20 Benefits Of Social Media For Students In

The integration of internet technology in education has provided various opportunities for studies that are accessed by everyone all around the world.

Students are currently experiencing an exchange of ideas, resources, and information beyond textbooks and classroom lectures using social media.

Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and others have offered students free access to online communication and information.

In this article, we will talk about how using social media contributes to improving learning and teaching. We will also discuss the different types of social media and how you can use them effectively, but before we look into that, quickly run through the content below and learn what social media is.

What Is Social Media?
- Types Of Social Media
Benefits Of Social Media For Students
What Are The Disadvantages of Social Media on Youth In Society
Tricks Of Using Social Media As Learning Tools
Frequently Asked Question On Benefits Of Social Media For Students
Conclusion
References
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Social media is computer-based applications that facilitate sharing ideas, thoughts, and information by building virtual networks and communities.

They are websites that allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real time. Social media has different categories based on their various functions.

Before you get started, you must remember that social media platforms are not created equally. They are categorized according to hyper-specific user interests and technological features.

While social networks like Facebook and Twitter help you connect with people, Discussion forums like Reddit and Quora create a platform for you to share news and ideas.

With that in mind, you can choose where to invest your time. Check out the various categories of social media below.

Social networks also called “relationship networks,” help people and organizations connect online to share information and ideas.

You can share information, photos, videos, and more through these sites as a student. These platforms are mainly designed for sharing knowledge and connecting with people. Example Include;

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

If you are searching for the most visual types of social media platforms, connect with media-sharing networks. With these sites, you can create different types of social media campaigns.

Generally, media-sharing networks focus on sharing photos and videos and live videos.

These media-sharing networks are great for teachers to share lecture videos and hold a live classes with students. Business owners can also share visual content and engage their audience.

Examples of Media sharing networks are;

Instagram
YouTube
Snapchat
Tiktok
Imgur
Pinterest

Discussion networks

Another type of social media platform recommended for students is Discussion Networks. These social platforms are where to find, discuss, and share news, information, and opinions.

These are the sites where people go to find out what everyone’s talking about. They follow up on content threads to see other people’s posts and comments. Users on these sites are generally expressive.

Below are the discussion networks available for you.

Reddit
Quora
Digg
Nairaland

Interest-based networks

This great social media platform connects you with others around a shared interest or hobby.

Interest-based networks focus solely on a subject, such as books, music, or home design. There are good sites to keep up with current trends.

Below are three social media options for Interest-based networks:

Goodreads
Houzz
Last. fm

Social blogging networks are unique types of social media that require creating constant content to publish.

They provide people with tools to publish content online in formats that encourage discovery, sharing and commenting.

Some of the social blogging platforms Include:

WordPress
Tumblr

The social media highlighted above offers plenty of opportunities for enhancing learning and interactivity, and students benefit from these platforms.

A lot of people believe that social media is a huge distraction to students. While their opinion is not totally wrong, there are still great reasons why the use of social media in education should be encouraged.

Educational Tool
Share information
Social media marketing
News Updates
Global Exposure
Find Friends With Similar Interests
Enhanced Learning management systems
Research Work
Building Supportive Online Communities
Distance Learning Opportunities
Social Media Use for Awareness
Increase Social Interaction Among Students
Social Media Helps In Internship And Job Search
Meeting with mentors and experts
Creating digital portfolios
Participating in group work
Web Engagements

1. Educational Tool

Social Media can be a useful tool for learning in colleges and universities. Students have access to modern tech gadgets with internet connectivity, like laptops, iPad, and smartphones, allowing them to explore different social media platforms.

Also, educators can leverage this knowledge; They set up Webinars, online discussion forums, and other such platforms to enhance the college education process.

Students share views, opinions, tips, projects, study material, and other useful stuff. They exchange helpful information for classes and examinations.

Social media enhances students’ communication skills; They develop a great ability to access, evaluate, maintain, and share information.

Social media marketing can serve as a side hustle idea for students. It is seen as a skill that is an emerging career option that prepares them to become successful marketers.

Students are extensively carrying out social media strategies for several companies worldwide.

4. News Updates

Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram keep students well informed about the lives of their friends and family. It also keeps them updated on various trending news from around the world.

You look at the news feed and have a snapshot of job openings, new technology developments, entertainment, and news updates from around the world.

5. Global Exposure

Social media allows students to share and learn about loads of content each day on informative websites, tutorial videos, and webinar links.

The internet makes it easy to access vast amounts of information on any topic you can ever imagine. As a student, you can also share your discoveries with your peers.

Social media allows you to interact with teachers and students from across the world, share knowledge, seek help, hold discussions, and watch classroom videos of renowned professors.

6. Find Friends With Similar Interest

Social media provides a platform where you can look for more opportunities, and followers, and even finds people with similar interests and hobbies.

7. Enhanced Learning management systems

Learning management systems is a networking software applications designed for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs.

Social media learning in LMS includes instant chat functions, videos, forums to share info and other lesson resources to help students.

