As school resumes, parents may need to decide whether to allow their children to continue using social media. We all know the positive impact of the internet, just like buy dissertation online. But what about social media?
Are you concerned about your child’s safety? The term “students” is not a narrow one. What ages is this post discussing?
This statistic is shocking: Half of Instagram users are millennials. Source. This is a staggering statistic when you consider that Instagram has one million users.
You need to understand the impact social media has on students, regardless of whether your child is a millennial or someone from Generation Z (Source). This post is for all of you.
You’ll be able to identify both the positive and negative effects of social media on children by the end of this article.
This guide outlines the 6 benefits and 8 drawbacks of social media.
Stay until the end to see my solutions for students who are suffering from the negative effects of social media.
This will allow you to make an informed decision on whether to allow your teens to use social media or not.
For over a decade, I was a middle-school teacher. Both my experience as a teacher and blogger has informed the benefits and disadvantages of social networking for students that I share.
Let’s learn more about the impact of social media on students.
Positive Effect of Social Media on Students
Social media helps students become more balanced
Social media allows you to connect with people from all walks of life and cultures through the use of social media.
My friend Lorna, who is disabled, lives in the UK.
Lorna manages a Facebook group. Lorna is a blogger for the disabled and on social media. I would not have known her otherwise.
Students’ technical skills are enhanced by social media
Social media is used to promote my yearbook class. For marketing and promotion, we have a Yearbook Business Page that we use on Facebook.
My colleague posts his homework to an Instagram group.
Teachers integrate social media into their classroom curriculum. Children develop technical skills from an early age.
Social media can be used to teach
Students can use social media to express their creativity and create graphic designs.
Pinterest and Instagram are tools I use to teach yearbook design as a teacher.
Studies show that social media has a positive effect on students.
According to the Student Job Blog,
Research has shown that students who use social media frequently are more creative and have better memories. This opens up new research avenues, encourages creativity, and encourages students to think outside of the box.
Social media can prevent loneliness
Students can’t attend school during the Coronavirus Shelter-in-Place. It helps to prevent isolation by knowing they can still be reached on social media.
Social media allows you to express yourself.
Many students are left behind. Students fear that adults will judge them if they express their feelings to them. Many teens are comfortable sharing their thoughts on social media.
Social media is great and fun
Are you on Instagram lately?
Instagram has many benefits, including entertainment.
The interactive nature of Instagram Stories stickers is a key factor in its success.
Instagram has interactive polls, quizzes, and sliders. People are more likely to get a reply to a question if they ask it.
Clicking a button or moving a slider takes only seconds. They can then see what others have to say.
Instagram has just launched Reels similar to TikTok. It involves short videos and entertaining music.
Instagram allows people to pose challenges to one another and respond with photos.
Part of Facebook’s appeal is also its entertainment value.
Facebook offers interactive quizzes that can be very entertaining, for example. Facebook offers interactive quizzes like the Word of the Year. My friend posted the results from a Facebook quiz to see what type of dog she would be.
Next, Facebook offers engaging video games. Popular Facebook games include Candy Crush Saga and Pet Rescue Saga. Words with Friends is another popular one.
Social media has a positive impact on students. There are downsides to social media for students.
Are you prepared to see the negative effects of social media on students?
Negative Effect of Social Media on Students
Social media harms mature students
All students are not able to develop the maturity required for social media at the exact same rate.
Students use social media to bully one another.
I am a teacher in a middle school. The dean regularly hears from students that they have been bullied. The dean requests witnesses from students who complain that bullying took place on a social media platform.
Students who enjoy attention will use social media to continue the drama.
Students who are unable to analyze social media can be hurt by it
It is possible that students may not be able to make informed decisions about the appropriate and inappropriate content.
Mark Zuckerberg admitted that he had posted inappropriate content on Facebook. He stated that he believed that it was up to the user to decide what was appropriate and inappropriate.
Parler, a social networking site, is built around free speech and contains hate content. Parler, for instance, is well-known for its hatred of Jews.
Students who are still growing intellectually and emotionally might not be able to reject this content and should not consume it.
Reddit actually took down around 200 subReddits with inappropriate content.
Students’ productivity is affected by social media
Social media drains time.
Are you an iPhone user? Do you read the iPhone’s screen time report for the past week?
Recently, I was told that people spend hours on Instagram.
Online school can be resumed or in person. Students who attend school online will find it difficult to quit using social media for homework.
Students are financially hurt by social media
Have you ever heard of Steam? Steam is a type of Cryptocurrency.
Steemit can be described as a social media platform. Steemit is a social media site. However, it was founded around the desire for Steem. The market, however, determines the value of cryptocurrency.
There are many expenses associated with steam game card purchasing, selling, trading, and investing.
Students join Discord groups to help other members create this cryptocurrency.
Students are physically hurt by social media
Unfortunately, criminals can manipulate young people to do what they want.
Teens are so trusting that they will give their address to anyone who seems nice online. They might also agree to meet at a specific location if their parents think their teens are with close friends.
Horror stories about teens who are unhappy with their parents being recruited to terrorist groups flash back to my mind. Online dating is a popular way for criminals to meet young people.
Social media sites cannot regulate content that is safe for children.
Facebook attempted to create a Facebook Messenger for kids, but technical problems prevented it from happening. The parental approval required for children’s contact lists didn’t work.
Poor posture and back pain can also be caused by too much time spent hunched over a screen. Vision problems can be caused by too much screen time.
Students are emotionally hurt by social media
Did you know that Instagram banned likes from certain countries? While I can see likes in the United States on my Instagram content, I heard from a Canadian interviewer who said she hadn’t seen likes on her posts for over a year.
You will find many young people on Instagram who take a lack of likes as a sign that something is wrong.
Social media rejection isn’t just about a “like” count.
Students are unable to understand why others unfollow them. Instagram is a popular social media platform that allows you to follow only 7500 people. Unfollows are very common. Although they aren’t necessarily personal, young people who still have a sense for themselves can’t help but see an unfollow as a personal rejection.
Teens can also feel jealousy when they see more likes on the content of others.
Instagram changed its practices because of the negative effects social media has on students.
Students are socially hurt by social media
Companies worry that the next generation won’t have socialization skills. Children are learning technical skills in today’s Digital Age but not socialization skills.
My earliest memories are of students talking on the phone after school and seeing each other. People spend their spare time today on computers.
Social media can cause damage to family relationships
One cartoon I saw had a father asking his son to become his Facebook friend. The son declined. The father concluded that they were not friends. Although the video was intended to be humorous, it was obvious that the father was hurt.
A 90-Day Fiance episode featured a mother who discovered her son had engaged on social media. This caused a rift between the two of them, as she was hurt by what he hadn’t told her.
Final thoughts: The impact of social media on students
As adults, we are able to process information in a way that is different from what young people might be able to do.
Students who plan to use social media must be aware of the dangers inherent in social media.
Takeaways:
It is clear that social media has a positive and negative impact on students.
These facts are important to keep in mind, despite the many benefits of social media sites.
Young people might not be mature enough to deal with the rejection that they see on social media.
Even though they may be young, the information they see on websites may not be right for them.
In this post, I didn’t try to generalize. Because everyone grows at different rates, I instead used phrases such as “may not have.”