The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media in Learning Environments

by Chelsea Watts, PharmD , PGY1 Community Pharmacy Resident, Mississippi State Department of Health

Social media has had a significant impact on our society. In January 2023, there were 4.76 billion social media users.  That’s nearly 60% of the total global population.¹ Regardless of individual socio-demographics, nearly everyone is connected through social media. Social media platforms allow users to create and share ideas with people from all walks of life through photo and video sharing, blog postings, short-form communications, and more. Although social media was not created for educational purposes, it has infiltrated learning environments and this has led to research to determine the positive and negative aspects of social media use.

BetterYou, a digital wellness platform, identified five areas of a student’s life affected, in some cases positively but also negatively, by social media:²

• Social well-being:  The fear of missing out (FOMO) and setting unrealistic life goals can create social isolation.
• Emotional well-being:  Seeking validation through likes and peer approval creates a mental strain on students to meet certain expectations.  
• Academic well-being:  Social media is a major distraction and can lead to poor academic performance. Another cause is lack of sleep due to late-night browsing.
• Peer connection:  Students can stay in touch with their support system and build relationships with people who share common interests.  
• Spreading the word: The latest news or announcements can be shared on a larger scale.  

The use of social media can negatively affect students’ social, emotional, and academic well-being, whereas connection with peers and communication about professionally related opportunities might be advantageous.

Networking is a key component of professional development. There are many avenues available to network. Building a successful network includes meeting people in different settings, even virtually. Social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, allow students to create digital portfolios and share them with peers, potential employers, and others they may not have the opportunity to interact with in person. I believe it is important to equate engagement with connections. For example, if I create a post on Facebook or Twitter about a professionally related topic, the engagement (likes, comments, and reshares) I receive may reach someone with a similar interest.

One drawback to social media engagement is echo chambers. Most social media feeds conform to the user’s perspectives and beliefs, which limits interactions from those with opposing opinions. Students should be encouraged to apply critical thinking skills in their social media use. Questioning the information, confirming sources, and analyzing for bias are ways students can learn how to use social media platforms thoughtfully and maximize their engagement.

Improving students’ communication skills is another potential advantage of using social media. On many platforms, a user is limited by a maximum word (or character) count. Twitter, for example, has a 280-character limit for each “tweet.” Therefore, the user must be precise with their word choices in order to communicate their ideas effectively and coherently. To develop this skill, teachers could create an assignment requiring students to develop thoughtful responses to a question prompt or case scenario. The students would formulate their responses as a “tweet”. After creating the post, students can interact with other peers’ responses. This skill can be transferred to written communication skills in a professional setting. One study that examined the impact of Facebook on undergraduate students’ writing skills found that active participation in online discussions improved the content and organization of their written communications.³ The authors also concluded that the social media platform enabled students to learn in a stress-free environment and from peers through collaborative learning.³ 

Although there are some advantages to using social media in higher education, educators must be aware of the negative effects of social media. Students can become easily distracted and excessive social media use can have a negative impact on student’s mental health. Distractions created by social media can be classified as internal or external cues.⁴ Mind wandering to social media platforms when completing learning assignments or tasks is considered an internal distraction.⁴ External factors come from the environment. An example of an external factor is receiving a social media notification that inclines the student to stop the task.

There is  a growing concern for students’ mental well-being because social media has deviated from its initial purpose of bringing users together. The authors of a study published in 2021 concluded that emotional investment in social media is correlated with a significant increase in anxiety and depression in university students.⁵ The emotional attachment can lead to disappointment due to the desire to acquire materialistic things and unrealistic lifestyles. It is, therefore, important for students and educators to use social media platforms with intention. Being intentional includes restricting in-class use for educational purposes, setting a goal before each use, and creating an allotted time spent on social media.

I believe the advantages of social media use in learning environments outweigh the disadvantages. When used properly, social media can facilitate professional networking and improve communication skills. Since social media platforms have an enormous impact on daily life, using these platforms in educationally oriented and intentional ways would be beneficial for students.

References:

1. Global Social Media Statistics - DataReportal – global digital insights [Internet]. DataReportal. [cited 2023Feb14].
2. Zwart H. Effect of social media on college students. BetterYou. [cited 2023Feb14].
3. Shahzadi A, Kausar G. Using Social Media to Improve Students’ English Writing Skills: A Mixed Method Study. J Res Social Sci 2020; 8(1):124-140
4. Koessmeier C, Büttner OB. Why are we distracted by social media? distraction situations and strategies, reasons for distraction, and individual differences. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021;12:Article 711416.
5. Alsunni AA, Latif R. Higher emotional investment in social media is related to anxiety and depression in university students. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences. 2021;16(2):247–52. 

The Airplane Mode Classroom

by E. Ashton Smith, PharmD, PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, Mississippi State Department of Health 

With today’s technology, people spend hours upon hours consumed with a screen every day. Whether it is scrolling on social media, shopping online, texting with friends, playing games, or watching the next episode of a favorite Netflix series, we are rarely disconnected from the internet. We can enjoy this media from our phones, laptops, tablets, televisions, and now even smartwatches. It can be a pleasant distraction.

