, emotions, social media

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Permalink Reply by Willard M. Sistare on March 18, 2013 at 2:05pm

Perhaps the route to take would be to help young people become more clear about their use of Facebook (and other social media tools) by providing a subjective questionnaire which directs them toward deeper conversation about use and dependence. I suspect that there is very little "meta" thinking when one opens a laptop, clicks on their favorite browser, and goes right to the FB bookmark which, I suspect, is well to the left on most people's menu bar. FB could be powerful if we, as adults, continually redirected young people to it's value as a learning and supportive communication tool. Thank you for sharing this post.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra E. Thompson on March 20, 2013 at 7:21pm

Hi Willard,

I totally agree with you that 'deeper conversation' about the use of social media is required in the classroom. To develop your thought of a subjective questionnaire, I was thinking along the lines of a 'personal firewall' of awareness for young children to start thinking about and developing for themselves from kindergarten.

Facebook, particularly, is a commercial marketing tool driven by advertising dollars gathering consumer data and hardly an altruistic educational tool. It breeds mediocrity of thought, exploits and manipulates the emotional need of people to 'belong' which is particularly important to children and young adults. This provides a platform for emotional abuse. Children need to know all this and how they can be manipulated, although, I appreciate that it can be adapted for use in the classroom.

As social media is evolving with as yet unimaginable future, perhaps darker mutations, I feel that the educators of young teachers should be developing curriculum along the lines of 'social media psychology' for use in the classroom.

Not sure if this is happening.

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Permalink Reply by Effie Fotaki on April 13, 2013 at 5:11am

I agree with all you say Sandra, I find it staggering how addictive Facebook is and although in the beginning of the academic year I put restrictions on Facebook use (its use is not banned by the college I work for) I had to back down as if I insist on it, I am in danger of being seeing as irrelevant by my students...

We only use it for educational reasons of course (students show me their photographic work on it - I teach on a photography course) and although I suggested other platforms of photo-sharing early in the course, Facebook won their hearts, I have to say. We haven't encountered any problems so far, but I am aware of the risks and I feel there should be support from the college in regards to this, it's better to be prepared rather than sorry!

I think next year I will introduce other avenues of photo-sharing in a more structured way so we can minimise Facebook exposure in class.