It is necessary to know how to control social networks – 03/16/2023 – Education

Brazil is heading towards the end of the year with more than 171 million users of social networks, according to the statistics portal Statisa. This contingent includes children and young people who, despite not being old enough to officially create accounts and profiles on the platforms, have some kind of contact with the content that passes through them.

Faced with this fact, there are two possible paths: prohibit or educate. The prohibition, although tempting, means ignoring the fact that pre-adolescents and adolescents are already exposed to the best and worst of social networks, without necessarily being prepared to make that distinction. Educating is hard work, but perhaps it is the most effective solution in the face of what seems to be a path of no return: the influence of new digital technologies on the way we communicate, interact with the world and live.

At the beginning of the month, a decision by the government of the State of São Paulo provoked heated debates on the subject. The Department of Education decided to block the use of social networks and streaming services (services such as Netflix and Globoplay) in state schools, arguing that the restriction aims to “guarantee an adequate environment for learning and avoid inappropriate and/or excessive use of networks, which may impair the quality of the connection and interfere with the progress of pedagogical activities”.

Seeing such platforms only as an obstacle is, in a way, exempting oneself from the responsibility of guiding their conscious and critical use. It is to deprive students of access to content that can enrich classes and make them more connected with the reality in which they live. It is to hinder the exercise of self-expression, since young people could use networks in a positive way to mobilize and engage the school community in solving problems in their region.

This does not mean an unconditional defense of networks. On the contrary: we will only be able to participate in the construction of a better digital ecosystem if we can get to know it, understanding the gear behind the platforms, their business model, the modus operandi of algorithms, the role of influencers and so many other phenomena that, fortunately or unfortunately, they are already part of our lives.

“Social networks are a source of magnificent things and evil things; it depends on how we use them,” said former minister and current secretary of education in Pará, Rossieli Soares, at an event organized by YouTube this week. In schools, he pointed out, it is essential that the use of technology has a clear pedagogical intention.

It is not a matter of simply authorizing the use of cell phones, tablets and other devices in the school environment without mediation or planning. Digital technologies will only make sense if managers and educators can answer an essential question before adopting them: what for?

Today, curricula are already built taking into account the relevance of the internet in our lives and the need to “disclose” it, in order to minimize the risks and expand the opportunities of those who are connected. The National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) raises this concern and, at different times, deals with the construction of skills related to the digital universe, leading students to understand phenomena such as disinformation and act to face it.

Educating for networks will provide students with a more critical look at consuming the information that passes through them and responsibility for producing and sharing content, understanding the reach that their voice can have. Building such skills is also a pillar for today’s children and young people to become adults who are more aware of the power of communication, able to understand that social networks can be used to propagate fake news and hate speech but also for the exercise of citizenship and the diversity of voices in an increasingly connected society.

In a country of continental dimensions and such inequality as Brazil, it cannot be ignored that a number of students do not even have stable internet access in schools. Even so, ignoring the existence of social networks is not a good solution —and it can even widen the gap between young people who have the opportunity to experience them critically and those who simply don’t have the chance to discuss them in a forum. safer environment mediated by educators. In this case, educating is better than prohibiting.