Table of Contents
Introduction
Social media has always been looked upon negatively for students in the past. While these prior studies may have been adequate to simply dispel the concept of social media benefiting students and teachers alike, I look to get non-biased information so that I may discover the true development which social media networks has on academic performance of high school students. As a result of the constant growth of technology, we as a society have learned that Social media can be constructive and productive while still having drawbacks which seem to conclude as technology advances. Researchers in 2017 found out that 92% of teenagers go online daily with an average of 8 hours a day on social media channels such as television and the internet (Elmore, Scull, Kupersmidt (2017)) however, being reluctant to this idea is common as people tend to be reluctant. These statistics may look frightening, but when you think of the amount of time spent talking to friends and family that may not be accessible otherwise, these numbers mean little to them as they value every second as they might not get the chance otherwise. The main objective of this research is to find as much information on the positive and negative effects social media has on adolescents.
Researches have been conducted that show the negative effects of social media when it comes to academics. An article discovered that after restricting the use any social networks of 234 graduates, study shows that it negatively impacted their self-productivity and academic performance (Hassell, Sukalich (2015) & Simsek, Sali (2014)). The students in the research believed that the amount of social network used contributed to their happiness in life (Hassell, Sukalich (2015). While at the same time researchers are saying that both students and teachers are pessimistic towards the use of social media in the learning environment (Chris Piotrowski (2015)). This is a typical research analysis for many when it comes to social media and academics, however, could there be some benefits to all of this that has been over looked?
Constructive side of Social Media
In this day and age, we are constantly interacting with each other through social sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc… A research done by Stefania Manca and Maria Ranieri shows that a social network site such as Facebook was most likely to be used to interact with companions, while other sites such as Twitter and YouTube were used to share incite on different topics. Research gate and Acedimis.edu were used for finding and sharing the results of qualified individuals (Jordan and Weller (2018) & International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (2017) & J Med Allied Sci). While many choose to see the negative impact, social networks may have such as distracting students which impact the amount of time being used to complete assignments, it does not eliminate the fact of positive uses in the case of connecting students with each other being seen every day.
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Students are constantly collaborating with each other through social media whether for group projects or feedback from other students that have been through the same issue they are experiencing even if they are in different areas of the world. Social media has the properties of being able to reinforce students’ performance academics-wise while also assisting in teaching methods (Waleed, Othman and Lizawati (2015)). Teachers have the accessibility of being be able to further their way of enlightening the students with the help of social media. Instructors can keep in contact with their students regularly which could increase the pace of learning which leads to more information being able to be accessed by the students. If scholars are able to continuously learn and retain new material given, then social media seem beneficial for all parties that are being impacted even the parents have easier access to what their children are doing through teachers.
We live in a society were being knowledgeable can open doors to possibilities that we couldn’t imagine was possible before. Simple things that are required to achieve in most aspects of life has been digitalize and can be accessed with the ease of search engines and a single tap. Due to this change workers have been able to communicate more effectively since most use a social site such as Facebook, this is no different when dealing with students especially as it comes second nature to these generation as they were born into the technologize world. Undergraduates had lacked practical ingenuity due to the fact that they were unable to provide knowledge acquired in seminars into practice. Later, students used Facebook and found the using it was more effective in expanding their motivation and their ability to cooperate and interact with one another (Bagarukayo (2018)). These students saw first-hand the potential of incorporating social network sites (SNS) into classes and how their pace of learning could drastically increase. When results like these are being discovered, why are we not jumping at the chance to merge the standard learning environment with SNS that have the potential to exceedingly advance the knowledge capacity of scholars?
The widespread use of social media is not only seen in America, but by the whole world including places like Indonesia. When it came to the availability of a computer at home 80.6% of students had it, but only 53.8% have access to the Internet. While the opportunity of internet access via mobile was superior with an outstanding rate of 94.5% (Suana Wayan (2015)). Students need Social media sites to complete and receive daily tasks assigned by teachers wherever you are attending school at. If we were to take away their availability of social sites, we would not just damper their chances of passing a class, but fail at preparing them for the future that lies ahead. These students are the changes needed so that the next generation has a future to be passed on to, so the best course of action would not be to ridicule the key aspect of their life as a pupil in achieving in their field but to further the capabilities allowed amongst them.
