Social Media: Advantages and Disadvantages by Ashley

Social Media: Advantages and Disadvantages by Ashley - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

Social media is a common term in today’s world. There are many uses to every social media platform, and many people use it. Social media is used to stay in contact with friends and families, to become popular, to decrease boredom, and to relax. However, not only is it for fun, but also to help people (including me) use it for learning and researching. Of course, there are many advantages and disadvantages of using social media for learning and researching purposes.
I’ve found social media useful for when learning. One of the primary ways of using social media is through my college. In almost every class, there is what the teachers call “Discussion Boards.” In these assignments, there is a question each student must answer. Then, students agree or disagree with their classmates and explain why. It’s an interactive way of learning, despite not being able to do this in the classroom itself.
One social media platform that has helped me is YouTube. YouTube has helped me especially when I do not understand a concept in class. During my first semester in college, I had teachers who used YouTube videos to help explain concepts. I found it extremely useful and entertaining, based on the production of the videos. That’s another point: if production is amazing and visuals are present, it is easier to learn the subject. That’s why my teachers were big fans of visuals, and why they typically posted some videos on confusing topics. These videos helped many students.
From my own experience, social media is very helpful for educational purposes; there are many advantages of its influence on education. The most useful way is it allows students and teachers to communicate with one another efficiently, even if some of the students are online students. Because teachers have many students in many different classes, it is harder to maintain connections with every student. This is where social media plays a role. Not only does it allow teachers and students to discuss topics, but social media also allows them to keep one another updated on events (Faizi et al., 2013; Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education, n.d.; Raj & Sunitha, 2019).
Other times, connections may not be an issue for students, but social media can still be a benefit for them. First, research shows that shy people report feeling more satisfied with social media, as well as it helps them open-up more (Rosenwald et al., 2011). Shy people may be able to interact more with others on social media. Second, social media may also be an added benefit to the class, instead of using complicated demonstrations in the class itself. Finally, social media may activate students to engage in the content more, instead of just hearing the lecture (Faizi et al., 2013; Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education, n.d.; Raj & Sunitha, 2019).
As one can see, there are many benefits of social media on education, but there are many disadvantages as well. The main reason is social media can be used inappropriately. First, it can be a major distraction, steering students away from their studies. Second, students may harass other students, post inappropriate content, or both. Since it is hard to figure out who posted the content, teachers may have a hard time finding out who posted the content (Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education, n.d.).
Another disadvantage of social media is, ironically, communication among students and teachers. Critics argue that the lack of face-to-face contact is not fully connecting with others. Students then miss out on actual social and “real-life” skills through social media rather than in-person. Furthermore, students can learn to express themselves in front of others better than they can online (Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education, n.d.).
Social media is very useful to me, as a student. There are many advantages to social media in education. It allows students and teachers to connect easily; helps shier students open-up and participate more; and can help online students work together more efficiently (Faizi et al., 2013; Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education, n.d.; Raj & Sunitha, 2019). Despite these advantages, there are many disadvantages to social media in education. First, social media can distract students from their studies. Second, students can easily use social media inappropriately, which does happen frequently. Finally, some argue that social media does not help students learn “real-life” skills and “social skills” as well as in-person students do (Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education, n.d). There is no real definite answer to the benefits of social media outweighing the disadvantages of it; it just all depends on the person’s view of it and how it works (or doesn’t work) for them.

References
Faizi, R., el Afia, A., & Chiheb, R. (2013). Exploring the Potential Benefits of Using Social
Media in Education. International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP), 3(4), 50.
https://doi.org/10.3991/ijep.v3i4.2836
Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Education. (n.d.). Oz Assignment.
https://www.ozassignments.com/pros-and-cons-of-social-media-in-education/
Raj, S. M., & Sunitha, V. (2019). Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media in Education.
International J. Advances in Social Sciences, 7((1–2)), 31–34. https://doi.org/10.5958/2454-
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Rosenwald, M. S., Rosenwald, M. S., & Rosenwald, M. S. (2011, February 12). Can Facebook
help overcome shyness? Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/can-facebook-help-
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