Social Media by Alexis

Social Media by Alexis - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

How has social media impacted the way you learn? What are some advantages and disadvantages of its influence on education? The text must exceed 200 words and must not exceed 900 words.

Social media has impacted the way I learn in a positive and negative way. Each social media platform is different and affects people differently. The TikTok platform can be addictive and much time can be wasted watching and creating content. This takes away focus from study time and genuine learning. It’s distractive and not very informative or educational. Most platforms show unreal lifestyles. Such as 18-year-olds that are out in the world buying houses and new vehicles on their social media income. For the majority of the people in the world, this is unrealistic and we need to work a full-time job just to make ends meet. Facebook shows people’s lives and the struggles that they are going through but it also is very political. It can provide positive and negative outlooks on the world today. When reading thru the content it’s important to understand others’ views but it’s also important to investigate and know the truth in what is happening in the world. Twitter is also similar to the content provided by others and has become quite negative and political. I believe that the negativity in social media brings light to my world in knowing what I do not want in my life and teaches me what not to do in life but also helps me understand what I can do to make this world a better place. It also helps me to further educate myself on topics of interest. When someone posts information that may interest me, I am able to dig a bit deeper into it and be able to formulate my own opinion and thoughts to bring to the community and public.

Social media can have a huge impact on many kids trying to focus to learn if they have their sound turned on, on their electronic devices. There is an addictive behavior that is connected with social media platforms that alert us every time someone comments, likes, or shares our content. This alone is a huge distraction from our everyday lives and education. The positive behind social media is that it can be used to ask for help in your lives, ask for prayers for the family, keep in contact with friends and family and even network with people that can help educate and inform on certain topics. For instance, I once had the opportunity to get to know someone that was in the industry that I am thinking about going into in my future and we had a nice conversation about why she loved what she was doing and what lead her to reach her goals. These situations provide clarity and a deeper understanding and can be helpful in our future education.

In my opinion, there are both positive and negative aspects of social media. If you let the negative impact your education you need to learn self-control and to turn off the device that is distracting you. If you allow the positive to impact on your life, watch your life and education further yourself and allow both to provide you with self-development opportunities.