Precisely, the influence of social media on the development of students' communication skills has turned into a problem studied by many modern researchers. From a historical perspective, the issue is new, as social media have evolved very quickly. Even 15 years ago, the general theory of interpersonal communication in the context of education did not yield to analysis, which would take into account the impact of social media on the development of students. However, today, millions of young people around the world feel the effect of the total virtualization of social processes, i.e. communication in particular. The use of social media has a huge influence on the development of students' communication skills, but at the same time, this impact is twofold. In the course of time, researchers ' viewpoints have divided into two main groups; some believe in the positive effect of the use of social media, while the others claim about its negative impact. The further study of this issue makes it clear that there is a prevalence of positive attitudes towards the use of social media in the educational process.
The problem lies in the fact that the integration of social media in the educational process is inevitable. Though the use of social media by students has a negative effect on the development of communication skills, this effect cannot be prevented. Consequently, it is necessary to design and develop a few basic strategies for integrating social media into the educational process, which provide the most helpful and friendly approach to the development of communication skills. In conclusion, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the prevention of the use and influence of social media on the educational process is almost impossible. The most effective method for the study of this problem is the exact analysis of critical sources, which describe both the advantages and disadvantages of using social media.
Most reviewed and used sources are quite similar with respect to the hypothesis of the influence of social media on the communication skills of students. Some authors (Burton & Dimbleby, 1990) provided a theoretical description of the problem, describing its origin and development within the framework of modern education. There are also those who provide the reader with not only theoretical aspects, but also have their own teaching scheme using social media (Junco, 2014). Almost all sources contain descriptive material problems of integration of social media in the educational process. Of course, every author has their own views on the problem of the so-called "virtualization" of learning and interpersonal communication. If one considers these views in more detail, it becomes evident that most of them represent a critical view on the problem, which improves the quality of research. The above materials provide a wide range of opportunities for the development and research issues of the question of social media in education and everyday life of young people.
Basically, most authors (Lapp, Fisher, & Gonzalez, 2014) agreed that today the integration of social media in the educational process could not be prevented. A majority of the researchers shares this view, as fact of constant use of social media and computer technology in everyday life has become evident. In addition, it is necessary to point out the fact that many researchers consider the problem of the integration of social media in the educational process in terms of the incompetence of teachers and schools (Sandel, 2014). The traditional teaching methods are not able to bring the educational process to a higher level and so the prospect of the use of social media is becoming important: "We use social media because it helps us make connections and build community— and building community is about supporting teaching and learning" (Porterfield & Carnes, 2012, pp. 32-33).
During the last decade, many aspects of young people's lives have been transformed because of the intensive use of social media and new technologies. Some researchers (Kelm, 2011) pointed out that students had already used them as of auxiliary elements in learning even before the very advent of the issue of the impact of social media on the education. The objective growing role of social media comes into real conflict with their use in the practice of teaching and educational process. Marshall McLuhan in his “The medium the message” writes, "In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message" (Vevere, 2015, p. 127). The pedagogical science and practice underestimated the educational opportunities of modern media and their didactic and educational potential due to the complexity and the insufficient development of many concepts. Education as a part of the culture, of course, feels the global informatization process in many ways. This is why this is merely to say that "the personal and social consequences of any medium – that is, of any extension of ourselves – result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology." (Vevere, 2015, 127). Burton & Dimbleby (1990) point out that the development of the information society is connected with the intensive development of a new educational paradigm, which would replace the classical one. In general, their opinion is the idea of changes in the fundamental concepts of a person and personal development by means of education. In terms of the new educational paradigm, a student is not an object of pedagogical influence, but an active subject of cognitive activity involved into the active, creative activity (that is far from a simple reproduction) with the new forms of organization of educational process in dialogue with a teacher (Simons, Ocepek, & Barker, 2016). A modern man should not only have a certain amount of knowledge, but also be able to learn: i.e. to seek and find the necessary information to use for a variety of sources and develop continuously.
Other authors (Sacks & Graves, 2012) also agreed that the crisis of the modern educational system is associated with an extremely narrow understanding of informatization of education. Each teacher of today should understand the principle of the social media. This understanding can become a great method of effective contact with the students. Students' perception changes together with the integration of social media in the educational process (Vevere, 2015). The modern world entices young people to perceive the huge flow of information, thus, they have to carry out a special control as a separate course. Students are able to better express their potential using social networks and many other various information portals. Their ability to learn can increase the speed of information flow and the maximum availability to cooperate (Wylie, 2014). Thus, a need to rethink how the methodological and philosophical systems regarding the informatization of education is current. On the one hand, graduates should have a certain knowledge in the field of information technologies, including not only an operational sphere (work with computer databases, operating systems, the Internet, etc.), but also the nature of society, information processes in the community taking place in connection with the changes in the language and culture. Students, who have completed this training, should be able to orient themselves in the world today and to be able to handle the flow of information.
The modern information and communication technologies make it possible to personalize and enhance the educational process, even in the framework of collective learning, which is based on representation of the teacher training material oriented on any student. The methods of the traditional education system get new development due to the capabilities of the media and communications. Media introduce fundamental changes in the content of education and the quality of education system. "As multiple forms of social media pass into the realm of “daily life” in even the poorest countries, tapping into them becomes an increasingly necessary part of most businesses, services," and education systems as well (Simons, Ocepek, & Barker, 2016, p. 21). Now, there is an opportunity to use a special type of tasks aimed at students reflection of their activities and self-regulation in a mass scale, however, it is difficult to implement it even in terms of the individual training.
