Skip to main content

1st post + a reflection on social media

This is my final term in the ISLT program, which is why I’ve named this blog Adam’s Home Stretch. That said, the name might be a little misleading—this blog isn’t so much about wrapping up grad school as it is about reflecting on my relationship with social media, which, at this point in time, feels... complicated.

There was a time when I was much more active online. My last blog documented my years teaching ESL in South Korea, from 2011 to 2014. Before that, I was a college student with a Facebook account—back when Facebook was still exclusive to college students. I loved posting, sharing photos, commenting, and connecting. It felt fun, fresh, and meaningful. Social media helped me stay in touch with friends and discover new communities. Looking back, those posts now serve as a time capsule of some of the most formative years of my life.

These days, though, I rarely create anything on social media, which is ironic, considering I now work for a major social media company. Part of it is that I don’t always feel like I have something important to say, especially when the feed is flooded with critical sociopolitical commentary or heartbreaking news. On the flip side, it’s frustrating to see how social media has also become a tool for spreading misinformation. All of it leaves me less inclined to participate.

I’ve started to realize that my evolving relationship with social media mirrors my changing worldview. When I was traveling and exploring, I saw the world—and by extension, social media—through a lens of curiosity and optimism. Now, as my perspective has shifted, so has my enthusiasm for these platforms. Social media reflects society, after all, and my discomfort with the state of the world probably explains my discomfort with the current social media landscape.

That’s part of what drew me to this course. I’m hoping it will give me a reason to re-engage with social media—this time not just as a casual user, but as a scholar and intentional observer. Maybe, with the right lens, I’ll find new ways to appreciate the potential for social media to do good. I’m looking forward to finding out.

Comments

  1. VanessaMay 20, 2025 at 6:15 AM

    Reading this post, I found myself thinking about when Facebook prominently showed a relationship status for users. I think today many of us would choose the "it's complicated" option to express our sentiments about our relationships with FB and other social media.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. --Adam C.May 21, 2025 at 1:02 PM

      That's an astute observation, Vanessa. I know plenty of people who were massive social media consumers but have uninstalled or deleted select socials due to socio-political and economic shifts. Truly, I can't blame them.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reddit's r/changemyview and what we can learn from it

In an era where online discourse often falls into echo chambers, r/ChangeMyView (CMV) offers a refreshing, if somewhat abrasive, alternative. This subreddit invites users to post strong opinions and encourages others to challenge them, ideally with respect, tact, and with the goal of growth. The result is a model of civil disagreement that promotes critical thinking and builds knowledge through dialogue. While traditional hive minds tend to promote consensus, CMV is designed for disagreement. It leverages collective intelligence to sharpen and refine ideas through disagreement as opposed to reinforcing shared beliefs. In this model, learning doesn't come from conformity. Instead, it is born from the collaborative process of questioning and rethinking. I believe that higher education can borrow from this structure to improve online and in-person classroom discussions, which sadly often fail to spark meaningful engagement. Rather than asking students to simply share opinions, educato...
2 comments
Read more

My hot take on optional challenges is cooling off

When I design learning experiences in a corporate setting, I'm doing so with certain expectations in mind. The foremost one being that if I build it, I expect participation. This represents a fixed mindset. Every aspect of my lesson needs to be experienced, otherwise the learner won't succeed. Optional content often feels like wasted effort, or at the very least, something that won't yield consistent results. But this course (and the articles I've read along the way) challenge that mindset. Dennen et al. (2024) examined a system of optional embedded microlearning challenges (OEMCs) designed to promote self-directed learning. The findings showed that the learners who opted in reported high levels of enjoyment and perceived value. What stood out to me was that these low-stakes, optional activities encouraged deeper engagement despite not being mandatory. In fact, learners engaged in these optional challenges because they wanted to! The rewards weren't mind-blowing (a...
1 comment
Read more

The (digital native) struggle is real

Digital Natives, a term to describe those of us who grew up with technology, are no strangers to change. We’ve seen enough major tech shifts that nothing really surprises us anymore. We went from flip phones to smartphones, ran tech support for our parents, built lives on social media, use AI to plan our finances, and swipe in cardinal directions just to find a date. Another day, another breakthrough. Because of this constant exposure to change, we’ve become wired for dynamic environments. And that’s why conventional education, with its static delivery and rigid structure, isn't going to cut it anymore. The world has moved on from static delivery and rigid learning environments. Lectures and textbooks feel outdated to a generation that just learned how to poach an egg from a 30-second TikTok. This shift creates both challenges and opportunities for instructional designers. Traditional models that rely on passive learning are a thing of the past. To stay relevant and effective, ins...
2 comments
Read more