Platforms and Privacy
Have students access the student chapter Platforms and Privacy and go through the instructions for the exercise there.
You can use Facebook as an example:
- Facebook is a closed platform– to share content, you usually have to each accept a friend request from each other. (This is different from an open network, where anyone can see whatever you post.)
- This means that it’s a good place to connect with friends and family, but not necessarily the best place to reach people you don’t know – or to share things anonymously.
- The standard format on Facebook is a post from your account. That can include an image or an embedded video.
- Because it appears in your feed, it’s connected to you in a way that it might not be on some other platforms.
- Facebook lets you block users and also lets you limit the audience – everything from “anyone on Facebook” to “just me” – for everything on your account and for each individual post.
Now have students look at some other popular platforms to compare them on the same criteria.
You can have each student analyze a platform on their own, or assign different platforms to different groups.
Here are some examples of platforms popular with young Canadians, according to MediaSmarts’ research:
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Snapchat
- Discord
If students aren’t sure how to answer a question, have them look for the platform’s Community Guidelines, or do a search for its name and “Community Guidelines.”
When students have finished, have them share their analysis with the class. If different students or groups analyzed the same apps, compare their analysis.
- Did they identify the same things?
- Were there privacy controls some groups noted but not others?
Ask students if they have ever done a similar exercise, in class or elsewhere. If so, ask them to reflect on what has changed since the last time they did.
A platform is anything that lets you share content with other people. Social media and video apps are examples of platforms.