Media, Social Networks and ICT Magazine
Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Survey Analysis 29.04.2016
Survey
Analysis
Introduction
This
survey was conducted as part of an Erasmus project which has been
running since November 2015 and is expected to be completed by June
2017 under the general title “Social Media and ICT: opportunities
for learning” and with the collaboration of six European schools of
secondary education (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Latvia and
Poland).
This
particular survey is one of the activities of the program and aims to
research the habits of both teenagers and adults and the ways they
use Social Networks in their everyday life.
Results
As
can be seen from graphs 1 to 3 the survey was conducted during March
2016 and was answered by 610 students and 71 teachers of all six
schools which participated in the program. Latvia was the country,
which mostly answered the questions (32,5% of the students and 28,2%
of the teachers), while Spain had the lowest contribution as far as
students are concerned (7,9%) and Poland had the lowest contribution
of teachers (9.9%). The majority of the student who answered the
survey were between 14 and 16 years old while the majority of the
teachers were from 35 to 54 years old.
As
for the participants’ gender, the number of boys and girls who gave
their answer was equal, while most of the teachers were female (69%).
-
4. Which of the following social networks do you use/have used?
Results:
The
most used social network by students is Facebook (81.1%), followed
closely by Youtube (79.3%) and Whatsapp (66.7%).
For
teachers, the most popular social network is Youtube (88.7%), then
Facebook (76.1%) and then Whatsapp (73.2%).
Conclusions:
Both
use the same social networks with slight differences. This shows that
these social networks are popular among all ages, most likely because
they are made for with this purpose.
Q.5.
Which of the following social networks do you use the most?
Results:
The
students use Facebook the most (60%), followed by Whatsapp (56.2%)
and Youtube (54.3%). Aside from that, a reasonable amount of students
use Instagram (45.9%). The teachers use Facebook the most (63.4%),
then Whatsapp (57.7%), then Youtube (45.1%). The Instagram is not
very popular among teachers (14.1%).
Conclusions:
Teachers
and students have mostly the same preferences, except for Instagram,
which is more popular among teenagers.
Q.6.
Why do you prefer this social network?
Results:
Students
mostly use it because most of their friends use it (55.1%), it has
interesting content (53.6%) and it is easy to use (48.2%).
For
teachers, the most popular answer is that because it is easier to use
(74.6%), because most of their friends use it (57.7%), and because it
has interesting content (42.3%).
Conclusions:
We
can say that the students' preferences are mostly based on the
popularity, whereas the teachers' preferences are based on the
accesibility of the social network.
Q.7.
What do you use it for?
Results:
For
students, they mostly use it to talk to their friends (77.9%), just
for fun (51.8%) and to find information (46.9%).
As
for teachers, they mostly use it to find information (57.7%)
followed very closely by talking to their friends (56.3%) and keeping
in touch with their friends and relatives that live far away (53.5%).
Also a significant amount of teacher use it for educational purposes
(42.3%), unlike students who don't do this frequently (16.6%).
Conclusions:
Both
groups use social networks to talk to their friends and to find
information. However, teachers seem to use it mainly for practical
and educational purposes, while students use it more to have fun.
-
8. How often do you use it?
Results:
The
students' most popular answer is every day (56.4%) and more than once
a day (36.6%). The teachers' are more or less the same; they mostly
use it everyday (46.5%) and more than once a day (32.4%).
Conclusions:
Both
are very active but students spend a little more time on social
networks than the teachers.
Q.9.
When you connect, how long do you stay online?
Results:
One
quarter of the students say that they stay connected all day long
through their mobile phones. The second most popular answer is that
they stay connected for half an hour every day.
The
teachers most popular answer (36,6%) is that they stay connected only
for half an hour. Their second most popular answer is that they stay
connected for only one hour(28,2%).
Conclusion:
A
very significant amount of young people spend all of their time
connected on the networks, while adults make more responsible use
than the students.
Q.10.
How often do you upload information on the social network(s) you use?
Results:
More
than one quarter of the students upload information on the social
networks once a week. The second most popular answer is that they
upload information every day.
The
teachers’ most popular answer is that more than one third of them
upload something on the social networks once a week. The second most
popular answer is uploading information every day.
