Art and Social

Networking: Virtual
Influences Affecting the
Real World
HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM
MARY ANDERSON
 Introduction

Art and Social Networking: Virtual Influences Affecting the Real World is a high school

art curriculum combining the concepts of critical thinking and the cycles of distribution,

production, and consumption through social networking. Social networking “refers both to a

person’s connections to other people in the real world and to a platform that supports online

communication, such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter” (Social Networking). According to

Freedman (2003) text Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of art,

educators should have students critically think and reflect on the information they are receiving

to become conscious of what they are receiving and create their own judgments after doing so.

This theme is relevant since most high schoolers actively participate in social networking though

social media. This idea relates to how students make connections from the virtual world to the

real world.  As students view images in the virtual world, they are taking in messages that affect

them in the real world.  Visual communication through social networking empowers students to

have an active role in society to create positive change. Freedman (2003) explains: 

“The process is a highly interactive relationship between imagery and audience in which cultural
and personal meanings are created. Both Cultural and personal meanings are created as a result
of social knowledge, including for example, gendered associations, formal and informal
education, and socioeconomic level" (2003, p.135).  

Therefore, students take these new personal and cultural meanings and have them present in their

minds as they go about their life in the real world. 

This is a planned spiral model curriculum, Freedman (2003) supports, “… a spiral plan is

most appropriate for teaching the complexities of visual culture” (p. 113). As each unit builds off
the new knowledge gained from the previous unit students will be able to critically think about

the influences of social networking. Students will examine social networking and use their

knowledge to actively create change through the art production.

The conceptual framework is the cover for this curriculum.

Aims and Goals of the Curriculum

The aims and goals of this curriculum focus on cultivating students’ problem-posing and

problem-solving ability. According to Freire (1970), “Problem-posing education bases itself on

creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding to the

vocation of persons as beings who are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and creative

transformation” (p. 84). Therefore, by the end of this curriculum students will build their critical

thinking skills and understand how to be active in social networking through visual

communication. By completing this course, they will be able to analyze the information being

presented to them and identify what the intended messages are that are being presented through

visual communication.  

The aims of the curriculum are: 

Aim #1: To promote social awareness

Aim #2: To encourage a critical thinking mindset.

Aim #3: To create positive change in virtual and real world. 

The goals that correspond with the aims of the curriculum are: 

Goal #1: Understand the influence of social networking on society through art.
Goal #2: Develop the skills to analyze visual messages in social networking. 

Goal #3: Communicate individual stances through artistic production in social networking.

The standard that goes in line with aim and goal one would be VA: Re 7.2.I. This

Standard is under Anchor 7 and is listed as “Analyze how one’s understanding of the world is

affected by experiencing visual imagery” (ISBE, 2016; p.). Students will learn focusing on how

visual communications in the past affected the viewers and how they are currently being affected

by contemporary social networking. This is done by analyzing visual communication and

critically analyzing why certain ideas and beliefs are being promoted and how that may affect

themselves and others.

The standard that goes in line with aim and goal two would be VA: Pr 6.1. I. This

Standard is under Anchor 6 and is listed as “Analyze and describe the impact that an exhibition

or collection has on personal awareness of social, cultural, or political beliefs and

understandings” (ISBE, 2016; p.). When beginning this curriculum whether students are aware

of it or not they are constantly being influenced by visual messages. Through this curriculum

students will study social networking and analyze what is being visual communicated. Then also

analyze the meanings of the visual images and how they are interpreting it and why. Through

this curriculum students will practice questioning themselves and their visual culture before

creating concrete beliefs/opinions.

 The standard that goes in line with aim and goal three would be VA: Cr 1.1. III. This

Standard is under Anchor 1 and is listed as “Visualize and hypothesize to generate plans for

ideas and directions for creating art and design that can affect social change” (ISBE, 2016; p.).

This standard relates to the outcome to this curriculum which is being active producers in social

networking. By being active producers’ students will visually communicate positive messages to

create positive change that will affect their virtual and real-life worlds. By completing this

objective students will become aware of their potential and power to affect their society.

Importance of Theme

Art and Social Networking: Virtual Influences Affecting the Real World brings awareness of how

visual culture in social networking shapes the ideas, beliefs, and identities in contemporary

societies. Everyday imagery is used to communicate and influence, so it is necessary to bring

awareness to what is being visually communicated. This imagery is constantly being digested by

societies. Kerry Freedman (2003) explains what is being digested by using ads as an example:

“Contemporary advertisers use imagery far more than text. In part, they use images because
colors and shapes attract our attention, but also because they can be particularly efficient way to
communicate information. We perceived and process imagery more quickly than text and created
technological capabilities that enable the mass production of sophisticated imagery on a large
scale” (p. 98).

