TORONTO, May 25, 2015 /CNW/ - Building on its gritty
#Instafame research released in November, Centennial College's
kidsmediacentre is launching lesson plans for students in grades
6-9+ to teach them to critically reflect on the role of social
media and how their generation is portraying themselves online.
Teachers are provided with activities that probe subjects such as
privacy, personal content strategies, the pursuit of online fame
and posting for personal gain versus posting for social good.
The kidsmediacentre research focused on young people's
selfie and personal brand-building practices, and discovered a
significant community of kids with hundreds of thousands of
followers on Instagram, YouTube and other social platforms. The
research shows that many youth have given up all privacy online in
their quest for fame, validation and remuneration.
"We want to bring our research results into the classroom where
students can critically examine the 'whys' behind our
selfie-driven, ubiquitous posting behaviours," says Debbie Gordon, Director of the kidsmediacentre,
a research centre and think tank focused on children's media.
"Students should be able to analyze how they and their peers
represent themselves online versus offline, and the influence of
celebrity in our social media practices. With the torrent of new
social media platforms targeting youth, we want to encourage them
to pause, reflect and evaluate key concepts such as privacy and
virtual reputation."
Digital literacy ignored: The need for education
#Instafame and the Epidemiology of Youth's Selfie-Curated
Culture is a year-long research study about youth, celebrity
and online culture by the kidsmediacentre at Centennial College.
The research goal is summarized in the hashtag
#askingthehardquestions. Researchers discovered a complicated,
multi-causal matrix of reasons driving this fame-crazed,
recognition-seeking youth cohort.
Of importance: young people have played a critical role in the
current celebrity hierarchy. They've clicked, liked, hashtagged and
"favourited" many of the Disney stars and YouTubers who have grown
their brand and achieved celebrity status on the social Internet.
Watching their generation climb in social media rankings combined
with the largely unfiltered social media sex ed curriculum –
including the naughty brands of Justin
Beiber and Kim Kardashian –
have resulted in some important lessons learned by young people.
The new metric for success and #shares is the less filtering
there is, the greater the following.
Centennial College researchers talked to middle- and high-school
students who confirmed that despite years of digital literacy
encouraging students to think about their "digital footprint" and
privacy settings, the lessons are being ignored as youth adopt
social media marketing strategies to brand themselves and gain
recognition. Youth described provocative posting behaviours like
#toolpick and #spamforspam as #thirsty
practices and say this behaviour is now more the norm than the
exception in youth-colonized social media spaces.
"Media literacy and life literacy go hand in hand and we know
teachers are struggling to stay on top of digital trends and social
media," says Gordon. "With facilitated lessons by teachers,
students can review our research findings and make educated choices
about what they post online and how they represent
themselves."
In addition to unpacking the sociological underpinnings of some
young people's "#Instafame" behaviour, the lesson plans explore the
impact of cyberbullying, family monitoring and reactions, and
future career prospects. A separate series of lessons asks students
to think about how social media can be used for social good and to
advance an important cause.
About the researchers
In addition to principal investigator Debbie Gordon, co-authors of this research
include Centennial graduates Kayla
McNally, Jess Westlake and
Felix Chan. The mission of
the kidsmediacentre is to explore children's media
futures. Research funding was provided by Centennial College's
Applied Research and Innovation Centre as part of a fellowship
grant. This research initiative is an example of how Centennial
College is leading the conversation regarding issues of importance
to its students and its community, as articulated in
its Book of Commitments.
SOURCE Centennial College