MOD7 Assignment Part 1

Social Media

The two social medias I would use in order to communicate my policy issue are Facebook and education blogs. The reason I decided to go with Facebook, because Facebook is one of the world largest social media sites in the world. By using Facebook I can tag all of my family and friends with my issue, in which their can share my information with their family and friends and so on. With blogs I can research the different types of blogs that focuses on my issue and issues related to early education or early intervention. There is very wide selection of blogs from professionals that I can utilize to network to improve the way I network my cause and myself.

My Audience

The audience would reach out to would be: teachers (from early childhood education to professors), education college students, elected officials (locally, state wide, and national), therapist that works with children, and anyone whose profession it is who work with and advocate for children. The reason I would reach out to this group and individuals is because of their knowledge on the importance of early intervention policies and programs for children.

The Benefit

The one benefit of social media is the way information can be distributed around the world to millions of people at one time, just by the click of a button. The example of the benefit; if a parent sees signs of something maybe wrong with their child compared to older siblings or family member children. Social media and other internet outlets are there for the parent to research in the privacy of their own home.

The Challenge

The one challenge with using social media, parents are quick to self-diagnose their child with developmental delays. Individuals who are not in the medical field will give advice to families on what they need to do with the issues they see in their before speaking with a specialist. Example of the challenge; Jane is a senior in college getting a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Jane has friend name Sue who she connects with on a face to face bases and through social networking. Sue has a three year old son who Sue says that he never plays with children just in the same area. Jane tells Sue that her child is parallel playing and that he has developmental delays. Jane source is articles she has read in a book, social media, and google. Jane has only spent one month with Sue’s son in his three years. Sue takes her son to his physician all tells him/her that her son has development delays or autism according to Jane who is neither a physician nor therapist. This scenario is just one of many challenges with social media, everyone has an opinion, however are not qualified to make lasting decision about a child’s development or life.