Social media in education is the use of social media to enhance education. Social media are "a group of Internet-based applications...that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content". It is also known as the read/write web. As time went on and technology evolved, social media has been an integral part of people's lives, including students, scholars, and teachers. However, social media are controversial because, in addition to providing new means of connection, critics claim that they damage self-esteem, shorten attention spans, and increase mental health issues.

A 2016 dissertation presented surveys that focused on the impact of social media. It reported that 54.6% of students believed that social media affected their studies positively (38% agree, 16.6% strongly agree). About 40% disagreed, and 4.7% of students strongly disagreed. 53% of female students reported that social media negatively impacted their studies. Among male students, 40% agreed that social media had a negative impact on studies, while 59% disagreed.

A 2023 article dives deep into the rewards system of the brain in response to social media. This study compares the social rewards system in our brain to those from social media. From ages 10-12, most are receiving a cell phone, social rewards in the brain start to feel more satisfying. Leading to adulthood, the effects of social rewards are less likely to feel reliant on feedback from peers. Equivalent to a more mature prefrontal cortex, this enables a better management of their emotional reaction to these social rewards, meaning a more balanced and controlled reaction.

History

A survey from Cambridge International of nearly 20,000 teachers and students (ages 12–19) from 100 countries found that 48% of students use a desktop computer in class, 42% uses phones, 33% use interactive whiteboards and 20% use tablets. Desktop computers are more used than tablets. Teachers were abandoning the "no phones at school" rule.

A 2024 research survey through Common Sense Education reported 54% of age 8-12 and 69% of ages 13-18 social media is an extensive distraction from homework.

United States The long-running technology boom accelerated after the millennium. As of 2018, 95% of US teenage students had access to a smartphone and 45% said they were online almost constantly.

In the early days of social media, access to technology was a significant issue as many students did not own not compatible devices and school budgets were often insufficient to purchase devices for student use.

Despite backlash, Missouri passed a law that prohibited teachers from communicating privately with students over social media in 2011. Supporters were concerned that online communication between underage students and faculty could lead to inappropriate relationships.

Some schools adopted a "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) policy, allowing students to bring Internet-accessing devices, such as phones or tablets to class. During the pandemic, the federal government offered funds that allowed more schools to purchase devices. Over time, more students acquired phones with social media access. Personal devices increased student satisfaction, but reduced teachers' ability to control device use in their classrooms.

A 2018 Pew Research study reported that 95% of teenagers had a phone and used social media consistently.

Canada The Peel District School Board (PDSB) in Ontario accepted the use of social media in the classroom. In 2013, the PDSB introduced BYOD and unblocked many social media sites. That was later replaced by a policy that dealt specifically with social media.

Uses

Classroom

In the classroom, social media offers a way to systematically distribute and gather information from students. Teachers can supply documents, and audio/video media to students for immediate or later use.

One study on higher education reported that devices and social media:

created opportunities for interaction provided occasions for collaboration sped up information access offered more ways to learn situated learning.

Frustrations included anti-technology instructors, device challenges, and devices as a distraction.

Social media in classrooms can have a negative effect. A Yale University publication reported that students who used laptops in class for non-academic reasons had poorer performance. Students spent most of their time on social media, shopping, and other personal activities.

Social media has helped many educators mentor their students more effectively.

Outside of class Social media offer a venue for video calls, stories, feeds, and game playing that can enhance the learning process.

Teachers can utilize social media to communicate with their students.

Social media can provide students with resources that they can utilize in essays, projects, and presentations. Students can easily access comments made by teachers and peers and offer feedback to teachers.

Social media can offer students the opportunity to collaborate by sharing information without requiring face to face meetings.

Social media can allow students to more easily connect with experts, to go beyond course materials. Instructors in a 2010 study reported that online technologies (social media) can help students become comfortable having discussions outside the classroom better than traditional means.

Teachers may face some risk when using social media outside the classroom, without appropriate work rules.

Studies explores how college students' engagement with social media platforms influences their communication preferences and habits, particularly in relation to using school email for academic purposes.

Professional development Social media can aid professional development, as teachers become students, enhancing knowledge transfer, skill master, and collaboration.

