Hello!
My name is Madeline (Maddie) Simpson. I am currently a 2nd grade general education teacher, but I am working on my Master’s in Educational Technology in the hopes of becoming a technology teacher in the future.
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Image Source: Personal Photo |
My relationship with social media differs based on the platform. I find that I am most active on Instagram. On here, I make posts, look at other people’s posts, and use the direct messaging to send messages and posts to my friends. My Instagram is linked to my Facebook, so I do send things to Facebook, but unlike Instagram I am not posting directly to that platform and I do not often comment or send posts from Facebook. I like that my Instagram and Facebook are time capsules of my life. When I look at Facebook, which I was very active on in high school and college, I have albums of all my old photos with friends and family. Similarly, Instagram has photos of the highlights of my life for the past 10 years. It is really fun to be able to look back on those pictures at any time! It is not surprising that Instagram is my most used platform, because I am a big scrapbooker. I love to take photos and create scrapbooks of important memories, and in my mind, Instagram is just a digital extension of that passion. I have also started to combine the two by making scrapbooks digitally on Shutterfly.com and having them printed for my home!
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| Facebook and Instagram Profile Pictures Image Source: Personal Photo Another way that I use social media is by posting, but doing it for myself instead of for others. Two examples of this are Pinterest and Goodreads. I use these platforms all the time, but not necessarily to be “social”. I have only a handful of followers or “friends” on these, but I am using them to collect ideas and information for myself. For Goodreads, I am able to make wish lists of books to read as well as to keep track of books that I’ve read. I do have a few friends that I’ve connected with to see what they’re reading and get new ideas, but I am not posting for their benefit. On Pinterest, most of my boards are “secret” and just used for me to collect ideas of projects for school, crafts for my free time, ideas for my wardrobe, etc. I do not look at what anyone else is posting, but instead search the specific things that I am looking to save for myself. |
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| Pinterest and Goodreads Profile Pictures Image Source: Personal Photo |
Lastly, there are platforms that I use just to absorb information without posting at all. For me, Tiktok is that platform. I use Tiktok to watch videos and send videos to friends, but do not post my own or comment/like videos.
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| Tiktok Profile Picture Image Source: Personal Photo |
My progression of how much I use these platforms is very much reflected in my profile pictures. For the social media platforms that I use often and “actively participate” I have a profile picture that is up to date. For the ones that are just for me or platforms where I am a “quiet observer”, my profile pictures are either not up to date, not of me, or I simply do not have one at all. I have never created a “bio” on any of my social media platforms and I think this is because I am private on all of my accounts, so the people that “follow” me already are my friends in real life and know who I am.
Hi Maddie.
ReplyDeleteI also like to look back at my old Instagram pictures. I've never been much of a scrapbooker, but maybe I could find a platform that's good for digital scrapbooking. I think it could be neat to use Instagram with students to keep track of their progress on a project, etc. I'm excited to learn more about how to use social media in an educational setting. I haven't used TikTok, but if I had an account I'd probably use it the way you do (absorbing but not posting).
Looking forward to learning with you!
-Kate
Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteI had been fascinated by the role played by social media in building community and your post brought that home. Despite the many negative reviews that social media gets, there is no doubt that it is a place, albeit virtual, where community is built. If we are to defend social media, that is the argument we will have to use; i.e. hat people use social media to “ make posts, look at other people’s posts, and use the direct messaging to send messages and posts to (my) friends”. My goal in taking the course is to learn how to use social media to do good.
Thank you.
Great to meet you, Maddie. Like you, the purpose dictates how I use social media. I, however, don't mind being public so my profiles are complete. Thanks for the introduction to who you are. I loved the GIF!
ReplyDelete