Social media plays a powerful role in shaping how we think, feel, and connect—but how do we know what really needs to change?
In this lesson, students examine the deeper impacts of social media and begin identifying an issue they care about. Through reflection and collaboration, they’ll take the first step in defining a meaningful problem to explore through their project.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Activate prior knowledge and personal connections to social media.
- Refine their understanding of social media’s impact by exploring multiple perspectives and analyzing diverse experiences.
- Practice framing complex social issues into clear, actionable problem statements as part of the design thinking process.
- Apply skills for the future, including empathy, collaboration, and communication, to establish strong team dynamics and align on a project purpose.
What You’ll Need
Minds-on
Skills for the Future:
- Building Relationships
- Collaboration
- Communication
Project Word Wall:
- Problem definition
- Inquire
- Argumentation
- Algorithm bias
- Echo chambers
- Disinformation
- Engagement metrics
Imagine waking up and the first thing you do is check your phone—scrolling through endless posts, updates, and notifications. Before you’ve even gotten out of bed, social media has already shaped your mood, your thoughts, and maybe even how you see yourself. But is social media the real problem, or is it the way we use it? Today, we’re diving into the hidden challenges of social media and thinking critically about its impact. After reflecting on these issues, you’ll team up with classmates to choose a focus area and develop a creative project that raises awareness, offers solutions, or inspires positive change. The first step? Identifying what stands out to you the most and why it matters.
In this lesson, students move from exploration to problem definition as they begin narrowing their focus for the project. They’ll collaborate to identify key issues related to social media’s impact and enter the define phase of the design thinking process.
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Standards and Practices
Common Core Standards: Grades 9–10
- RI.9–10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, and inferences drawn from it.
- RI.9–10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped by details.
- W.9–10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly.
- W.9–10.7: Conduct short and sustained research projects to answer a question or solve a problem.
- SL.9–10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Common Core Standards: Grades 11–12
- RI.11–12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, and inferences drawn from it.
- W.11–12.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
- W.11–12.7: Conduct short and sustained research projects to answer a question or solve a problem.
- SL.11–12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
- L.11–12.6: Acquire and use academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level.
Next Generation Science Standards
- HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions.
International Society for Technology in Education
- Empowered Learner (1a, 1c): Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them, and reflect on the learning process.