Nutella and Social Media
"Mom, can you buy us some Nutella?", my 13 year old asked one afternoon. I reminded him how I had bought Nutella before and they didn't like it at all. Then his older brother chimes in and they say almost in unison, "But Nutella's suuuuupper gooooood!!!" I knew they had been checking out this new social media platform called 9gag.com and mother's instincts told me that had something to do with this sudden Nutella paradigm shift. We were faced with e a teachable moment...I prodded them to tell me why they suddenly thought Nutella was "suuuuupper goooooood" when before they didn't like the stuff. Sure enough they said they see it on 9gag and I asked them how they knew those posts were real and not "fed" into 9gag by the makers of Nutella themselves. And their reply was both a revelation and a validation. "Nooooo Waaaay, Mom! That's 9gag!", as if to suggest that 9gag was the haven of authenticity.As much as it was tempting to let them stay in the illusion that their world of social media were safe and secure from commercialism, I went on to give a mini orientation about how brands and advertisers purposely use social media to influence their thoughts and opinions, market their brands, and sell.Some are direct to the point, some subliminal...
Some are creative and funny...but very influential I'd say. I myself can get hypnotized by this wicked witch...
The posts always look user-generated and never hard sell (of course! that's where the 'magic' lies).As I spoke, they looked shocked in disbelief, as if their online world had just been invaded by aliens. What more when I told them that our communications agency, Creative Juice, which does social media management for some companies, actually does this seeding of digital content for some corporate clients. By this time, their shock level had hit the roof.Shortly after this experience with my boys, I was invited to speak before a group of high school student about responsible use of social media. As both a mom and a digital marketing practioner, I felt it was a perfect opportunity to speak to more teens, who, just like my own children, might think that their internet world is the "real world", that social media is the best way to form and build relationships, that being "friends" on Facebook is the same as being friends in real life.
View from the podium facing the 400 junior and senior High School students of Montessori de Sagrada Familia
The boys and girls were responsive and actively participating. Perhaps because the topic was something of great interest to them and something they could very well relate to, especially when we spoke about various social media conditions such as this one below. I asked them "Have you ever taken a #selfie?"...
We spoke about recent controversies such as those of Christopher Lao, Robert Carabuena and "Amalayer". They were aware of phrases like cyberbullying and the Cybercrime prevention law which we discussed and they asked questions about too.With the talk I gave, I hope it opened their eyes to some realities and truths- not only about how social media can influence their thoughts (just like my Nutella boys), but also how the internet is a power they can use for a higher purpose- to inspire others, to spread a positive message, to use their talents and even humor, to spark a movement, just like this campaign we all know...
Tee Hee.
I loved meeting these intelligent teens from Montessori de Sagrada Familia and I do hope they make use of what they had learned. And to these dynamic women of MSDF, keep up the passion in molding your students.
With the School Administrators of Montessori de Sagrada Familia
With friend Fides Reyes, who introduced me to the young, dynamic School Administrator and Directress of MDSF, Cristina Santos-Sillamor.
With Cai (extreeme right), Cristina's sister, and her husband, who with their adorable new baby. (Keep on breastfeeding Cai! You can do it!)I also learned a lot from these experiences, with my boys and with the MDSF children. Even we adults must be conscious of how we ourselves can be influenced by social media (we even have our own Nutella version called Speculoos. LOL.) and even WE can create positivity and change by what we post, and what we share.Social media is power at our fingertips. Let's use it wisely and take the time to teach our kids to do the same:)