Conclusion:
Young
people upload more information than adults and they do it more often.
Q.11.
What kind of personal data have you made public on the social
networks (s) you use?
Results:
The
students publicize their names mostly ( 89.5%). The second most
popular answer is that they make public their date of birth (70.9%).
Teachers give the same answers.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Both
students and teachers make public their names and date of birth.
Q.12.
Do you think it is safe to upload this kind of data ?
Results:
Students’
and teachers’ answers are very different on this question : more
than one third of students (37.2%) think that it is safe, while more
than half of the teachers suppose that making public your personal
data (50,7%) is not safe.
Conclusion:
Both
students and teacher think that public personal date isn't safe but
they do it.
Q.1.
Which of the personal data named above should NEVER be made public on
a social network in your opinion?
Results:
The
students' 3 most popular answers are bank account numbers (82%), ID
numbers (72%) and addresses (70.7%). The teachers' 3 most popular
answers are bank accounts (97.2%), ID numbers (78.9%) and addresses
(76.1%).
Conclusions:
They
give the same answers, with the difference being that the teachers
percentages are higher, which shows that adults are more aware of the
possible dangers of uploading personal data, so they are expected to
be a little more responsible than students.
Q.14.
Do you know the safety rules which apply to the social network(s) you
use?
Results:
The
students mostly answered “yes” (78.5%), only a small amount of
students said “no” (15.7%) and an even smaller amount said that
there are no safety rules (5.7%).
The
teachers mostly answered “yes” (73.2%), and just like students, a
small amount of teachers said “no” (21.1%) and an even smaller
amount said that there are no safety rules (5.6%).
Conclusions:
Almost
everyone says they know the safety rules.
-
15. (for students) Do your parents allow you to use social networks without any supervision?
Q.15.
(for teachers) Would you allow your children / students to use
social networks without any supervision?
Results:
Almost
half of the students say that they their parents don’ t supervise
them when they use the media (43.1%). Almost 1/3 of the students say
that they can use the media unsupervised but their parent have warned
them about proper use (39.8%). A small number of children say that
they don’ t need permission (11%) .
As
for the teachers a big majority of them says that they warned their
children before letting them to use the media (73.2%).
Conclusion:
Many
students use social network without any supervision but another big
amount say that their parents warned them about certain dangers. As
for teachers, the biggest amount say that they also warn their
students and children.
Q.16.
Do
you make friends on the social networks that you use?
Results:
1/3
of the students says that they only use networks to communicate with
their regular friends (34.4%). Another 1/3 says that they might make
a friend who seems really interesting (30%). A smaller percent of the
students stays with their real life friends (24.4%).
As
for the teachers, 40% of them do not make friends on networks,
another 30% use the networks to communicate with their regular
friends, while 26.8% of them might make friends over the network.
Conclusion:
They
both mostly say they don’t make friends on the internet and they
usually use social networks to talk with their real life friends, and
the ones that do make friends on the net say they only talk with
really interesting individuals.
Q.17.
Have you ever met any of your "network friends" in real
life?
Results:
More
than half of the students says that they wouldn't do that because
they have been warned against(54.3%). But there is an important
percentage of students (36.6%) who have actually done this.
The
same goes for teachers but the percentage of negative answers is
larger (74.6%).
Conclusion:
The
majority of both students and teachers say you should avoid such
dates, but there’s also a reasonably high amount of students and
teachers who say that they meet their network friends in real life .
-
18. Have you ever felt uneasy, offended or scared after chatting with someone on a social network?
Results
:
Most
of the students say they have never felt uneasy chatting with someone
(44.6%). Another big percentage has heard people who have had
problems like that (31.6%), though.
Most
of the teachers also say that they know people who had this problem
(47.9%) but there is another large percentage of them that says they
have never had this problem (22.5%). On the other hand, there is also
a small and important percentage of teachers that says that they have
had this problem more than once (18.3%).
Conclusion:
The
majority of both students and teachers says that they have never had
this problem or they just heard about others having it. Another
important percentage of teachers says that they felt uneasy more than
once .
19.
If your previous answer was Yes, what was it that scared, offended
or upset you?
