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Students Using Social Media for Good

Summary
educator
This article discusses how the youth can use social media in positive ways both for themselves and their local communities.

Social Media is the term given to online communications channels, such as websites, platforms, and apps, where users can communicate, share, exchange, and engage in social behavior. 

The media and television often report on the negative aspects of social media and we hear stories of addiction, cyberbullying, identity theft, and worse.  But not all social media use ends in disaster and in fact, many users can and are using social media in positive ways both for themselves and their local communities.

Youth in Qatar access a wide variety of social networking sites and Facebook and Twitter are among the most popular with boys and girls, respectively.  Research has shown that social media can provide benefits for students, such as helping them make friends and stay connected with them.  Social media have been noted to increase friendships so that young people feel less isolated and thus can also be a force of good for many young communities.

There are also influencers, or social media users with large accounts, that use the different social media platforms to communicate with the people who like and follow their accounts.   Influencers on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube can make positive change for those around them. 

If children and young people use social media, they should critically examine who they “follow,” who they “share” and who they “like.”  Children and young people should question whether that influencer is someone to be admired, someone who adheres to the tenets of Islam and someone who displays e-Values online and offline? 

How can students limit how much they share online?

Children and young people should be careful not to over-post or overshare.  They can responsibly share online by first asking a series of simple questions to help determine whether they are oversharing.

  • Are my settings set to private?
  • Is this (post, tweet, text, photo, video, etc) in line with my community and Islamic values?
  • Would I be okay if someone hijacked this photo, text, or post?
  • Does this create a positive online identity for me?
  • Have I taken a moment or two to self-reflect before I self-reveal?
  • When playing online games or using other chat services, don’t forget to keep your private information private. 

How can students clean up their social media accounts?

Colleges, recruiters, and future employers have all been known to look at the social media accounts of prospective candidates.  In order to make sure that your student shines, be sure to ask him to perform a social media cleanse:

  • Make a list of all social media accounts.
  • Review the content of those accounts: look at photos, posts, comments, emojis, likes, etc.
  • Edit posts and comments and delete unflattering content.
  • Think like a decision-maker (Is this a person we want to hire, to include in our university, to associate with, etc.?)
  • Using a search engine like Google or Yahoo, enter your own name in the search engine (then check images, videos).  Ask Google or Yahoo to delete inappropriate content.
  • Check settings and set everything to private.
  • Close any old accounts.

How can students use social media for good?

Parents can and should encourage teens to use their screen time for good, for example, to post pictures of their volunteer activities or engage in social causes and to use their media presence to further their goals.

  • Post pictures of your volunteer activities, while being sure to respect the privacy of others in the images.
  • Create a campaign for a social cause you believe in.
  • Create a call-to-action for other young people to get involved.
  • Create community awareness on your social media accounts by identifying need-to-know and need-to-share posts.
  • Network with individuals and organizations that believe in the same causes and projects.
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Last edited
11-01-2024

Call to Action

A good digital citizen uses social media for good. Are you a good digital citizen?

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