Social Media (and the Internet) Makes People Stupid

It is true. Social media, and the Internet, makes people stupid. The entire Internet is responsible for lowering the IQ of the population of the world . Perhaps, we can even blame low student achievement on these technological mind-killers.

It really didn't have to be this way. In those early days, when the Internet was filled with free content and business had not discovered a means to economically exploit its use, the Web had promise. The same was true for social media sites like Facebook and Twitter ( or X, or whatever name Musk has decided to provide his own personal domain of verbal garbage). These technologies provided opportunities for connecting with others and forming communities of people otherwise impossible due to factors such as distance and divisions within society. The Web provided the easy access and means to obtain information from reputable sources that had true value. Then, the "moneychangers" took over the temple of technology and it has never been the same.

Today, too many people believe the blather they read and view on the Internet and social media. Social media companies, with their algorithms of addiction will feed users with amounts of bull-splatt and provide them a "custom-fit" bubble of information so that they never, ever encounter an idea or even a thought that runs counter to their chosen views of the world.

Then there's idea...the memes on the Web that are spreading. No one seems to question the value of what's trending or even if the hype aroused about these ideas are worthy of our attention. Instead of empowering people to be informed, the Internet and social media empower people to be stupid and accept at face value what everybody is sharing.

So, what's the answer? Regulation? No, the Internet and social media has become a cesspool of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. These technologies are hopelessly fouled up in excrement. Even Linked-In, which likes to pretend to be above the stench with talk of business, industry and marketing, has its own odoriforousness. As a technology, it has its algorithms that hype and promote as well. What gets promoted is not what is necessarily worthy of that promotion, but simply dependent upon the skills of individuals who know how to game the algorithms to get the attention. All is lost in all of social media and the web because what gets elevated is not what is worthy of attention, but what can be manipulated to go viral.

Where does this condition of loss leave us? It leaves us with a technological media channel on par with tabloid technologies such as The Weekly World News and the National Enquirer where nonsense and half-truths get promoted as worthy of attention simply because it is sensational. To counter this we need to educate students and our communities on all these issues with the web and social media. We need to quit allowing Silicone Valley, Tech Marketers and even our own educational technologists and other tech evangelists from spreading the myth that somehow these technologies are going to save us. They are not. Instead, we need to stop them from making people stupid. We can do that by simply educating people on how these technologies work and instill within them the good, old fashion practice of verifying and being skeptical of what you read, even if it is from your best friend. Be skeptical; question it, before believing and sharing it.

Sadly, I do not think the Stupid Machine created by these technologies is going to change. There is simply too many careers and too much money to be made. These tools are the perfect marketing tools for spreading anything, even if that is nonsense. But, we need to remember that we do control the spigot of information. We can turn it off on demand. If Facebook, Youtube or even Linked-In serves up a nice plate of baloney we can toss it. We can either choose to not to participate in the blather-spreading exercises or short-circuit it by refusing to be a part of stupid. We can even engage in resistance tactics like refusing to participate or sharing or even calling out these companies for their insidious part of spreading stupidity.

None of these technologies make people stupid against their will. It requires participation. Refusing to participate or even playing by social media or web rules goes a long way in resisting the lowering of our IQs and others. 

5 Guidelines for Rational School Leader Response to Social Media Issues

What should be a school leader’s response when a student uses social media in an inappropriate manner? This Winston-Salem Journal Editorial “More Education, Guidelines Needed for Officials, Students on Social Media and School Security,” makes the usual call for more rules and education about improper use of social media. But was this event a “social media problem” or was it “a behavioral or crime problem?” I think the answer to that question is at the heart of how a school leader should respond to a student’s misuse of social media.

The scenario described in the Winston-Salem Journal, states that a 16-year old student used another student’s Facebook page to pose a threat to students and staff at her high school. She was arrested for making a false report and communicating threats, and as the editorial indicates, she faces some serious prison time for her actions which is as it should be. It should be clear though, Facebook does not in any way make this crime any different than using a handwritten note or some other media to make that threat. The crime was not the use of social media. The crime was the action of making threats which is illegal. Making this distinction is at the heart of how a school leader should respond to these kinds of incidents.

If social isn't the issue, what kind of guidance is there for school leaders in situations where students use social media in inappropriate ways? Here’s some suggestions.

