Jesse Miller’s recent talk in class made me think about just how divisive any discussion on technology and more specifically social media has become. As he notes in his Tedx Talk, discussions around social media use have become loaded, with many feeling extremely worried about social media’s determinantal impact on our collective attention spans and body politic.

I would count myself among those who are concerned with it’s impact. I have experienced how addictive social media and the algorithms that govern Youtube can be, and I’ve read widely on the subject from experts who have drawn a link between increased rates of mental health crises and the advent of the smart phone. I’ve also seen first hand how students’ phones can and often absorb their attention while they are supposed to be on task.

While I may quibble with what I saw as a Miller downplaying the addictive nature of social media, I agree with his central message wholeheartedly. Social media education and guidelines for *relatively* healthy use should be paramount to any well-rounded high school or even elementary school education. Students should learn to recognize and fully appreciate the harm that can come from putting yourself out there too much or spending too much time on your phone. In his Ted Talk, Miller raises the question as to why a student may pull out their phone during class, but wouldn’t dare to do so during a sports event. He also points out that students are going to use the technology and that what’s important is that they use it in a sound way.

One thing I am thinking is that perhaps it is possible to combine Miller’s practical approach to teaching reasonable social media use, while also discussing the ways in which the technology is gamed to absorb our attention. I believe knowing these things would benefit students, as they would have a greater understanding of how their attention is effectively being monetized by these companies. Maybe if they knew this they would chose to use their phones less!