“Education is power”. Education is an important pillar that establishes a society. Throughout history, people value education in all form and it continues to to hold great importance today. Education is not confined to the walls of the classroom.
The advent of social media has transformed how people interact, communicate, learn and share information. With platforms such as youTube, whatsapp, x(formerly known as twitter), Skype, linkedin, telegram, Skype and many more.
Students utilize social media various purposes: for entertainment while others for educational purpose. The impacts also varies base on individual usage.
Positive impacts
Access to information
Social media platforms are banks filled with wealth of knowledge readily available to the users. Unlike in the past when the teacher is the pinnacle of knowledge and students are limited to their textbooks and limited books on the shelves of the library. Students can easily gain deep insight into topic through active research online.
Online learning
With technology making the world a global village, online learning has gained traction especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Platforms like YouTube, Udemy, Coursera and skillshare allow personalized learning from your comfort, anywhere
Social media facilitates an easy connection to a study group or tutor. Schools are also adopting virtual learning.
Negative impacts
Distraction and addiction
Despite being a useful tool for education, social media can cause distraction leading to addiction that may negatively impact students’ health by increasing anxiety levels along with stress and depression caused by FOMO (fear of missing out). Students might feel inferiority complex due to endless scrolling through different feeds that could affect their academic performance adversely.
Poor writing skills
Nowadays, many students can no longer craft long essays because they no longer read books that may educate them and improve their writing skills.
The type of messages sent in chats are full of abbreviations, making students inculcate shorthand writing style. Constructing incomplete sentences which have dented their grammar, communication, punctuation and writing skills.
Social media’s effects depend entirely on how individuals choose to use it: either constructively or destructively depending upon one’s preferences