In today’s age of advance social media platforms, it’s difficult to not be found

Everyone is familiar with Sunday, the day when all the week’s homework is sitting on our plates and all we can do is worry about it as we scroll through our Facebook feeds. But, on the brink of that procrastination, most likely complaining about those assignments, the idea of looking up a teacher’s profile is tantalizing to the procrastinating mind.

A Hockaday student, who wished to remain anonymous, said “it was weird” when she found several of her teachers on Facebook.

“I never really realize that teachers are people too,” she said.

According to a survey of 100 Upper Schoolers, 75 percent of Hockaday girls use social media: 86 percent have Facebook accounts, 50 percent have Twitter accounts and 42 percent use Tumblr. Of that number, 70 percent of the surveyed Hockaday girls openly admitted to looking up their teachers on Facebook.

However, most teachers don’t care.

In the words of Upper School English Teacher Kyle Vaughn, “we [the teachers] are not bothered by being ‘found’.”

Of the students, 47 percent of whom would be mortified if someone, no matter if they are adult or student,  found their social media account.

While most students think teachers are just beginning to venture into the realm of social media, 84 percent of 51 faculty and staff members actually do have social media accounts.

Upper School Guidance Counselor Dr. Margaret Morse ‘93 said that the want to be anonymous tends to draw girls away from Facebook and into less identifying platforms like Tumblr, a social media platform that allows more anonymity.

However, Morse reminds everyone that “you never can be truly ‘anonymous’ on the internet.”

From the teachers’ perspective Vaughn agreed with Morse that “the Internet is not anonymous….If you write it down, it’s public.”

When it comes to using social media as a learning and teaching outlet, Head of Upper School John Ashton does encourage faculty to be on Facebook and Twitter. He said that these platforms “are opportunities to leave a positive digital footprint.”

However, Ashton does not encourage Faculty/Student social interaction on social media platforms. In fact, the Hockaday Faculty Handbook outlines that “faculty should not have online relationships with current students, parents and alumnae under 21 years of age….Online relationships include Facebook and any other site where personal information is shared…”

Ashton, who has a Twitter account, uses it to communicate with students, though not individually, and views Twitter an exception because it is “merely an extension of the classroom,” using it as a way to share interesting articles and, for those who don’t check their FirstClass as often, remind them about assembly and other activities going on at Hockaday.

“I think Twitter is a great tool for learning with a great potential for collaboration,” Ashton said.

-Kate