Free «How Social Media Affects Young Students» Essay Paper

The use of social media has greatly revolutionized the society today. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, hi5 and Google+ among others have created a global society. Technological advancement has made it possible to create innovative means of sharing different cultural experiences and practices. As a result, social media have contributed both positively and negatively to the transformation of the youth in the world (Mason and Rennie, 2008).

Social media usage in the education sector has enhanced the learning programs in different ways. The role of social media in schools is analyzed in the context of its effect on the learning process. Firstly, use of videos makes concepts vivid in the mind of students. It makes the learning process easy, and the ‘learnt concept’ tends to remain for a very long time in the students memory (Wankel, 2011).

Secondly, the use of social media in class has made it possible for a student to share learning experiences across the globe without having to travel. For example, Internet use enables students to access live videos, pictures, recorded lessons from other institutions around the world. This is crucial in the creation of global education system where students can share learning resources at minimal cost. In addition, the distance learning programs rely heavily on use of the Internet. Thus, students benefit from distance learning programs, making them capable of enrolling in any education programs at any place (Wankel, Marovich, and Stanaityt, 2010).

 

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Thirdly, social media use in class has enabled the reduction in the cost of provision of education. Many institutions of learning around the globe have adopted video conferencing technology. This enables one lecturer to reach students in different venues at the same time. Consequently, the cost of learning has significantly dropped, enabling more students to access the educational services (Wankel, Marovich, and Stanaityt, 2010).

Fourthly, the use of social media in education makes educational system more interactive than before. Tutors have changed their roles as a teacher to a facilitator. As a result, students perform tasks and later share the findings among the groups. This makes learning interesting and fun. In addition, this prepares a student to be a great problem solver (Wankel, Marovich, and Stanaityt, 2010).

However, media use has a negative influence on the learning of young people. The music industry has marked tremendous changes in the social arena. Youth is imitating the life styles of their favorite musicians. As a result, there has been cultural erosion, as the young generation is imitating life styles that pose a danger to their existence. Youth all over the world are being absorbed into drug addiction challenges. Majority inherits these life styles due to the significant influence of music celebrities. The youth learn these behaviors from social media, such as the television (Mason and Rennie, 2008).

Cultural imitation has resulted into change in dressing among students. In the effort to identify themselves with celebrities, students have adopted provoking dressing fashions. This has negatively affected the education standards. For example, provoking dressing has increased the sexual immorality among students, which has increased their risk of contacting sexual transmitted diseases (Mason and Rennie, 2008).

Internet use among students in learning institution has increased students’ access to pornography. This has increased the level of moral decadence among students leading to lack of discipline among the students. The implication of deterioration of discipline is poor performance and declining educational standards (Mason and Rennie, 2008).

In conclusion, media usage in school has both the positive and negative contribution to the learning process. When one advocates for non-inclusion of media tools in education programs, he/she should think of the devastating consequences of doing so. Thus, the education sector should embrace the media in enhancing the learning process to achieve excellent results. However, efforts of mitigating the negative effects of media use in education are pertinent to ensure maximum realization of its benefits.