Kimbrough 1 McKenzie Kimbrough Filer English 101 October 17, 2019 The Effects of Social Media on Students’ Academic Success Social media is one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century. It has allowed people to connect all over the world and given them access to information more rapidly than ever before. Social media allows people to share personal things that are going on in their lives and also lets people share their thoughts and opinions. While social media is a great tool to use, it can have positive and negative effects on people. Studies have shown that social media usage is often detrimental to students’ grades because of the distractions, physical and emotional impact. However, there are instances where social media has shown to boost students’ grade point average (G.P.A.) because it offers unique access to information. There are several negative effects that social media can have on students’ grades. When looking at an average use of social media for a college student, it is approximately12 hours a day. This includes text messaging, the Internet and multiple social media platforms (Walsh et al.). An excessive amount of time online can impact a student because it means spending too much time away from more important tasks. As an example, when many students get home from school, they immediately go to social media rather than starting assignments that they know are due. Another distraction social media imposes is distractive multitasking which is doing classwork or listening to lectures while using social media (American Physiological Society). Kimbrough 2 Using social media while doing classwork or listening to a lecture takes a students’ attention away from the task at hand. It is virtually impossible to give one’s undivided attention to either task, thus causing students’ grades to suffer. There have also been many studies showing the distraction of social media in the classroom. One study in particular done by the University of Illinois-Chicago tested the use of a mobile device in a lecture on cartoons and another group without a mobile device in a lecture on cartoons. Both were instructed to take notes on the lecture and were given a multiple-choice quiz at the end based on the important facts of the cartoon. In the end, the control group reported that 91 percent could find the answers in their notes while the other group could only find 41 percent of the answers in their notes (American Physiological Society). Paying attention in class goes hand in hand when trying to achieve better academic performance. Social media has also had a huge impact on college students’ physical and emotional health. Many college students who use social media feel lonelier than ever and experience social isolation, anxiety and sleeping problems (Ibrahim). This is due to excessive use of social media and comparing their lives to a perfect life on screen. Many users follow their favorite celebrities, social influencers and other people of status which could give those users a false sense of reality. Keeping up with the latest trends can be too much added pressure for most people, which ultimately leads to the emotional distress (Ibrahim). Sleeping problems can also occur for social media users. Students may stay up at night scrolling through social media. This leads to students not being well-rested, possibly falling asleep in class and not getting the information they need in lectures to pass exams. Another problem students face is social isolation which is distancing yourself from others socially. This leads to a lack of interaction with other students and social withdrawal. Because social media Kimbrough 3 does not require personal interactions, users tend to become more isolated and spend less face time with people. This can certainly contribute to a negative effect on a student’s mental wellbeing (Ibrahim). While there are many negative impacts to students’ success in school, social media also offers some positive aspects. One advantage is that social media allows quick access to information and platforms that helps students engage each other. Many teachers have begun to incorporate social media tools for learning which helps improve collaboration and engagement. For example, many teachers use Facebook and Twitter to interact with their students. Facebook allows teachers to get feedback from students and engage with them on different matters that are happening in the classroom. Facebook also allows for live video where teachers can record videos which students can view through livestreaming or watch later (Lynch). It also allows for polls so students can vote on things happening in the classroom and class material (Lynch). Another platform is Twitter which allows for collaboration on assignments and group projects (Norman). This allows students to share advice and get ideas from their peers. While social media can be viewed as both negative and positive to a student’s G.P.A., both play a role in shaping the new world it has created for students. Social media has shown the negative impacts of social isolation, anxiety and sleeping problems. It also has shown the positive effects of being able to connect with people, different platforms and engaging in learning. Social media will continue to be a powerful tool in our society and students must learn how to take advantage of the opportunities it brings. However, they must be mindful to not become distracted by social media and continue to prioritize their education. Kimbrough 4 Works cited American Physiological. “Though Distracted by Social Media, Students Are Still Listening.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 13 Apr. 2018, phys.org/news/2018-04-distracted-social-mediastudents.html. Ibrahim, Eema. “How Social Media Can Affect College Students and Their Mental Health.” Medium, Medium, 4 May 2018, medium.com/@ibrah096/how-social-media-can-affectcollege-students-and-their-mental-health-edf7dd3acab9. Accessed 16 October 2017. Lynch, Matthew. “10 Ways to Use Facebook in the Classroom.” The Edvocate, 6 Aug. 2018, www.theedadvocate.org/10-ways-use-facebook-classroom/. Norman, Stephanie. “15 Ways To Use Twitter In Education (For Students And Teachers Alike).” ELearning Industry, 12 Mar. 2018, elearningindustry.com/15-ways-twitter-in-educationstudents-teachers. Walsh, Jennifer L, et al. “Female College Students' Media Use and Academic Outcomes: Results from a Longitudinal Cohort Study.” Emerging Adulthood (Print), vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 219232, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 26 Mar. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3911790/. Accessed 16 October 2019.