Non-academic uses Schools can use social media to make public announcements. Teachers and administrators can communicate other important information to parents and students and to receive feedback from them. Families can keep up with school events and policies.

Ecology education

The potential of using social media in ecological, nature and forest education include:

virtual nature groups can help promote good habits in forest tourism and recreation (nature ethics), by entering general rules in the regulations by administrators, e.g. "DO NOT PICK UP PLANTS UNKNOWN TO US", which is to protects rare species from pointless picking. social media activity motivates people to learn about nature in the field, allows them to gain knowledge, dispels popular myths, enables contact with scientists and practitioners, promotes valuable literature, websites, and at the same time reveals distortions and substantive errors in popular news services. contact is not only virtual. Despite financial barriers and distance, Internet users organize nature conventions. Such meetings are an opportunity not only to make friends, but also to learn about nature together and have fun. the possibility of contact between scientists and nature lovers via Facebook has become a source of cooperation in species inventory, e.g. the online campaign of the NATRIX Herpetological Society, which consists not only of collecting reports of observations of the smooth snake by Internet users, but also of drawing attention to the biology and threats to this species.

Social media has become a place where ecology education quickly reaches people of different ages and social statuses. The nature groups that have been created, in which nature enthusiasts, biologists, foresters and scientists participate, can contribute knowledge and data collection through citizen science.

Apps and services Social media can allow students to participate in their field by working with organizations outside the classroom. By offering easier access to peers outside the classroom, students can broaden their perspectives and find support resources.

Social media aided learning outside of the classroom through collaboration and innovation. One specific study, "Exploring education-related use of social media," called this "audience connectors". Audience connectors bring students together while studying with WhatsApp and Facebook. This study reported that "60 percent [of students in the study] agreed that technology changes education for the better." While social media can promote a beneficial education platform, downsides exist. Students may become skilled at "lifting material from the internet" rather than enhancing their personal understanding. Another downside is student attention spans decline. A concern raised by the students of this study showed how many use spell-check as a crutch and will see a trend of points taken off when spell-check is not an option.

Apps like X allowed teachers to make classroom accounts where students can learn about social media in a controlled context. Teachers can post assignments on the class account and students can practice commenting on, reposting, and liking posts.

Some researchers report that social media applications such as blogging may help kids become creative. Some studies particularly refer to the convenience that social media offers for shy students and youngsters who are thus enabled to exchange and express views.

College institutions are adapting social media into their educational systems to improve communication with students and the overall quality of student life. It provides colleges with an easy and fast method of communication and provides another medium for giving and receiving feedback to/from students. Almost all college students use some form of social media. Studies reported that 99% of college students who use social media use Facebook and 35% use X. Other popular services include Instagram, Reddit, and Tumblr. Many American classrooms created social media pages where teachers post assignments and interact with students. Schools have made rules for how students and faculty interact online. A 2013 study reported that students and young adults are using newer social media platforms more than ever before. They are using these platforms to connect with other students and to keep up with their school. Many schools adapted to using social media outlets by 2021. Outlets such as YouTube and Zoom can record classes and lectures and post them to allow students to watch them outside class and dedicate more class time to other activities. Newer services include Zoom, Slack, Instagram, Google Classroom, Canva, and Canvas.

Discord has also been used as a communication and collaboration platform in higher education. Wiles and Simmons described its use in undergraduate biology courses and laboratories, where the researchers reported that it facilitated real-time communication between students and instructors and provided opportunities for group interaction outside scheduled class time.

Facebook Using Facebook in class allows for both asynchronous and synchronous speech via a familiar medium that supports multimodal content such as photographs, video, and links to other pages and sites. Further, it allows students to ask questions that they might not otherwise feel motivated to ask in person. Students manage their own privacy settings. Facebook is an alternative means for students to be able to voice their thoughts in and outside the classroom. Students can organize their thoughts in writing before expressing them. Further, the level of informality typical to Facebook can aid self-expression and encourage more frequent student-and-instructor and student-and-student interactions. Towner and Munoz note that such informality may not be comfortable for all educators and students.