Growing up, I had access to social media at such a young age, I remember I got Instagram when I entered middle school (grade 6). I was so excited to be grown up enough to have my own account, connect with my friends and share cool photos for people to “like”.

But, these likes quickly became a competition. It no longer mattered if you thought the photo was cool, it only mattered if your followers did. I started to worry so much about how I was perceived online and began to compare myself to all the endless posts on my feed. It was so easy to evaluate myself in relation to others and so hard to stop scrolling once I began. When I was in quarantine, I decided to take a break from instagram and instead try to focus on my personal wellbeing. I am so glad that I made that decision because I know if I didn’t I could have spent all that free time on Instagram; hurting my self-esteem in the process.

When I got Instagram again, I turned off my likes and only posted for my approval instead of the approval of others. I limited my time on the app and found myself not being drawn to go on it at all anymore. I am glad that I was able to fix my relationship with this social platform. There are benefits to Instagram and reasons to enjoy the app, but the negatives are just as powerful especially to young children being exposed at an age where social acceptance plays such a big role in their lives.

In this class, I want to explore and learn how I as a future educator can help curate a classroom environment that supports students’ positive relationships with technology. Hopefully, this can translate to students understanding the harms of social media and interacting with the platforms in a safe and meaningful way.

Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash