At the very start of my technology journey, I downloaded all the apps and consumed the content of social media. I have Facebook to check in on my family members, especially the older ones. I used to have TikTok and swipe through the app almost every day. Since the pandemic it has brought me on a huge learning journey with observing different communities through the app, rediscovering my love of reading through BookTok, and watching political information and activism videos. As I look back TikTok has actually impacted my life in so many ways. Although last year I deleted TikTok as a way to decrease spending time on social media and my phone. From Boffone and Jerasa’s reading, I understand the huge benefit TikTok and BookTok has on adolescents because I had that same experience! I was encouraged to read in a digital space outside of school and pushed myself to purchase the books they recommended. This put me into a whole spiral of reading and buying books my senior year, and eventually helped me realize I wanted to be a part of the literature world.
Without TikTok, I have resorted to my favorite app, Instagram. When I first joined Instagram I posted here and there but would mainly just view content from my friends and creators. Until recently I have found the joy in posting. I think of Instagram as my photo diary, so when I take a picture or resonate with a photo, I’m most likely gonna post it. My profile represents my personality and identity, and that’s how I want to be reflected in my pictures and throughout my page. It’s where I can be creative, artistic, and experiment. I try not to overthink when I post like I have in the past. I want my profile to show people the goofy, weird, cool, authentic side of me. My favorite part is when I hear “She posts a lot!”
Instagram is also very similar to TikTok for me and personally I like it even better. I am still able to use reels and see similar videos that I would have seen on TikTok. Through suggested content and my algorithm, I am able to get news and information from independent journalists who post on Instagram, and from activist accounts. This helps me support their work, stay updated in what is happening in the world, and allows me to know what action I can do to help. A specific independent journalist I have been following on Instagram who creates content at every second of the day is the reporter Aaron Parnas. With his Instagram link here: https://www.instagram.com/aaronparnas?igsh=NmRoNzcxbXY5aWw5
In this week’s insightful reading from Jenkins, I picked up on two new skills that are applied while I am in a digital space. The first skill is judgement. With misinformation, conspiracies, and recently ai videos, it is extremely important to make sure that everybody is checking information and sources. Even when I use my sources on Instagram that give me information and news, I tend to investigate myself and see whether or not there are sources, who those sources are, and any additional information I can find on the internet. This helps young people and anyone in general become critical thinkers and thinkers who are able to think for themselves. The second skill that caught my interest is distributed cognition. When we view content, how we respond to it can matter. The definition in the reading implies that we should “interact meaningfully.” (P 4). Usually, I will heart social and political posts so that I am supporting the creator and so that I am boosting my algorithm along as theirs. Occasionally I will repost important information onto my Instagram story so that others can have access and exposure to information. I notice many friends I follow do this action, and I appreciate it because it allows me to interact with it as well.
It is important as educators to use digital media as a tool and resource instead of steering away completely and criticizing it. We should be applying student’s lives to their education and work, and the digital world is a huge part of that. Incorporating digital media will help students be more engaged and willing to work. This allows for creative outlets and ways for students to work outside of school. Although I do think it’s important to practice the same literacy skills without a screen. I admit I even struggled with this, I thought the work was boring, but with the right balance there can hopefully be a way to success in urban, English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms.
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