Casey Neistat’s humorous YouTube video “Instagram I love you” provides some great pointers on how to appropriately use Instagram. Neistat argues that people should keep in mind that Istagram should be used to “document life” or create a story, and that posting selfie after relentless selfie is doing the exact opposite of that. I notice often times, many people are quick to judge a social media app (myself included) devaluing the product, because we are bored of or annoyed by the pictures or banal writing that people share. However, Neistat’s video reshapes some of my opinions of social media. He reminds us, “A platform is only as good as its users.” This is an important concept to remember when judging the platforms or technologies we use. Instead of critiquing an app and deeming it meaningless due to the content provided by its users, we must be selective in who we follow and find meaning in what that app or forum can do for us.
I can use Instagram in meaningful ways with my students, for instance. I loved Neistat's idea of using Instagram as a documentation of life, and I think this would be a great lesson to share with our students. If we taught students that they should use social media as a tool to share with their peers, the events of their lives (not selfies), we would be creating better digital citizens and frankly more interesting ones! Neistat explains pages filled with selfies provide “no story. ” In other words, they are boring to other social media users. Students today are growing up in a strange time, in which the media idolizes the idea of “the selfie.” This popular cultural trend, therefore is becoming a part of many peoples' lives and is directly reflected in so many social media pages as a result. Selfies are everywhere! Young students, being at the impressionable age where fitting in is of the highest importance, will often use social media with selfie driven pages as they reflect what the culture deems normal; in this case, taking selfies. I think we as teachers should play a role in at least getting students to think about how their pictures in the social media platforms they use affect how people perceive them. Students could even write a reflection based on their Instagram profile and explain “what story” they are telling the world through the photos they chose to share. I think this would be a fun and interesting lesson for students, as it would directly relate to their worlds and could tie into to an identity/conformity unit in an English classroom.
I can use Instagram in meaningful ways with my students, for instance. I loved Neistat's idea of using Instagram as a documentation of life, and I think this would be a great lesson to share with our students. If we taught students that they should use social media as a tool to share with their peers, the events of their lives (not selfies), we would be creating better digital citizens and frankly more interesting ones! Neistat explains pages filled with selfies provide “no story. ” In other words, they are boring to other social media users. Students today are growing up in a strange time, in which the media idolizes the idea of “the selfie.” This popular cultural trend, therefore is becoming a part of many peoples' lives and is directly reflected in so many social media pages as a result. Selfies are everywhere! Young students, being at the impressionable age where fitting in is of the highest importance, will often use social media with selfie driven pages as they reflect what the culture deems normal; in this case, taking selfies. I think we as teachers should play a role in at least getting students to think about how their pictures in the social media platforms they use affect how people perceive them. Students could even write a reflection based on their Instagram profile and explain “what story” they are telling the world through the photos they chose to share. I think this would be a fun and interesting lesson for students, as it would directly relate to their worlds and could tie into to an identity/conformity unit in an English classroom.