Abstract Social media platforms are entering schools and even classrooms today. Students' early acquaintance with social media platforms brings up the disadvantages and advantages of social media platforms. The use of social media platforms against students and the risks they pose to them place a responsibility on teachers and parents. However, occasionally, sharing school and classroom location information in the social media posts of edu‐influencers, violating classroom privacy, creates controversy. Thus, the risk aspects of social media and cybersecurity problems can outweigh the advantages of social media. Sharing students' photos and videos by edu‐influencers on their personal social media accounts that are public and have a large number of followers is evaluated differently. In this case study, the opinions of primary school teacher candidates ( n = 50) in Türkiye were obtained regarding the posts made by edu‐influencers at the primary school level on Instagram, a social media platform. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews via Zoom and coded using qualitative inductive content analysis. The results indicate that primary school teacher candidates' opinions towards edu‐influencers vary. While some teacher candidates take edu‐influencers as role models, others draw attention to the violation of children's rights in these posts. The research findings reveal the necessity of clear and explicit ethical rules and policies regarding the social media posts of edu‐influencers in educational environments. It should also be noted that there is a need for digital literacy training for teacher candidates and teachers. Context and implications The rationale for this study: The use of social media by influential teachers (edu‐influencers) and their frequent posts are important issues. In addition to the positive aspects of edu‐influencers' posts, there are also negative dimensions. The primary rationale of this study is to reveal, from various perspectives, the effects of edu‐influencers' posts on prospective teachers, particularly on undergraduate students who will be the teachers of the future. Why the new findings matter: The study's findings reveal how influential edu‐influencers in education impact primary school teacher candidates and the perceptions they foster. The findings of this study shed light on teacher candidates' level of knowledge regarding the guidelines and regulations they need to consider when posting on social media. Additionally, this study offers an opportunity to illustrate the positive and negative aspects of edu‐influencers' posts. Implications for researchers and policy makers: The results of this study provide an opportunity to inform policy makers about the potential risks of edu‐influencers' posts on teacher candidates. It also highlights the importance of digital literacy and conscious social media use for teachers. The results of the study could serve as a guide for schools on the rules that teachers should follow regarding the use of phones for instructional purposes in the classroom.
Kızıltaş et al. (Fri,) studied this question.