Nowadays, social media is everywhere. Students are using it for their studies as well. Lectures and tutorials are available on YouTube. In Facebook and Whatsapp groups, students share their notes and help each other. This makes studying easier. But social media has some disadvantages too. Students get easily distracted. Notifications and scrolling waste their time.
This has a bad effect on their studies. Wrong information can also be obtained from social media. That is why students should verify the information. Social media, when used appropriately is useful to the community. But of course it has to be used with a wise brain.
Access to educational resources
Social media has made learning easy. Now students can learn even while sitting at home. Lectures and tutorials on every subject are available on YouTube. Practice videos are also available. Students share notes and assignments in Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Past papers are also available. If someone does not understand something, he can ask immediately. Websites like Khan Academy, Coursera, and edX also offer courses on social media. These platforms provide quality education to students. Today's social media has become a digital library. It has become easier for students to gain knowledge from this.
Better relations and collaboration
Teachers and students can now easily communicate thanks to social media. Before, students couldn't ask questions until the class was ready. Now they can ask immediately on WhatsApp or Messenger. Students also form study groups. They share ideas. They help each other. They study together. This makes complex concepts easy to understand. Such group study is interesting. Social media has improved the way of studying.
Motivation and Self-Learning
Motivational speakers and study vloggers share their tips on social media. These encourage students to study diligently.
- Digital Skills and Training: Social media teaches students knowledge and digital skills. They learn online research, data analysis, and digital communication. They are ready for the modern world thanks to these abilities.
- Increase in knowledge and Productivity: Students get easy information about their subjects on social media platforms. This increases their knowledge. These abilities are helpful in the workplace as well as in the classroom. Every career requires digital skills.
- Career Opportunities and Networking: Students can link with experts in their field through social media. Webinars, online courses and chats help provide them with fresh ideas and wildlife. This gets students ready for their job and helps them grow their network.
Digital Literacy
Social media teaches students learning and digital skills. They learn online research, data analysis, and digital communication. These skills prepare them for the modern world. Students get easy information about their subjects on social media platforms. This increases their knowledge. These abilities are beneficial in both the workplace and in the classroom. Connecting with experts via social media. Webinars, online classes and discussions serve to provide them with new ideas and opportunities. This gets students ready for their job and grows their network.
Distractions and Focus Matter
When students are allowed to go on social media excessively, they easily get distracted. Get an alert while they are studying, or start scrolling, and their attention shatters. That affects both their focus and productivity. It has been found in studies that students that overindulge in the use of social media apps perform poorly academically. They waste their time and are unable to concentrate on studies. If students use social media less, they can increase their productivity and achieve better results.
Time Waste and Procrastination
The pointless use of social media is a waste of time. Students say they will check Facebook or Instagram for “just 5 minutes”. But then they keep doing it for hours. This leads to a habit of procrastinating. This harms their assignments and exams. Social media also has an impact on mental health. Students have to compete with others. This increases stress and anxiety. Sometimes self-esteem also goes down. Students should use their time properly. Allocate time for every task. Set limits for social media. Such small steps are good for their productivity and mental peace.
The fear of false knowledge
Thousands of posts and videos are uploaded on social media every day. Many of these things are wrong, misleading or dishonest. If students accept these things without thinking, their knowledge becomes wrong. Sometimes a lie becomes so big that people start thinking it to be the truth. This confuses the students. It becomes difficult to understand the real thing. That's why it is important that students verify every information. Don't trust every post or video. Use Google, books, and trusted websites. Critical thinking It means to look at everything carefully. To raise questions on everything. This habit makes students intelligent. Such students stay away from wrong news. Their thinking is better. They become thinkers, not just followers.
Effect of Mental Health and Self-Image
People show only the good part of their life on social media. Good pictures, good grades and achievements are visible to everyone. When students see all this, they become sad. They feel that they are behind others. This can cause stress, anxiety and depression. Cyber bullying. This is also a big issue. Some people make bad comments or make fun of it. This thing makes the students sad. Their confidence level goes down. When students are stressed, they are not able to cope well. Their studies are affected. That is why it is important that students use social media wisely. Taking a short break is also beneficial. Students should speak with their parents and teachers as well. They should give support.
Useful Tips for Better Use
If social media is used wisely, it can become a valuable tool for students. Some useful tips:
- For social media apps daily time limit set it up
- Only educational pages and follow influencers
- Keep notifications off while studying
- Verify every piece of information
These small things can save students from the harms of social media and show them the way to its benefits.
Conclusion
Social media has a huge impact on the minds of students. It can be beneficial as well as harmful for them. If students use it in the right way, it helps them in their studies. They can learn new ideas. It is easy to interact with teachers and classmates. Videos and online classes improve their understanding. But if students use social media wrongly, their time is wasted. They get distracted from their studies. Using the phone for a long time also has a bad effect on their health.
As a result, it's critical that students use social media responsibly. Keep a time limit and use it only for temporary purposes. Only then they can achieve their goals and progress in time.