Is social media ruining University?

Facebook was originally created to link university students online; it was set to be an online sharing service within one university. Then it linked to another, and then another. There was a time that without being a student you could not use this service, as we see that changed long ago and now it is what it is. But is social media ruining the university experience? And if so, how and why? Within social media, you are the biggest weapon, it is a very responsive medium to our wants and needs so why is there this possibility of it spoiling something it originally aimed to enhance?

 

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This multi-faceted argument will be viewed differently dependant on what demographic you are in. We all hear the older generation saying that they did not have the luxury of the internet for research or were able to type and edit their work so easily but is the change such a bad thing? Technology has always been designed to help and I feel if it makes for a quicker and easier research period it should, by rights, enhance any written work. A wealth of information at our finger tips should simply be making for a better education.

Alas, this may be an extreme idealistic view. When it comes to studying, if you have internet, there are no ends to the amount of procrastination that can be performed... and again usually from the sources that at the start we created to help. Social media sites.

This world of social media is so powerful; it infiltrates all aspects of our lives. Now social media is big in the business world and a few years ago educational institutions seemed to shy away from the idea of it; seeing it maybe as unimportant and trivial. And now, every university has its own Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram etc. which can be good, as always, for exposure and global interaction.

 

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I feel there is an argument also, that it may be opening the doors of communication but it is closing our ability to have private lives. When joining a university you want to gather as much information as possible and where do you go? Online. Every single time. The art of conversation, even via email, has been lost here.

Also, within social media, we become one set person and with the more friends and colleagues we interact with, we must keep this standard high. There can be an invasive tone to social media on a personal level and my advice would be to keep the two separate. It is one thing your Mum seeing you getting drunk on a Tuesday afternoon via a picture on Facebook, and it is another if you are supposed to be in a lecture. And some universities, like employers, have integrated policies regarding this into their mission statements.

Going to university is about learning, in may senses, and we are very fortunate to have such easy access to information. Also having the ability to communicate in this way is incredible. There are obvious ways that social media can ruin the university experience; but there are also many ways to prevent this... or opt out all together. Using the service for what it was initially created for is the simplest way to get the benefits of it; use the fun stuff too but just be careful!