Be MINDFUL and THINK Before You Post

MINDFUL &THINK:

What to do before you post?



    When you think about posting on the internet is there anything that goes through you mind or are you just mindlessly posting every aspect of your life? Our world is so fast paced that when we are posting something on the internet we are never thinking about what effect it could be having on someone else. Did you know that there are many things that we can do to help us to slow down before posting? I'm going to let you in on two of those tools in this blog! Always remember to THINK and be MINDFUL!


THINK       

This is a simple acronym that can help us in all situations, not just those that happen on a social media scale. This is a quick and easily remembered decision-making process that could change or help you in many situations. I know that I heard this acronym when I was going through school and even as a student and thinking that it was just something silly that our teachers and admin said, I would think about it when making a difficult decision. 
Now let's go through the actual meaning of the acronym! 

T- Is it True?

H- Is it Helpful?

I- Is it Inspiring?

N- Is it Necessary?

K- Is it Kind?

    All of these things working together help give the creator a structured approach to making thoughtful and informed decisions. This can help boost the confidence of the creator and lessen any reasons for regret later. 
Check out this video that explains THINK more in depth!
T.H.I.N.K. before you speak

MINDFUL

    Another helpful acronym to remember when creating content for social media/ the internet is MINDFUL! This is something that can be used when seeing content on the internet from the creators point of view (POV) and the readers POV. The whole point of this idea is that us as writers and content consumers need to really think about the content we support on social media along with the content we put out for others to consume. As Lawrence (2022)stated, "When we publish content on the web, we have a potentially global audience." 
Let's explore the acronym more in depth:

M- Monitor your reading and writing

I- Identify the claim

N- Note the evidence 

D- Determine the framework and the mindset

F- Facts

U- Understand the counter-argument

L- Leverage your response 

I know that I can use this and the THINK acronym in my own classroom to help my students create content that could be useful for others instead of just creating useless posts that carry no meaning. I have always had the mindset that we, as humans, are always learning so we should share our knowledge with others and in a MINDFUL way! 
References:

Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital Writing: A Guide to writing for Social Media and the web. Broadview Press.

Comments

  1. Gia ShoresJuly 22, 2024 at 6:20 PM

    Mary Katelyn,

    The reality that you shared about really analyzing what we share and post on the internet as well as what we read is so important. Yet, I think most people do not pay attention to how crucial this is as they scroll, oftentimes, for hours at a time. Just when it comes to our elementary school students, Strassman and O’Connell (2007) mentioned that “we also know that students regularly watch short video clips on websites, cell phones, and other hand-held media devices…" (Motivate Students section, para. 1). While this can be great when using videos for the context mentioned in their article about inspiring students to write, on the flip side, there are legit concerns. For example, Duzenli et al. (2023) found that “internet usage has beneficial and harmful aspects, and this situation may have positive and negative consequences. Internet use may also affect the quality of life of high school students” (p. 616). This makes me reflect on the fact that what you shared in your article means we should always make our students aware of the pros and cons of the internet. I think we should provide them with the tools to protect themselves and others from the negative effects of internet usage in the same way that we provide them with the amazing digital writing tools we have been learning about. As teachers, I think advocating for both is important.

    References
    Duzenli, O., Ugur-Erdogmus, F., Korkmaz, O., & Cakir, R. (2023). An investigation of high school students' social media use, internet addiction and self-confidence levels. International Journal of Technology in Education (IJTE), 6(4), 593-619. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.521

    Strassman, B. K., & O’Connell, T. (2007). Teaching tips: Authoring with video. The Reading Teacher. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/curriculum-and-instruction/articles/teachi
    Ng-tips-authoring-video

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kellie IngramJuly 23, 2024 at 9:18 PM

    Thank you for sharing this information, I really enjoyed reading it! I like your approach with the THINK and MINDFUL acronyms. In today's digital world, information spreads quickly, your emphasis on considering the truth, helpfulness, inspiration, necessity, and kindness of our posts is important. Social media is a powerful form of media and we must learn to use it in purposeful, effective, and ethical ways (Lawerence, 2022, p. 2). Thanks again for sharing this helpful blog.

    References:
    Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital Writing: A Guide to writing for Social Media and the web. Broadview Press.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Digital EducatorJuly 24, 2024 at 2:04 PM

    Katelyn,
    The two acronyms you have included in your post instantly remind me of the times when my students don’t remember to think before posting. In my introduction video I brought up statistics from the 2023 U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory report which states that the use of social media by children has been linked to sleeping problems, low self-esteem, and even increased suicide risk. Unfortunately, a lot of technology that is made for a more mature age is used by younger populations without enough guidance and this is what happens. As you mentioned, the use of social media by educators can be extremely beneficial in terms of professional learning and networking. In a 2023 study, Staudt Willet found that there were three main reasons why new teachers benefited from social media: connecting with like-minded professionals, changing roles, and finding resources. Just like you showed with the Facebook screenshots, these three reasons can easily be exemplified in one post with comments! With 214 million adults sharing via Facebook (Statista, as cited in Lawrence, 2022), we can gain so much as educators through that platform. That’s a really neat thing!
    -M. E. Sammis

    References
    Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web. Broadview Press.
    Staudt Willet, K. B. (2023). Early career teachers’ expansion of professional learning networks with social media. Professional Development in Education, 50(2), 386-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2023.2178481
    U. S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. (2023). Social media and youth mental health. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    ReplyDelete

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