RESULTS:
From
the amount of people that says they had a problem using the networks
the majority of both students (30.8%) and teachers (54.8%) says that
they heard offensive language or vulgar comments . The second big
percentage of students is that they was mocked (27.4%) and for the
teachers the second big percentage is that they had been shown
inappropriate photos or videos (41.9%).
CONCLUSION:
The
most common problem for both age groups when they use the networks is
that that they have to deal with inappropriate material . But both
groups also mention a significant amount of cyber - bulling cases (¼
of the answers from both age groups mention that users had been
mocked while connected)
Q.20.
Did you talk to someone about it?
Results:
The
most of them say “Yes, I wouldn't keep something like that a
secret.” (42.2%), another high amount say “No, I don't feel
comfortable talking about such things.” (21.6%) and some of them
also say no because they were threatened not to talk to anyone
(19.3%). As for teachers, most of them say “Yes, I wouldn't keep
something like that a secret.” (64.1%), another high amount say
“Not immediately, but after some time I did, because I got really
upset / scared.” (25.6%), and some say “No, I don't feel
comfortable talking about such things.” (7.7%)
Conclusions:
Both of them answered mostly the same but most of the teachers say
they eventually talk to someone about it, but students mostly avoid
doing it because they don't feel comfortable or they get threatened
not do so.
Q.21.
If yes, who did you talk to?
Results:
Students
would mostly talk to their friends (70%), their parents (33%) and a
small amount to their teachers (13%). Most of the teachers talk to
their friends (52.9%) and just as many amount talk to their
colleagues (52.9%), and some of them talk to their family (38.2%).
Conclusions:
This shows that both students and teachers feel more comfortable
talking about this with their friends rather than with their family.
Q.22.
(for students) Did the people you talk to help you?
Q.22.
(for teachers) Did you manage to help your student?
Results:
Results
show that students are mostly able to get help (70.4%), sometimes
they don't get good results (11.9%) and occasionally they want help
but they don't know what to do (9.3%). For teachers, most of the time
they are able to give help (81.6%), sometimes they wanted to give
help but they didn't know what to do (13.2%), and occasionally they
weren't able to get any results (5.3%).
Conclusions:
We can conclude that it is a good idea to ask for help because it is
possible to get help most of the time so we shouldn't hold back.
Q.23.
(fro students) How did they help you deal with the problem?
Q.23.
(for teachers) How did you help him/her deal with the problem?
Results:
Most
of the time students get advised to stop talking to that person
(67.5%), and sometimes they are told to stop using the social
networks (15.9%) or they have started to use the social networks
together and the offences have stopped (15.9%). Most of the time
teachers advised the victims to stop talking to that person (77.8%),
sometimes they told them to stop using social networks (16.7%) and
sometimes they contacted the authorities because the situation became
serious (13.9%).
Conclusions:
Since
the most given advise is to stop talking to that person entirely, we
can conclude that is the smartest action to take.
GENERAL
CONCLUSION:
From
the survey we can conclude that both age groups have almost the same
results in most questions. So all of them are familiar with both
advantages and problems of using Social Networks.
However,
students stay connected to the social networks all day long while
teachers stay only for an hour or an hour and a half. So, we can
conclude that the young people are more addicted to the media than
older people.
An
other important difference is that students don't realize how
dangerous it is to upload personal data on the internet while adults
are much more cautious in that area.
Finally,
an important conclusion that can be made by the final questions is
that young people should turn to adults (teachers or parents) for
help in the cases they face problems when communicating through the
social media. Most of them are more than willing to help them. At the
same time, though, adults may need some kind of information from
proper institutions and authorities, so that their help can be more
effective.
Videos by Polish students about Cyberbullying
Videos by Polish students about Cyberbullying:
The two videos show how cyberbullies attack others and what are the consequences.
Tuesday, 14 February 2017
The need for speed and the value of speech
The
need for speed and the value of speech
Our
times are times of speed and rapid evolution. Expressing onerself in
short phrases is considered as a useful and essential skill. The
Greeks, however, love talking and have always been actual
chatterboxes. Therefore they've managed to combine their need to
communicate with the modern need for speed by the use of technology.
