Shocking reality of students hooked on social media
Educators are losing control of their classrooms as social media consumes the way students think and behave, according to an experienced Queensland teacher.
First published in the Daily Telegraph
A respected teacher of more than 30 years has lifted the lid on the devastating impacts of social media use, likening students to zombies or drug addicts who are high on speed.
Welcome to the two extremes – and shocking reality – of education today as frustrated teachers grapple with the stranglehold social media has on children’s lives.
Jean Yates has taught in four top Queensland schools and never seen a more compromised generation, plagued by psychological and behavioural problems fuelled by dependence on social media.
“They come to school tired and wired – they’re like zombies, completely out of it and falling asleep on the desk, or so hyper it’s like they’re on speed,” she said.
In an exclusive tell-all interview, Ms Yates reveals a raft of serious issues she says are not only damaging children’s ability to learn, but also defeating even the best teachers.
She pointed to short attention spans, desensitisation to violence, distraction and obsession as some of the biggest challenges.
She also noted social media had been instrumental in shifting priorities for the younger generation.
“Kids complain they don’t have time to do homework or assignments, but that’s because they’re on social media all night,” she said.
“And more kids have part-time jobs, working six-hour shifts every night, to pay for all those possessions social media is telling them to have – it’s a double-whammy.”
Ms Yates, 53, says educators are “losing control” as social media takes over the way students think and behave.
“It really does influence everything they do,” she said.
“What you say and what Kim Kardashian says could be worlds apart, but they’re more likely to listen to her.
“They’re seeing the beautiful people on social media and saying, ‘they’ve got it right, what would you know?’ ”
Ms Yates says almost universally the career goal is to be rich and famous – “even the ones who go on to university want this” – and professions like teaching are not respected.
“They look at a teacher who is earning $120k and a social media influencer two years older than they are and earning $200k and think, ‘why would I listen to old people when young people know more?’.
“They think they don’t have to work their way up or study to be successful, it’s just there for the taking.”
Ms Yates has taught English since 1992 – at West Moreton Anglican College and St Edmund’s Catholic boys’ school in Ipswich, Somerset College on the Gold Coast and Ipswich Girls Grammar – and says all schools, private or state, face the same problems.
She says it is virtually impossible to “embed good values” because what children view online is “so convincing and they believe what they see”.
This extends to behaviour, which has become increasingly aggressive and dysfunctional.
“Kids are definitely more violent, in the classroom and playground,” she said.
“Violence is all over social media, which makes it seem normal.”
Ms Yates, herself a mother of two, says children see raw and rolling coverage of global events, but lack the maturity and tools to unpack them.
A case in point is the April 15 video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church, footage an Australian court has ordered Elon Musk’s X to block from users worldwide.
“If kids are watching TV in the loungeroom, parents can have that conversation (about the stabbing), but if they’re on their phones in their bedroom alone at night, they talk to their peers,” Ms Yates said.
Kids “exist in their own filter bubble” and come to school with “preconceived ideas because they’ve been fed them on social media”.
“They are determined it is the correct information and it’s hard as a teacher to break through and offer a new perspective,” she said.
Social media has also decimated attention spans.
“Kids want 24/7 stimulation and to be entertained – not everything you teach can be entertaining so they switch off,” Ms Yates said.
“Disengaged kids have always existed but now there are more of them.”
Earlier this month, Ms Yates called time on her classroom career.
She says it has become “impossible to control the impacts of social media within the school environment” and has joined a national cybersecurity firm, Cybernetic Shield, to help design and implement its school-based program to keep kids safe online.
“Schools are blamed for everything that goes wrong, but teachers need time and support,” she said.
“The government doesn’t have a clue – the minister for education is never a teacher – so you need people who aren’t completely disillusioned with teaching who can step into external roles and help teachers, instead of saying, ‘society is going to hell and it’s teachers’ fault’.”