Extension Activity

(2-3 class periods)

 

The Promise and Peril of Social Media (link)

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If you want your students to go deeper into this idea, you might want to have your students explore these ideas by using the lessons created by the Black Youth Project:

 

“The Internet and the mobile phone are arguably the two most revolutionary advances in our lifetimes. These advances have also given way to a range of social and digital media platforms (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) that broaden people’s networks and that allow for immediate information sharing. These social and digital media platforms have allowed political activists and social movements to more quickly and widely spread information, publicize injustice, and challenge systems of power. Yet social media also poses challenges with regard to creating true social change and the extent to which people’s actions and interests are surveilled and used to maximize business profits. This activity set will engage students in evaluating the promise and peril of social media, particularly concerning its usefulness toward social activism. By the end of the lesson [set], students will be expected to apply what they learned to an issue that is important to them and to create an imagined political and social media campaign around that issue.”