Gen Z is now the most prevalent generation on US campuses. These digital natives are constantly online: in a Pew Research Center survey, most Gen Z respondents reported regular social media use, with 74 per cent using at least five platforms. Outdated teaching approaches can leave them feeling lost and disengaged.

‘Like, follow and succeed!’

Social media’s negative health and social effects are well documented, with terms such as “zombie scrolling” – mindlessly scrolling social media for an extended period of time and without any specific intention or goal – highlighting the urgent need to address them. Educational institutions can be agents of change, turning mindless and potentially harmful scrolling into mindful and meaningful social media usage.

When instructors integrate social media into their teaching and learning, it improves student engagement, communication skills, connections with instructors and classmates, awareness of social and world issues, digital literacy skills and critical thinking. Social media can serve as a supportive and interactive tool to foster collaborative and active learning, as well as student growth and achievement of learning outcomes.  
It can also support universal design for learning by considering different learning styles and preferences. Additionally, as social media may encourage students to show their authentic and creative selves, it can take an equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible classroom one step further, fostering community-building and sense of belonging.

Which social media platform to use

We can integrate social media into teaching methods, learning activities and assessments – as illustrated through the reconceptualisation of Bloom’s taxonomy for digital learning. Each social media platform is tailored for specific purposes:

YouTube – the content creator: YouTube is used for content creation and consumption through long-form videos. Instructors can incorporate YouTube into their teaching by creating lecture summary or recap videos, curating video playlists of supplemental course resources or conducting Q&A sessions by live-streaming office hours. Students can use YouTube to create how-to videos or mock public service announcements, complete reflection exercises in vlog format or role-play interactions with fictitious clients or patients. 

Instagram – the visual storyteller: Instagram is known for its digital storytelling through images and videos, reshared as “stories.” Instructors could incorporate contemporary poetry or art found on the platform, including from historically silenced voices, into course materials and readings. Students can illustrate or apply course concepts through photo essays, storyboards or graphic timelines. Instagram can also serve as an online space for virtual poster sessions or student-created virtual museum exhibits, as well as a window into what their future career paths could look like by following career-relevant hashtags such as #WomeninSTEM.

Facebook – the community-builder: Facebook is best at building online communities. Instructors can share resources, use polls as an alternate method of participation and create low-stakes discussion topics. Students can ask questions, share ideas and repost articles that connect to course concepts. 

TikTok – the creative activist: TikTok is used for short-form video content creation and consumption. Instructors can create a video series for quick study tips or video clip glossaries to review key course terms. Students can illustrate or apply course concepts by developing video skits, mock public service announcements or call-to-action videos. They can also create or participate in public education and outreach initiatives. 

X or Bluesky – the informed philosopher: These two platforms function similarly, and are well suited for academic discourse and staying up to date with current issues. Instructors can form a collection of student activity by creating a course-specific hashtag (such as #PSYC101), disseminate course announcements, post real-time news coverage or data (for example, election results to political science students, earthquake data to geology students) or share community events related to course content. 

Students can engage in scholarly discussion, debate with professionals and provide their perspectives on news stories related to course concepts. They can also participate in journal clubs, create a collection of micro-blogging posts, live-tweet their questions and comments during lectures or conferences or debunk misinformation or disinformation with supporting evidence.

LinkedIn – the resourceful networker: LinkedIn is a great tool for making professional connections and mentorship. Instructors can model professional identities and online presence, as well as connect students to professionals and industry leaders. Students can develop their professional identities and online presence and interview professionals for their perspectives on working in their industry or sector.

Pinterest – the thoughtful curator: Pinterest is a scrapbooker’s dream. The platform is for posting and sharing information and inspiration. Instructors can collect course ideas on “secret boards” that can be kept private or shared with co-teaching teams or teaching assistants. For their students, they can save and share “pins” (image or video bookmarks) relevant to course concepts, create an online collection of course materials and share examples of past student work. Students can gather pins that represent diverse perspectives on a course topic, build e-portfolios or develop digital bibliographies for written assignments.

Key considerations for integrating social media into pedagogy

When integrating social media into your courses, keep in mind the following:

• Check if your institution has social media guidelines for teaching and learning. Also refer to relevant policies on privacy, online security and data storage and retention.

• Inquire whether your institution has conducted a privacy impact assessment for the social media platform you would like to use; if not, find out what the required next steps are.

• Include direct links to the social media platform your class will be using in the course syllabus and learning management system. Communicate how and why social media will be integrated into the course. Make it clear that the Student Code of Conduct and other policies governing student behaviour (including harassment, academic dishonesty, copyright compliance) apply to social media usage for teaching and learning.

• Co-create with your students a set of shared norms and expectations for social media usage in the course (for example, the types of content or media that can be posted or shared, whether formal academic language is expected, what is considered private and confidential information that should not be shared, and consequences for misuse of social media).

• To maintain professional boundaries, if students already have personal accounts on the chosen social media platform, ask them to create separate academic or student profiles for use in your course.

• Maintain academic rigour by setting clear expectations for grading social media usage or participation in a rubric (such as how often do students need to post, if they must reply or engage with other classmates’ posts). Keep grades and detailed feedback off social media platforms.

• Have alternative modes of assessment that target the same learning outcomes available for students who choose to opt out of using the social media platform or if they do not have reliable access to technology or the internet.

By injecting purposeful, engaging social media practices into our classrooms, we can inoculate students against mindless “zombie scrolling” that causes digital brain rot. We can help them rise from their digital graves as vibrant and engaged learners who value critical thinking, creative expression and meaningful connection in an increasingly digital world.

Daniella Sieukaran is senior educational developer (program development) at Dalhousie University’s Centre for Learning and Teaching and teaches in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. 

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