Experts call for more empathy and social media literacy education following cruel online trends
A mean prank exploiting an Indigenous man has attracted millions of views – and experts warn viral social media trends like this are eroding the “moral compass” of teens.
Cruel content and nasty viral trends on social media are eroding teenagers’ ‘moral compass’, leading experts to call for targeted education in the classroom.
Experts say a generation raised on algorithms now have a distorted perception of fun, as many trends centre around bullying and victims.
Neuroscientist and educator Dr Ragnar Purje said the latest “flip the camera” trend exposes young people’s empathy problem.
“Flip the camera is designed to catch people off guard and humiliate them for a few seconds of amusement,” Dr Purje said.
“It is deliberate, it is targeted, and it exploits vulnerability for entertainment.
“When cruelty becomes content, we erode our moral compass.”
In this trend, a group will ask someone to film their video, then “flip the camera” to show their face, making the filmer the butt of the joke.
Other viral trends include the FaceTime prank.
It saw millions of people view videos where footage of Indigenous Aurukun man Eric Yunkaporta was used to prank people into believing they were facetiming him.
Dr Purje said humiliation has always been a cruel act, but social media has projected it to a much larger audiences.
The neuroscientist is calling for more social media literacy education in schools and a conversation about empathy with young people.
“Research shows us empathy is being lost,” he said.
“It’s because empathy is not something you learn online.
“It’s something you learn face-to-face through human connections.”
All-girls school principal Christine Harding has over 30 years experience in education.
She has also noticed a decrease in empathy as social media use grows.
“I think young people are lacking empathy now — not just teenagers, even young adults,” Ms Harding said.
“I believe a cause of that is social media.
“You get empathy by having face-to-face discussions.
“Nowadays those conversations are happening online.”
Empathy is part of the problem, but digital expert and author Dr Joanne Orlando said building social media literacy is also important.
“A lot of the focus in schools is on cyber safety and staying safe online,” Dr Orlando said.
“But social media is more complex than that.
“It’s about having a deep understanding of algorithms, echo chambers, influencer trends and their motives, and understanding feeds are different for every individual.”
Dr Orlando said the current approach to digital literacy needs to be reformed to address social media.
“The curriculum needs to be developed by a range of experts — not only teachers, but also data scientists, psychologist, marketing and media experts.
“Now the ban is coming, it’s more important than ever to equip these children with the skills to navigate social media once they turn 16.”
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Originally published as Experts call for more empathy and social media literacy education following cruel online trends
