Tech Crisis? LAWSUIT!

School districts are struggling to handle technology, is suing social media companies the answer? How did we get here, and where do we go?

Technology and social media are a huge issue in schools, and things are getting worse. I think this started when I was in high school, I was one of the first of my peers to get a smart phone in 7th grade. By high school, almost everyone had an iphone. We would literally live tweet throughout the day, I have fond memories of this, I remember it was so fun. I LOVED social media from the start, I spent hours on tumblr, I was known at school for being funny on twitter, and everything was documented via snapchat. Social media was slightly less sinister back then, we all used our real names online, a few of us had parents that monitored our accounts (I didn’t, but I knew my friends parents saw what I posted, and that kept us relatively tame). Social media did a lot of good in my life, I had a place to express myself and be humorous, I had access to more diverse media, I got to see lots of art and creativity in an accessible way, and I felt bonded to my friends through social media.

My school was VERY strict with us about phones, I served a few detentions for being on my phone. I got caught cheating a few times, but I always talked my way out of it. My little hack was to open my text convo with my boss of whatever job I currently had, so if my teacher caught me cheating, I could quickly close out the quizlet app, and then the text would be there, and I would say “i’m sorry i was texting my boss I need a ride to work today” and it ALWAYS worked (it only works once per teacher). I rarely remember being able to “scroll” in class, and our phones were never used as a part of instruction. I remember when I was 16 my AP environmental science teacher had us use our phones to play a new cutting edge game, kahoot. We thought it was SO cool to use our phones in class, and not get in trouble.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses though.