Selfie ban: secondary student in China punished by school for taking self-portrait during holidays starts debate on social media use
- A student out with friends posted a selfie on social media during school holidays and received a warning message from her teacher the next day
- Her school bans smartphones, closely watches students’ online activity, and demands monthly records of their phone use, including calls
A secondary student in China who was disciplined by her school for posting a selfie on social media during summer holidays has started a debate about privacy and personal freedoms.
The unidentified student from Panjin in Liaoning province, northeastern China, was reportedly punished by her secondary school for breaching a school ban on the use of social media app WeChat, Xinyuan Video reported.
On Monday, the first day of summer holidays, the student went out with friends and posted a self-portrait on WeChat Moments. The next day when she woke up, she saw she had a WeChat group message from her teacher.
“Yesterday there were two students making posts on WeChat Moments, and many other students had interactions with them. As this has severely violated school rules banning the use of WeChat, a notice will be circulated to these students and a penalty imposed when the school term resumes,” the message read.
The student told Xinyuan Video in an interview that: “It urged me and another schoolmate who made the post to fill in a form when we return to school.”
The teacher also reminded her in the message that no WeChat posts are allowed during school holidays, and that mobile phones are for study only.