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Teens and Informal Learning through Social Media


I just finished reading the article Teens and Social Media: A Case Study of High School Students’ Informal Learning Practices and Trajectories by Bagdy, L.M., Dennen, V. P., Rutledge, S. A., Rowlett, J. T., Burnick, S., & Joyce, S. and learned that high school students can participate in informal learning practices through social media. Many parents or adults in general look at teens using their phones and think they're just socializing with their friends or participating in something negative. However, this article informs us that teens can be using social media for career/future planning, entrepreneurship, and hobbies. 

The paper focuses on five high school students who use social media for things such as learning about future universities they may attend, sports they've invested their time in, career paths they're interested in, and hobbies they enjoy. Two students even used social media in an entrepreneurial manner by reselling items or selling items they've created. Many of these students participate in groups on a peripheral trajectory, meaning they do not fully engage in the community but learn by observing the people and groups they follow. "On a peripheral trajectory, they were all able to identify relevant insiders to follow and satisfy their self-directed learning needs" (Bagdy, L.M., Dennen, V. P., Rutledge, S. A., Rowlett, J. T., Burnick, S., & Joyce, S. 2018). 

As these students grow closer to graduation they may shift into an inbound trajectory within their chosen career paths once they become members within their new environment. "By recognizing and valuing these self-directed, positive activities that teenagers engage in, it might become possible to develop a sense of synergy between self-directed learning and school-based learning, with each drawing upon knowledge and skills developed in the other context." (Bagdy, L.M., Dennen, V. P., Rutledge, S. A., Rowlett, J. T., Burnick, S., & Joyce, S. 2018). Instead of thinking about the negatives of social media, schools might be able to find a way to encourage the positive uses presented in this article.





Comments

  1. JFoxxMay 26, 2020 at 11:30 AM

    Leah,

    It is too funny that you wrote this blog post because I just finished a blog post of my own about the same article! I really enjoyed how this article highlighted the more positive aspects of social media use among teenagers and I was honestly surprised and impressed at their informal learning using social media. It led me to reflect on my own social media use and if I have actually done anything productive during this time on quarantine (my blog post). You know, I can't let my own students accomplish more on this lock down than myself!

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    Replies
    1. LeahMay 26, 2020 at 12:01 PM

      I really enjoyed reading something positive about teens and their use of social media, too. Often times social media or technology in general is portrayed as a negative thing for kids. Of course it can be, but I liked hearing about the positive aspects it can have. I'll have to go read your blog post and leave you a comment :) .

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