Most teenagers in modern day society have at least one social media page, whether it is
Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. While we are all aware that our friends are “following” our
profiles, we have unknown followers which may include school officials. Over the years, cyberbullying and social media have created an area of concern for school officials, thus leading to
increased surveillance over students’ personal online accounts.
Student safety is very important; however, a boundary should be drawn. School officials
should not have the right to monitor students’ social media pages for any reason. Although
schools claim they act on ensuring students’ safety, their invasion of personal social media
accounts is a poor and many times unreliable way of retrieving information from students. Social
media may be a false representation of someone’s true character.
If students were aware that school officials monitored their social media, they would try
to be more careful of what they share online. Many school officials advocate spying on their
students’ profiles under the pretense of ensuring their students safety; but, their argument is
invalid in that students only post what they want public. For instance, a student could be
performing poorly in class and triggering school officials or teachers to search their Twitter feed
for any clues. More than likely, they will find zero information on that matter because not many
people would publicly announce such personal information. Searching for clues on social media
is an ineffective way to discover or solve students’ problems when most teenage mindset is
focused on seeking attention and putting up facades.
When schools invade the privacy rights of their students, there are many negative effects
on the students. They feel uncomfortable not because they have something to hide, but because
their profile is something they are only comfortable with their friends looking at. Everyone’s
social media is personal to them, and the thought of someone monitoring every single one of
their posts would be unfair. Schools officials who are believers that social media is a place to
obtain information from students are wrong. Social media does not reflect a person’s true
personality. While it may contain certain information about a student, it is not the same as
knowing someone personally. A social media page is not an accurate representation of a person’s
character because everyone is constantly changing. A lot can be misinterpreted on social media
sites. Therefore, school officials immersed in students’ social media pages would not attain a true
profile of someone’s intentions as it specifically relates to academic performance.
To support this privacy issue, we can get law enforcement and counseling involved for
students who have behavioral problems or issues at home. Cases such as cyber-bullying, drug
use, and more extreme cases, such as suicide, can be investigated by law enforcement. School
counseling can be offered for students in tough situations, The social media investigation can be
managed by law enforcement. Afterall, it is their job to investigate these types of situations
which involve crime, extreme bullying and similar civil violations. School officials can deal with
these types of problems by offering more counseling to the students who need it, and by not
looking at social media pages. If the invasion of students’ privacy continues in the future,school
boards may be contacted and advised of more effective ways to solve their inquiries. Such as
communicating with the students and their parents in person; as opposed to retrieving
information from social media forums.
Social media is a place where no one should feel uncomfortable about posting their
thoughts. The fact that schools look at their students’ pages for information is a waste of their
time. Technology is a whole different world, and if you look closely into it, it is almost false
reality. Some people change their names, put filters on themselves, and say things that they do
not always mean. This is the purpose of social media; it is a place where you can be who you
want to be to the outside world. It is unfair for these school officials to spy on students’ social
media for any reason; their job is to enforce discipline and offer extra support for those students
who need it in a school setting only. While social media provides a glimpse of a students’
interests, it is certainly not an accurate representation of who they are as individuals. School
officials have to realize that there are more effective ways to help protect their students and give
them the proper resources needed, and invading their social media is not one of them.