Let's do some imaginary writeup, because I can already imagined how it will be if social media became a subject in Nigerian high schools. Picture a teacher standing in front of the class, not asking students to open a notebook, but to open their phone/tablet and click on Instagram to analyze a post, here will be the questions form from the teacher...Who can tell me if this news is fake, how does the picture used correspond with the post, does the post and picture has anything to do with the current situation of the country, should it gained this much view/engagement......? And many more are the questions thrown. That sort of a class you pictured will be one where no one sleeps, everyone will contribute one way or the other, reason being that the media already owns a great part of our brains.
We all know and agree that social media is both a blessing and a curse. It connects us, entertains us, gives/brings us business opportunities but it also feeds insecurities, spreads lies, and wastes precious time. So, shouldn't a subject like "social media" be taught in our schools, so as to help students know how to navigate it( the media) wisely and curb/reduce the ever increasing menace in the society? We teach mathematics, English, history and many more subjects which they often forget after exams or which may not really be if help to them in real life. But the social media, something they will use for almost the greatest part if not for the rest of their lives, shouldn't it be taught?
There should be a subject where students learn the science behind why they keep scrolling, one that teaches them why they have mood swings when they see their friends on vacation while they are in the corner of their room, one that teaches why influencers always seems to be perfect, whereas the reality is different. AM sure it would help, students will learn about cyberbullying, online scams, how to build a career from content creation, how to earn in a legit way, they will learn about mental health, how that the media make them feel like they need to prove something to the world, how that the media make them feel they are not enough.
It is definitely a good idea, I so much love this topic, sincerely, as it would help shape young minds before they fall deep into the traps of social media and only few teens would be pressured to live fake lives online. Am sure with that, people would stop believing all whay they see online, many young ones will understand that likes and followers do jot define their worth, many will learn to control the time spent on the internet, they would know that not everything trending or going viral is true.
Now to the downsides, let's examine this few questions, who will teach this subjects? teachers who struggle with typing themselves? Is it the same teachers that ask students to google certain hard/difficult questions? Is it this same teachers who know little or nothing about the media? And if we say rhe government or schools should hire/employ influencers as teachers, picture this. An ex tiktok dancer standing in front of a class of 55 students and telling/teaching them the dangers of spending too much of a time online, have you pictured it, what do you think, if you were one of those students will you take him/her seriously. For me, I would jus think "you already made name and money for yourself, why won't you come here to stop/dissuade me from doing same"
It might have worked better somewhere else, but here in Nigeria, the education system is in shambles, theres the struggle to pay the teachers, let's not even talk about them(teachers) receiving small salaries, theres the struggle to provide basic resources, no good and functioning science laboratories not to talk of introducing a whole new subject. How will this work in public schools where students don’t even have access to conducive learning environment talkess of stable electricity, let alone smartphones. Won't this turn into a battle between the rich and poor, the private and public schools?
Now, if social media becomes a subject, would schools start monitoring students' accounts? Wont students feel like they are monitored and they are losing their freedom online. And teenagers, the more you tell them what not to do, the more they want to do it. Teaching them about the dangers of social media might just make them more curious to explore the darker sides. It’s like how schools teach about sex education as important as it is, but you find out it is one of the best topics they love to be taught, not because of anything but because they love to experiment it.
With the above mentioned challenges, I still believe it is a good idea if it could be done well, it would save a lot of young people from unnecessary pressure, depression, bad decisions and all. And even if schools won't introduce it yet, theres the need for conversations about it to start happening, parent should enlighten their kids, teachers should chip it in during lectures, the society also needs to stop acting like social media is just for fun when it could and is shaping entire generations. The media is not going anywhere, it is here to stay, the best we could do is to learn to start handling it before it handles us.
Thanks for stopping by and taking your time to read through. Kindly do well to drop your thought.