Personally,
when I wake up in the morning I usually log in my internet
connection. I do the same at noon, before or after lunch, in the
afternoon, while eating my fruit, as well as in the evening, while
watching TV. And I surely have a look before I go to bed. What for?
My messages of course! I chat with my sister, who is in the next
room, or with my classmate asking about our homework or with my
American friend to exchange our news. In short, my internet
connection stays on almost all day long. I must admit that sometimes,
in order to avoid the temptation of using the wide range of
possibilities my cell phone and laptop offer me, I give them away to
my mum.
I
guess most of you may think that I am addicted to technology. But you
should consider the fact that you do exactly the same. You may also
be addicted, to a certain extent. Is all this, however, to our
benefit, as it has become part and parcel of our daily routine?
Undoubtedly, not.
On
the one hand, the advantages of communication through the Internet
are many. At first, it makes it possible to communicate with people
who live far away from us, eliminating the distance between us very
easily and quickly. Secondly, it gives us access to all kind of
information, knowledge and entertainment at the time we want it and
according to our preferences. Finally, it gives us the opportunity,
not only to receive information passively but also to express our
opinions and comment on the pieces of news we find in various sites,
blogs and social media.
On
the other hand, obsession with this kind of communication has an
important impact on us and our native language. We tend to neglect
our schoolwork or even our daily entertainment with friends. The
consequences to our language are more dangerous, as we tend to make
grammatical or spelling errors because of writing fast or using the
latin alphabet (greeklish). Our language carries our nation’s
history. It is a reflection of our origins. Because of the fast pace
of the technological world, we tend to use our language wrongly. The
more and the faster we talk, the poorer and the more restricted the
vocabulary we use. This is a great shame, as the Greek language is an
ancient language, famous for its rich vocabulary, its expressive
power and its accuracy. Finally, an equally important impact of the
increase of digital communication is the misuse of acronyms, in order
to shorten our speech. We do not realise, though, the negative impact
this may have on our mental abilities and communication skills.
It
is neither possible nor desirable, of course, to live without
technology. However, we should think of some ways to limit digital
communication only where it is needed, promoting more direct
communication. It is best to socialise with our peers in person,
discussing, exchanging opinions, so we can broaden our horizons.
There can always be a book (paper or digital) which could contribute
to our mental development. I believe we should realise that our
language is an essential element of our culture, a part of ourselves.
Therefore, we should do anything we can to use the modern media of
technology in ways that help us communicate with each other without
threatening the quality and variety of our language.
To
sum up, digital communication has become a part and parcel of our
life. As long as we use it in moderation, we should benefit from it
without putting at risk our native language and, in this way, keeping
our national identity unspoiled.
Maria
Tsigara, Greece
Technological means of Communication: Threat or Evolution?
Technological
means of Communication: Threat or Evolution?
The modern era is characterized by the fast pace
of life, the lack of free time due to the many professional
obligations and the materialistic spirit which discourages people
from intellectual activities. Nevertheless, according to a recent
survey of the Institute of Communication, people still talk to each
other. But the existing communication does not rely so much on
personal contact but on the use of digital media, particularly by
young people.
Many aspects of everyday life can support the
above view. First of all, as far as we can see everywhere, outdoors
and indoors, young people use mobile phones incessantly. Many times
they use them to talk, even if they are next to each other. Moreover,
young people today use the technological means to communicate with
their peers practically for everything, e.g. to exchange views on a
subject, to arrange their meetings or just to chat about their news,
when they have time.
This strong presence of technology in people’s
communication affects many areas of their life. Initially, in social
relations, the people get cut off from society, because of having
little personal contact with other people. They become introverted
and they do not establish relationships with other people. Their
communication is confined to the service of simple daily needs.
People do not exchange views with other people face to face, they do
not communicate, in my opinion, and they do not learn to live with
others. Especially young people, have problems forming their
personality fully, if they stay limited in the standardized
communication and not come in contact with other people with
different characters. Because, by nature, people need direct contact
with other people and, when this is replaced by a screen, they feel
isolation and loneliness. At the same time, when people communicate
through modern technological means, they use acronyms, abbreviations
and coded expressions either from their own language or from foreign
languages, especially English. This results in the restriction of
their vocabulary and may impoverish people’s native language.
