Social Media as a Model that Students Follow...

Recently, I was thinking about something that I learned from a mentor. One day, during a youth staff training time, my mentor made to following statement: "What adults do in moderation, students will do in excess".

The timeless principle in that statement is this: the behavior that adults participate in within the limits of moderation, students will model or mimic, except students often engage in the behavior in such a way as to move beyond moderation to excess.

A student who sees an adult youth staff member having a beer may respond by not having one or two beer, but six or twelve beers. A student who hears an adult use language that is edgy will often respond by using that same edgy language in an inappropriate context and in an inappropriate manner.

Now I am not talking about having a theological discussion about social drinking or language. My focus is the impact that the behavior of adults who mentor students have on students. Adults who mentor students are more emotionally and spiritually mature and also possess more mature decision making strategies (hopefully) than students.

And because of that reality, students are unable to see the mental, emotional, and spiritual decision making process that goes into behavior that would be described as being in moderation. Instead, they view an adults decision to engage in and activity or behavior in moderation as a blank check to engage in similar behavior in an often times excessive manner.

Now bring into the picture the use of social media such as facebook and twitter. As adults, do we consider the impact that what we post on these social websites has on the students that are our friends or followers? Do we consider how student will interpret the images and words that we post? What messages are we sending students when they look at our facebook or twitter page?

Now I am not trying to be the facebook or twitter police. I am just suggesting that if you work with students, that we all pause and consider the impact that what we post on social media will have on those students who view what we post. Here is a suggested simple question to ask: "Am I o.k. with what I am posting being published on the front page of the local paper for all to see?" Because, in this digital age, that is what you are doing.

What do you think? Am I way off base here? What message does your facebook and twitter page send? And are you confident that the young impressionable students who you have great influence over will not get the wrong message from your posts?