Open AccessSocial Media Surveillance in Schools: Rethinking Public Health Interventions in the Digital Age
Author(s) -
Colin B. Burke,
Cinnamon S. Bloss
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
jmir. journal of medical internet research/journal of medical internet research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.446
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1439-4456
pISSN - 1438-8871
DOI - 10.2196/22612
Subject(s) - social media , public relations , psychological intervention , face (sociological concept) , public health , digital media , business , medical education , political science , medicine , internet privacy , sociology , nursing , computer science , law , social science
Growing public concern about student safety and well-being has led schools and school districts to contract private companies to implement new technologies that target and surveil students’ activity on social media websites. Although innovative solutions for addressing student safety and health are needed, it is unclear whether the implementation of social media surveillance in schools is an effective strategy. Currently, there is no evidence to support the claims made by social media surveillance companies, as well as the schools that hire them, that these technologies can address the myriad of public health issues facing today’s students. Instead, these digital surveillance systems may only serve to exacerbate the problems that youth—especially those from historically marginalized groups—already face.