BIO

Hello! My name is Karen Salazar-Angeles, I am nineteen years-old, and I was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. I am currently a sophomore student pursuing a bachelor degree in Information, Communication, and Technology as well as minors in Spanish and Data Analytics. My current research interests involve fields such as technology, data analytics/transcribing, and more. I am interested in pursuing a career in STEM, specifically the tech field, and some career areas I am interested in are project management, data analysis/management, and cybersecurity. Alongside UROP, I am Social Media Director for the STEMental Health Association and Professional Development Coordinator for the Mexican-American Student Association. I am also a member of The Garnet and Gold Key Leadership Honor Society, ForwardFSU, The 1910 Honorary, and the Lambda Pi Eta Communications Honor Society.

Teens, Teachers, and Online Information

Abstract

With social media's surge in popularity, particularly among teenagers, the question as to how these teenagers interpret the information they see online is crucial. How teens interpret online information, and how their teachers facilitate and enhance this online learning is the main focus of this study. Previous studies have researched teens’ choices regarding their preferred social media platforms for news consumption. However, these results are vague, and little research has been done to take an in-depth approach as to why teenagers gravitate towards a “media choice.” These research studies have made it a point to determine the top social media sites used by teens, and the main devices they use to access these social media sites. Keeping this in mind, this research fails to determine how teens utilize this information in their daily lives, especially in an educational setting. In this current ongoing study, the way that teens interpret online information and current events was researched through various measures. Interviews were conducted in which teen participants describe their top social media platforms, and the information they encounter on these platforms. Data is collected through a Qualtrics survey for a week in which participants submit screenshot artifacts from their media encounters, as well as a video diary in which they describe their media usage and encounters for the week. Anticipated findings for this ongoing study are that while teens encounter a variety of information online, they may not fact check, research further, or discuss such issues with their teachers in school.

Keywords: teens, social media, online, teachers, information