Distant education is fundamental to students who want to learn, but can’t attend or afford the schools that is near. SNS makes the classes accessible and manageable for students who want to continue their education.” There is a large opportunity to use web 2.0 technologies that can mediate distance learning and make it more analytical, flexible, interactive, and collaborative for both the teacher and the taught” (Singh, Marwaha (2013)). For isolated learners and teachers, getting in contact can be a hassle with factors like the right equipment not being accessible to both parties and dealing with different time zones are only a few roadblocks that tamper their outcome in the case of being taught and learning. Electronic learning removes most of those issues, simple devices such as a phone can be used to contact teachers and complete tasks assigned by the educator. Even if the students may not have possession of a computer or mobile device, they could use their parent’s electronic device to accomplish their goal.
One of the hardest things for a teacher to accomplish is to get the students to actually enjoy the class which leads to the students talking and interacting with classmates during learning hours and not paying attention and interested in what is being taught which can drastically decrease the effectiveness of the educator readiness of learners when it comes to a test or applying what you have learned in real life. Students used the social media technology, Google Circles Learning Communities, which was joined by their own accord, to further their knowledge of different variations of learning which meant more work for both the students and teachers (Kivunja, Press (2015)). Scholars are open to the idea of improving their way of learning no matter if it implies extra time has to be used understanding new materials. When undergraduates enjoy the material being instructed by educators they want to take in as much detail as possible. Under circumstances like that students will retain information easier due to their interest in the specific subject which leads to the increase in academics progression.
The Adverse of Social Sites
Frequent multi use of social media in the academics, degrades scholar’s achievement (Phulpoto (2017). Constant use leads to a chaotic sleep schedule due to the constant deuteriation and insufficient amounts of sleep that has been replaced by the usage of social networks. (Phulpoto (2017), (Aljabry, Ahmed, Mohammed, Taher, Ahmed H, Khormi, Musa (2017)). The same is true when it comes to student who are above other “Likewise it was also discovered that social media/networking also contribute to academic under-achievement among high ability students” (Adelodun (2017)). Capabilities of pupils plays no role on whether students are impacted negatively by social media. This shows that while some students are better as an overall scholar their chances of influence from SNS and what they produce academically are at equilibrium with their peers.
Graduates addiction to social media is no new topic we constantly see this affecting their lives especially in the academic scene. As a result of the constant growth of online education we must teach students the importance of Internet abuse which will lead to academic success. Scholars are put into a situation where knowledge is key towards their accomplishments. If they do not properly understand how to use something it is up to the faculty to teach them. In the case of misuse of the SNS, moderation must be encouraged to acknowledge the issues and find a way to resolve it, once that happens the path towards getting over that issue is much clearer. Social media is a major part of our lives, so we simply just can’t take it away from the student’s, restriction is essential for scholars to strive and be able to compete with other pupils in their majors.
Overall Impact
When it comes to social media being looked down upon it is mostly due to the fact that certain students use of SNS are being uncontrolled. The obsessive nature of students towards social media sites supplement their inability to use social sites for academic purposes (Moulin & Chung (2017) & Ellis, McAleer, Szakas, (2015) & Cerrato, Perpiñá, Poch (2018) If these sites were restricted or watched over by authorities, students would be able to target and accomplish their academic intentions in school (Journal of Education and Practice (2015)). We as a society simply look down upon the fact that students abuse their accessibility to use social networks sites instead of trying to find a way to regulate these issues. Students have the ability to use social media for academic furthering or indulge themselves when the second option is taken away there is, but one thing left to accomplish with the use of social media, intellectual progress in learning facilities.
Critique of social media comes from the aspect of online gaming and chatting are looked down upon as they don’t help students achieve assignments. “Chatting and online games do not seem to help, as opposed to searching for information, as well as reviewing and describing events.” (Zachos, Paraskevopoulou, Efrosyni, Anagnostopoulos, Ioannis (2018)). Articles that I have dealt with when it came to the unhealthy aspect of social media fell under the of accusing of playing too much which lead to unfavorable effects on scholars. Sleep schedule is the main role in the downfall of undergraduate’s scholastic performance (Phulpoto (2017). Also, the same behavior helps scholars reach out to students that are outside of their classrooms and it can also make the hardship of settling in for freshmen as it comes second nature to them for completing assignments and individual reason (McCarthy’s (2014))
