My Social Media Life

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My Social
Media Life

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

Show teens using phones, but not
talking

Use pause and think illustration,
thought bubbles

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Essential Question

How does social media affect our relationships?

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Identify the role of social media in students' lives.

Reflect on the positive and negative effects social
media use has on their relationships.

Recognize "red flag feelings" when using social media
and use the Feelings & Options thinking routine to
consider ways to handle them.

Learning Objectives

l

2

3

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WARM UP: SOCIAL MEDIA BONDS

What percentage of people in this class do you think are on
social media, like Instagram, Snapchat, or something similar?
Show what you think by raising your hand:

5 fingers = most or all

3 fingers = about half

1 finger = few or none

Directions

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KEY VOCABULARY

Social media

Websites and applications that enable users
to create and share content or to participate in social networking

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OBSERVE + ANALYZE IMAGE

• Roughly nine-in-ten teens say they use YouTube, making it the most widely used platform measured in our survey.

• Majorities of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use TikTok (63%), Snapchat (60%) and Instagram (59%).

• Facebook once dominated the social media landscape among America’s youth, but the share of teens who use the site has dropped from 71% in 2014-2015 to 33% today.

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Discuss:

●

What did teens say were
some benefits of social
media?

●

What did they identify as
problems or drawbacks?

WATCH + DISCUSS

To watch this video on the Common Sense Education site, click here.

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KEY VOCABULARY

Oversharing

Sharing personal feelings, information, or
experiences that later make the sharer feel uncomfortable or regretful

Poll

Posting on social media
allows me to connect with people who
have the same interests I do.

• Agree

• Disagree

Poll

If you're having a bad day, social media
makes it worse. You scroll through
and see how great everyone else's
life seems. It's depressing. 

• Agree

• Disagree

Poll

Building real relationships
with people is much easier
face-to-face. Those relationships
are stronger and last longer. 

• Agree

• Disagree

Poll

Social media isn't really about
connecting with other people;
it's just about showing off who you
want people to think you are.

• Agree

• Disagree

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If you're having a bad day, social media

makes it worse. You scroll through
and see how great everyone else's

life seems. It's depressing.

REFLECT

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KEY VOCABULARY

Red flag feeling

When something happens on digital media that makes you feel uncomfortable, worried, sad, or anxious

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Feelings & Options

ANALYZE: DIGITAL DILEMMA

Identify. Who are the different people involved in the scenario? What dilemma or challenge are they facing?

Feel. What do you think each person in the dilemma is feeling? Why might the situation be hard or challenging for each of them?

Imagine. Imagine options for how the situation could be handled. Come up with as many ideas as possible: There's no one "right" answer! Then choose: Which option might lead to the most positive outcome, where most people feel good or taken care of?

Say. Thinking more about the idea you chose for handling the situation, what could the people involved say?