Social media teach young people to express their feelings in new ways

An example from Cyberhus’ image workshop. “Ambivalens” by Jannie at cyberhus.dk[/caption] The hype surrounding facebook has calmed down. Instead, apps like Instagram and Snapchat have found their way to an ever increasing number of teenagers. Young people communicate to a larger extent through pictures – not just when it comes to partying, flirting, and sunny holidays. At Cyberhus we notice that the development of social media have had great influence on how young people express their feelings. Cyberhus’ image workshop provide opportunities for young people to produce and upload their own images, or comment on images that others have uploaded. This counts for more than 1500 images, and commentary threads are growing. The increasing interest in our image workshop points to a growing tendency among young people on social media; they utilize images rather than words to share their thoughts on subjects which are difficult to talk about. To this end, social media have had a positive impact on particularly young people who find it difficult using words to articulate their emotions. Using images as a pedagogical tool Lise Koldsen-Zederkof, active in arts and counsellor with Cyberhus, says that the medium of images is an exceptional tool for engaging in dialogue with children and young people. She experiences that images provide completely new ways for young people to express themselves. A lot of young people find it difficult to put words to their feelings. However, a picture will encompass exactly a given emotion within a particular person. Images can hold nuances that are difficult to find and express with words. Using the medium of images open up for possibilities by which sentences are limited. [caption id="attachment_12997" align="alignright" width="300"] An example from Cyberhus’ image workshop. By Jannie at cyberhus.dk[/caption] In the beginning, the communication at Cyberhus’ image workshop primarily took place between the youngster who uploaded their picture, and Lise. However, lately an increasing number of people have started commenting on each other’s pictures, precisely as they do on social media. Young people recognise the moods that they experience in a given picture which prompts them to comment on each other’s pictures. The youngsters are very supportive and caring in their comments, and a given thread will develop into a longer dialogue in which they help and guide each other. At Cyberhus we experience that images create a unique visual understanding of young people’s life and thoughts – both to the youngsters themselves but also to the adults who surround them. We clearly see how the conception of social media provide opportunities for young people to express themselves in their own unique way. So, it would be beneficial to consider how the medium of images can contribute to our digital pedagogical practice. This post is originally written in Danish.]]>