However, after the game, fans against Canada started posting on twitter with the hashtag of #F***Canada and #USA. One post on twitter even says:"If you aren't upset about this game, you can just go ahead and pack your bags and move to Canada because we don't want you. #USA #F***Canada". People then retweeted this post and even commented that the women's game didn't count and the "real" game is today (because it's the men who are playing - not the women."
One person posted “If #Canada's Women's Hockey Team had won Silver, we would be celebrating, not being mean-spirited. #F***Canada is a hashtag for #SoreLosers." I agree with this post!
To sum up my post, I think technology is used (unfortunately) for both negative and positive media or publicity. This is a great learning lesson to teach kids though. Not everything you see in the media or on the internet is true or real. Furthermore, some things you see might not be as obvious as #F***Canada but this can really teach kids to view things they see and read on the internet through a critical lens.
In some situations there are ideas which present themselves and show you what to do, and also what not to do. This specific twitter controversy proves to do both.
This definitely goes to show that we need to teach our students to think critically about what they see. Everything is so "at their fingertips" that I think many of our children and youth lack the ability to think critically and analyze what they see. Many of them don't question what they see or the source in which it is coming from. Let's face it - there are times when I don't even do that. I think that as teachers we need to take the time to explicitly teach our students what this whole idea of "critical thinking" is so that they can use it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see this post - My twitter feed was filled with nothing but Canadian pride over the past two days. Definitely didn't expect to see any negativity but I suppose it is definitely out there. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the rest of your trip!
Lindsay, thanks for the comment! I agree with you about critical thinking and your thoughts on it. I wouldn't have looked for any negativity with the olympics if I hadn't heard that news story about the Americans!! I think it's poor sportsmanship and Canadians wouldn't do that (at least I would like to think we wouldn't!!)
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