• Deal with the criminal or inappropriate action, not the media. The issue was not whether the threat was communicated through Facebook or not. The issue was that a student made threats to students and staff and under North Carolina law that is illegal. It is important that school leaders focus on the illegal behavior or the problem behavior, not Facebook. Bullying is wrong. Improper communications between a teacher and student is wrong. Whether it occurred on Facebook or the phone is irrelevant except as  simple facts in the case. School leaders need to keep their eyes on the behavior and not delude themselves into thinking that if Facebook would go away, then the problem would not have happened.
• Follow the same procedures you would follow after finding a threatening note pasted to a restroom wall. Again, the focus is on the criminal activity, not the media. If procedure demands that parents be contacted when a threat to students and staff is made, as soon as the threat is discovered, make that contact. It is important that guidelines focus on the threat, no matter how that threat was communicated. Equally important is that our response always focus on the behavior at issue.
• Take the lead and educate students so that they understand that criminal behavior (and inappropriate behavior) on social media has the same consequences as it would have anywhere else. Also, educate students on appropriate and inappropriate uses of social media. Students need to understand that their values and morals do apply in online spaces. They need leadership from school administrators in the form of a clear understanding that behavior online that is illegal or improper is still illegal or improper. Don’t make the issue murky by focusing entirely on social media.
• Be cautious of the usual “knee-jerk” reaction of blaming Facebook and other social media. Social media has undoubtedly complicated our jobs as administrators because of its powerful opportunities to connect our students and staff. But school leaders should not argue for bans because of these complications. Our responsibility is not to make our own jobs easier at the expense of trying restrict the freedom of others. Instead, we need to be reluctant to infringe on students’  and staff’s right to engage in free speech in online spaces. School leaders need to stop looking for “social media boogeymen” and deal with the behavior at issue.
• Educate yourself about social media. School leaders who deal with social media issues need to make sure they themselves know as much as possible about the media. Knowing how it works and how students and others use it is a key to making sure that responses to problems involving social media are rational.

School leaders do need some guidance on how to respond to inappropriate and criminal activity on social media, but that guidance needs to be based in reason. A rational school leader response to incidents like the one described in the Winston-Salem Journal needs to focus on what the real problems are. The real problems are the illegal and improper behaviors, not the media.

5 Baby-Steps for Using Twitter to Begin a Personal Learning Network

“Social media has offered us a platform where we can learn from and with the smartest people we ‘meet’ from around the world, whenever we need to or are ready to go.” Scott McLeod & Chris Lehman The School Leader’s Guide to Social Media

Personal Learning Networks existed long before there was an Internet. I am perhaps showing my age, but my first “Personal Learning Network” used very little of the technologies we use now. It basically involved colleagues down the hall, perhaps a teacher or two in other buildings or other schools, and my yearly subscription to the English Journal. That learning network was rounded out by the occasional book title I picked up at the bookstore or at a conference. One summer that “Personal Learning Network” extended to other educators during a two-week participation in the National Writing Project at Appalachian State University. The connections made in those days were primarily face-to-face, through-the-phone, and through print. The quality of my “Personal Learning Network” then was as dependent upon my efforts to make connections then as it is now. Sharing with other teachers was a central part of that networking system too.

Many years later, educators now have at their disposal, the most powerful tools for developing and maintaining professional learning networks in history. Yet, many educators---principals, teachers, and superintendents---have yet to fully utilize these tools. Their “Personal Learning Networks” are globally-atrophied and non-vibrant because they either are afraid of engaging in using these 21st century tools of PLN creation, or they have convinced themselves that it is all a fad and will fade in a few years. While individual tools may come and go, the notion of “connecting with others, instantaneously and globally," is here to stay. Humankind has tasted the fruit of being able to interact with others globally with technology, and will only demand better tools and better ways of doing it.

For those school leaders who have not yet taken the plunge into the 21st century world of social media and “Globally-Vibrant Personal Learning Networks,” here’s  baby-steps to get you started today. No need to be afraid. Trust yourself and that natural, inner-thirst for wanting to learn, to guide you in taking your first steps in connecting with other educators globally.

