To say that digital social networks show the best in exactly the same way as the worst is no more original than to say that the car gave us the best (travel, carpooling) as well as the worst (accidents, pollution); or that work leads to the best (self-fulfilment, success) as well as the worst (child labour, the exploitation of man by man, burn-out). This dichotomy is the same in any human activity, a fortiori when it uses technology, and is nothing more than a reflection of society, with its good and its bad sides.

Of course we must not be naive: the fact of having simultaneous access to 1.86 billion users across the world, as does Facebook at present, allows a certain vision of society to be imposed. Everyone does, however, have freedom of choice and may collectively fight against the control of the more powerful lobby. The move away from Facebook by the younger generations, who prefer the simpler, faster and more rewarding Snapchat, is an example. It is up to each user to make what use he wants of these networks, to exploit them at his own convenience, in his own way, and freely; and by his choices and attitudes, contribute to the development of particular methods of social organisation. You don't have to be a genius to measure to what extent these social networks are major political levers, and potential instruments of direct democracy.

However, we are not all equal in the face of these choices. For a long time (long before the development of these networks), many sociologists, such as Joffre Dumazedier[1], showed, for example, that an increase in free time for people from the popular classes always led them to do more of the same activities rather than to diversify. The same phenomenon occurs within the networks where there are certain categories of simple users (playing, watching videos, posting photos, clicking Like on anything and everything without discrimination), while others make a more diversified and constructive use (documenting themselves, learning, commenting, arguing, producing their own posts). It is therefore clearly a question of education or, in all cases, an educational question.

I therefore consider the rejection, sometimes visceral, of the use of the Internet, especially the social networks, by professionals in training and education to be a form of scandalous resignation. Some teachers or trainers dismiss it without even knowing about it: "I would never use it because it's not interesting" seems the most paradoxical sentence to me: how, other than by listening to others, can we know that there is nothing interesting if we have not tried it ourselves? In this matter, we cannot just make do with a look from outside; we have to explore it, to develop our own uses and then form an objective opinion. Without concealing the dangers of these tools, which are now permanently installed in our cultural landscape and in our habits, let's analyse their potential, and what they tell us about the evolution of society, our social practices, our forms of relationship to others and to ourselves.

For example, let us take the concept of friendship, which is often used to show the vacuousness of social networks. In fact, one may feel, like fact André Comte-Sponville[2] that "relationships woven on social networks are superficial, and have nothing to do with the sovereign and perfect friendship of which Montaigne spoke" or even, as Mazarine Pingeot[3] says, "friendship has been sold out on the network market, legitimising the vitality of connections from a quasi moral point of view […] the network is valued more highly than human relationships, affecting even those who make up the network, since they are reduced to simple interconnected points". But the reverse may also be considered: different levels of friendships exist, more or less close or remote, more or less real or virtual, more or less lasting or fleeting, more or less professional or personal; and they all contribute, each at its own level, to make you what you are. Rather than see the permanent connection with one's friends via smartphones as the manifestation of a type of antisocial behaviour, it can also be interpreted, as was suggested by the journal Techno-science.net[4]as an indication of hyper-socialisation. According to Professor Samuel Veissière, and quoted in this article, "Man today is a social species like no other, which needs constant reassurance by its peers on the cultural acceptability of its behaviour. In addition, these human interactions give meaning and objectives to a life, while contributing to the construction of its identity".

Extimacy, to use Serge Tisseron's expression[5], or the view of  others, is a major force in the construction of self-esteem, and social networks contribute largely to it; however the construction of  self-esteem is at the very heart of the Educational Act, both we know that  feeling skilled strengthens the effectiveness of training courses. That again is a good reason to use social networks in training courses, for example when supporting basic learning and skill development, which are the core objectives.

Various routes then open up to training professionals; here are some examples:

Creating receptive learners, as does Yann Bouvier, Professor of History, with the diary of a Tommy [6]. At each session, he gives his students the day's page from a Tommy's war diary (Frédéric B.) and asks them to write and illustrate a tweet. In this way, they work on learning conciseness, documentation and Internet research, syntax, negotiation (reaching a joint agreement) just as much as their actual absorption of historical facts. The social value of their productions, posted on a public Twitter account with a large number of followers, also strengthens their individual and collective self-esteem, and the feeling of taking part in history.

Approaching literary works in a different way, such as The Plague by Albert Camus[7]had students encouraged by their teacher to create a character's Profile page: they find the passages in the book where this character appears and create a post by summarising what he does, and how he feels about it. In addition, here again, learning which codes are used on social networks and how to write a text, even a short one, allows students to take ownership of the work and to understand how the author addresses the problem of communication. In the novel, the people of Oran, cut off from the world, lose their ability to love, to express themselves and to maintain relationships with one another. But if social networks had existed then, would things have been the same?

Social networks can also be used to extend the in-class relationship, by creating groups to exchange files or videos, to offer on-line assessments, to use instant messaging for follow-ups, to give remote support and to make cooperating easier. At the time of the porosity of space and time (in leisure, transport, training, work) and the inversion of the classes, the Education Act should emerge from the restricted classroom context and encourage the teacher to model his behaviour on social networks: respecting the right of the image, listening to one another, arguing, working collectively …

Producing business intelligence on a particular subject, or a professional theme with a curating tool such as Pearltrees or Scoop-It can also be an easy way of acquiring a trade, joining a professional body, forming a database of shared knowledge and learning to use social networks not just to have fun, but also to self-train within the network - which will be one of the key skills in the professional situation in tomorrow's business.

Finally, integrating social networks into digital training activities and supporting workers is, from my point of view, essential in the fight against the disastrous impacts of a poorly controlled e-reputation. At the time when "19% of recruiters say they have already rejected candidates because of their Internet activities"[8] , in a strained and increasingly competitive labour market, future professionals, particularly young people, must develop a positive digital image. It is essential to support them in managing their digital presence, teaching them how to manage their e-reputations and how to use these new media to reach potential employers. Using networks throughout training courses help the learner to formalise and capitalise on his acquired skills, and demonstrating his ability is one of the most fruitful ways of doing this.

 

Holder of a PhD in Educational Science and an independent consultant, Frédéric Haeuw is a specialist in the use of digital technology in adult training and education. He supports training bodies, CFAs, OPCAs and professional Branches in the process of computerising their tenders. ​

Website: http://www.haeuw.com/