Hi Everyone. I just realized that I am behind with my Blog posts! I would like to make a post related to the feelings I had during Week 1 of our course on Digital Citizenship in a Global Community.
After seeing the video, InRealLife, I was quite hooked to this course. In fact, for the first 2-3 weeks I very much looked forward to working on the course every day, as I was learning about something that has always been close to the heart for me. Life got a bit busy lately, but I am still quite engaged – just less free time these days.
You see, I’ve been so frustrated with the lack of face-to-face communication all around me (work, home, with friends), despite being in the same room with those I would like to communicate with. We must be developing stronger neck muscles as it seems to be always supporting a lowered head, rather than seeing facial muscles used to speak. Coming home at night sometimes from a soccer practice only to see all family members with some kind of electronic device in their hand has been quite upsetting. I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a huge class-action lawsuit that comes out of all the medical issues of internet dependability, especially the social media addiction.
Depression is a mental illness that has always shown to be concerning with adults, but in our modern, technology-driven society, it is becoming more and more prevalent with adolescents. This is a major concern as, according to Kim-Cohen et al. (2003), as cited in Kircaburun (2016), “75 % of adults that are going through major depressive disorder have experienced their first depressive episode in childhood or adolescence.”, page 64. Kids these days have lower self-esteem and are less and less apt to be risk takers as a result. Their self-image has thus become a major focus for adolescents, all while having less and less ability to take constructive criticism. These same teen express themselves best in front of an electronic screen, often with a hidden identity. I am not looking forward to our planet being overwhelmed with these teens as they become adults. They do not seem capable of taking risks and learning from their mistakes. As I heard a guidance counsellor say, after finding a child crying uncontrollably, these kids just don’t have a “thick skin”.
I asked a very good friend of mine, Dr. Gregory S. Thibodeau, M.D. (2017), a former teacher and now a medical doctor, if he has had to treat teens with anxiety issues related to Internet use and social media. He responded to me in a text with the following words:
What has happened in society is that we have moved very quickly to the use of social media no longer as a tool, but now as an appendage. The social ramifications of evolutionarily having a new, vestigial appendage does not allow for a sensual nervous system to evolve to accommodate much of the newly scene, felt, or sensed emotions and interactions with society. As a result, we are seeing higher levels of anxiety.
A grade 10 student, Sarayu Chiyala (2015), had “thick skin” and was able to take criticism and teasing after moving to a new school. It wasn’t until she joined social media to try to increase her popularity that she started to feel anxiety and depression. Her popularity online had meant more than her popularity in real life – a major issue today! She was infatuated with getting perfect photos on her Instagram, and could not stop checking her account. This was affecting her life, and that of her parents.
A turning point for her happened when she was back in India during summer vacation without Internet access for a week. She focused on the here and now with her family, without making comparisons online. She suggests focusing on the future and not on the negativity that exists online. She says it’s not worth living her life based on the point of view of others. She stresses the need to believe in your self, and going out to try out new things. People need to make a change if they are not happy with their lives.
I’ve always been a non-conformist, and never get hooked by such societal movements. As Chityala (2015) concludes her talk, ”Are you someone that you were meant to be, or are you a person that society wanted you to be?” As teachers, we need to remind our students of this.
Chityala, S. (2015). Rebuilding Self-Esteem After Addiction to Social Media. Tedx Marhkam Public Library. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICCXq9aQURg).
Kircaburun, K. (2016). Self-Esteem, Daily Internet Use and Social Media Addiction as Predictors of Depression among Turkish Adolescents. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(24), 64-72.
After seeing the video, InRealLife, I was quite hooked to this course. In fact, for the first 2-3 weeks I very much looked forward to working on the course every day, as I was learning about something that has always been close to the heart for me. Life got a bit busy lately, but I am still quite engaged – just less free time these days.
You see, I’ve been so frustrated with the lack of face-to-face communication all around me (work, home, with friends), despite being in the same room with those I would like to communicate with. We must be developing stronger neck muscles as it seems to be always supporting a lowered head, rather than seeing facial muscles used to speak. Coming home at night sometimes from a soccer practice only to see all family members with some kind of electronic device in their hand has been quite upsetting. I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a huge class-action lawsuit that comes out of all the medical issues of internet dependability, especially the social media addiction.
Depression is a mental illness that has always shown to be concerning with adults, but in our modern, technology-driven society, it is becoming more and more prevalent with adolescents. This is a major concern as, according to Kim-Cohen et al. (2003), as cited in Kircaburun (2016), “75 % of adults that are going through major depressive disorder have experienced their first depressive episode in childhood or adolescence.”, page 64. Kids these days have lower self-esteem and are less and less apt to be risk takers as a result. Their self-image has thus become a major focus for adolescents, all while having less and less ability to take constructive criticism. These same teen express themselves best in front of an electronic screen, often with a hidden identity. I am not looking forward to our planet being overwhelmed with these teens as they become adults. They do not seem capable of taking risks and learning from their mistakes. As I heard a guidance counsellor say, after finding a child crying uncontrollably, these kids just don’t have a “thick skin”.
I asked a very good friend of mine, Dr. Gregory S. Thibodeau, M.D. (2017), a former teacher and now a medical doctor, if he has had to treat teens with anxiety issues related to Internet use and social media. He responded to me in a text with the following words:
What has happened in society is that we have moved very quickly to the use of social media no longer as a tool, but now as an appendage. The social ramifications of evolutionarily having a new, vestigial appendage does not allow for a sensual nervous system to evolve to accommodate much of the newly scene, felt, or sensed emotions and interactions with society. As a result, we are seeing higher levels of anxiety.
A grade 10 student, Sarayu Chiyala (2015), had “thick skin” and was able to take criticism and teasing after moving to a new school. It wasn’t until she joined social media to try to increase her popularity that she started to feel anxiety and depression. Her popularity online had meant more than her popularity in real life – a major issue today! She was infatuated with getting perfect photos on her Instagram, and could not stop checking her account. This was affecting her life, and that of her parents.
A turning point for her happened when she was back in India during summer vacation without Internet access for a week. She focused on the here and now with her family, without making comparisons online. She suggests focusing on the future and not on the negativity that exists online. She says it’s not worth living her life based on the point of view of others. She stresses the need to believe in your self, and going out to try out new things. People need to make a change if they are not happy with their lives.
I’ve always been a non-conformist, and never get hooked by such societal movements. As Chityala (2015) concludes her talk, ”Are you someone that you were meant to be, or are you a person that society wanted you to be?” As teachers, we need to remind our students of this.
Chityala, S. (2015). Rebuilding Self-Esteem After Addiction to Social Media. Tedx Marhkam Public Library. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICCXq9aQURg).
Kircaburun, K. (2016). Self-Esteem, Daily Internet Use and Social Media Addiction as Predictors of Depression among Turkish Adolescents. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(24), 64-72.