Start by setting up a Twitter account. I realize even saying the word “Twitter” immediately sends some administrators, educators and other school leaders into fits of “near-profanity” and disgust. I can sympathize. After you have dealt with 15 incidents in one day of students and perhaps staff members using Twitter, or Facebook, in a less than acceptable manner, your view of the medium can be just a bit tainted. Still, Twitter, despite its “cutesy and dare I say less-than-dignified sounding name,” is the easiest social media tool to begin using. Besides, mention Facebook to some administrators, and they go into convulsions of disgust, so we won’t stretch it that far. Here’s some pointers in getting started with your “Personal Learning Network Development Program” using Twitter.

• Set up your Twitter account first. I would suggest finding a “Twitter-enthusiast” in your school, because I get there's just about one every school by now. Have them help you set up your account. Perhaps they can even suggest some educators you can begin following.
• Once your account is set up, begin simple. Respond to a few Tweets-of-Interest. Participate in a “Twitter Chat” such as #edchat, satchat, or #ncadmin. Don’t be afraid to join in and share your thoughts, but keep in mind the 140 character limit. This is actually good: hard to be long-winded when you only have so few words to do it. You can’t hardly show off that complicated vocabulary either. You have to think concisely and be direct. Over time, the more you Tweet, the more you will build what I call your “Twitter-stamina.”
• Occasionally, share out a “juicy quote” from your professional reading. The really good quotes are the ones others can’t help but reply to.  A “well-tweeted” quote will immediately get others to connect with you. Blast it out! See who responds.
• You can’t be a “lurker” for the rest of your life. Get out there in cyberspace and share. The currency of Personal Learning Networks are ideas. You have something to contribute, so get off your lurker-cushion and share how your school has solved a particularly thorny issue.
• Finally, when you hear the “social media horror stories” don’t react with a vow of social-media celibacy, after all, we don’t swear off phones when someone uses them irresponsibly, nor do we take a vow against writing when someone writes a threatening note. Realize that social media is a way to connect with others. Like all media designed for fostering connections, it can be used for good or ill.

As educators we no longer have to be stuck in the stone-age when it comes to developing and maintaining Personal Learning Networks. Every educator---teachers, principals, superintendents, college professors---can have a vibrant, global learning network. It’s time to take your first steps into the 21st century where social media tools make connecting easy.

4 Social Media Listening Strategies for 21st Century School Leaders

In their book Why Social Media Matters: School Communication in the Digital Age authors Kitty Porterfield and Meg Carnes argue that for school leaders to use social media effectively, they not only use it to communicate out information, they must also engage in listening to what stakeholders are saying.

"Listening online gives leaders insight into their communities in a way that face-to-face meetings and surveys do not."

It is through social media that people sometimes reveal their true feelings. If they do not think you are listening, they may say things quite unlike those occasions when they think you are. Using social media to listen to what your stakeholders are saying is another way for you to get in touch with what they really want. To do that, Porterfield and Carnes suggest establishing a listening strategy for your school or district. So how does one establish this? Here's some suggestions I've paraphrased from their book, Why Social Media Matters: School Communication in the Digital Age.

• Decide how much time will be spent listening. Will it be once a day? Once a Week? Portfield and Carnes suggest that school leaders need to listen to their school or district's social media channels at least once a day. If a crisis occurs, obviously it will be necessary to listen more often. For example, during a contentious school board decision or during a well-publicized event involving a staff member or student, listening to social media channels needs to be much more often than once a day.
• Designate personnel who will do the listening and report back to administration. These individuals are charged with the task of listening to your social media channels. Large districts can perhaps charge their communications teams with these tasks. Small districts may have to select current district staff to serve on a listening team.
• Portferfield and Carnes suggest developing a "Social Media Collection Tool" to report out what was found from listening. This gives the district or school a physical record of what others are saying on social media sites. School leaders need to have a record of what conversations are occuring about their schools or districts, and this tool satisfies that need.
• Develop a plan on how the school or district will respond to what is heard on social media. School leaders need to evaluate the influence level of those engaging in conversations on social media. Answers to such questions as the following are also important: How will you respond to inaccurate or incomplete information being shared about your school or organization? What offical media channels will you use in your response if you decide to do so?

The perception that most school leaders seem to have of social media is a tool for making announcements to their stakeholders rather than a means to engage that same group in larger conversations about how we're doing our jobs. It is imperative that 21st century school leaders establish a social media listening strategy for their school or district in age where people are talking about us through social media whether we're listening or not.


Next Up: Social Media Listening Tools for 21st Century School Leaders