The Social Media Storm - Impact on our lives!!!

Date: 30th Sep 2017/Saturday

This time my blog explores the use of social media in our lives, be it in work places, in schools, or in homes. Everything we need is just a click away from grocery shopping, clothing, accessories, books, computers, care, houses, banks, schools, hospitals and the list is endless. Life has turned out to be circulating around one hand held device we all called "Mobile". We spent hours daily on different social networks looking for information about jobs, schools, business etc. Most of us use the social networks for communicating with other people, advertising or marketing their products online to reach a larger audience, connecting with peers, experts etc.

My blog below reflects light on the extensive use of social media, its impact on our lives, draws a line between pros and cons, discusses the high and lows of social media in various fields from teaching and learning to business to news  to entertainment industry etc. Ill let you figure out the areas in the end that need to be thoroughly reviewed. 

Beginning form the education sector, teacher is no longer considered the only knowledgeable expert, rather the shift is towards a knowledgeable group. Educators can join professional learning community (PLCs), which are online communities formed by a group of people who meet regularly, share expertise, and collaborate with each other to enhance knowledge, skills and expertise of each other and improve academic performance of students. They become part of an ongoing professional development which otherwise seemed impossible. 

Teachers role has been modified from the soul giver of knowledge to a guide , a facilitator . One additional responsibility in this role is to be able to connect students to peers who share their interests, talents and passion. But before this students must be shared the norms of connecting with strangers on the social network, how to connect safely and responsibly. Another added responsibility is to be able to share success stories happening inside classrooms with the audience outside the classroom and school. Before social media revolution these amazing stories remained locked inside the classroom or simply resided on the teachers computer. Most schools and teachers are using Facebook and Whatsapp as a window into their classroom, others are connecting to parents through Twitter, images are shared on Instagram, email is no longer the only means of communication. 

 

Another added responsibility includes ensuring access of resources to all in the classroom. Whether be it sharing videos of lectures, handouts, lesson presentations, research papers, links of websites could be easily shared through Google drive,Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Skype, Facebook, email etc. Another responsibility could be to enable and encourage students to connect to global challenges, competitions. In one of the blogs shared on edutopia a teacher had shared about a global challenge via  Twitter which challenged students to construct a tower from 20 sheets of paper.

Students are no longer dependent on that one teacher in the classroom,  learning  is no longer locked inside the four boundary walls of the classroom, with #Google Classroom, #Schoology, #edmodo #twitter and many other PLCs learning has moved beyond borders. Its because of social media that online distance learning is possible and has grown over the years. Schoology has made individualized instruction, global collaboration and assessment possible all together on one platform. Twitter can open a world of experts, which will benefit only if the person using is well aware of the right hash tags and knows how to use them. Students could be encouraged to write their blogs, share with an authentic and real audience, Kidsblog is one such platform for kids, teachers can monitor student work before publishing online. Students work in a secure environment, create digital portfolios, share with parents and celebrate achievements over time.

Moving on to business industries, they are using social media to create a high demand for their product, generate insights and tailor product according to market demands. This would not be possible without Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Whatsapp and many other social marketing tools available online. Outlets like Khaadi, Nishat, Generation, J. etc have a huge customer presence online, they advertise their regular sales online, and at times their website is choked due to large number of online customers during sales. There business have spread both nationally and internationally thanks to social media. 

Various educational institutions be it colleges, schools  are using social media to market their programs through flyers, posters, reach parents, share their teaching and learning practices through images, videos , get feedback, connect with a wider audience, compete with their competitors, advertise vacant positions, hire and recruit candidates etc. Every University, School or College now has a presence on social media specially Facebook and Twitter.  This does lead to questions on quality of education inside classrooms and the environment inside an institution, can we fully trust info shared on social media?

This also leads to queries and concerns among the audience at large regarding the quality of product advertised online. Customers need to be aware of the return policies and procedures. Rival businesses could use the same media tools to malign each other by sharing fake information on websites. How to ensure information shared is correct and not faked. There are fake or dummy companies online, one needs to be aware of such businesses. A few months back we ha ordered a stuff toy online and on receiving it was completely different in quality and size then the one shared on the website. Amidst complain it was not returned.

As far as the entertainment industry is concerned, social media has given voice to every individual. People consider it their right to share anything to everything on social media ( from emails, to chats, messages, statuses, comments, images, video etc). 

 

While exploring the impact of social media on our lives I came across an interesting research by New York Times Consumer Insight group which revealed the motivations that participants cited for sharing information on social media. These included "a desire to reveal valuable and entertaining content to others; to define themselves; to grow and nourish relationships and to get the word out about brands and causes they like or support ".

In another blog post about how social media has changed the entertainment experience author quoted Pollster Jon Penn who notes, “Social media is the connective tissue that enables consumers to multitask during their entertainment experiences by connecting with others and sharing their opinions.”

Though the drama, film, theater industry have gained a lot from the social media revolution, dramas are available online on YOUTUBE, movies are available online, both can be downloaded from various websites, has led to increased popularity of actors and actresses, marketing costs decreased, access to all etc. 

The point of concern is there are no restrictions on the content available online, from everything to anything can be downloaded or uploaded free of cost. Since the literacy rate in the country remains low, concerns related to the impact of inappropriate content on the society keeps hovering over our heads. Second, there are absolutely no checks and balances on the language that is used on social media, in a few recent incidents the worst form of language abuse was seen on Facebook and Twitter. Third, the longer the news or information stays on social media, its circulated all over, the more its discussed, huge is the impact as compared to traditional print and media.

Its the governments responsibility to ensure such forums are used effectively and for the right purpose, social media policy and rules should be shared (if formed) with all, content to be monitored. 

Each one of us is solely responsible for what we post and share on line and so are liable to face consequences too. Therefore we must think twice before posting, commenting , sharing anything or everything online. Our domains end ,at the end of of our two arms stretched wide. Ill end  my blog post here and you can decide whether social media has emerged as an angel in disguise or vice versa!

Enjoy Reading :)

Sheeba Ajmal

References:

1. Schoology
Link: https://www.schoology.com/
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017

2. 7 Ways Social Media has a role in Education
Link: http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/9084
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017

3. Making the case for social media in Schools
Link: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-case-social-media-in-schools-jim-asher
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017

4. How social media can help students study
Link: http://www.mheducation.com/blog/thought-leadership/how-social-media-can-help-students-study.html
Accessed online on 30th Sep 2017

5. Importance of Social Media in Higher Education
Link: http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/2041-social-media-in-higher-education
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017

6. Kids Blog
Link: https://kidblog.org/home/
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017

7. What is the real impact of social media?
Link: https://www.simplilearn.com/real-impact-social-media-article
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017

8. How is social media impacting the entertainment industry?
Link: http://news.buzzbuzzhome.com/2012/03/social-media-entertainment-industry.html
Accessed online on 30th Sep 2017

9. How social media changed the entertainment experience?
Link: http://www.briansolis.com/2012/05/music-film-tv-how-social-media-changed-the-entertainment-experience/
Accessed Online 30th Sep 2017

10. What is the real impact of social media?
Link:https://www.simplilearn.com/real-impact-social-media-article
Accessed Online on 30th Sep 2017