How does technology play a role in young people's life? What are the benefits of having technology at the fingertips of the current generation so easily? What good or bad can come from the use of so much technology?
When asked to do a deep dive into an educational research technology website I chose Common Sense. I chose this one over Project Tomorrow, Educause, and Pew Research because I found the reports to be more intriguing. It also helped that a fair amount of the reports were geared more towards the age group I would like to work with when I get my MLIS degree. The name of the research technology, Common Sense, to me was a nice play on words, even if they did not intend it to be. The reports I took my statistic from, I choose based on the 'common sense' idea/concept. What might be considered common sense to one person would not even be on the radar for another. So again, the play on words of things and how some of those concepts might be a generational ideal.
Teens and Mental Health: How Girls Really Feel About Social Media
As a report this title jumped out at me, it made me remember my youth and some of the struggles I went through before social media was around. I would not have thought as many young girls feel positively about social media based on my own experience towards the end of my adolescent years.
"Across platforms, LGBTQ+ adolescents are roughly twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ adolescents to encounter hate speech related to sexual or gender identity, but they are also more likely to find connection (Nesi, Mann, and Robb, p. 17)." This result from the research, was both bothersome and uplifting. Bothersome for the fact that hate speech would be seen as much as it is and extremely unfortunate that young people are seeing it at all. Uplifting though because of the connection that can be found from social media. Knowing there is someone else out there like you or going through the same things you are is extremely powerful and social media allows those connections to happen. To view the full report in its entirety, click Here.
The State of Kids and Families in America 2024
This report gave me so much insight into Democrats and Republicans finding common ground on a topic. I did not think based on what I had previously been told and what I had learned in school, that those two parties could agree on something. What I learned from this report is everyone, not matter what their political affiliations, agree elected leaders are failing our young people and both parties want more government support given to children and families.
One stat I fully agree with was, "Both teens and voters think our schools are not currently up to the task of preparing kids for the future or economic stability (Gormely, Lake, Lenhert, Naughton, Snell, Soltis Anderson, and Vinyard, p. 10)." A fair amount of the staff I hire in retail are juniors or seniors in high school. The amount of what was considered common knowledge, is lost to them. Things that I remember being taught to me in high school they no longer do, like how to do your taxes. For the full report, click Here.
My Findings
The amount of insight and knowledge I gained from reading eight reports from Common Sense was amazing. Even though I only talked about two here, I would encourage everyone to go and check out the website Here. I firmly believe everyone can benefit from educational research reports, it would be the equivalent of reading an article in the newspaper.
Your point about how high school is much different today reinforces the idea that we need to stay current on what the research is telling us about young people and how they learn.
ReplyDeleteHello Brittany, I really enjoyed reading your post about common sense and its role in understanding technology's impact on young people. I totally agree with your point on the importance of addressing both the positive and negative effects of social media on teens' mental health. It’s uplifting to see the connections that LGBTQ+ adolescents can make, even though the presence of hate speech is troubling. Your insights on bipartisan agreement about the state of education and the need for more government support for kids and families were also really eye-opening. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful analysis.
ReplyDeleteHi Brittany. I enjoyed learning about how technology for your people is about common sense. The first phrase at the beginning, "Is Common Sense, common sense?" This is catchy and I am intrigued to learn more. I was not aware of the political views of coming together for our students in school. I would agree that in high school they don't show individuals how to achieve in the future and we can only hope they will. Having this necessary class will only guide our young learners to succeed in their own path. Thank you for sharing an amazing common sense tool.
ReplyDeleteBrittany,
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on how schools are not currently preparing teens for the future mirror my own. As a 5th grade teacher, I’ve noticed that my math curriculum and focus standards do not address financial literacy, despite it being a subject of great interest to most students. It is concerning to see the number of students who struggle to distinguish between the various coins used in the U.S. currency. A few years ago, a group of 5th graders requested to have lessons on financial literacy, so my team invited some parent volunteers who were experts in that field. These volunteers organized engaging activities related to saving and spending. The students got a lot out of the experience and requested more math centers focusing on money.