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RISE MODULE: SOCIAL MEDIA

Activity: Evaluating Social Media

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Objectives:

  1. Discuss the power of social media.
  2. Gain an understanding of the influence and responsibility that social media users have.
  3. Examine what makes media content positive or negative.

Duration: 40 minutes

Materials:

  • Mobile device with wireless connectivity and social media account access
  • Participant handouts (if necessary)

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." — Mahatma Gandhi

Facilitator Instructions:

  1. One week prior to facilitating this module, ask participants to go online and identify five examples of social media successes (positive messages) and five examples of failures (negative messages).
  2. Ask participants to print the examples and bring them to the session.
  3. If participants don’t bring their own examples, identify examples to share with participants or email RISE at education@RISEtoWIN.org for suggestions.
  4. Divide the group into teams of four.
  5. Ask participants to discuss the examples they brought to the session using the following questions as a guide.
    • What topic was each example about?
    • What made it a success or a failure?
      • Was it the language?
      • Captions?
      • Images?
      • Attitudes?
  6. Ask each team to present a couple of their examples to the larger group. Use the following questions to challenge their thinking.
    • Why do people post material that might be a “fail”?
    • Why is there so much discriminatory and racist material on social media?
    • Are we responsible for the way in which others interpret our posts? Why or why not?
    • Are there ways in which we can challenge those who post such material?
  7. Ask the participants to return to their teams and choose one example that was failure.
  8. Challenge them to find ways in which it can be made into a positive example.
  9. Ask each team to again present to the larger group.
  10. Finally, ask participants to look at their social media accounts and consider whether they would be proud to have someone review all of their posts. Would most of their posts be considered positive?

Key Takeaways:

  1. Social media is a platform on which many people engage, an estimated three billion people – that’s half of the world’s population.
  2. It is a space where we have the opportunity to use our voices and magnify any cause we choose.
  3. It is important that we recognize we are creating the media when we use such platforms.
  4. What we post has the potential to influence the billions using these platforms.
  5. As leaders we are responsible for what we create and put into the world. With great power comes great responsibility.

Next Steps: Take the following actions after completing the activity with your team.

  1. Share photos on social media and tag/mention RISE.
    • Facebook: @RISEtoWIN
    • Instagram: @RISEtoWIN
    • Twitter: @RISEtoWIN
    • Snapchat: @RISEtoWIN
  2. Discuss your experience with students, athletes, coaches, athletic department staff and other organization members. Identify ways you and your school/organization can help lead the way in improving race relations and driving social progress.

Feedback:

RISE welcomes feedback as we seek to continually improve our tools and resources. We encourage allparticipants to share their feedback by completing an online survey at bit.ly/risetools. Our Leadership &Education Programs team can be reached at education@RISEtoWIN.org.

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