Most LMSs are integrated with built-in social media, allowing users to interact with the system. The system strengthens student participation and makes team projects easy to collaborate on.

8. It helps In Research Process

Social media offers students a great platform to extract data. You can find out people’s opinions on a particular subject matter or how experts perceive and advise on specific issues.

If you are a student working on a project or assignment, social media can help students gather information and produce helpful content for research.

9. Building Supportive Online Communities

Online or internet community help to create a feeling of belonging and pride in any organization. It enables members to stay updated with news and the latest happenings, which would otherwise be hard to share with everyone.

Through online communities, you get sports updates, individual student achievement, or a new recycling project undertaken by staff members at your fingertip.

It also helps alumni or prospective students, or staff to keep up to date and get a flavour of the school’s character. You can reconnect with your colleagues who have already graduated for future collaborations.

10. Distance Learning Opportunities

Many disadvantaged students cannot afford a traditional college, but social media tools make it possible for them to acquire a formal education through distance learning programs.

Today, hosting live lectures via Skype or webinars via Zoom is the way forward to allowing students who live in remote areas of the world to access education.

Social media is the best and cheaper way of communicating with other people. By using social media, you can easily contact and deliver messages to people.

College students use social media to create and share awareness with their colleagues.

For example, you can tag or mention your friend in a post or comment on awareness, and the person will get notified about that thing instantly.

In today’s world, social media is the most popular communication channel. It greatly impacts how we live and changes our way of interacting with other people.

It allows you to connect with people easily. By using social media, you can contact with an old school friend whom you lost contact a long time.

Social media increase a lot human interaction we can find it very easily simply by opening social media and searching for the desired person or business also.

15. Parental Involvement

Every parent wants to get involved in their children’s learning. They want to stay updated on school-related activities, projects, and events.

Parent’s also like to contact teachers in case they want to share their child’s progress via Skype or other secure online platforms the institution uses.

A social network for parents can be created via WhatsApp, Twitter, or Facebook Messenger, enabling them to be informed about school matters, learning, and education.

Parents’ involvement and academic support at home raise students’ consciousness about their studies and thus improve students’ performance at school.

16. Participating in group work

Social media is beneficial when it comes to communication. When teachers send in assignments or group projects, students collaborate with social media.

They create a group chat using Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Google Hangouts for things like advanced science projects.

17. Web Engagements

Students using social media can share tools, resources, and helpful website links with each other and use anyone’s shared files and information through the post. They can share all their achievements and projects online to share them with the world, allowing them to create their online presence.

The use of social media also makes it easier and faster for students to interact with teachers. Students, within a few clicks, can also share and transfer all the study-related matters and topics.

Social media sites are for the most part, interactive and contain eye-catching animations and thus keep even the lazies of a student involved.

Such online activities will draw the attention of students and help them to develop stronger reading habits and this gradually improves their writing skills.

Although Social media presents many benefits, it also has some major drawbacks.

The followings are the dangers and negative impacts of social media on the life of students and youths.

Addiction: Most students use social media a lot and are always busy online, reading newsfeeds and commenting on posts.
Distraction: Social media distract students from their studies and educational goals.
Decreases Face-to-Face Communication Skills: Students who use social media regularly may lose their ability to communicate face-to-face. Even if the world is turning to technology, students must know how to share in the real world.
Cyberbullying: Students may write hurtful messages about other students, which could scar students for life.
Students may post inappropriate content like pornography on social media. This will defeat the purpose of the medium altogether.

Knowing the dangers and risks of technology tools; students are called on to take advantage of the opportunities the digital world presents and to use these tools to do good in the world.

It is possible to avoid the wrong usage of social media if you apply the tips below;

Create a Facebook group for your class, and ensure that you post notes to remind your students about the instructions for important assignments and submission deadlines.
Constantly search for new online resources that make learning fun, and share the links in the group.
Share book reviews, history research papers, and other assignments that students usually submit in print on the blog site.
Introduce a daily hashtag on Twitter related to a topic you elaborated on in class.
Use YouTube for the flipped classroom concept.

Can I meet people on social media?

Yes. You can connect with people that share the same interest on social media.

Can I get access to job opportunities on social media?

You can apply for jobs and connect with your potential employers on Social media.

What are the different types of social media?

Here are the various categories of social media:
Social Networks, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
Media Sharing Networks, e.g. YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok.
Discussion networks, e.g. Reddit, Quora, Nairaland.
Interest-based networks, e.g. Goodreads, Houzz, Last. fm
Social Blogging Networks, e.g., WordPress, Tumblr.

Can social media help me study?

Yes. Social media can help you study. However, it can also cause a major distraction from your study if you don’t use it wisely.

Conclusion

The use of social media in the education sector has made learning a fun experience. Students are learning and adapting to the world using a relatively new form of communication that is faster, time-saving & more effective. There is great potential that social media will revolutionize education in the world.

References

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20 Benefits Of Social Media For Students In 2024