Last week, I had an opportunity to visit a couple of Debating Social Issues classes. Students in the classes completed a brief technology survey. Their responses helped to guide conversations about how students use social media and how they evaluate the impact of technology on their lives.
The survey began with a simple question: "Are you engaged actively in social media?" Every student in both classes said yes. Taking these students as reasonably representative of GSB upper schoolers, it's safe to say that our students are very likely to be engaged in social media platforms.
The students were then asked about their preferred social media apps. They were provided with a list of eight apps that I thought were good possible choices, but were also given the ability to write-in responses. (The eight listed apps were Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Vine, YouTube, Yik-Yak and a personal blog.) They were asked to select their two top choices. Instagram and Snapchat were clear winners with 19 and 17 selections respectively. Facebook had 5 takers, YouTube 3. No other app was listed.
These results mirror a recent survey conducted by Piper Jaffray which polled 6500 U.S. teens. In that survey, 28% claimed Snapchat as their more important social network followed by Instagram with 27%. In the Piper Jaffray survey, Twitter came in third with 18% followed by Facebook at 17%. No other app had significant results.
A survey question asked students about time spent on social media each week. Answer options were divided into groups: 0 -7 hours/week, 7 - 14 hours/week, 14 - 21 hours/week, 21 - 28 hours/week and more than 28 hours/week. Self-reported results? Two students answered their usage was 0 - 7 hours/week, or an hour each day or less. Six students selected the 7 - 14 hours/week option. Twelve students chose 14 - 21 hours/week. Two selected 21 - 28 hours/week, and no one said they spend more than 28 hours each week with social media. In other words, more than half the group self-reported they spend 2 -3 hours a day on social media.
In both classes, students generally agreed that social media time went up in the summer. I was reminded that between school and activities, especially sports, time for social media is somewhat limited during the school year. But the more flexible schedule of the summer allows for much great usage, sometimes as much as ten hours a day.
Though plenty of time and attention were spent talking about social media and its impact on student lives, we also looked at the larger issue of technology as a shaping force. To that end, students were asked about other facets of technology that occupy their time and attention. Some examples of the "other facets" might be web surfing, video and music streaming and video games. Students mentioned listening to music, web surfing and watching movies with Netflix as top answers. A conversation built around SoundCloud as both an individual and a social activity. Music can be streamed for personal enjoyment. Music can also be shared out of the SoundCloud platform. In other words, it can function as a personal and a social media platform.
In addition to these top three answers, there were other answers with multiple respondents: online shopping, working on homework online, viewing YouTube content, making phone calls and playing video games/Xbox 360. (Like SoundCloud, video games can be personal or social.) Watching TV was mentioned by one person, as was the usage of design-oriented software.
Students were asked to make sense of the technology in their lives. These students grew up with the internet and smart phones have been part of their lives. They were asked "In your lifetime, what's been the technological change that has had the most impact on your life?" The number one answer was smart phone with 10 respondents. (Most specifically said iPhone.) Three others said cell phone remembering their older flip phones as transformative. With either two or one respondents, the following also made the list: Microsoft Office, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Internet, working with design software and touchscreens.
The survey, and the conversation, wrapped up with students asked to consider the role of technology in their lives. Has the impact been positive or negative? Most students saw both positive and negative elements of technology as a force in their lives. On the positive side, many cited how easy it is to communicate and stay in touch (12 respondents). Seven students mentioned the accessibility of information. A few mentioned that technology provides a way to occupy time as a source of entertainment.
When considering the negative implications of technology, six students mentioned how technology facilitates procrastination. It's a source of distraction according to six respondents. Four other students said that it reduces time for actual face-to-face contact. A couple of students mentioned technology as a source of anxiety or a source of too mcuh information that can be overwhelming.
Without drawing too many conclusions from such a small sample, we can still assume that at least among GSB students, technology plays a significant role in student lives in and out of school. It occupies their time and attention for large blocks of time and shapes they way they do school work and the way they spend their leisure time. But our students have the ability to reflect on their own behaviors and see both benefits and liabilities to their technological dependencies.
I came away from our conversations with a more full understanding of the ways in which technology is shaping this generation of school students and with an ongoing appreciation of our students' thoughtfulness and honesty.
