Using tech to do good

Year 4 to 12 students, parents, and teachers

The viral nature of social media to spread a message for a just cause is powerful and is being used effectively by young people to do good, locally and globally. Charli D’Amelio, the 16-year-old TikTok who has 60 million followers, sees her situation as an opportunity to—"inform people on the racial inequalities in the world right now."

Others form smaller action or interest groups, but connect globally with like-minded groups to exchange ideas. For young people to have such powerful voice on topics they believe in is a game changer. Young people do not vote in elections and thus have a diminished influence in democratic societies. This has changed. Greta Thunberg’s influence as a youthful voice is a prime example, but many others are now heard on all continents over a range of important topics, all because of the scalability of social media. Never have young people been able to exercise their views and mobilise genuine change in the societies they will grow up in. This is a huge positive for everyone, for their motivations are less likely influenced by the mundane pressures of living.

Source: Business Insider, 1 June, 20210 written by Ellen Cranly.

Question: How can you use technology to better (y)our world?

Casper Pieters PhD Dip Ed is an author and educator who uses adventure narratives to enliven the ICT curriculum for young people. www.casperpieters.com

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