Social media continue to expand in society, both globally as well as locally, while affecting adolescents’ mental health, news consumption and academic performances. This development leaves comprehensive challenges in the classroom. The curricula of the social science subjects in Sweden advocate critical thinking skills and the understanding of digitalization for contemporary society. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how teachers in social studies perceive social media in their profession, with the intentions of gaining insight into how teachers cope with its impact on the classroom. This study is conducted through a qualitative method based on interviews with three different teachers in social studies, spread across both Swedish high school and Swedish upper secondary school level. The symbolic interactionism and MIK (Media and Information Literacy) are integral theories in facilitating the study’s analytical dimensions. The findings indicate that social media cultivate identities, social acknowledgement and further causes stress among adolescents. Socially constructed norms and expectations on social media dominate students’ ways of living. Despite prevailing phone bans during class hours, social media still influence the classroom climate and conflicts between students, making it difficult for teachers to manage. Additionally, the need for imparting source evaluation is vital since fake news spreads rapidly across the different social platforms.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:oru-90173 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Wikman, Hannes |
| Publisher | Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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