Social Media

Distraction or learning tool? Learn more about how social media is used by students, teachers, and school systems
Custom illustration of a young female student in a meditative pose floating above a cell phone. She is surrounded by floating books and wide range of emotions reflected by different emojis. Digital / techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Special Report Technology & Student Wellness: How Tech, SEL, and Mental Health Are Now Linked
See how schools are trying to put student wellness front and center to help kids navigate a world in which social media and AI are all around them.
March 25, 2024
Brightly colored custom illustration of a young depressed female sitting inside of a chat bubble and looking at a laptop with her head in her hand while there is another chat bubble with the ellipsis as if someone is typing something to her. Digital and techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Kids Turn to TikTok for Mental Health Diagnoses. What Should Schools Know?
Nearly two-thirds of educators say students “sometimes” or “frequently” use social media to diagnose their own mental health conditions.
Alyson Klein, March 25, 2024
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8 min read
Custom illustration showing a young female student floating above a cell phone while in a protective bubble that looks like a split happy and sad emoji. Digital and techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Student Well-Being From Our Research Center Students Think Social Media Is Fine, But Teachers See a Mental Health Minefield
It's important for adults to recognize and understand teens’ perspectives in order to teach healthy social media habits.
Arianna Prothero, March 25, 2024
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8 min read
Vector illustration concept of 3 students and a cell phone being unplugged from the internet.
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Student Well-Being How Teaching Kids 'Digital Agency' Can Make Social Media a Positive Place for Them
Digital agency includes a set of skills educators can teach to help students avoid social media "thinking traps."
Arianna Prothero, March 22, 2024
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4 min read
Devotees of TikTok gather at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell on March 13, 2024. Lawmakers contend the app's owner, ByteDance, is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S.
Devotees of TikTok gathered at the Capitol in Washington on March 13, 2024, as the U.S. House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell it.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Classroom Technology If TikTok Gets Banned, Will It Solve Schools' Social Media Drama?
Educators predict students would simply turn their attention to a different platform.
Alyson Klein, March 20, 2024
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6 min read
Devotees of TikTok gather at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Lawmakers contend the app's owner, ByteDance, is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S.
Devotees of TikTok gather at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell, Wednesday, March 13, 2024. Lawmakers contend the app's owner, ByteDance, is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's consumers in the U.S.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Classroom Technology Video In Defense of TikTok: A Teacher on the App's Power to Build Connections
This Texas teacher has built relationships through her TikTok platform, and worries what a ban will mean for her and her students.
Kaylee Domzalski, March 19, 2024
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2:25
This image provided by Novo Nordisk in January 2023, shows packaging for the company's Wegovy medication. The popular weight-loss drug, which has helped millions of Americans shed pounds, can now be used to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems in patients who are overweight or who have obesity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday, March 8, 2024.
The federal Food and Drug Administration in December 2022 approved Wegovy, an obesity treatment, for children as young as 12. Weight-loss drugs have been a popular topic of conversation on social media and teens have been paying attention, feeding into concerns <ins data-user-label="Matt Stone" data-time="03/18/2024 9:57:35 AM" data-user-id="00000185-c5a3-d6ff-a38d-d7a32f6d0001" data-target-id="">that </ins>adolescents, particularly girls, have long had about body image.
Novo Nordisk via AP
Student Well-Being Weight-Loss Drugs Are the Talk of Social Media, and Teens Are Listening
Weight-loss drugs' popularity are feeding into the concerns that teenagers, particularly girls, have long had about body image.
Caitlynn Peetz, March 18, 2024
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5 min read
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts When Blocking Social Media Critics, School Officials Have Protections, Supreme Court Says
The court said public officials' own pages may be "state action," but only when they are exercising government authority.
Mark Walsh, March 15, 2024
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6 min read
Teenage girl looking at smart phone
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Student Well-Being Q&A A Superintendent Explains Why Her District Is Suing Social Media Companies
Student mental health and behavioral issues have become a major drain on district resources as social media use has risen.
Arianna Prothero, February 28, 2024
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3 min read
Young woman cartoon character making step from gloomy grey rainy weather to sunny clear day.
iStock/Getty + Education Week
Teaching Profession Opinion How I’m Keeping Ahead of Burnout: 4 Tips for Teachers
An English teacher shares her best advice for battling the long-haul blahs until spring break.
Kelly Scott, February 20, 2024
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4 min read
Vector illustration of 30 items and devices converging into a single smart device. Your contemporary tablet is filled with a rich history, containing ways to record and view video, listen to music, calculate numbers, communicate with others, pay for things, and on and on.
DigitalVision Vectors
Student Well-Being Q&A How Social Media May Benefit Teens' Mental Health
In an interview, a researcher outlines some of the less-discussed benefits teens get from their online activity.
Arianna Prothero, February 16, 2024
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4 min read
Tight cropped photo of white teenager in a blue shirt engaging with a cellphone in their hands.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being What the Research Says Unsafe Health Claims Dominate Social Media. Health Class Can Give Students Vetting Tools
Teenagers need better tools to avoid health misinformation, a new analysis finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 9, 2024
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3 min read
Empty blue school bathroom showing the bathroom sinks without mirrors.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety A School Removed Bathroom Mirrors to Keep Students From Making TikToks. Will It Work?
The desperate strategy for keeping students in class illuminates the challenge schools face in competing with social media.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 1, 2024
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5 min read
A close up of a statue of the blindfolded lady justice against a light blue background with a ghosted image of a hands holding a cellphone with Facebook "Like" and "Love" icons hovering above it.
iStock/Getty
Law & Courts School District Lawsuits Against Social Media Companies Are Piling Up
More than 200 school districts are now suing the major social media companies over the youth mental health crisis.
Arianna Prothero, January 31, 2024
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7 min read
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