I was driving down a two-lane side street (speed limit 35mph) when I saw a young woman walking down the road in my lane towards my car. Her head was bent down looking at her phone with earbuds in her ears. She looked so similar to the cartoon people in the video, I was immediately reminded of it. (Here is the video link from my previous post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdz4DvDG_gg.)
She was walking ON the road, not beside it. So, as I approached her I crossed the double yellow lines into the other lane to allow for plenty of room. Since there were no cars coming from the other directions, I was safe to do so. What surprised me is that she never looked up and never moved over. I am not sure if she even registered that I was there. I was in shock and a little horrified. Did she even recognize her dangerous situation?
As an educator, it confirmed my belief that emphasizing balance is an integral piece of teaching technology. It is important that we not only teach the tools, but we teach responsible use of the tools. And, I think this is even more true for secondary education, as it is during this time when social media use really expands.
Which gets me thinking, when I incorporate social media in my class, should I leave space for a discussion on norms, use, and responsibilities or do I stick to my content? If not me, then who? Whose job is it to teach these lessons? Is it solely on the parents? What do you think?
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