Since the rise of social media, the question of its influence on people's life remains open. And it is especially important with regard to young people, as they tend to be the most active on the Internet. Today the majority of children and students have a smartphone and actively use various platforms every day. It is time to admit that social media is a massive part of our lives.
Eventually, it all comes down to how and to what extent to use technology. Here are the pros and cons of using social media in the studying process.
Pros
Study Materials and Group Projects
Being a part of any curriculum, working on group projects requires constant keeping in touch with teammates. And there is no easier way than using group chats in social media. It enables working together and sharing all kinds of materials, like documents, videos, lectures, etc.
Another crucial point is that social media give lots of learning opportunities. There is a considerable amount of knowledge, scientific publications, videos, discussions, etc. One can find almost any information, starting from how to write an essay outline up to clear descriptions of nuclear reactions. And the best thing - it is easy to share all of it and engage in communication with other people.
Communication and Engagement
Social media allows for increased communication between students, faculty employees, and professors. And, of course, it endorses communication between students. First of all, it gives a chance for rather shy students who are nervous and sometimes find it hard to raise a hand or ask a question directly.
It also helps to combine the enjoyment of social platforms with the studying process. Internet pages usually feature some personal information like date of birth, home city, etc. It helps to build better communication based on getting to know each other. It is also much faster than any other way to send a message.
It is a Part of Real Life
Education deals not only with theoretical data. It also teaches students to operate in the real world. And the real world is tightly connected to social media. That's why denying and banning it completely will do no good.
It is a new experience and place to which a person should be ready for. It is also a hyperbolized version of real-life situations. Internet culture is fast to jump to conclusions and judge people before getting all the details. And it can be a valuable lesson to witness.
The Internet also increases awareness of various complicated situations all over the world. It is an important thing to look around and not be isolated in one particular social group.
Cons
They Can Distract from Studying
This is one of the biggest concerns - social media are entertaining, and therefore they distract attention. Some people might just get sucked into it and procrastinate. The number of users of the various platforms grows every year, and now it is more than 3 billion people.
And some of us do tend to check their phones every 10 minutes in case something new pops up on Instagram or Facebook. It is a question of responsible consumption as almost with any technology.
Cyberbullying
The Internet gives opportunities for more accessible communication, but it doesn't limit it to a productive and positive one. The internet makes it much easier to bully someone and harass them. The reason is that there is a certain level of anonymity.
Cyberbullying can be very dangerous. It is sometimes much worse than the real-life one because it can get viral, and the results would be tremendous.
Internet Is Not Safe
Social media can be dangerous in many ways, as the Internet is full of all kinds of content. One of the risks is hacking, fraud, and the use of personal information for other people's benefits. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scams, leakages, and data collection. And almost no one can be safe from it.
We all know that Facebook collects our data as well as many other platforms do. It is usually used for marketing, but there are no legislative guarantees of safety for anyone now.
There is also lots of explicit and disturbing content that can be detrimental to some sensitive groups.
Final Words
Social media have both benefits and disadvantages. After all, it is a technology that has become a massive part of our lives, and there is no way to deny it.
We can either make the best of it or the worst. Such platforms can increase students' participation, make communication easier and more productive, provide new learning possibilities.
Yet, those same platforms can also distract attention, create a place for bullying peers, and be dangerous in terms of personal information. Like any technology, they should be used wisely.
