By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
The North Carolina Department of Justice reported last week that Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, will pay up to $645 million, with a guaranteed minimum of $451 million, to North Carolina and make major child safety upgrades to its apps in a landmark settlement with Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 51 bipartisan attorneys general. Meta will pay up to $17.1 billion to the states – the second-largest state consumer protection settlement in history and the largest big tech settlement ever. “This is about protecting kids and empowering parents,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “We know that this company built these apps to keep kids hooked and misled parents about what was happening. Today, Meta has to change those features and hand parents the controls.”
This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but has the damage already been done? As an educator in the higher education space, I am currently confronted with several realizations about the current class of college freshmen. This is the class that began 6th and 7th grade online during the pandemic. Many of them did not experience the maze of a middle school hallway, being asked to stand up and read in class, or the joys of having a locker in the same ways that many others did. I find I’m often facing the Gen Z stare, which has been defined as, “a blank, expressionless, and unblinking facial response that members of Generation Z often give during everyday social interactions, particularly in customer service or workplace settings when a verbal or enthusiastic reply is traditionally expected.” The Gen Z stare is not the only issue impacting educators and wider shared community spaces. There is also the phenomenon of the "screenager." Oxford English Dictionary defines this as, “a young person who spends a lot of time using digital devices like computers, smartphones, and video game consoles.” I would argue that this is not just young people but anyone dangerously addicted to their device.
What I’m also experiencing in the classroom and beyond is the inability of people to distinguish real-life experiences from what they see on the screen. I’ll often ask questions that a few years ago could induce a crowd response, yet these days I’m met with a “Gen Z stare” style glare from folks of all ages.
The final issue is what social media interactions have done to our collective mental resilience. A colleague shared with me that many students have faced rejection online in the comments, leading them to be even more reserved in person out of a fear of rejection. The front of a classroom is a lonely place to be as an educator when only one or two students will react out of the 20 or more in front of you.
So what do we do? How do we crack the shell of in-person social anxiety? My concerns reach beyond the classroom. Will these students advocate for themselves? Will they stand up for social causes when the time comes?
The solutions I’ve considered surround three keys that I hope North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the General Assembly will consider as they allocate the first $45M payment from the historic Meta settlement.
First, we’ve got to cope with where we are and process the facts. Young folks must be educated around the dangers of social media and the benefits of the policies. Under the new default terms, teenagers will face a strict two-hour daily limit on the applications, after which their main feeds will lock. Meta will also implement mandatory nighttime blocks, shutting down main feeds from midnight to 6 AM, and silencing all notifications between 10 PM. and 7 AM. To protect classroom focus, non-messenger notifications will be automatically disabled during standard school hours, from 8 AM. to 3 PM. on weekdays between August and June. The platforms will also introduce automated “scrolling pauses” at 15, 60, and 90 minutes of continuous use. In an effort to curb toxic social comparison, public “like” and reaction counts will be hidden by default on all teenage accounts.
Next, we have to provide more resources and access to alternatives to being on the phone. Right now, sports and extracurricular activities are unattainable for many due to transportation and rising costs of participation. This should be considered when it comes to fund allocations.
Finally, a strong support system. Imagine the amount of things young people are seeing for the first time online. Who can they ask questions to? How do they find clarification or develop methods to help them process ideas and information presented to them online? There must be a support system, a reference method outside of the internet; parents, educators, coaches, community where they feel safe and encouraged to ask questions.
Money will not save our future leaders from the dangers of increasingly online world, only true leadership and opportunity can guide us to a brighter more engaged future.
