Final Reflection: Personal Learning Networks

Blog #11

At the beginning of this course, I was already using social media frequently, but not in an intentional way focused on learning. Most of my time was spent scrolling through whatever appeared on my feed. If I learned something, it was more accidental than planned.

I wasn’t thinking about who I was learning from or how my interactions were shaping what I saw. My network existed, but I wasn’t actively building or managing it.

“Endless scrolling without intention.” Image source: Wired https://www.wired.com/story/stop-doomscrolling-with-mobile-games

Growth and Awareness

This course made me more aware of how I use different platforms and what I’m actually consuming.

I noticed that my behavior changes depending on the platform:

• I use YouTube more intentionally when I want to learn something
• TikTok and Instagram are still mostly passive and entertainment-based

Even though I was somewhat aware before, I didn’t reflect on it or try to change anything. This course pushed me to think more critically about how I spend my time online.

That said, my habits didn’t change as much as I expected. I’m more aware, but I still fall into the same patterns of scrolling.

Challenges

The biggest challenge for me was reducing mindless scrolling.

I set screen time limits on apps like TikTok and Instagram, but I usually ignored them or extended the time. It made it seem like I had control over my usage, even though my behavior didn’t really change.

Another challenge was keeping up with posting on Mattermost. I completed my blog posts, but I didn’t consistently share them. This was partly due to time zone differences while I was studying in Vienna and not regularly checking the platform.

Feedback and Engagement

I received positive feedback on my blog posts, especially about the layout and design of my site.

This made me more confident in my work and showed me that others were engaging with what I created, which made the process feel more meaningful.

Goals Moving Forward

Moving forward, I want to be more intentional with how I use social media. My main goals are:

• Reduce mindless scrolling and be more aware of how I spend my time
• Focus more on content that is useful or educational
• Shift from mostly consuming content to creating more

I am also more aware of how platforms use data and how algorithms shape what I see. With the rise of AI-generated content, I want to be more critical of what I consume and more intentional about what I engage with.

Conclusion

Overall, this course increased my awareness of how social media functions as a learning environment.

Even though my habits haven’t fully changed, I now think more critically about what I consume, how I engage, and how I can use my PLN more intentionally in the future.

return