<Course instructor>
Introduction
No one could have anticipated the scope of integration and pervasiveness of the internet in contemporary societies. Since its inception, the internet has undergone unprecedented growth in its reach and applications to become a staple in various sectors of the economy. A key technological revolution that accompanied its development was the emergence of social media as a primary platform for communication. Social media refers to web-based tools and services aimed at fostering community development through information sharing (Tarantino, McDonough, & Hua, 2013). They include blogs, wikis, sharing tools, networking platforms, media (e.g. video, audio, photo, and text), and virtual worlds. Recent years have seen a rapid and innovative incorporation of social media into existing pedagogical systems all over the world, especially in developed countries such as the United States (Tarantino, McDonough, & Hua, 2013). Like its predecessors, social media application in education has raised moral panic regarding its possible adverse effects on the cognitive and physical health of students that have grave consequences on academic performance. These effects include short attention spans, privacy concerns, social ills such as cyber bullying and sexual predation, and reduced command over language usage, among others. The consequence is the poor concentration in the classrooms and lateness in the submission of assignments that contributes to lower test scores. Besides, a poverty-induced digital divide still exists in the education sector that limits social media accessibility to students from high-income households. In contrast, other studies argue that with careful monitoring and regulation, social media can, in fact, boost student engagement and collaborative learning. This paper, therefore, explicates the adverse effects of social media on education, with a focus on academic performance and health of students.
Problem identification and Background information
The popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among teens and young adults cannot be denied. Abdulahi, Samadi, & Gharleghi (2014) define SNSs as web-based services that permit users to create public or semi-public profiles, identify a list of other individuals with whom they share a connection, and traverse their list of connections and those of others within the system. Examples of the common SNSs used today include Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Facebook is the largest and most renowned social network with more than a billion global users. 75% of these users exist outside the United States, expanding the opportunities for social interaction, and geographical and cultural convergence (Tham & Ahmed, 2011). The use of SNSs also extends to educational instructors in the various learning institutions around the world. A recent survey investigating the use of social media in higher education revealed that more than 80% of faculty use social media while 70% of the faculty use it at least once every month (Blaschke, 2014). Of those that use social media, 40% employ social media in teaching (Blaschke, 2014). The Pew Internet & American Life Project also established that 73% of teenagers aged between 12 and 17 years, and 83% of young adults of ages ranging between 18 and 29 years use social media (Tarantino, McDonough, & Hua, 2013).
The inclusion of SNSs in learning modules has been necessitated by the existing inefficiencies of traditional learning management systems (LMSs) used in most institutions of higher education. Conventional LMSs contain useful tools such as forums, discussion platforms, assessment and content areas aimed at creating interactive environments both the students and instructors (Ozmen & Atici, 2014). However, these systems suffer inherent flaws in their structure that limit social interactions, creativity, and their scope. Users primarily use LMSs for uploading and downloading course content and assignments, with no platform for holding real-time discussions with their classmates (Ozmen & Atici, 2014). Visitations to these sites are mandatory for purposes of obtaining information on assignments and test results, thereby building student resistance to their use. SNSs are therefore superior to LMSs in terms of voluntary participation, connectivity, social-experiment learning, and autonomy (Ozmen & Atici, 2014). This rationale underscores the integration of LMSs with SNSs in current education systems. SNSs are also useful to long-distance learners and international students in bridging the physical distance among classmates. For instance, Universities UK, Education UK, and NUS collaborated in creating a social marketing campaign called ‘we are international’ to celebrate the bringing together of international students and alumni (We are International Organization, n.d.). These individuals shared their stories and reasons for studying in the UK. The campaign meant to attract more international students.
