Could You Become a Mean Meme?

Essential Questions: What is digital identity? How does social media affect our lives? What does it mean to grow up in the age of social media?

Do Now: Theme Anticipation Guide (3 minutes)

Project or distribute the Theme Anticipation Guide and have students indicate whether they agree or disagree with each statement.

Preview vocabulary (5 minutes)

Project or distribute the Vocabulary Words and Definitions and review as a class. Highlighted words: alias, anonymity, aspects, aspiring, context, foolproof, misstep, nefarious, potential, privacy

“Could You Become a Mean Meme?” (30 minutes)

Read the article as a class. Briefly discuss anything students find interesting or surprising. Then discuss the following questions.

Close-Reading Questions

• Author Kristin Lewis writes that things posted online can “affect us in unexpected ways.” How does she support this statement? (supporting details) Lewis supports this statement through the example of Ashley Van Pevenage, whose before and after photos were turned into a cruel meme. Lewis also explains that privacy settings aren’t “foolproof” and that you might be allowing the public to see more than you realize. She notes that colleges and employers may find content that you don’t realize is public and could possibly hold it against you.
• What purpose does the story of Ashley’s “meme nightmare” serve in the article? (text structure) The story of Ashley’s “meme nightmare” helps develop the idea that anything posted online can get away from you and take on a life of its own. It also provides an emotional example that readers can relate to—something they could imagine happening to them.
• How did Ashley cope with what happened to her? What does this reveal about the kind of person she is? (key idea, inference) Ashley responded by making and sharing a video about what happened to her. She also started a Twitter campaign, #CureTheHate. This shows that she is resilient. What happened to her was cruel and hurtful; she addressed it by taking positive actions.
• Think about the fact that Ashley’s video got more than 1.7 million views on YouTube. What does this suggest? (inference) The fact that Ashley’s video was so popular suggests that many people can relate to what happened to her and that her message resonated with a large audience.
• What do the tips in the blue circles contribute to the article? (text structure) The tips contribute additional advice for readers on how to protect themselves online.
• Consider the author’s tone—that is, the attitude the author expresses toward the subject matter. What does her attitude toward social media seem to be? (tone) The author’s attitude toward social media seems to be mixed. On the one hand, the author lists examples of how social media has improved our lives—we get to share “moments both big and small,” connect with friends and family, and participate in each other’s day-to-day lives (12). On the other hand, she seems to think that social media has put kids in a difficult position. She explains that in the age of social media, every misstep “can be captured and preserved online” and that this is unfair for kids, who are supposed to make mistakes—and learn from them (13-14).

“Are You Being Watched?” (20 minutes)

Read the second article as a class. Then discuss the following questions, some of which draw on both texts.

Close-Reading Questions

• According to the article, what is one benefit and one drawback of tracking technology? (supporting details) One benefit of tracking technology is that we see ads for products we are likely to be interested in. One drawback is that our personal information is being recorded and sold without our express consent, which many see as unfair or unethical.
• Explain what Nicholas Carr means by “Our sense of anonymity is largely an illusion.” (interpreting text) Carr means that we often feel like no one is paying attention to what we do online. That may because we are not regularly informed that information about us is being collected. Therefore we feel like our information is more private than it really is.

Critical-Thinking Questions

• In your opinion, should sites and apps be allowed to use tracking technology? Answers will vary. Some students may say yes; businesses need to sell products to the people who are most likely to be interested in those products. Besides, users who don’t want to be tracked can change their settings. Others may say no; tracking technology invades our privacy.
• Is it possible for anything shared online to be truly private? Some students may say yes, though keeping information private takes a lot of work and vigilance. Others may say no, because anyone can take a screenshot of anything you post and then post it publicly.

Featured Skill: Synthesis (15 minutes)

• Return to the Anticipation Guide and discuss: What in the texts supports or challenges students’ responses? Have any students changed their positions based on what they read and discussed? 
• Distribute the Synthesizing activity for students to complete in groups. This activity will prepare them to respond to the writing prompt on page 15. For alternate culminating tasks, see the boxes below.