Campers interpret real world data
Students are exploring actual data and how to interpret it in Kennedy Smith’s Patterns in the Real World class. Smith placed data up on the board from the Pew Research Center and added thoughtful questions next to the data chart– Notice? Wonder? How does this relate to you and your community?
The data had to do with how often teens say they use various social media platforms with YouTube coming in first with “almost constantly” and “several times a day.” Having strong relevance to the group, campers had a great amount of discussion. When asked why they thought YouTube was the most frequented social media platform, Fiona kindly pointed out that it is not only a social platform but serves as a great research tool. Some use it for watching do-it-yourself projects or to watch documentaries. Another student commented that parents may not let their kids use certain platforms, so YouTube is perhaps more open to teens. The statistics were from 2022, and many felt that the platforms may be ranked differently if we had updated data from 2025.
The topic brought on broader discussion including the pros and cons of social media. King would agree with others that social media can be both good and bad. He felt it is better to be with friends in person as he feels people often are more socially awkward who spend too much time on social media. Gabe said history classes use social media all the time as a reference for classes. Annie felt social media can be very addictive.
Smith circled back around to a new data sheet and asked how the campers interpreted the demographical data and the main messages they concluded from looking at the numbers in connection to the demographics. One thing is for certain, our world is full of data, and learning how to better understand it is a win for all of us.
