Journal #3: Commercial Concerns in the Social Web

Friesen, N. (2010, December 6). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

There are many benefits to using technology in the classroom. Technology helps keep students engaged, it appeals to a variety of individual learners and learning styles, it aids in making learning (and teaching!) fun, it is a medium that each new entering class of students is more and more comfortable with, and it is becoming even more widely accessible. Social networks, in particular, can easily be utilized as a tool for teachers to connect with students (and for students to connect with each other) for academic purposes. Parents and administrators are others who can connect in a network, creating what can be a very enriching educational community. Despite all of these positives, there are also negatives that have caused many to raise concerns against integrating technology into the classroom. One of these concerns is the aspect of commercialism in social media.

Critics of social media as an educational tool argue that social media platforms truly do not exist for the sake of the customers pleasure. Their sole function is to make the corporation behind the platform money. These websites, from Facebook, to YouTube and everything in between, make that money through bombarding users with ads, and are paid hefty sums by the companies who wish to have their ads featured. Google, for example, made over $2 billion in advertising in 2010 alone. 

http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3149/2718

The people behind these websites don't just throw any old ad at their users though. They have their advertising methods down to a science. Through the use of detailed tracking and research into the common search terms of each individual user, they can generate ads to target specific people, resulting in a higher probability that the user will click the ad, and in turn, earn the corporation more money. When one of my friends recently became engaged and changed her Facebook relationship status from "In a Relationship" to "Engaged," she noticed that the Facebook ads on her homepage began to look a lot more like: "Looking for the perfect wedding gown? Visit such-and-such bridal store!" and "Custom Elegant Wedding Cakes! Call Today!" 

What are the implications of any of this on the use of social networking sites in the educational setting? The main argument here is that while proponents of social media as a learning tool state that these websites serve to connect users in meaningful ways, the truth is, they don't. They serve to make money. When you ask your students to write a blog post, or watch a video on YouTube, you are, figuratively speaking, simultaneously handing them a homework assignment AND a magazine that contains all of their favorite topics: "Here is the video you need to watch and respond to, just try not to click on the adjacent advertisement for the free pair of custom Nikes with separate purchase." 

TWO Twix ads on an educational video prompting viewers to vote for their favorite type of Twix.
Really, what kid can resist "picking a side?" 

Can they effectively do the assignment without being distracted by? Do the positives outweigh how detrimental and counterproductive these ads are? How do you protect their privacy when the websites are constantly stripping information from any material the students post online to tailor the ads that will be shown to them? These are the sorts of questions posed by those who have concerns about social media as a learning tool.

Q1: Are there online platforms that can be used that are more effective and less intrusive and commercial-centered?

A1: I would think that some websites that are created specifically for education (like Edmodo) are not driven by ads. Otherwise, I think commercialism is just part of using the internet. I think that so long as you give the students clear guidelines and you are assigning them something meaningful and engaging, they will be less likely to want to click elsewhere to begin with. If they know what is expected of them, they will usually rise to those expectations.

Q2: After reading the issues raised in this article, where do you stand on the use of social networks as an educational tool?
A2: The article makes a good point about the unfortunate fact that internet users are just a money-making tool and as such, there are very few places in the internet that are ad-free. However, I do not think this is a big enough issue to argue against using social media in the classroom. Students are bombarded with ads when they watch television, but that doesn't mean you would stop them from watching a program on The History Channel. Magazines are filled with ads, but that doesn't mean you would stop them from reading National Geographic.