Should teachers be criticized for having a personal social media presence?

With social media becoming an essential part of our lives and the society in which we live, people are accessing social media at a much younger age than we’ve ever seen in the past. In the case of a young child using social media, they might feel drawn to post whatever is on their mind, without fully seeing or recognizing any consequences to that. If that child went on to enter a professional role as an adult, their social media presence would follow them. Should teachers be scrutinized for something they’ve posted before their prefrontal cortex has developed? Held accountable? Criticized?

I think that there is a fine line between what is acceptable for a teacher in a professional, leadership role to post and take part in online, and what is unacceptable. I also believe that it depends on the kind of relationship that a teacher has with their students. If a teacher has a professional classroom account on social media, one that students are encouraged or allowed to follow, there are different expectations for what they may post – rather than a personal account that students aren’t really supposed to see. It is important to make that distinction between your professional and personal life. I also like to remember that even if a student isn’t supposed to see something, they most likely will at some point see it, and that can definitely have repercussions.

So, what if a student does stumble upon a post, photo, or video of their teacher online – something that they’ve posted to a personal account? Say, a photo at a concert or a music festival, maybe holding a drink or wearing unprofessional clothing. In a case like this, I think that there needs to be a middle ground, a compromise between complete exile and acceptance. In the end, it’s a personal post, not meant for the classroom, but I still think that as a teacher we should be very careful about what we post – because our role doesn’t go away when we step out of the workplace. Stepping into the BEd program, when I did a deep-dive into myself online, I actually didn’t find anything unprofessional or inappropriate for a classroom. With that being said, I have strong memories of searching up my teachers in Elementary and Secondary school, and I actually found some crazy things. Looking back now, I realize that I didn’t see my teachers as people – I had them up on a pedestal of sorts. Now that I can see them as peers, I hold no judgement against them. It’s important to remember that even though I may see no problem with my social media presence, others might, and they may hold that against me.

Luckily, teaching social media and digital literacy is becoming more common as social media usage increases. Times are changing, and people are generally becoming more accepting and understanding that teachers were just regular people before deciding to become teachers, and continue to be regular people as teachers, and they deserve to live a fulfilling life like anybody else. At the same time, students deserve a professional, eager, qualified teacher to educate them and it’s really up to your better judgement whether or not your social media reflects that side of you, or contradicts it. I feel that as social media and digital education becomes more commonplace, everyone is going to become more aware of their online presence and how it may affect them in the future – and I think that is very important.