Social Media's Influence on Education by Valeria

Social Media's Influence on Education by Valeria - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

Social media has always been considered as forms of entertainment or communication such as looking at a friend’s Instagram story at their latest vacation or posting yourself with family. Regardless, everything done on social media is for fun. In other instances, social media can be used for educational purposes such as Youtube videos for a Government test review. For me, social media has impacted the way I learn because I have used it for reviewing for tests, watching videos for any lessons, or getting informed on any subject that needs clarification. When I review for tests, I like to watch Youtube videos to help refresh my memory on any subject.
A popular social media platform I like to use specifically for my Precalculus class is Khan Academy because they teach through Youtube videos or self quizzes which are very helpful. Sometimes educational social media pages post on their pages like notes that are more in depth, which is helpful because they can highlight important information that was not mentioned by teachers. It may sound silly, but TikTok has also impacted the way I learn because since it’s also a platform with videos of 1 minute or more, I realized that the best way for me to learn is through videos. If there is something I do not understand in my written notes, I rely on video explanations that can explain notes more in depth.
Some advantages of social media’s influence on education is that it can inform students about different topics in different subjects. If a student needs additional help in a subject, they can read and take notes for a better understanding. Not only can students inform or teach themselves new material, they can also help out other students as a form of tutoring. It can build their understanding of a subject by teaching others and sharing information. Some disadvantages of social media’s influence on education is that sometimes educational information may be inaccurate. A person may claim to be a professional, but later someone finds out they get their information from Wikipedia (an unreliable website as well). Another disadvantage–an obvious one– is that students tend to cheat easily by using social media for an easy route and not for their learning. This can influence their learning because they will have to completely rely on social media to learn or pass a class, instead of trying to understand content. As a result, social media should be used intelligently when it’s being used for one’s learning.