The Anxiety Algorithm: Why I’m Keeping Social Media Out of My Classroom

I’ve really got into listening to podcasts lately.  I stumbled on the fact that I have access to a New York Times subscription with my Temple University tuition, and I have been trying to make the most of the resources available to me while I can. There are a ton of different types of podcasts available, but one that has really caught my attention and is very relevant to the computer-based learning class is called Hard Fork.  Hosted by Kevin Roose, a New York Times columnist, and Casey Newton, a writer at Platformer, a tech news website.   They explore the latest advances in the world of tech and have been focusing lots of podcast minutes on AI and social media.  It’s light and fun but also really informative.  If you’re into podcasts and tech, then this podcast is for you.

But back to the story. Around the middle of January, they had a show about the negative effects of social media on young people and had the author Jonathan Haidt on as a guest (link to podcast below).  Two years ago, he wrote the best-selling non-fiction book, The Anxious Generation (Haidt, 2024).  They were talking about the news from last year about how Australia banned the use of all major social media sites for children under the age of 16 years old.  Haidt talked about the overwhelming evidence that social media led to significant mental health problems in young people and that early exposure and use of social media were creating a generation of young people with much higher levels of anxiety and depression.  The more I listened to the argument presented, the more I started to agree, though a ban seemed extreme. If it helped young people improve their mental health, then it seemed worth it to me.

This week’s readings on incorporating social media into a curriculum came shortly after I had listened to the podcast, so I was predisposed to feel like social media in the classroom was a terrible idea.  Reinhardt (2019) did give a very comprehensive description of the various ways that different types of social media could be incorporated into the lesson plan. While he argued that if planned and implemented carefully, social media can be a useful tool, I still felt that the benefits wouldn’t outweigh the negatives.  He did acknowledge some negatives, such as low engagement on several projects related to blogs and wiki article writing, as well as a sense of overstepping when teachers tried to incorporate social media that students use for fun into a classroom setting.  He also showed that the enthusiasm and participation for social media activities varied widely, with some students finding the experience uncomfortable and causing them anxiety (Reinhardt, 2019).

Teachers are supposed to ensure that the classroom is a safe space, where students can express themselves without fear.  Adding social media, which poses so many risks, doesn’t seem to be worth the effort.  I do recognize that students have to be taught digital literacy skills and that interacting with social media is a fact of life that they have to be prepared for. But I want to develop an English language curriculum that uplifts, builds confidence, and makes them enthusiastic communicators.  I’m not sure how I can incorporate social media into my teaching style with the risks that surround it. Perhaps the role of the teacher isn't to bring social media into the classroom, but to give students the critical thinking tools to survive outside of it."

Roose, K., & Newton, C. (Hosts). (2026, January 16). The social media ban debate & A.I.'s next big move [Video podcast]. Hard Fork. YouTube. https://youtu.be/tZSteN2g5yM

Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books.

Reinhardt, J. (2019). Social media in second and foreign language teaching and learning: Blogs, wikis, and social networking. Language Teaching, 52(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444818000356