A former educator is watching with great interest a recent lawsuit filed by four Ontario school boards against some of the largest social media platforms.
The school boards argue that platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok are designed for “compulsive use” and are “rewiring” the way in which students think, behave and learn.
As a result, schools and teachers are “unfairly bearing the brunt of the learning and mental health epidemic caused by the alleged negligent conduct of social media companies.”
NDP Leader and former NLTA president Jim Dinn told The Tim Powers Show on VOCM he saw the immediate impact of cell phones in the classroom as soon as they started to emerge. He says recognition must be given to “just how vulnerable our young people are to this. And these are social media giants, I don’t think they’ve put in the proper safeguards, nor are they really interested in the wellbeing of the people who use it.”