All these endanger our mother tongue, which we
must preserve. To accomplish this, people and particularly young
people should use their mother tongue to communicate with each other
and use foreign words only when it is necessary. Furthermore,
discussion with other people on issues of interest to them can help
broaden their intellectual horizons and sharpen critical thinking.
So, they will be able to communicate more easily and effectively.
Finally, reading books is an important way in which young people can
enrich their vocabulary and use Greek correctly. Only by knowing
their own language perfectly, can they also use a foreign language to
communicate.
In summary, everybody realizes how useful
technological means are today, because everything is working in
accordance with them. But it is necessary for people to use them
wisely, only where they are needed. Because their communication must
be based on personal contact, in order to guarantee real human
relations and also the existence of society.
Perfect Strangers
Perfect
Strangers
Saturday,
31st
December 2016
by
Maria Kallimani (teacher, Greece)
Greek
actor and director, Thodoris Atheridis, has created a very good
adaptation of the very successful Italian movie «Perfetti
Sconosciuti»,
which has been awarded 5 Italian “Oscars” (David di Donatello
awards), about seven
long-time friends who get together for a dinner. When they decide to
share with each other the content of every text message, email and
phone call they receive, many secrets start to unveil and the good
friends prove not to have been exactly honest with each other.
In
a warm summer evening, a loving couple, Thomas, a plastic surgeon and
his wife, Martha, a therapist, are expecting their long-lasting
friends to share a pleasant evening over dinner. The bell rings and
it is Giorgos and Ersi, followed subsequently by Aleko and Lina; the
only one missing is Achilleas, their friend who is still single.
Before long, the group is complete and without any delay, they begin
the feast. Surely, this is a nice but somewhat usual dinner, when
suddenly someone makes a suggestion: to place their mobile phones on
the table and play a game like Russian roulette. Whatever message is
received (texts, What’s App messages, calls) should be shared by
all of them. Clearly, this uncommon “truth or dare” game has no
point among friends who share everything with each other.
Nevertheless, when the phones start ringing, who will be the one with
the sweatiest palms?
I
saw the Greek version of the film last night and I think it is really
a very clever idea with funny and realistic dialogues, interesting
twists in the plot and a rather “bitter-sweet” ending, which
leaves you thinking about human relations and what people choose to
make of their lives.
Out
of all the things said and commented by the characters, I was mostly
struck by a hero describing their smart-phones as the “black boxes”
of their lives. I thought this to be a very accurate analogy. All
information that is important to us, all important information about
us, all our precious memories and all our secrets are recorded,
stored and dispersed by these small pieces of equipment. We do
everything to fill up our little “black boxes”. After all, they
have limitless storing space, they are lightweight and we can carry
them with us everywhere. Then, we can use them to brag about our
“full” lives. We can show people pictures of our sweat-heart, our
children or our holidays.
Soon,
they will even replace our “full’’ wallets. Recently, I’ve
seen some TV spots, showing people using their smart phones to pay
for goods and services. I’ve even seen a spot on the Internet about
a huge store that won’t even have cashiers’ desks and long queues
of upset customers any more. We will find what we want to buy, wave
our smart phone in front of it, take it and leave the store. The
amount of money will electronically be taken out of our electronic
accounts.
Really
smart machines, produced by and for a really smart society. No more
angry customers waiting in line, while the one in front of them is
picking his pockets for change. Because, the way I see it, in the
future of our “prospering’’ western globalised economy the
majority of the working population – which will be the minority of
the general population, anyway, considering unemployment and poverty
rates worldwide – will only be having some change to go shopping
with. No more “lazy” and “rude” cashiers, either. Just some
more redundant personnel, just some more unemployed people, with not
enough “money” in their wallets-smart phones, to go shopping
with!
Never
mind that, though! We are used to getting by with less, by now. After
all, money isn’t everything. Feelings matter most. Life is full of
so many beautiful, happy, little moments. Let’s concentrate on
“saving” our lives in our little “black boxes”. That way we
will always remember the glorious sunset by the beach in the summer;
or our son’s winning shot in the school basketball finals; or our
daughter’s wedding. We have them all on video; we watched them
through our smart phone’s camera. But not with our own eyes! As if
they wouldn’t have happened, if we hadn’t “saved” them. Or
would they?
