Technology is moving at an ever-increasing pace. The adoption of social media in everyday life is one of the driving forces and the adoption of social media has created some challenges in learning also. There’s no doubt that students are actively engaged in online communities, and changing their expectations towards life outcomes. Social networking has become an integral part of everyone social life; now it can seen as a learning platform that could be utilized to enhance student engagement and performance.
These are many impacts of social media and technology has had on learning of society as a whole. Social media is changing dynamics of learning and affecting parents, students and society as a whole in desirable and undesirable way. This article concern is: “Are we ready for meeting the consequences of social media impact on growing learners as adult and children”? And it’s a matter of concern for us and society as whole. A number of study explained that the use of social media networks and the Internet is one of the most important factors that can influence educational performance of students positively or adversely but at some unwanted cost. The new communication uprising has effected major change in the culture and lifestyle of the youth.
Desirable benefits:
- Social media has increased the rate and quality of collaboration for learners by sharing information quickly, which can increase productivity and help them learn how to work well in groups.
- Social networking teaches adults the new skills they’ll need to survive in the business world. Being able to create and maintain connections to many people in many industries is an integral part of developing a career or building a business.
- By spending so much time working with new technologies, students develop more familiarity with computers and other electronic devices. With the increased focus on technology in education and business, this will help students build skills that will aid them throughout their lives.
- The ease with which a student can customize their profile makes them more aware of basic aspects of design and layout that are not often taught in schools. Building resumes and personal websites, which are increasingly used as online portfolios, benefit greatly from the skills obtained by customizing the layout and designs of social networking profiles.
- The ease and speed with which students can upload pictures, videos or stories has resulted in a greater amount of sharing of creative works. Being able to get instant feedback from friends and family on their creative outlets helps students refine and develop their artistic abilities and can provide much needed confidence or help them decide what career path they may want to pursue
- It is easy for students to collaborate on various team projects using social media. Students now have the ability to reach out to industry experts across disciplines, and this can help the students locate more authoritative sources of information.
Undesirable cost:
- Social media deploying our human value system and making our new generation less ethical and rational.
- Time wasting activity and adversely affecting our learner physical and mental health.
- Carrying very casual and aimlessly attitude for life due to their busyness on social media. So they don’t have time for their own introspection.
- Many learners rely on the accessibility of information on social media specifically and the web in general to provide answers. That means a reduced focus on learning and retaining information.
- They demand more money and may spend more money on social media presence.
- Many new learners who attempt to multi-task, checking social media sites while studying, show reduced academic performance Their ability to concentrate on the task at hand is significantly reduced by the distractions that are brought about by social websites like YouTube, Face book or Twitter and WhatsApp.
- Inability to think independently and they don’t have original thoughts and making up their mind about issues.
- The more time students spend on social sites, the less time they spend socializing in person. Because of the lack of body signals and other nonverbal cues, like tone and inflection, social media and networking sites are not an adequate replacement for face-to-face communication. Students who spend a great deal of time on social networking are less able to effectively communicate in person.
- Adults feel lonelier as a result of social media. Since they are communicating more and more through electronic means, they tend to have a harder time interacting with people in the real world.
- The popularity of social media, and the speed at which information is published, has created a careless attitude towards proper spelling and grammar. It reduces a student’s ability to effectively write without relying on a computer’s spell check feature.
- The degree to which private information is available online and the anonymity the internet seems to provide has made students forget the need to filter the information they post. Many colleges and potential employers investigate an applicant’s social networking profiles before granting acceptance or interviews. Most students don’t constantly evaluate the content they’re publishing online, which can bring about negative consequences years in the career success of the road.
- Retention and recall power can also suffer as a result of social media.
- Many of the existing problems badly affecting the youth – such as introversion, social isolation, Internet addiction, poor performance at schools, and the acquisition of bad habits and values, such as violence and criminal behavior are a direct consequence on our social culture.
- Social networking diverts them from learning and hiding their talent and competency. Now days they are not interested in daily studies, completing their homework, and even from communicating with family members.
Focus must be on: Moderating their access to social media is one excellent method. Most of the negative aspects can be overcome by reducing the amount of time spent on social network sites. Provide ample time for face-to-face social interaction.
