Social Media

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  • Course Length: 3 weeks
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • Life Skills
    • Technology and Computer Science
    • Middle School

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You know all about social media (and have the worn-out computer keyboard and discarded iPhone 3 to prove it). But…how much do you really know?

Social media pops up everywhere, but it can do a lot more for you than you think. Did you know that social media can help you

Social media is complicated and awe-inspiring. And that's where Shmoop comes in. In fifteen lessons, we'll use research, exploration, presentation, and written reflection to get to the bottom of social media. We'll talk about about technology, privacy, etiquette, history, and strategy, from the big platforms and basics of social media to the lesser-known but indispensable sites and features.

We'll even point out some sneaky ways of making the well-known sites work for you (just don't tell Big Brother) and examine the big questions that social media brings to the table.


Unit Breakdown

1 Social Media - Social Media

Social media: It's big, bad, and out to corrupt America's youth…or is it? After this course, you'll know how to own your social media through privacy, account linking, weeding through what's glaringly biased, commercial, or unnecessary, and identifying sites for your specific needs and interests.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.02: Who Do You Think You Are?

Ah, the profile pics of yesteryear.
(Source)

In the old days, it was hard to reinvent yourself. The people around you would pick and choose what was memorable about you, and you wouldn't have much control over this. If you peed your pants on the first day of first grade, you might be Pee-Pants McGee until you graduated high school.

Then, in college, you could finally, finally start over. (And trust Shmoop about this one: college reinvention is glorious.)

But…the internet changed all of that. Using online profiles, you can highlight your talents and sweep the stuff you don't like under the rug. You can be one person in real life and an absolute sensation online, if you know what you're doing.

"If you know what you're doing" is the operative phrase here: On the internet, you have to be careful with what you put on display. That's why, inn today's and tomorrow's lessons, we'll talk about online safety and how you can display your best self (and your best selfie).


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.02a: Mirror Images and Illusions: What Appears Online

Here at Shmoop, we know how fun it can be to define ourselves online. (We even like to imagine how Greek gods and literary heroes would have been into this if the tech was available in their time.)

When you build your own profile, it's important to recognize that you may see yourself differently than others see you. Before you create a profile, you have to think: how do I want myself to appear?

There are three types of profiles that we'll get into during this lesson:

  • Anonymous profiles
  • Credible profiles
  • Real-person profiles

The name attached to a person's profile should affect how you read their posts. You can usually assume that social media posts made by your friend, Alexander Smith, are truthful. On the other hand, posts written by Fake Science are probably all about the jokes. 

Before Creating a Profile, Think…

So you've decided to go with Shmoop's favorite category, "Real-person profile." Good for you. But before you go into the world of profile creation, you need to decide: who do you want looking at your social media profile?

If you want lots of connections and views from people you don't know, look at what the power users on social sites do:

  • contribute a lot of original content to the site (a.k.a. post…a lot)
  • respond frequently to questions and comments (a.k.a. get others to post…a lot)
  • post regularly, offering kind or helpful responses (again, it's all about the posting)

If you're more into sharing posts with only your real-life friends and family, take a look at your site's privacy settings, a section that exists on every social media site and lets you control who gets to see your information. When you set your profile's privacy to "friends only," that means anything you post can be seen by everyone that you add to your friends list.

Be selective about who you add. A close friend from elementary school who moved away is a good person to add. Your nosy next-door frenemy? Maybe not.

On second thought, maybe you'd rather not broadcast your true self online at all. Some sites, like Facebook, require that you verify your age as over 13 and your email address as valid in order to sign up. (Though, let's be real: These restrictions aren't hard to bypass. A parent can help you sign up, for instance.)

Many sites allow, and even encourage, their users to keep their identities private. Sound appealing? Read on.


Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.02b: Hiding in Plain Sight

On social media, many people want to be well-known, but there are a lot of reasons why a person might choose to remain anonymous:

  • To present a specific image of themselves
  • To avoid taking blame
  • Because they're shy (awww)

On the internet, you can be anonymous like nobody's business. Except…it's everyone's business. Because sites like to track down as much data as possible, and because it's easier to keep people coming back when they've already identified themselves personally with the site, social media platforms will offer incentives to users who create profiles.

Nonetheless, you do have some options. Let's check them out.

High Anonymity

Registering with some sites, such as on Reddit, will let you remain pseudo-anonymous.

Users create usernames in place of using their actual identity, and unregistered users to view almost everything registered users can see. However, unregistered users can't post, vote, comment, or otherwise alter existing content on the site. As listed above, Reddit and other message boards are good examples of high anonyminity—a username allows you to do whatever you want on the site under a fake name, but no username means you can still watch the hijinks without interacting yourself.

Medium Anonymity

Other sites, like meetup.com, have a slightly higher expectation when it comes to identifying yourself.

These sites encourage you to upload a photo to your profile and include a written introduction or "about me" section. You're often asked, but not required, to link to Facebook or other networking sites. Doing so allows the site to learn more about your gender, age, geography, and a ton of other information. But are you required to? Nope. And that's why sites like Meetup and dating sites are filed under the "medium" label.

Low Anonymity

Low anonymity sites, like Facebook or Google+, are generally social networking sites that want to associate you with your real-world identity. Think of it: you disclose real-world information to these sites, like your picture, your first and last name, your birthday, and even the person you're in a relationship with, like it ain't no thing.

Aside from pressing users into including personal information, these sites often keep you logged in at all times, continuing to sneakily collect info on you while you browse the web. If you've ever seen an advertisement on Facebook that perfectly matched a product or topic you'd been looking at online, this is why.

Busted, Facebook.

Omitting Personal Data

Remember that most social media profiles can be kept fairly anonymous simply by not inputting information, or inputting obviously false information. (Yes, Shmoop did graduate college in 1948, thank you very much.)

Some users use pseudonyms—fake names—to keep their anonyminity. If you're specifically interested in developing a pseudonym and not using your real name, check out Diaspora.


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.02a: Talkin' Bout TedTalks

Take a look at this TedTalk which discusses the similarities between creating an online profile and getting a tattoo. Then, head back and ruminate over the deep issues it brought up with the steps listed below.

Part One

If you were creating an electronic tattoo for yourself, what would it look like? Draw an image that you think best represents you, or, write a list of the ideas or images you would want to include.

Part Two

Now, consider: if your "electronic tattoo image" were broadcast on your forehead, how do you think it would affect how other people treat you? Why do you think that?

Describe the tattoo you sketched and the reactions it would inspire in about 100 – 150 words.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the next activity.


Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.02b: Anonymity

There's one thing Shmoop likes more than the internet—and that's pop culture.

  1. Part One

    Pick a character from one of your favorite books or shows and write a fake profile for them. Include personal details like:

    • where they live
    • their likes and dislikes
    • who their crush is (if they have one)

    If you're stuck, take a look at one of Shmoop's character profiles in the literature or mythology sections of the site.

  2. Once you're done, highlight or underline the information that the character might want to keep private and answer the following questions in 50-100 words each:

    1. What information that you listed on your character's profile should probably be kept private to maintain a medium-anonymity or high-anonymity profile? Why?

    2. Who could use this information against the character? What could they do with this information?

    3. What are three things on your profile your character could safely talk about and still maintain a high-anonymity profile? Why?