Schools In Canada Are *Actually* Suing TikTok And Meta, So Here Are 17 Reminders Of What School Before Social Media Was Like For Millennials Posted by Abby Zinman Last Updated: June 4, 2024 Donations Make us online Schools In Canada Are *Actually* Suing TikTok And Meta, So Here Are 17 Reminders Of What School Before Social Media Was Like For Millennials It’s been a hot minute since I was in high school, but I was still NOT prepared to learn what’s been going on ever since Gen Alpha decided to… you know, become actual people instead of remaining babies forever. So if you remember elementary school and high school as taking place in the 2000s, you might wanna sit down for this. Are you seated yet? Great. This just in: social media is taking over our schools. Like, maybe even more than we thought it would. Like, you know that niece or nephew who barely pays attention to you and instead spends the entire family reunion with their eyes glued to their parents’ phones? Yeah. That’s what school is like now, except replace yourself with a teacher trying to educate our youth. Anyway, it’s all very frightening, to say the least. And 9 school boards in Ontario see it too. So, along with 2 private schools, they’ve launched a massive lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat, for intentionally “disrupt[ing] student learning and the education system.” They allege that not only are these platforms addictive, but that they’ve rewired kids’ brains in a way that contradicts our school system. And the cherry on top is that these companies probably know all too well that they’re endangering kids’ minds. (If you disagree, go watch The Social Dilemma.) So, amidst all of this intensity, I thought I’d bring us all back to a better time, and share memories that only those of us who haven’t been addicted to technology since age 0 can relate to. And who knows? Maybe this is what school will go back to if the lawsuit goes through: 1. Sitting on the bus on the way to school, with only a pair of cheap earbuds and an iPod Classic to keep you occupied. 2. Passing physical, paper notes in class when you got bored, and risking having to read it in front of the whole class. 3. Getting vehemently jealous of the kids who were lucky enough to be able to call each other on their Motorola Razr phones. 4. Lugging your million-pound backpack home from school… 5. …which definitely contained one, two, or twenty of these particular textbooks… 6. …and a few binders, which progressively got heavier and messier throughout the year. 7. Actually playing games during recess, zero technology needed — perhaps some tag, Grounders, or Red Rover, which has since been banned from many schools for being too dangerous. 8. Being so jealous of the kids with a massive pack of crayons or coloured pencils… 9. …and don’t forget about the best markers of all time. 10. Being absolutely screwed if you forgot your lunch and didn’t have money, because there was pretty much no way to contact your parents. 11. Playing with your Game Boy, DS, or Tamagotchi under your desk, if you were feeling rebellious… 12. …or, if you were a nerd like me, perhaps you resorted to a good ol’ book, like the classic Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 13. Knowing the greatest class ever was about to happen when your teacher brought in a TV on wheels and started playing Bill Nye the Science Guy. 14. Logging online as soon as you got home to chat with your friends on MSN messenger… 15. …or playing a classic game of The Sims. 16. Needing one of these on the back of your pencil after only a few days of school. 17. And finally, spending weeks learning cursive in class, which was honestly my favourite thing I’ve ever learned in school. Ahhh, feels better to relive the good old days, doesn’t it? Let’s keep it going, then — let us know what other memories you have from elementary, middle and high school. And if you’re not one of the youngins affected by the lawsuit, you should probably follow BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram to keep yourself posted. Source link
It’s been a hot minute since I was in high school, but I was still NOT prepared to learn what’s been going on ever since Gen Alpha decided to… you know, become actual people instead of remaining babies forever. So if you remember elementary school and high school as taking place in the 2000s, you might wanna sit down for this. Are you seated yet? Great. This just in: social media is taking over our schools. Like, maybe even more than we thought it would. Like, you know that niece or nephew who barely pays attention to you and instead spends the entire family reunion with their eyes glued to their parents’ phones? Yeah. That’s what school is like now, except replace yourself with a teacher trying to educate our youth. Anyway, it’s all very frightening, to say the least. And 9 school boards in Ontario see it too. So, along with 2 private schools, they’ve launched a massive lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat, for intentionally “disrupt[ing] student learning and the education system.” They allege that not only are these platforms addictive, but that they’ve rewired kids’ brains in a way that contradicts our school system. And the cherry on top is that these companies probably know all too well that they’re endangering kids’ minds. (If you disagree, go watch The Social Dilemma.) So, amidst all of this intensity, I thought I’d bring us all back to a better time, and share memories that only those of us who haven’t been addicted to technology since age 0 can relate to. And who knows? Maybe this is what school will go back to if the lawsuit goes through: 1. Sitting on the bus on the way to school, with only a pair of cheap earbuds and an iPod Classic to keep you occupied. 2. Passing physical, paper notes in class when you got bored, and risking having to read it in front of the whole class. 3. Getting vehemently jealous of the kids who were lucky enough to be able to call each other on their Motorola Razr phones. 4. Lugging your million-pound backpack home from school… 5. …which definitely contained one, two, or twenty of these particular textbooks… 6. …and a few binders, which progressively got heavier and messier throughout the year. 7. Actually playing games during recess, zero technology needed — perhaps some tag, Grounders, or Red Rover, which has since been banned from many schools for being too dangerous. 8. Being so jealous of the kids with a massive pack of crayons or coloured pencils… 9. …and don’t forget about the best markers of all time. 10. Being absolutely screwed if you forgot your lunch and didn’t have money, because there was pretty much no way to contact your parents. 11. Playing with your Game Boy, DS, or Tamagotchi under your desk, if you were feeling rebellious… 12. …or, if you were a nerd like me, perhaps you resorted to a good ol’ book, like the classic Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 13. Knowing the greatest class ever was about to happen when your teacher brought in a TV on wheels and started playing Bill Nye the Science Guy. 14. Logging online as soon as you got home to chat with your friends on MSN messenger… 15. …or playing a classic game of The Sims. 16. Needing one of these on the back of your pencil after only a few days of school. 17. And finally, spending weeks learning cursive in class, which was honestly my favourite thing I’ve ever learned in school. Ahhh, feels better to relive the good old days, doesn’t it? Let’s keep it going, then — let us know what other memories you have from elementary, middle and high school. And if you’re not one of the youngins affected by the lawsuit, you should probably follow BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram to keep yourself posted.
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