Hey Parents, You Don’t Have to Ask for Facebook Likes Anymore

In case you missed it, school projects are not limited inside the schools anymore. In fact, if you are a parent or a tito or tita, you might have seen (and even shared) a number of Facebook posts asking for likes, reactions, or even shares for school projects in the social media platform in recent years. It has gotten to the point that if you’re a member of a mommy or parenting group, or has a kid/niece/nephew – doesn’t matter if they’re school-age yet, calls for “Please like my son’s school project,” or “Paki-pusuan ang picture of my daughter” has become a norm in your newsfeeds.

We’re not sure what the intention of such school requirements are or how much impact Facebook engagement can have on a student’s grades, but trying to get as many likes, shares or reactions can be stressful for both students and parents.

Well, the good news is, the Department of Education (DepEd) has recently issued a memo prohibiting the use of social media in class projects. The memo, released last June 11 also refers to the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) appeal for schools to “stop the use of social media in giving class projects and homework.” It further cites the following reasons for the said ban:

• Social media platforms such as Facebook, if used improperly can also be problematic for young learners. As it could provide access to gaming applications, online services, and other content that might be inappropriate for their age and maturity level.
• Social media might expose young students to inappropriate chats or interactions, cyber-bullying, identity theft, online gambling, pornography, and market fraud that might lead to self-isolation, humiliation, and trauma.
• Social media can prove to be a distraction to young students and can ultimately lead to poor school performance.

So, as parents, what do you think about this social media ban?

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