Over the past few years, a new trend has hit social media, causing Facebook and Tumblr to take a back seat. Twitter: it’s “a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting,” according to Twitter’s official website. Nowadays, wherever or whenever, anyone with internet access can immediately check in on what friends, celebrities, and any of Twitter’s 100 million other users have to say, as well as add their own two cents (twitter.com). However, with power comes great responsibility, something many students don’t have when it comes to doing schoolwork. Twitter, although it has the potential to be a helpful source of information, can easily become a distraction during class time, and monitoring its availability to students should at least be considered.
Facebook and various other websites are censored by the San Diego Unified School District Information Technology (IT) Department, according to the District’s official website (old.sandi.net). However, Twitter is available to any student with a smart phone, iTouch, netbook, or computer. With this newfound freedom, students can be found tweeting throughout the school day, which can, at times, interfere with their ability to pay attention in class.
To some students, twitter may be the hottest thing in social media today, but to others it is just a distraction from schoolwork. Senior Bryant Fiesta said, “Twitter seems like another form of texting, and we are obviously not allowed to text in class. I think it is one of the many ways for students to get distracted and something needs to be done.”
That’s not to say that the website itself is the problem. Rather, the problem lies in the way it is being used in school. It’s difficult to argue that being able to follow world events in real time is a bad thing, regardless of where someone is. On the other hand, checking what Musician Kanye West has to say about fur pillows instead of doing an assignment seems like a significantly poor use of time.
According to a website for today’s educators, “Smart phones might be getting the green light in more schools around the country, but social networking is still getting the yellow in many schools: Parents are worried about bullying, teacher-student online relationships are questioned, and school security can be compromised all too easily” (eschoolnews.com). An unlocked Twitter falls into this “social networking” category. By being given the option to go on twitter, students are prone to cyber bulling, losing focus in class, and many other hindrances.
Many Centurions, such as Junior Marilyn Le Calvez, find it strange that Twitter remains unblocked, while access to extremely similar social media sites such as Facebook and Tumblr have been restricted for a long time. Texting is also quite similar to tweeting, but is regulated by UC staff.
Others disagree and believe that students should be left at least one form of online communication while at school. However, it’s not as if any of the social media sites are impossible to access–if a student has a legitimate, appropriate reason for needing to use a form of social media, teachers can unlock it for them. Blocking Twitter would only help keep students on focus in situations where use of the site is not necessary.
“Students can get away with going on Twitter on netbooks and other devices while in class,” said Senior Gabriella Bermudez. As it currently is, there are ways for students to access Twitter at any time during the day. If all students could be trusted to conduct themselves appropriately there wouldn’t be a problem, but there are those who tend to take advantage of the privileges they are given. This site is getting more and more popular each day, but until administration actually gets involved, whether Twitter should stay open to UC students is simply a matter of opinion.