How Are Schools Monitoring Their Students on Social Media? (Videos)

Students’ social posts can often transfer into the ‘real world’ and disrupt learning. For that reason, many school districts have began monitoring student activity on these platforms. How are school administrators keeping tabs on posts without violating free speech and privacy rights?

In the above video, produced for PBS NewsHour, Education Week correspondent Lisa Stark speaks to students, administrators, and police in Surprise, Ariz. to see how one high school is handling this situation.

Want to learn more about students’ social media usage? Kids these days start young — nearly a quarter of children ages 8 to 12 have their own smartphones, according to Common Sense Media. Like their older counterparts, they often spend hours on social media each day. In the companion video below, hear what two middle-schoolers have to say about their digital lives:

The PBS NewsHour video originally aired on June 20, 2017.

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