Gen Z and Social Media

Generation Z

My English language learners (ELLs) are students who are newcomers to the United States, and have been in the country for less than 3 years. They are also a part of Generation Z. Gen Z students are students who were born from 1997-2012. Currently this generation is 10-25 years old. Do you know what our Gen Z students think about social media? Do you think they find it appropriate to use during class? I decided to create a “Social Media” Questionnaire to know more about my students' opinions about the role of social media in their lives and education. 

Source: Screenshot by Jesenia Meza

Social Media Questionnaire

The first question that I asked them was to organize the following social media platforms from best to worst. Most of them ranked Instagram in first place followed by YouTube. Most of my students said that social media is important to them because it keeps them in communication with their family members from their home countries and it provides a way to stay connected with daily news around the world. My students also use another social media called “Whatsapp”; this is an app that is popular in Spanish speaking countries. They were a bit upset because they did not see this platform in the questionnaire. According to the article from Insider, in 2019 Instagram was the social media platform most used by Gen Z.

Source: Business Insider Survey

Another question that I asked in the questionnaire is “Describe in three words how you would feel if you did not have social media in your life?” Most of my students said they would feel sad, alone, angry, bored, miscommunicated, demotivated, stressed, and desperate. They said this is part of their lives now and it would be difficult and different to not have it. However, there were few students who said they would feel like they had more time for themselves and families.

An additional question that I asked them was “Do you think schools should use social media in the classroom? Do you think it is appropriate?” I think the answers were split between yes and no. One said, “I believe in class it should be used only if it is for a project to present our ideas, but we should not use it for distraction.” Another student said, “Yes, it can motivate students.” Finally, a student said, “we can use it but with responsibility.” And other students said no because students can get distracted easily.  However, I would say 95% said that technology is extremely important at their school. They stated that most of their assignments require internet access and they can communicate fast with their teachers and classmates.

Overall, technology helps educators motivate their students. We can also integrate social media, like YouTube, into the classroom but with responsibility. For example, learning more about how to keep our students' information safe with privacy settings and informing parents about what social media will be used in the classroom. It is important to get out of our comfort zone, like I did for this class, and learn from each other.