Despite their role in cultivating student collaboration and participation, most studies link SNSs with lower academic performance. A survey that investigated the adverse effects of SNSs among 152 Asia Pacific University students in Malaysia found a negative correlation between the time spent on Facebook and the overall GPA scores and academic performance (Abdulahi, Samadi, & Gharleghi, 2014). The poor scores arose from missing lectures and paying little attention to lectures in class. According to Tariq, Mehboob, Khan, & Ullah (2012), social networking sites grab the attention concentration of students and diverts them to non-educational and inappropriate actions on the internet such as time killing through random searching, and idle chatting. Too much stimulation from extensive use of social media also distracts students from completing assignments and coursework on in time due to their inability to balance online activities with academic preparation (Tarantino, McDonough, & Hua, 2013). Some studies associate SNSs usage with negligence of grammar and spelling (Srivastava, 2012). Social media users typically use shortened forms of words and slang to communicate with others. Prolonged use of such lingo creates a lax attitude among learners that reduces their command over the English language and creative writing skills. The result is a worrying trend of overdependence on online spelling and grammar checking tools. Unlike LMSs where the authority of the instructor is unquestioned, SNSs blur the social and professional lines between students and instructors. The constructivist approach that most educators use requires somewhat equal participation and sharing (Tarantino, McDonough, & Hua, 2013). This method breeds familiarity that students may mistakenly construe to mean less respect for authority, creating a laxity in completing assignments.
Recently, concerns have arisen regarding the adverse health impacts of social media use. The main health issue is the growing internet addiction among teenagers and young adults. Its symptoms include excessive chatting, loss of control, and behavioral and cognitive salience (Abdulahi, Samadi, Gharleghi, 2014). Ma (2011) identifies five types of internet addiction behaviors – cybersexual addiction, cyber-relationship addiction, net compulsions (compulsive shopping and gambling), information overload, and computer game addiction. These addictions are time-consuming and rob students of valuable daytime hours, which could better spend on improving their educational outcomes. Other characteristics of addicts include obsessive thoughts about the internet, excessive internet use, incremental tolerance levels, pleasant feelings when they use the internet, diminished impulse control, lonely character, and withdrawal symptoms such as moodiness when internet activity is cut down (Ma, 2011). Addicted students rarely get proper rest or take meals on time, depending mostly on caffeine to stay awake (Tariq, Mehboob, Khan, & Ullah, 2012). These damaging habits cause some lethargy that hinders concentration in class, thus leading to poor grades. Psychologists also predict a surge in identity crisis among adolescents arising from their preoccupation with their looks and photos on social media. Their moods and self-esteem significantly fluctuate with the comments posted by others, making them susceptible to anxiety and stress. Where teens feel rejected by their peers through receipt of negative comments on their photos, depression may result (California Teen Health Organization, n.d.). If left unchecked, online rejection may transform into a more insidious form called cyber bullying – an intensification of threats, harassment, and humiliation from other online users (California Teen Health Organization, n.d.; Valenzuela, Park, & Kee, 2009). Most often, cyberbullying has stereotypical connotations by race, gender, and sexual orientations such as bigotry, misogyny, and racism (Ramasubbu, 2015). As a result, victims may suffer from extreme depression that hampers concentration and increase the risk of school dropout. Other ill-uses of social media sites include sexual predation and solicitation, sexting, and adolescent relationship abuse (Ramasubbu, 2015; California Teen Health Organization, n.d.). These antisocial behaviors border on illegality and may result in felony or misdemeanor charges that interfere with school-going activities through incarceration or community service (Ramasubbu, 2015).
Privacy and security issues associated with social media use are on the rise. Users carelessly post personal information on the web that may inadvertently make them victims of fraud and identity theft. Most social media sites require users to fill out their profiles with “recognizably personal information” such as name, contacts, gender, political and religious views, age, and relationship status (Abdulahi, Samadi, & Gharleghi, 2014). Fraudsters can use this information to create fake IDs to facilitate crimes. A victim of identity theft may suffer wrongfully arrest for such offenses. For students who find themselves in this precarious situation, their grades may suffer due to time wastage on clearing their names with the relevant law enforcement authority. Moreover, the mental stress and stigma associated with a criminal arrest is a precursor for depression.
