Embedding Educational Narrative Scripts in a Social Media Environment

The impact of social media on teens’ mental health and development raises the need for educational interventions that equip them with the knowledge and skills to cope with dangerous situations. In spite of the growing effort to expand social media literacy among youngsters, social media interventions still rely on conventional methods that tend to prioritize cognitive skills while overlooking important socio-emotional competencies. To bridge this gap and offer innovative solutions to social media education, this article presents the narrative scripts (NS) approach implemented in a learning technology environment that integrates pedagogical strategies of authentic learning, narratives, and scripted collaborative learning within a simulated educational social media platform. A longitudinal study with 370 high school students in urban schools in Barcelona (Spain) was designed to assess NS in an intervention to foster the development of social media self-protection skills. The findings demonstrated that NS supported the development of social media self-protection skills, while the students expressed positive perceptions of their overall learning experience. The intervention notably enhanced the socio-emotional competencies of responsible decision-making, self-awareness, and social awareness. This research makes a valuable contribution to the design and development of technology aimed at facilitating authentic learning experiences for social media education, with a specific focus on interventions targeting socio-emotional competencies.