Social Media a Cause
For all we hear about “kids these days” and their irresponsible use of social media−posting questionable pictures of themselves or letting Twitter corrode their ability to hold a thought for more than a nanosecond−it turns out that most are using it to express a genuine passion for changing the world around them. And they’re succeeding. And these trends extend well beyond the U.S. Young people in other countries shows similar interests in contributing to larger causes. China’s young adults for instance, lead the world in online political discussions and offline they donate the most money to charities. India’s younger generation ranks the first in the world when it comes to staying informed, and they’re the most optimistic about the impact their activism has on the world around them. It seems that our youngest generation of adults are the ones leading the charge when it comes to effectively making a difference.
http://news.yahoo.com/kids-social-media-created-generation-activists-083812969.html
Goal
- To search social networks to explore and identify social causes of personal interest.
- To decide if and how one wants to contribute to these causes.
Procedures
- Social media is being used to promote social causes. See the Infographic below about the social activism habits of today's young people.
- Encourage learners to review some of the causes found on Facebook and other social media (e.g. Harry Potter Alliance); and report to one another causes of interest. A list of causes that have a presence on Facebook can be found at: http://www.causes.com/discover?ctm=browse
Learners can decide if and how they want to contribute to identified causes.
Note: The purpose of this activity is to have learners to search social networks to explore and identify social causes of which they have interest. Since it involves social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter, learners will need to be over 13 years old. An alternative for younger students is to explore the causes as a class using an Interactive Whiteboard or LCD project and decide on cause to follow/contribute to as a group.
Note: The purpose of this activity is to have learners to search social networks to explore and identify social causes of which they have interest. Since it involves social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter, learners will need to be over 13 years old. An alternative for younger students is to explore the causes as a class using an Interactive Whiteboard or LCD project and decide on cause to follow/contribute to as a group.
Extension
An extension for older learners (senior high school or older) is to help them establish their own cause and become their own 21st century activists.