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

But let’s talk about distractions. Media available on the Internet and through our devices can be a good thing; for example, to pass the time during periods of boredom or to partake in a few enjoyable laughs from a friend’s text message. However, the distraction of constant notifications and the temptation to while away hours of time online can be harmful when there are other things at hand that are currently more important.

Devices in the classroom have become second nature to today’s college students. Laptops, cell phones, and tablets are brought into the classroom each day and can be beneficial for things such as note-taking and other class-related activities. These devices, however, can be a major distraction from learning and participation. In a recent study, the investigators surveyed college students in 26 states in the United States.¹ Their sample included college freshmen all the way up to graduate students. The survey focused on the use of digital devices for non-class purposes in the classroom and the effects that usage may have on learning. Almost 97 percent of the participants admitted to using a digital device on a typical school day in the classroom for non-class related activities. The top two reasons (which were both reported by more than 50% of students) for using a device in the classroom were to stay connected and fight boredom. Although the students were choosing to use those devices during class time, it was not without realizing that it could hinder their learning. Nearly 90% of students admitted that the biggest disadvantage of using devices in the classroom was that it causes them to not pay attention.¹ These results are from a survey conducted in 2016.  It seems likely device use would be even greater now in 2020, as the availability of social and video media online continues to skyrocket.

A study published in 2012 found that students who used their laptops during class scored an average of 11 percentage points lower in the course than the students who did not use their laptops.² That is a whole letter grade! Not only does the laptop user become affected by non-class related internet usage during class, but the surrounding peers are also hindered by this distraction. In an experiment conducted in an undergraduate psychology class at McMaster University, half of the participants were instructed to use paper and pencil only to take notes during a lecture.³ The other participants were asked to use a laptop during the class session and were given tasks to complete on their computers during the lecture that was not related to the instruction. The students were given assigned seats and placed strategically around the room such that some students would have a view of other students using laptops, and others would have a distraction-free view. At the conclusion of the lecture, all participants completed a multiple-choice comprehension test with questions evaluating simple knowledge and application of the information presented during the lecture. Not only did the participants using the laptops perform significantly worse on the comprehension test but also the participants who had a view of a student with a laptop scored significantly lower than participants in the distraction-free zones.³ 

Students know the negative consequence and yet still continue to use their devices during class. So, what is the solution? Some schools have explored the idea of disabling WiFi access in classrooms. Cornell University in Ithaca, New York has implemented the use of software to block access to WiFi while inside classrooms. This doesn’t, however, stop cellular signals, but it likely reduces media usage during class. Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana has restricted WiFi access throughout campus during class time hours. Streaming sites were completely banned in March 2019. Feedback from faculty has been positive, with one professor saying it has helped students who were previously distracted by other students streaming during class. The ban also challenged teachers at the university to develop class activities that engage students since more were actually paying attention in class!⁴ 

Some classrooms have gone “tech-free.” Teachers in schools throughout the country have experimented with policies that prohibit students from bringing laptops, phones, and tablets into the classroom. A professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University tested this policy. She stated that the results were positive and students really loved it. Indeed, students in the tech-free class scored five percent higher on exams than previous semesters.⁵ 

Another way to ease the students into using devices less frequently is to include “tech breaks” during class time. These five-minute breaks are sandwich between lecture segments during which students are allowed to pull out their phones and check social media, text messages, and emails. Students must pay close attention during lecture time to receive this privilege, however. For example, an hour-long class might have 30 minutes of lecturing, then five minutes for a tech break, before the second half of the class begins. This is a good way to not look like the bad guy, eliminating technology completely, and acknowledging how important students’ devices are to them.

Strategies to limit electronic device use in classrooms will continue to rise as the next generation of learners who are even more addicted to their devices enter college. While eliminating WiFI access and banding electronic devices continue to gain traction in schools, more pressure will be placed on teachers to use more engaging instructional strategies during class. Teachers need to explore ways to restructure class time. Ideas include more in-class small group activities, pop quizzes at the end of presentations, and inviting and interacting with guest experts. One of the most useful techniques is to chunk class time into brief activities, each focused on different learning objectives. These brief activities keep the students engaged and involved. Clearly, we need more research about the harms of technology addiction, how it hinders learning, and strategies to address it. 

References

1. McCoy B. Digital distractions in the classroom phase II: student classroom use of digital devices for non-class related purposes. Journal of Media Education [Internet]. 2016; 7: 5-32. [cited 2020 February 10].
2. Duncan D, Hoekstra A, Wilcox B. Digital devices, distraction, and student performance: does in-class cell phone use reduce learning? Astronomy Education Review [Internet] 2012; 11: DOI: 10.3847/AER2012011 [cited 2020 February 10].
3. Sana F, Weston T, Cepeda NJ. Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education [Internet]. 2013; 62: 24-31. [cited 2020 February 18].
4. Smith M. Purdue University bans Netflix, other streaming services for students in academic buildings. The Washington Post [Internet]. 2019 March 15. [cited 2020 February 18].
5. Gaither S. Why you should consider a tech-free classroom. Psychology Today [Internet]. 2019 September 23. [cited 2020 February 18].

