The Impact of Social Media on Education

The Impact of Social Media on Education

Abstract

The process of socialization is one that is life-lasting, and that progresses as individuals change responsibilities or even jobs and also as the community keeps on changing. It involves the relationship between human beings in a particular environment in which they are living. The evolution of technological period resulted in the arrival of the internet and social media. Social media is described as a set of applications that are based on the internet and which have been created to exchange content and has transformed the way social interaction occurs. It is a process by which individuals can interact over the internet or online and where people find and enjoy the companionship of other people online. The written work discussed in detail how social media has impacted education both positively and negatively. The negative impacts of social media on education have been elaborated and which include wastage of time, browsing of content that has no value in life and that is not educative and the general effects on the writing skills. On the other side, social media has significantly impacted education, including distant learning, improvement in socialization, and being enabled to share ideas and the availability of vital resource of information.

The Impact of Social Media on Education

The process of socializing is one that is life-lasting, and that progresses as individuals change responsibilities or even jobs and also as the community keeps on changing. It involves the relationship between human beings in a particular environment in which they are living. This process of socialization has for long been recognized even before the current technologies which are transforming socialization in the community (Cooke, 2017). The evolution of technological period resulted in the arrival of the internet and social media that has changed the way social interaction occurs. It is a process by which individuals can interact over the internet or online and where people find and enjoy the companionship of other people online (Gebeyehu, 2017). This written work elaborates in detail the effects caused by social media on education categorizing the positive and the adverse effects.

Impacts of social media on education

In the current world of networked learning, social media has impacted education, and it’s becoming a determining factor. The world has been connected and made to be like a small village via social media. Some technologies allow the applications of interaction to function (such as mobile phones and laptops) and are determining aspects behind the influence of social media (Blessinger, 2015). Social networking has affected scholars in the education sector in a positive and also in a negative way. For instance, video presentation applications, like google hangouts, skype, or even conferencing, have enabled teaching to be conveyed across long distances. It is not necessarily essential for a faculty member to be in one room with the students to teach. The technology advancement has given way to the reversed classroom model and haltered how information is transferred to students (Gebeyehu, 2017). The implementation of social media is among the primary factors behind the expected changes in life and the cause of the changes in education.

The negative impact of social media on education

There are various impacts that social media imposes on education that can be considered as positive while others have negative effects. The adverse effects caused by social media on education include wastage of time by students on things that are not important in their lives. Most students spend much of their time chatting and surfing the internet for information that is not educative. They are seen to be glued on the phones most of the time while in class, libraries and also in seminars. Their understanding is that the devices are elements for easy incorporation while studying (Demirbilek, 2018). Some usually plug in their earphones and start humming out the music they are listening, causing disturbance to other students.

Students nowadays are seen to use social media to search for information that adds no value to them. Students have lost passion for reading but prefer to stream videos on social media and joke around with the devices to seek pleasure and enjoyment (Cooke, 2017). Currently, students are just reading to pass exams and not gaining knowledge resulting in reduced vast use of brain and its development. Those students who never devote their efforts in education end up having low grades and generally poor academic performance.

Students have long forgotten to develop long passages as they do not take time to read books and novels. They have depended on the shorthand as it has been messaging and chatting on social media. It has resulted in the construction of sentences that are not complete and with few lines, thus affecting the communication, grammar, and general writing skills (Dubey et al. 2018). Other people find it difficult to understand what is meant by the text and the context of the discussion, particularly to an individual who has never grown up with an idea of using the technology as a primary means of communication (Demirbilek, 2018). Other technologies such as the Grammarly can connect to a browser, and students can use it to correct grammar. Students have failed in the examination due to the use of abbreviations and incomplete sentences.

The positive impact of social media on education

Social media has various positive effects and implications. Firstly, the level of learning and education has been enhanced. Through using internet, students are enabled to reach to every form of information. The google search engine can provide almost everything irrespective of how old is the information (Gebeyehu, 2017). Any information that can’t be got from the centers of research and also from libraries have been made available over the internet. The globe has become a small place with a circulation of information and knowledge.

Currently, schools have begun to teach students over the network. What is referred to as distance learning has been enabled via the use of social media. People have been reduced the burden of traveling long distances to get education from distant schools (Cooke, 2017). The choice of studying from another country is just for those students who are economically floating to travel outside the country. Lecturers prefer projects and homework being sent via an email. The reading materials and lecture notes are made available online, and the students can download, and thus reducing the costs of making copies together with the risk of misplacement making education simple.

Through social media, the students have interacted with people from various parts of the globe and therefore, have been exposed to new ideas that one day can help them. Also, the students can access educational groups created on Facebook and other media. Students are believed to be resourceful in knowledge when aided by social media (Dubey et al. 2018). Through media houses, students are in a position to get their mentors and communicate with them over social networks.

As the students continue using computers and mobile phones, they get exposed to the current technology and may end up developing an interest in it and become a career. The social lives of students can help with mingling and developing confidence in the days to come (Blessinger, 2015). Students are nowadays able to reach out to industry experts from various disciplines, and through them, they are capable of locating authoritative sources of information although they need to know about evaluating the sources. Students can easily collaborate on different team projects through the use of social media (Cooke, 2017). Facebook groups can be created or even Twitter hashtags to communicate about the project and exchange ideas.

The undesirable impacts of social media deserve to be eliminated while the positive effects should be upheld. The time that is used on social network platforms should be minimized. Access to social media by students needs to be moderated. Parents should regulate the time spend by children on screens, games, and phones. Whatever the children browse and see should be under monitoring of the parent, and most preferably, the parents should seize the devices when the exams are about to start. News and programs that are educative should be encouraged and avoid immoral programs. What should be expected after introducing the educative programs is an enhanced reading environment leading to academic progression. The side effects of using social media should be kept minimal and away from affecting the education of students.

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