The Truth Behind Social Media In Your College Classroom

A recent example of this was last fall’s Vodka Samm case.

University of Iowa student Samantha Goudie was arrested after trying to run out on the football field during a game. In jail, she blew a .341 blood alcohol content level, and tweeted about it under the handle @Vodka_Sam.

Some of her tweets read: “Just went to jail. #yolo,” and “I’m going to get .341 tattooed on me because it is so epic.”

Over the course of one weekend, Goudie’s drunken tweets bumped her Twitter following from around 200 followers to about 15,000. 

Because of her digital fame and “epic” Twitter following, Goudie was offered multiple endorsements as a drunken super fan. (Goudie rejected the endorsements, and has since regretted and spoken about her incident).

Wilson says that students should use Goudie’s episode with social media as a valuable lesson.

If they don’t, “they will have a tough time when employees ask them to do a social media search on themselves.”

Even if students are tame with their social media usage, Wilson cautions students to be aware of their saturation point, and know when enough is enough.

“It blows your mind how soon [college students] know something, but we’re creating phone zombies,” he says. “Eye contact is rare. They are totally immersed in what they are doing on their iPhone, and are probably consumed by it.”

If students don’t find the time to break away from their social media consumption, Wilson fears they will miss out on living their lives.

“I’m worried that the kids who are phone zombies aren’t living their life,” he says. “They’re so addicted. If they don’t have face to face interactions, then they don’t seek it out.”

If this happens, he says that social media will hurt college students in the long run.

“They don’t have an emotional IQ,” he says. “They are years ahead technology-wise, but behind in interaction maturity.”

Social Media in the Future

On the bright side, Wilson says he thinks students are becoming more responsible with their social media usage, and will strengthen this responsibility in future generations.

“Kids are learning how to make Twitter more secure,” he says. “I think lots of mistakes and lessons have been learned with that.”

He also says that future college students will most likely turn away from social media that is used by parents, including Facebook.

“The next generation is looking for social media that parents aren’t on,” Wilson says. “The middle-aged mom is on Facebook now, and teens are driven out and going to Instagram, etc. because parents aren’t accustomed to those.”

Regardless, Coleman says that social media platforms will continue to evolve, and that colleges should adapt.

“The younger generation will determine the direction of the platforms,” she says. “Colleges and universities should embrace it. They should tap into the expertise of students and keep up with what they’re doing.”

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