Pharmacy Education 2.0: Incorporating Social Media

by Deanna Tran, Pharm.D., Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

“OATUS, IMHO that class was so much fun LOL! T2UT”

Do you understand that sentence? I do! As a member of the Millennial generation, information technology and multimedia are second nature to me. This is also true for many current college students. According to USAToday, ninety-five percent of college students use Facebook for an average of 238 minutes per week!¹ Millennials prefer learning environments that incorporate technology, active learning, teamwork, and multitasking.² And now that I’ve started a career in academia I can’t help but wonder whether we should incorporate social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ into our classroom instruction.

Social media platforms play such a large role in popular culture. By incorporating them into the classroom, we could potentially increase student involvement, interest, and enthusiasm in the course content. When social media platforms were used in a graduate-level medical humanities elective at Penn State College of Medicine, the students expressed satisfaction with its use, and the instructors noted increased interest in classroom activity.³

Using different social media platforms can also help enrich student learning. In the medical humanities elective at Penn State, YouTube was used to demonstrate cross-cultural perspectives on aging and mental health.³ Skype allowed experts from across the United States to share their experiences with the students.³ These two social media platforms provided the students unique opportunities to connect with experts and real-life patients, something that the instructors could not have provided otherwise. The instructors also used Twitter. Real-time observations were solicited from the students while they were at off-site outreach events. The instructors also noticed that students learned how to phrase thoughts and ideas more succinctly when they used Twitter.³ This is a skill that not only needs to be taught to our future physicians, but also student pharmacists. Additionally, Twitter could be used to make lectures more dynamic; for example, discussion questions could be posted on Twitter during lectures. Lastly, Twitter might be a useful educational tool because it can serve as an additional channel for dialogue between the students and instructors. Twitter might encourage engagement with the quieter students who may be afraid to speak up during class as well as students who may need more time to formulate responses.

Using social media may also help to address different learning styles. Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ have the capability to host small group discussions. This would probably resonate with the “Doers” of the class, whom according to David Kolb, tend to like small group discussions and self-directed work.⁴  Online text-based discussions might appeal to the “Watchers”, who prefer observation and reflection, the time to read and ponder on what’s being discussed prior to responding. Lastly, online discussions would allow the “Feelers” of the class to learn from their peers.

Social media platforms can facilitate many student-directed activities such as posting blog entries and making videos. These projects are consistent with the principles of andragogy. By making students responsible for their own learning, students would not only be more invested, but also have a deeper understanding of the content.

Lastly, social media could capture the attention of the class since technology is something many students find interesting. If it is used at the beginning of class session, social media might help the instructor gain attention – the first step in Gange’s nine events of instruction.⁵

Even though there appear to be many benefits to integrating social media into the classroom, there are some limitations and concerns. There are currently no best practices guidelines on how to most effectively use these technologies and there a very limited number of studies.⁶   Thus, more evidence is desperately needed.  Social media is a public form.  Therefore, there are concerns that students might post unprofessional content online.  And privacy and confidentiality issues need to be considered.  Social media use can also be distracting in the classroom. In a Pharmacy Practice Development, Management, and Evaluation class at Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy, students were required to post at least two tweets during class.² Surveys at the end of the cources indicated that students felt that Twitter distracted them from taking notes. Also, there is no mechanism to prevent students from sending private tweets to one another during class. Lastly, we can’t forget that the instructor has to feel comfortable using the technology too! I’ve had a few experiences where professors were not familiar with the available technology in the classroom.  I felt frustrated and distracted as the instructor fumbled along trying to get everything to work. This makes for a less than ideal learning environment!

I believe the potential advantages of social media outweigh the disadvantages and that we should selectively incorporated these new tools into the classroom. Many of the disadvantages could be overcome.  When using social media, instructors need to set clear expectations in order to prevent any unprofessional behaviors.³   Clearly more research is needed and we should all be will share our experiences so that best practices will emerge.  There is no doubt that social media is here to stay and as an educator I believe we should not ignore it but embrace it!

References:

1.   Marklein, Mary Beth. Teachers embrace social media in class. USAToday. 2012 Mar 4 [Updated 2012 Mar 4; cited 2012 Oct 14].

2.   Fox B, Varadarajan R. Technology in Pharmacy Education Use of Twitter to Encourage Interaction in a Multi-CampusPharmacy Management Course. Am J Pharm Educ 2011;75(5):1-8.

3.   George D, Dellasega C. Use of social media in graduate-level medical humanities education: Two pilotstudies from Penn State College of medicine. Med Teach. 2011;33:e429-e434.

4.   Kolb David. Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1984.

5.   Gagné, R. The Conditions of Learning and the Theory of Instruction4th edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 1985.

6.   Copland, D. For Social Media In the Classroom To Work, Instructors Need Best Practices. ReadWriteWeb. 2012 May 2 [updated 2012 May 2; cited 2012 Oct 14].