This semester at BYU-Hawaii I was given the opportunity to develop and teach a new Psychology course: The Psychology of Social Media. Over the last months it has been a time consuming, yet exhilarating endeavor to try to condense the psychology of social media into a 7 week summer term. This week kicked off the start of the experience and experiment that is the course. I have just over 20 students enrolled, and we're off to a good start.
This class is dedicated to understanding some of the myriad ways that social media has changed and is changing the ways we think about, process, store, and retrieve information, as well as the different ways we communicate and interact with others from individual to global scales. The course examines these influences of social media across six interdisciplinary themes.
- The Historical Contexts of
Social Media
- The Information Age and
Digital Revolution
- Social Media as a Positive
Social Amplifier
- Social Media as a Negative
Social Amplifier
- Social Media in Marketing
and Branding
- Technology and Social Media in Education
Obviously, my themes and the content of the course are far from comprehensive. But I think the interdisciplinary nature of the course, combined with employing some non-traditional forums (Facebook & Twitter) to engage the class with one another and with the subject matter as well as facilitate sharing and discussion, will be a good introduction to the topic. In her 2012 TED Talk "Connected, but Alone?" Sherry Turkle said "We're smitten with technology. And we're afraid, like young lovers, that too much talking might spoil the romance. But it's time to talk." My goal with this course is to get the conversation started for my students by helping them think deeply about and discuss the potential positive and negative aspects (as well as the history and potential future) of social media in their lives. And I hope that conversation continues for them indefinitely.
Brian E. Kinghorn, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Brigham Young University-Hawaii
