I Only Learn as Fast as I Can Scroll by Anna

I Only Learn as Fast as I Can Scroll by Anna - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

I was betrayed by someone I trusted. Not by a friend or a sibling, but by an anonymous person on TikTok. In today’s world, it’s relatively common to accept the things we see on the Internet as fact. When I see a TikTok spreading false information about the situation in Ukraine, it is my first instinct to believe it. Misinformation is a new epidemic. This comes from the need for instant gratification and lack of deeper research. We want to know everything, right now. This makes us slaves to flashy headlines that may or may not contain actual facts. Of course, this way of learning about current events bleeds over into my high school education.

Instant gratification is the enemy of learning. Because of social media, I am used to receiving constant stimulation and instant feedback. It is no longer the norm for me to work through a long, tedious physics problem that I won’t have an immediate answer to. This effect is huge in education -- kids just don’t have the attention span to work through difficult concepts. Social media damages our ability to focus.

On the other hand, there is something to be said about the usefulness of social media in education. I can easily communicate with classmates and gain different perspectives online. I can learn from YouTube videos, supplementing my education. I even recall a TikTok account dedicated to ACT prep that was particularly helpful. As much as the convenience of social media harms learning, it can also lead to a broader perspective on the content that can greatly boost learning.

To me, the greatest impact social media has had on my education is being able to access information instantly. There are two sides to this coin, and while the negatives probably outweigh the positives, being aware of when social media starts to hinder my productivity goes a long way. I only wish I could write an essay on Hamlet as fast as I can refresh my Instagram feed.