Why social networking tools cause many tragedies for teenagers? ( Potential research topic)

Why social networking tools cause many tragedies for teenagers?

--- Develop a restricted but helpful social networking tool for education.

 

Yesterday, I watched a video from “Daily Video” with a title of “What students think are the most important issues in education” (PBS 2013).  In this video, people talked some important issues for education in the case of conducting school reform. The video enlightens me to think about what are the factors that may influence students’ learning behaviour. With my interest in ITE, I mainly looked into the respect of social networking tools for education. Recently, with the development of social networking tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and Sina Weibo, people can get instant information from the ones that they cared about. Under this circumstance, some teachers encourage their students to go online and create a social networking account.

 

However, there are many teen victims suffered by the unrestricted social networking tools in these years.  A case in point is that a girl named Amanda Todd, committed suicide because a man she met in an online chat room circulated photos which flashing her breasts. Even she tried to move to different cities and change schools, the teenagers continued to target her through Facebook (Natalie 2012). Therefore, a restricted social networking tool for education is strongly expected. To be able to create such a tool, several things need to be investigated. Firstly, what are students’ needs in social networking? Secondly, how to prevent them from going to other social networking tools? Thirdly, what are the boundaries need to be made in educational social networking tools?

 

I believe, if such social networking tools have been invented, students will have a more healthy and interactive learning environment.

 

Works cited (HARVARD):

 

PBS 2013, What students think are the most important issues in education, Video, Daily Video, US. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily_videos/what-students-think-are-the-most-important-issues-in-education/>

 

Natalie E, 2012, Girl, 15, 'found hanged' just weeks after posting heartbreaking YouTube video detailing battle with cyber bullies, 12 October, Viewed 19 October 2013, <http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/amanda-todd-teenager-commits-suicide-1376976>