How social media is affecting students

We are all very active on social media. We connect with each other through social media, network, and learn. There are loads of benefits to using social media but also negative impacts mentally and physically. In this essay, we will go through the negative and positive effects of social media on students.

The negative affect

Waste of time & distraction

Social media can be time-wasting. Students cannot go a day without social media. It can affect our concentration in class, studying for an exam, or planning and working on a project, The second we hear our phone go off we can’t help but grab it and check what is going on. Time flies when you are on your phone, you think you’ve checked your socials for a few minutes but, an hour just flew by, and now you’ve lost your thought of train completely and starting your tasks all over again.

Social problems

The increased usage of social media has caused students to communicate less in real life rather than on online platforms and that causes students to be introverted and it tends to be a bit harder to make friends.

Less sleep & physical inactivity

Social media is extremely addictive. Using our phones during the nighttime, close to our bedtime is a big risk to our sleeping rhythm and bad eyesight. Blue light from our devices makes our bodies think that daylight is around. That results in our natural rhythms being ruined.  Blue light can cause eye fatigue and strain; in the long run, it can damage retinal cells, leading to vision problems or loss. If you are constantly extremely exposed to blue light it can cause eye cancer. To prevent all mentioned problems, you can use blue light glasses.

Mental issues

On social media, you can experience cyberbullying and harassment. This can cause you anxiety, depression, and a bad self-image. Very commonly we tend to compare our lives to other people but social media is not all real and not everything we see on social media is the truth.

The Positive affect

Online learning

Social media has allowed students to learn anything they want online. You can search for anything you are interested in learning and find endless websites and YouTube videos on that topic. This gives students to gain a wider knowledge of their topic of interest, students can join any online courses. Teachers have the opportunity to connect with students through social media and they can share useful educational websites and ted talks.

Communication

Social media has enhanced communication skills among students. Interacting with people online from all around the world helps students improve how well they communicate and learn about different parts of the world like cultures and traditions.

Wider knowledge

Social media can help students academically succeed better. When students are given a task or assignment at home, they have the opportunity to go through websites to find more information on the assignment and get it done well.

Builds relationship’s

Students can make friends through social media. When a student has a problem with an assignment or a course it is easy to connect with other students to talk about it, they can offer help. Networking-Students can use social media for networking in their future careers. You can find anyone online with the same interests as you and easily find open jobs for your interests.

To conclude, social media has both positive and negative effects on students. Using social media responsibly and being aware is important. Recognizing the negative effects of social media can reduce the negative effects mentioned before.  Being aware can let you enjoy and consume the positivity social media offers you.

A few parts of this essay was with a little bit of help from Open AI chat gpt.

Positive and Negative Use of Social Media by Students

https://www.netsweeper.com/filter/education-web-filtering/the-positive-and-negative-impact-of-social-media-on-students/35845

https://elearningindustry.com/social-media-in-education-the-bright-side