This Is Part of Digital Citizenship

My students didn't learn about the Boston tragedy through a violent video loop or the clamoring for details on CNN. They found out via text message, Twitter and Facebook. In the process, they interacted with the information. They asked questions. They posted reminders that there is still good in humanity (a sort-of meme that was going around). I'm not sure the conversations should be happening through the filter of a screen. However, I'm struck by the fact that social media somehow makes it feel more human and less like a movie. When I first heard about the tragedy, I immediately thought about the runners and the Bostonians that I know I Twitter and Facebook. It's interesting that after the tragedy, people used Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to share photos and help identify people. They used a shared spreadsheet to offer shelter to one another. It was a day when social media truly became social. I don't pretend that social media has turned us into better people. There were, of course, ridiculous tweets blaming North Korea, the Tea Party or the Occupy movement for the bombings. People used social media to be insensitive and cruel. Chances are whoever was involved in the bombings was also involved in social media. It isn't a utopia. However, yesterday helped demonstrate how social media can bring people together. It has me thinking that as schools focus on digital citizenship, we ought to ask how individuals used digital tools to act as citizens in the midst of a crisis. We need to include moments like yesterday as a counterbalance to all the stories of predators or people screwing up their digital footprint. In the midst of the near-paranoia about online spaces, yesterday proved how empathetic, compassionate and sacrificial people can be when using social media.