Most authors (Sacks & Graves, 2012), who consider new learning opportunities that provide for a system of education, electronic media, define the new pedagogical tools. For example, interactivity allows organizing a self-assessment without the involvement of the teacher for the first time. "Social media not only serve as communication tools for students but shape the way they construct their social and professional identities." Moreover, "social media are not only tools of students but increasingly of the organizations that seek to hire them" (Sacks & Graves, 2012, pp. 80-81). Communicativeness decides an issue on the delivery of information in the shortest possible time, allows to control of the educational process online, and provides advice with qualified teachers wherever they are. Multimedia create the optimal psychological conditions that promote the perception and memorization of material (Porterfield & Carnes, 2012, pp. 32-33).
The use of the new information technologies in education implies a so-called psycho-physiological orientation training, which involves improving the effectiveness of training by creating the optimal functional conditions that increase the brain's ability to assimilate information (Kelm, 2011, p. 511). Therefore, "Social media and innovative technologies have the potential to promote active engagement, encourage people to work in groups, provide opportunities for feedback from a wide audience, and connect people to others who are knowledgeable in a host of areas" (Kelm, 2011, p. 507). This orientation relies on the use of the known neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the processing of information by brain, thus providing a more complete realization of the potential capacity of brain to learn. Multimedia provides simultaneous operation of multiple channels of information flow and creates an environment where "different media complement each other" (Burton & Dimbleby, 1990, p. 78). Thus, students have the great opportunities in the creative use of multiple data sources, each of which has its own language. Some of these languages are spatially oriented (text, graphics), while others are focused on time (sound, animation, video) (Sandel, 2014, p. 3). "Give students a pencil and paper, and they will write an essay. Provide students access to social media, and they will give you a viral online campaign" (Lapp, Fisher, & Gonzalez, 2014, p. 183). One of the most important features of the media as a learning tool is an ability to represent different kinds of processes, phenomena, events, dependencies, numerical ratio, etc., that is, to use the visual-figurative components of thinking, which play a crucial role in training including the clarification and the assimilation of many theoretical concepts.
According to Wylie (2014), the modern means of presenting information can significantly increase "the degree of ergonomic requirements for training materials" (p. 502). There is a new ergonomic situation, in which the students choose the most personal characteristics of the studied material. The modern student may, at its discretion, to illustrate the material under study, making it more personal. Students can independently convert the information received from the network, selecting the correct arguments, building them in a certain logic, which reflects their own point of view and the image of thoughts. "Social media, therefore, has been changing the way that both organizations and individuals view their work and their profession. For example, one international study of public relations professionals found that 61% of participants agreed that social media and blogs have changed the ways that their organizations communicate" (Simons, Ocepek, & Barker, 2016, 22). As a result, the students delve deeper into the subject matter, they have an interest in the subject, and they actively work with the educational literature.
The use of social media focused on the individualization of learning in a collective action, or in a single educational process. Here social media act as an object of study and as a means of learning. Moreover, "social media not only serve as communication tools for students but shape the way they construct their social and professional identities" (Sacks & Graves, 2012, 80). The individualization of learning involves each student in an active, focused work (Junco, 2014, 99). This encourages the intellectual activity and stimulates creative activity, while cognitive needs become more realized "Social media has an important role in providing students opportunities to collaborate, be creative, and produce a piece of work that captures their knowledge and understanding, as well as their personality and individuality" (Lapp, Fisher, & Gonzalez, 2014, 183). Most reviewed sources (Burton & Dimbleby, 1990; Junco, 2014) point to the fact that social media make it possible to choose the optimal pace of learning, control, and adjust the course of mastering the material; moreover, the result of work is not distant, it can be seen directly in the classroom in a few days. The students are able to implement their own methods and techniques for mastering the material. In other words, the use of social media speeds up the learning process and has a positive effect on the development of communication skills. The innovations that arise under the influence of the media are transferred to the conditions of the traditional communication. The psychological studies have shown that "the requirements for the accuracy of the wording, logic and sequence of presentation significantly strengthened", the value of reflection increased as well, however, "the role of the emotional means of communication reduced" (Burton & Dimbleby, 1990, pp. 26-27).
The issue of the use of social media also affects the analysis of the negative sides. As it has been mentioned above, modeling and subsequent inclusion in a variety of situations and implementation of innovative solutions contribute to the development of imagination and creativity (Kelm, 2011). However, as noted by the researchers (Sacks & Graves, 2012), the work with virtual reality systems provides students with the opportunity to dream in cyberspace, which can cause "autization", i.e., isolation, alienation, and withdrawal from reality (Sacks & Graves, 2012, p. 49). Hence, if it implies an unbalanced replacement of real action by some symbolic models, it is difficult to expect the full development of personality. At the same time, it would be wrong to assume that autization is an inevitable consequence of the use of social media, including their use in education. Thus, the effects of the use of social media can be both positive and negative; the assessment of a technology cannot be addressed unilaterally. When planning the use of electronic means in the educational process, mentors should analyze the possible direct and indirect effects on a student's personality, which will determine the direction of their development.
Conclusions
The analysis of the impact of social media on students' communication skills allows concluding that the integration of social media in the educational process is a new stage in human development. Most modern scholars agree that the use of social media in education will only improve its quality. To do this, it sis necessary to create the right educational strategies that take into account the specifics of the use of information technology. Precisely, students' communication skills are transformed, and this transformation implies the changes of a psychological nature; however, the result can be as positive in case of the development of the optimal methods of teaching.
References
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