Exploring Adolescent Social Media Use in a High School: Tweeting Teens in a Bell Schedule World

Abstract

This multilevel exploratory case study examined the intersection of adolescent social media use and administrators’ and teachers’ work in one Florida high school. Through a survey and activities with 48 high school students and interviews with 37 students and 18 administrators and teachers in a Florida high school, we explored the different ways that students and adults used social media both outside and in school. We found that students and adults engaged in active and intentional community building and informal learning across social media sites, however, these activities were largely separate from the formal activities in schools. We discuss the implications of this separation and its potential to energize high schools.

Adolescent Social Media Information Literacy Outside of School: A Scoping Review of the Literacy and Educational Technology Literature

“…The age range 13–18 was important to us because the purpose of this review is to understand what is known about the social media practices of adolescents ages 13–18, so we might further research to better support students and teachers in secondary education. We had to cut a substantial number of articles from both the education technology and literacy because the research included participants over 18 in their study (see literacy: Saal & Gómez, 2020; Tucker-Raymond et al, 2017; and educational technology: Moekotte et al, 2015; Yang et al, 2021).…”

“…We chose to investigate out of school environments specifically because the literacy practices of adolescents are different outside of school than in school (Hull & Schultz, 2001;Moje et al, 2004). Also, adolescents may use social media differently in school than out of school because school policy may limit the use of social media at school, and the non-academic use of social media, which is it most often used for, may be not be allowed at school (Rutledge et al, 2019).…”

Social Media Affects Emotional and Cognitive Status

“…Social media has the power to influence a teen's decision-making skills by connecting them to their peers [1]. This can especially impact health-risk behaviors like the use of alcohol and tobacco [25]. Teenagers are able to be connected to social media 24 hours a day and 7 days per week, allowing them constant exposure to carefully molded profiles that project perfected images [26].…”

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Adolescents’ Use of Technologies, Sense of Community, and Loneliness: A Retrospective Perception Analysis

“…In general, there has been an observable increase in the use of digital media: while television and printed press as media are declining among adolescents, the use of new technologies (i.e., messaging, Internet usage, and online gaming) has remained constantly high in recent years and, in particular, there has been an increase in the use of social networking sites that, especially for girls, have become an integral part of the daily routine for a high number of teenagers [ 26 ]. Girls also tend to use technology for social networking sites in a more consistent way than boys—especially those that are mostly focused on sharing multimedia content (i.e., Instagram, Snapchat)—while boys seem to mostly be involved in online gaming platforms or communities focused on specific interests [ 27 ]. However, it was found that in both genders, social media sites are seen as an important resource to interact with friends, find new friendships or receive support and advice, and interact with the community, but also to study, acquire new skills, and create connections that might be useful for their future academic career [ 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Girls also tend to use technology for social networking sites in a more consistent way than boys—especially those that are mostly focused on sharing multimedia content (i.e., Instagram, Snapchat)—while boys seem to mostly be involved in online gaming platforms or communities focused on specific interests [ 27 ]. However, it was found that in both genders, social media sites are seen as an important resource to interact with friends, find new friendships or receive support and advice, and interact with the community, but also to study, acquire new skills, and create connections that might be useful for their future academic career [ 27 , 28 ]. Within this framework, the COVID-19 pandemic ended up facilitating a further increase in ICT use [ 29 ], and now many teenagers are even exhibiting behavior that is very close to technology-addiction behavior [ 30 ].…”