Lastly, the digital divide among students based on school facilities and socioeconomic status is glaring. Wealthy schools have the capacity to offer internet services to their students, thus increasing the integration of SNSs in learning. On the other hand, poor schools that can hardly afford such facilities have small internet participation, and cannot reap the benefits associated with SNSs usage in learning. This difference is also apparent among students from affluent or white backgrounds and those from poor or minority populations (e.g. Latinos and Blacks) (California Teen Health Organization, n.d.).
Solutions and recommendation
Typical solutions to these problems such as restricting internet access to teenagers, monitoring their online profiles and activity, blocking controversial sites and passwords may have worked in the past, but they no longer hold water today. Controlled internet access and monitoring by teachers and parents only deter antisocial online behavior in the short-term. Students will eventually find ways of circumventing such controls by using computers in cafes and shops instead of those in their homes or school environment. Some computer-adept students may hack the computers and internet access protocols to be able to visit the restricted sites or view adulterated content. Therefore, an appropriate solution is the one that targets behavior change by promoting positive youth constructs such as respect for others, self-discipline, social responsibility, and time management (Ma, 2011). As such, educators, parents, and other stakeholders in the education sectors should integrate open forums, discussions, and course material about social network protocols and etiquette in the mainstream syllabus. These tools will provide avenues for addressing antisocial online behavior, promoting a healthy self-image that is independent of the opinion of others, and teaching digital citizenship. Behavior change models such as social marketing approach and transtheoretical model underlie the success of this method. The social marketing model rests on marketing principles of product, promotion, place, and price (NCongo Organization, 2011). This framework views the desired behavior as a product that needs selling to people. In this context, the product is an open discussion, forums and syllabus integration aimed at instilling positive internet use among students. In the school environment, the promotion of this product can take the form of notices, bulletins, flyers, and articles printed in the school magazine. These tools will serve to create awareness about the program and syllabus change among learners, and assist in building support and consensus on its implementation. The next step is the selection of the appropriate venue and time for holding such discussions and forums, and the creation of procedural rules. The price is the reward that students stand to gain from participating in the program. In this case, the price will be effective time management, high self-esteem, good digital citizenship, and little instances of antisocial internet behavior.
In contrast, the Transtheoretical approach conceives behavior change as a process consisting of six stages. In pre-contemplation - the first stage - individuals have no plans of changing their behavior in the near future, usually within six months (CommGAP, n.d.). The complacency involved with evaluating personal behavior is extensive, and people prefer to maintain the status quo. In this case, students may be unaffected by internet usage effects and may thus maintain disruptive online habits. The second stage, contemplation, involves knowledge of the pros and cons of changing behavior, culminating in intentions of instituting a change within the next six months (CommGAP, n.d.). When the discussions, forums, and syllabus integration become operational, they will create awareness on the harm associated with excessive social media use. As a result, some students may recognize their harmful patterns of using social media and decide to make a change. The next steps are preparation, action, and maintenance whereby the students create a plan of action and execute it, and sustain the behavior change. Hence, students may cut back on the time they spend on social media, limit their posting of personal information, and become more judicious in selecting online friends. To maintain these changes, students can create schedules allocating specific time to social media use and strictly adhere to them. The final stage is termination in which individuals achieve 100 percent effectiveness in maintaining the new behavior. By this time, positive internet behavior will have become part and parcel of the lives of students.
Conclusion
The application of SNSs in learning has raised concerns about its adverse effects on academic achievement and health of students. While their promotion of collaborative learning and integration of course content is undeniable, their contribution to lowering grades, internet addiction, and ills such as cyberbullying, sexting, and sexual predation take precedence. Therefore, in addition to conventional solutions such as internet restriction and monitoring, educators and other stakeholders must institute programs that target both attitude and behavior change for maximum results. One such method is a holistic program that combines open forums, discussions, and syllabus integration on matters such as social media etiquette and network protocols. Behavior change models such as social marketing and trans-theoretical approaches underlie the efficacy of this program in addressing antisocial internet behavior. If stakeholders resolve these concerns, the benefits and capabilities of SNSs in education will be unlimited.
References
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