The core of tools like Instagram, Tiktok, and Bluesky is built and has algorithms that go far beyond the mastery of any classroom teacher or even most schools.
Recently (not the recent way) social media emphasizes itself, at best, as a set of “tools” rather than being driven by “socialization” but rather algorithms designed to “attract” users.
Why should teachers be expected if families, workplaces and institutions, and the government as a whole cannot figure this out? Or, more immediately, what should the **teacher be responsible for?
Enough classroom control myth
Take privacy as an example. Recent research has clearly shown that social media platforms collect student data not only broad but are completely out of the field of a single classroom or school. In the 2020 paper, Livingstone and Stoeva wrote:
“Children are usually introduced and data is extracted through opaque processes that most parents and teachers cannot influence, let alone explanation.” (Livingstone, S. and Stoilova, M., 2020, Journal of Children and Media)
Even with regionally issued equipment and “walled gardens,” any data safeguards may disappear once students leave campus (and sometimes just WiFi networks).
The risk is far beyond distraction
Teachers tend to warn of cyberbullying or cheating, but the bigger problem is systemic and global. Nguyen et al. Write Computer and Education:
“Algorithm planning determines what information is visible to students; misinformation and biased narratives can enhance existing stereotypes and even undermine teacher authority in ways that are unpredictable without simple classroom guidelines.” (Nguyen, N. et al., 2022)
A simple example: Imagine you use a viral news story for class discussions and just later discover that most of your students discovered the story through a network of coordinated misinformation campaigns that disguise as news. If students end up trusting more unverified influencers than evidence-based sources, then the classroom conversation has been shaped before you begin.
Not only is it a teaching tool, but it is also an environment
Most teaching recommendations about social media frame it as a tool, but research shows that it is its own environment. Marik and Boyd argue:
“The supply rate of social media shapes the connected public, which means students live in a landscape with different norms, privacy expectations and power structures.” (Marwick, A. & Boyd, D., 2014, New Media and Society)
For example, you might use Instagram for poetry projects, but your students’ posts (as well as likes and profile data) become part of a wider ecosystem that they can’t control or even fully understand.
So what is the teacher’s responsibility?
You can’t completely isolate students’ social media manipulation, you can monitor what they see on their phones at home. Teachers are also not equipped with algorithms that use these platforms to spread publicity, large-scale data collection or poor actors’ ability.
Instead, a more realistic role is to help students understand How these platforms work. Specifically:
- Professor Privacy: Make sure students know that on most platforms, their posts are permanent and that their data is collectible and sellable.
- Promote key consumption: Simulate fact checks and teach students to question the reliability and motivation they see online.
- Highlight the manipulation strategy: Discuss the algorithm feed, the basics of Echo Chambers, and how robots distort what looks like “popular” or “True”.
- Public dialogue on identity and well-being: Social media can shape the way students see themselves, each other and the wider world.
Classroom example
- Assign a program where students can track how virus rumors spread online. Annenberg’s research on media literacy shows that this real-world connection is more effective than lectures.
- Invite students to analyze screenshots of manipulated images or posts and compare them to trusted sources.
- Use current events to inspire discussions about algorithm amplification (why do you see this story? Who benefits from its spread?).
Where to draw lines
Teachers should not be expected to act as privacy officers or content hosts for global technology companies. What the best educators can do is develop classroom policies to ensure students are as safe as possible and focus on establishing digital citizenship. For young students, it is often wise to limit the use of official classrooms on open social platforms. For older students, focus on teaching how these tools shape culture, identity, and knowledge themselves.
Policy and technical and moral significance – debate should be held at the regional, state and national levels. As Livingstone and Stoillova notes:
“Effective protection measures require a systematic approach, not relying on individual educators or parents.”
The teacher weighs more?
Obviously, teachers individually “solve” large-scale, systemic problems of surveillance, publicity and privacy that are unique to social media. No system or set of policies or “best practice” rules can even begin to achieve this. The best thing we can do right now is to follow research.
Instead, our responsibility is to help students become considerate players in the digital society – realizing, being skeptical, and being able to drive social media in and out of the classroom.
refer to
- Livingstone, S. and Stoilova, M. (2020). “Data and Privacy Literacy: The role of schools and teachers.” Children’s and Media Magazine, 14 (1).
- Nguyen, N. wait. (2022). “Algorithm literacy and critical evaluation in the era of misinformation.” Computer and Education, 179.
- Marwick, A. and Boyd, d. (2014). “Internet Privacy: How Teens Negotiate Background in Social Media.” New Media and Society, 16 (7).
