Learning intention: To understand the implications of social media on the audience, society and the media ecology.
Possible questions for Ecology:
What have been the most significant changes to media ecology since the invention of the internet?
And you could easily say that the internet and in particular, social media has spawned the most radical changes in audience and industry behaviour.
Discussion
- How has the commercialisation of data happened and should you be worried?
- ‘The media control how we understand and connect with the world.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?
- Social media has blurred the boundaries between private and public personae.
Has the monetisation of our attention has led to manipulation of what we consume, as well as our identities, which are more fluid and negotiated and collective than ever before?
We will be spending two lessons watching The Social Dilemma – a Netflix documentary all about the addictiveness and power of social media and the impact it is having and will have on future generations.
Task 1: See the questions in classroom and make every effort to write some bullet point answers in relation to the ideas raised in the documentary.
Alternative / Optional Task
If you have already watched it and can understand the answers to these questions…more or less to the satisfaction of your teacher.
Then work in the ref on a short presentation, whilst the rest of the class watch The Social Dilemma.
‘5 things you have found interesting or significant about the media ecology.’
You should work in groups of five. Each of you must explain, in one sentence, the thing that has struck you as interesting / important so far. Each of you must choose a different idea from the others in your group and you submit…as a group.
Please clarify your ideas first to each other and then individually write your different idea.
Help each other.
You should take a copy and populate this slideshow.
Additional Materials (and links to other subjects)
Smart phone addiction and Dopamine.
33 Problems with Social Media an Infographic
Look at this infographic with 33 elements of social media that you may or may not be familiar with – most of the impacts and effects are very negative. Can you think of some positive ones?
Interesting for the impact on our personal psychology.
“Social Media is colonising your mind” Bo Burnham