What
has actually happened to us? What have we lived through? Does our
life consist of what we have “saved” in our smart-phone and
uploaded on our facebook profile? Is this our real life or a
simulation? Is this our real “face” or our “Dorian Gray’s
portrait”? A virtual face – photoshoped and enhanced – and a
virtual life in a virtual world; much better and much happier than
the real world, where there are no music jingles to add to our videos
and no colourful stickers to decorate our comments with.
But
in the real world we can actually sing and dance with each other and
we can “decorate” our comments with a smile or a frown. And most
important, we have to be there and actually sense the impact of our
smile or frown on the other person’s feelings. So, in the real
world we have to think twice before we smile or frown. We have to
think twice about what we say and what we do, because we will have to
deal with the other person’s reactions to out words and actions.
And then and there – in the real world – we will realize that our
lives are not about us, but about the others around us and how we
relate to them. And then we might start trying to enhance our soul
and our attitude towards them and not just our profile photo in our
social media pages. And, hopefully, we might start trying to improve
the real world, instead of seeking refuge in our colourful digital
virtual world.
Digital Communication and Young People
Digital
Communication and Young
People
A
common phenomenon of our time is that young people speak with each
other daily using the modern electronic means of communication, such
as the mobile phone and computer. According to a research of the
Greek Institute of Communication, the Greeks – mainly young people
– come first in chatting, as 44.6% “speak” more than eight
hours a day, using means of digital communication.
There
are many examples of this phenomenon, that is to say the increase of
digital communication between mainly the young people of our age. At
first, it is obvious that if we find ourselves in places where young
meet, we will realise immediately that most of them spend their time
together using their mobile telephones, ignoring the value of
personal contact. Moreover, according to research done by various
organisations, almost all young people use at least one
of
the modern electronic means to communicate, such as mobile phones or
computers. Also, most of them have personal accounts in popular
social networks, such as Facebook, where they can communicate with
other people at any time of day. All these examples prove that
extensive use of digital means of communication has become a big part
of our everyday life.
This
extensive use of electronic means has also created serious
repercussions in the way that young people in Greece write and speak
in their mother tongue. Initially, with regard to the written word,
young people and mainly school children seem to have serious problem
in this. Research has shown that most young people cannot use
elementary grammatical rules correctly, because of the continuous use
of computers and the predominance of “shortened” forms of
language (e.g. acronyms). Moreover, there has been concern about the
decline in the quality of communication in general, because of some
negative influence from the language of computers, where people make
systematic use of slang, acronyms, words and expressions from the
foreign languages – particularly English – which invade national
languages and affect them. As a result, not only is the mother tongue
of every country affected but there are also some communication gaps
between people, especially of different ages. What is most important,
however, is the danger of losing the substance of communication,
which has to do with personal contact.
In
a few words, the extensive use of digital communication has changed
the way modern people communicate, offering many advantages in the
everyday routine of people but also creating some problems, which
should be dealt with as soon as possible (“asap”, as we should
say in computer dialect).
There
are many ways that can improve the oral and written expression of
young people. Of course, nobody can suggest that they should stop
using modern electronic means, as long as they do it moderately. To
do away with negative effects of technology, we can look for help to
our familial environment. Specifically, parents should become
communication models for their children, teaching them how to develop
healthy interpersonal relations. Apart from that, they should urge
their children to read literature, so that they can improve the way
they express themselves orally and in writing. Finally, another
factor that should help children improve their oral and written
expression is school. Formal education should not be focused only in
examinations and professional specialization, but also in the
development of human values and right attitudes toward all aspects of
reality, including technology. So, it should use technology in a
creative way to help young students develop their language skills, in
order to communicate properly and efficiently, as well as to
appreciate the value of personal communication.
To
conclude,
there
are numerous examples of the extensive use of digital communication
around us. We should try our best to make good use of the
possibilities technology has to offer without letting it dominate our
life and distort our language and human contact.
Maria
Chalkioti, Greece.
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