The Irony of Discussing the Social Dilema via Social Media

*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina

“If you have access, watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix and comment on how Web 2.0 (the social web) has influenced our lives in positive and negative ways and how this might implicate (or has implicated) our schools and society”

I had watched The Social Dilema in 2020 but did need to rewatch it for the purpose of this assignment; spoiler-alert, it was worth a rewatch. The following are some of the primary* themes that are outlined within the documentary in terms of social media outcomes.

*The lens of the documentary is on the unintended consequences of social media use which can be seen as predominantely negative.

Positive

• human connections
  • overcoming distance, health constraints, logistical constraints
• access to information
• crowd sourcing of resources

Negative

• mental health implications
• addiction
• political interference
• misinformation
• surveliance capitalism
• manipulation of human behaviour
• echo-chamber

Implications for School

• My strongest take-away from this documentary is the importance of an ever-green and robust media/digital literacy curriculum.
  • While most Canadian provinces and territories have established ICT curricular policies that range from infusion and dispersal amongst pre-existing curriculums to structured cross-curricular models and specifically assessed benchmarks, most are out-of-date and fail to acknowledge social media or the advancements made in the past 3 years.
• The pure existence of an ICT curriculum does not mean success as there are many challenges facing the development of student digital literacy skills.
  • Being born into the digital age is not sufficient in equipping students for the higher-level skills required for being successful in the digital world
  • The different ICT applications and level of transferability that is required of students require modelling and skills training in a variety of contexts. 
  • Educators require training and long-term support to strengthen their personal digital literacy skills and incorporate learning experiences for their students.
  • A school must provide not only appropriate technological tools but also reliable infrastructure to ensure that digital literacy opportunities can be incorporated seamlessly. 
• Digital literacy not only needs to be addressed at a school-level but a community level with education and support for caregivers as well.

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• watch more about the documentary in this interview
• there is an educator’s guide available from The Social Dilema team