There was no consensus among the audience of an academic discussion yesterday as to whether social media is really dominating our lives.

Focusing on the use of Twitter, Facebook and Google, particularly among the younger generation, two academics invited to tackle the subject by the Strickland Foundation and the Office of the European Parliament could not agree on how the new digital tools are changing the way we live.

Alex Grech, a visiting lecturer in digital strategy at the University of Malta, argued that although the effects of the new digital society are still evolving, education still needs to gear up to the new reality.

“Our youngsters are using the new tool but they are still not educated enough on how to make the best out of social media,” he said.

Bryan Alexander, an educator in the field of how technology transforms education, agreed that society is still getting to know how to use social media.

He said, however, that while parents used to complain until a few years ago that children were spending too much time watching television, today they complain about them spending all their time on mobile phones or tablets.

Many in the audience spoke about their own experiences, mostly complaining that young people were fixated on social media without any real physical interaction with the rest of society.

At the same time, ICT teachers who took the floor complained that despite many years of IT education, many students were still digitally illiterate. “Everyone is driving the social network, even though we are still learning how to drive,” one academic complained.

A second seminar will follow today at the European Parliament offices in Valletta, discussing the dangers and benefits of digital business within the context of the EU’s digital single market.