In April this year, researcher Mary Anne Lauri spoke about the dangers resulting from parents’ lack of awareness on their children’s social media habits. She referred to a survey which found that two-thirds of children aged between eight and 15 used the internet every day.
The Italians say that “tutto il mondo e’ paese” (the world is a village). The meaning is simple: wherever one goes one is likely to have the same experiences. I have no doubt this also holds true in terms of the social media effects on both youngsters and parents.
Though I have no intention of going into the ‘comparison fray’ here, I will attempt to give some information and, possibly, offer some suggestions.
If we glance at some of the vast research data available online relating to the subject at hand, we will spot a number of similarities between the situation abroad and that our own island. PewInternet is one of the leading research agencies that provide such information.
For example, last April, it found that 71 per cent of teens use Facebook. Another piece of data shows that 91 per cent of teens make use of the internet on a mobile device. Interestingly, African-American teens (aged between 13-17) use other social media apps besides Facebook, such as Tumblr, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. Another survey conducted by the same agency found that 30 per cent had a basic cellphone, 58 per cent had a tablet, 73 per cent had a smartphone, 81 per cent had a gaming console and 87 per cent had a desktop or laptop.
It was also established through research that 24 per cent go online almost constantly, 56 per cent several times a day and 12 per cent once a day.
Laurence Scott, a critic and lecturer in English and creative writing at King’s College, London, states that “we no longer surf the web... because we are the web, ourselves parcelled out to a multiplicity of social media platforms”. Is this to be seen as an opportunity or a threat to ‘teen-maturing’?
The key lies more in providing the necessary online searching tools
Only last May, Foxnews re-ported the following: In 2014, internet users totalled 2.8 billion (39 per cent of the population) as against 35 million (0.6 per cent of the population) in 1995.
Mobile phone users numbered 80 million (one per cent of the population) in 1995, rising to 5.2 billion (73 per cent of the population) last year.
In 2010, five per cent of internet viewing was spent on mobile devices and, five years later, this stood at 29 per cent.
The top seven messaging apps in terms of usage now are Facebook (fb), WhatsApp, Messenger (fb), Instagram, Line, KakaoTalk and Snapchat.
The above research data would indicate that the number of those who use the social media is growing exponentially. Consequently, there seems to be little room for calling it a day or even try to put the clock back.
The so-called ‘Internet of Things’ tells us that everything is connected to everything. Hence, the question is not, first and foremost, how to minimise risks per se, because the ‘bad guys’ will always be there ‘waiting for someone to devour’, to use a biblical phrase.
I am of the opinion that the key lies more in providing the necessary online searching tools and these should be delivered by the information professional working hand-in-hand with teachers in all schools.
The idea of eliminating ‘all’ risks is truly utopian, a far-fetched wish which can never happen. However, by making available the correct research tools through patience and repetition, risks will be drastically minimised.
However, to-date, we do not seem to be heading in the right direction on this issue.
Both teachers and librarians are needed in our schools and it will be good – and more professional – if they could work hand-in-hand. It suffices to mention that the latest IFLA school library guidelines, published in their second edition, clearly state that a professional librarian should be responsible for “both the physical and digital learning space where reading, inquiry, research, thinking, imagination and creativity are central to teaching and learning... and, since the qualifications vary across the world, s/he may not necessarily have teacher training”.
While listing a number of items relating to management and typical library work, the guidelines also emphasise the concept of ‘interlibrary loans’ between all school libraries.
A World Economic Forum document on education notes, on its very first page: “To thrive in a rapidly evolving, technology-mediated world, students must not only possess strong skills in areas such as language, arts, mathematics and science but they must also be adept at skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, persistence, collaboration and curiosity.”
As I already wrote years ago, the thrust on IT or ICT without its parallel wing of research tools did not help equip our kids with the necessary cyber-armour for the 21st-century digital avenue.
The information professional is indeed missing big time.
Claudio Laferla is an information professional.