During the workshop “Social media usage before COVID-19 and now – problems and opportunities”, organized in the framework of the Safer Internet Day 2021, students had the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences about their use of social media before and during the corona crisis. The primary focus was on the change in the use of social media among youngsters.
Using the interactive survey tool PollEverywhere, general questions were first asked about the social lives of the students from the different countries. Almost half of the students indicated that they still see their friends on a daily basis, but a large proportion of them only stay in touch via social media. Based on this information, a number of other questions were then asked, again using PollEverywhere. Below is an overview of the five central questions, including a summary of the results.
Do you feel you spend more time on social media now than before the pandemic? (84% yes, 16% no).
How does social media make you feel during the pandemic? (58% informed, 42% overwhelmed).
What are some positive aspects of social media now, in your opinion? (The majority indicated that staying in touch with friends during a lockdown is very positive. Staying up to date with the latest news was also found to be very positive for a few students).
Statement: ‘I sometimes feel bad because of what I see on social media‘ (Very divided responses. The majority disagreed).
Statement: ‘Now and then I take a break from social media’ (Again, very divided responses. The majority indicated that they do occasionally).
Each question or statement was briefly discussed after the collection of responses, during which the students had the opportunity to further explain their responses. The teachers also gave tips and shared experiences.
The workshop ended with a concluding round where the students could share their take-home messages from this session, after which they were given the opportunity to evaluate the workshop. The conclusions and evaluations were very positive.
Results SID 2021 - Belgian workshopEnglish & German teacher at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege Plus in Antwerp. Belgian coordinator of the Erasmus+ project.