Social networking is an efficient way to spread content quickly and to many viewers. This theme

is extremely relevant to high school students as most of them use social media every day. As

stated by Professor Erdogan Tezci and Assistant Mustafa İçen (2017) in Highs school student’s

social media usage habits, “... 65% of American teenagers are social media users” (p. 100).
Social networking falls under the umbrella of social media. As social media is a tool that is made

up of different platforms that enables social networking. 

Course Description

Art and Social Networking: Virtual Influences Affecting the Real World is a high school

art curriculum that is organized into three thematic units for a 12-week course. The curriculum is

a spiral unit that will focus on 7 postmodern art concepts: Time, identity, power/knowledge,

society, production, distribution, consumption, a concern of otherness, and didactics. Each unit

will work off from the previous and expand the students’ knowledge by building on previously

learned material.

Unit one will focus on introducing the past and present influences that visual messages

have in social networking. In unit one students will learn the foundations of social networking

and visual communication. Since social networking relies on both the receivers and producers of

visual communications, students will understand they play an important role in social

networking. Students will have opportunities to explore their own identities and how it is

influenced by visual culture within social networking. Then going further to research another

person’s perspective and experience of social networking from the past while comparing it to

their own. As examples o visual culture will be further analyzed to reave lower dynamics and

how they affect societal norms.

 Unit two pushes the concepts further by focusing on the presented values that art

promoted in social networking. The way visual communication in social networking promotes

certain values can affect the way viewers think/act/ behave in the real world. Freedman (2003),

“Technological images blur the boundaries between types of visual culture, making them more a

part of real existence” (p. 130). Students will dive even deeper on what values and how they are

being promoted through social networking. Students will be designing their own way to social

networking in a way that promotes positive values. There will be self-reflections and class

discussions that will deepen their understanding of the roles and power to promote these values

to different groups of people to empower them and to shape ideologies in these societies.

Unit three is the final unit where students will be working independently. The unit

focuses on Activism in social networking through visual communication through visual

messages. Students will take what they have learned in the previous two units and begin to

research further based on their personal interests. They will create a final product that teaches

them the roles they have in society and how they as individuals can make a direct impact to

create positive change. The students will successfully create a digital work of art in order post to

a chosen social media as a tool to social network with others. The art created will be intended to

produce positive visual messages and bring awareness to diverse social issues. This experience

will provide opportunities to create direct positive change in real life.

Developmental Level
 This is a useful and important curriculum for high school students. Students at this level

are still developing their ideas and beliefs. This curriculum will give students the chance to

explore their ideas and the importance of their roles in society. By giving them the opportunity

and an environment filled with support students will have a greater identity status of identity

achievement. Meece (2008) “…identity achievement describes those young people who have

engaged in exploration and who have made definite personal, vocational, or ideological choices.

These individuals tend to be high in self-esteem, self-control, and self-direction” (p. 367). This

curriculum promotes critical thinking by students questioning their ideas and the opinions they

have while also thinking about why and what visual messages are being communicated to them

within social networking. Everyday students are consuming visual culture where there are visual

messages being constantly communicated. In this curriculum examples will be presented, and

they will bring in their own personal examples from their visual culture. There will be

opportunities to break down these images in order to critically analyze what they are consuming

and how that may be affecting their own values and beliefs. Through the artist process students

will experience the possibilities and their own power they have in social networking.

Resources

 PowerPoints

 Art examples

 Teacher examples

 Specific examples of social networking

 Computers
  Videos

 Articles

 Adobe Spark

 Designspiration

Traditional Art Media Resources:

 Paper

 Pencils

 Acrylic Paint

 Markers

 Erasers

 Magazines

 Scissors

 Glue

 Adobe Spark

Conclusion

Art and Social Networking: Virtual Influences Affecting the Real World is a curriculum that will

provide students with the skills to critically analyze visual communication and to critically

reflect on what influences them as individuals. After learning about the past and contemporary

influence in social networking students can expand their knowledge and skills by completing this

high school curriculum. Students will understand their potential of creating changes in society

through social networking. The curriculum provides lessons to have students become aware of
how changing the real world in a positive way can be done through visual messages. This

curriculum also presents all the resources that are accessible to students. Once students are

through with this curriculum, they will be able to actively think critically about visual culture as

they participate in their society.

References

Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of

art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. 

Freire, P., & Ramos, M. B. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum. 

Illinois State Board of Education. (2016). Illinois arts learning standards: Visual arts standards.

https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Visual-Arts-Standards.pdf

Meece, J. L., & Daniels, D. H. (2008). Child and adolescent development for educators. Boston:

McGraw-Hill.

Tezci, Erdogan, and Mustafa İçen. High school students' social media usage habits. Online

Submission 8.27 (2017): 99-108. 

“Social Networking.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/social-networking.