The phenomenal growth in digital technology and the rise of social media platforms, over the past few years, have revolutionised the way in which people communicate and share information. The emergence of new communication technology has impacted on the society positively and negatively. These technologies have affected the socio-cultural, political and economic structures of our contemporary society.
Advancement in technology has eased and expanded the frontiers of information reception and dissemination among people. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly the internet, have impacted greatly on the society, increasing access to information and creating fresh challenges for the society.
Social media are seen generally to include all the online creations – social networks, search engines, affiliate programmes, forums, blogs and message boards that can be used by the general public for interactions across distance, to mention a few. They are powerful communication tools that have significant impacts on organisational, professional and individual reputations.
Also, social media includes a variety of web-based tools and services that are designed to promote community development through collaboration and information sharing. These tools provide opportunities for individual expressions, as well as interactions with other users. These technologies have brought together many diverse communities and societies around the world. In fact, the world is fast becoming a “global village” as a result of the new information and communication technology. Today, we are living in a very fast developing and globalising world.
No doubt, scientific innovations and advancement in technology have eased communication processes. It has also made tasks less tedious in many professions like business, banking, entertainment, and so on. Technology has transformed our lives in many positive ways. But the negative impacts of these innovations in our social and educational pursuits overweigh its positives. This is in line with the fact that there is hardly anything invented by man, no matter its level of perfection that is without some flaws.
As a matter of fact, education is a very essential aspect of our lives. Education to a society is more important than anything. Advancement in technology has eased the processes of academic research. Findings also reveal that, today, students show very much interest in using social networks, which in turn affects education severely. As noted earlier, the negatives of social media on students and education, in general, supersedes the positives.
The social media has grabbed the attention of students and diverted them toward non-educational, unethical and inappropriate actions, such as examination malpractices. It has made students so lazy that they hardly resort to extensive study before sitting for any examination. Instead of studying very hard to write and pass examinations, students now cultivate the habit of cheating through browsing on their mobile phones while in examination halls. Reading culture among students is on the verge of extinction.
Concentration in the classroom during lecture periods is gradually becoming a thing of the past among students. While classes are being held, some students resort to chatting on social networks. This unwholesome practice has created one problem or the other in students’ educational pursuits and performances. That informs why communication skills have declined among students.
The emergence of ICT has eased the processes of research thereby providing unlimited access to information on virtually all spheres of human endeavours. Looking at the quantity of information available on the internet, one can agree with the fact that most of the information accessed on social media is not accurate and factual. This is because anybody who has access to the internet can write and share information of all sorts, regardless of their quality.
It is, therefore, in tune to state that the dependence of students on social media for the sourcing of materials for academic research has degraded the value of most academic works undertaken by students. Today, students are fond of plagiarism. They regard creativity as a waste of efforts.
There are possible ways out of these challenges. Stakeholders in the education sector should encourage creativity among students. Creativity should be made competitive among students through scholarship and other educational grants to those who are creative, as this will motivate and boost the performances of others to be creative.
The provision of standard research and practical facilities in schools can also help the situation. Where students lack adequate research facilities like books and other relevant and referencing materials in libraries, they tend to resort to the easy “copy and paste” method from the social media. Today, you will find out that students write and present final year project works without being able to defend what they claim to have written.
Moreover, there should also be regulation in the education sector with regards to the use of social networks among students. Although, this task can be very tedious to achieve, but the provision of regulatory frameworks in this regard will reduce the challenges posed by social media on students’ performances. There should be strict rules prohibiting students’ use of mobile phones in classrooms.
Ahmad, 300-Level Mass Comm., NSUK