The use of social media in higher education has the potential to improve student engagement in world affairs but educators must ensure that those they teach have freedom of choice regarding which platforms they utilise and to ensure that they are taught the pros and the cons, the benefits and the pitfalls.
Critically, there is a need to strive to avoid the emergence of so-called slacktivism, wherein involvement in the political realm and beyond relies entirely on social media and does not necessarily invoke real effort or commitment on the part of the student as they emerge into the world beyond academia.
Writing in the International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, Sarah Jernigan of the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA, discusses the relationship between social media and social change in the classroom. “A challenge exists for educators to acknowledge social media in students’ personal lives, while strategically using it in the classroom,” Jernigan writes, “By approaching social media as a tool to connect both students’ personal and professional lives, educators can maximise the use of social media.”
The study suggests that a course on social media and its role in activism can make a difference in the lives of students provided they are made aware of slacktivism. Discussion and repetition of the key points, as with any educational program, would help the students learn about how social, media and activism might change lives and perhaps even have a positive effect on social injustices. Perhaps the broadest of Jernigan’s conclusions is that “College courses can influence how students view the world and impact how they may create social change.”
Jernigan, S. (2020) ‘How to change the world: the relationship between social media and social change in the classroom’, Int. J. Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp.169–180.