Advancements in Technology

As advancements in technology rage on, students who feel they can barely keep up with their homework are now being challenged by sites varying from Facebook to Instagram. As popularity for social networking grows and the Internet breaks boundaries hardly established, students’ options at social networking are virtually limitless.

But what are the downsides to such constant access to social networking? Besides the dramatic increase in cyberbullying, there are many questions as to what social networking might do to a student’s concentration, effort, and pursuit of success.

“I think social networking is great because it allows students to interact with each other in productive ways. Teachers should understand and use social networking to their advatage,” Mark Foley, teacher at Urbana High School said.

Although social networking sites might be a fun way to communicate with other students, friends, and family, many times it simply becomes a distraction. Students who are trying to complete homework for any given class or are studying for a test are suddenly exposed to the temptation of logging onto their Facebook and checking up on everyone else.

According to India Times, a study conducted found that the exam results of those who used a social networking site while working, even if it was on in the background, were 20 per cent lower than non-users.

If distraction is constantly available at the click of a mouse, how can students possibly concentrate on studying and getting their work done? Newer social networking sites include more photos and less communication, leading to the criticism of today’s society being more about digging into the lives of others instead of concentrating on the improvement of oneself.

“Although social networking is entertaining and can be a way to keep in touch with friends, I think social networking is a distraction because I am constantly on Facebook and Twitter all the time, and I don’t do my homework because of it,” Junior Maya Chavez said.

Not only do these sites mean distraction, but they are also used as background checks when applying for a job or to college. Whether or not students enjoy posting pictures of themselves for the entire world to see, they might just forget about their hopeful college checking that status full of swear words and that picture they forgot had ever even been taken.

Whether or not social networking is good for today’s students is a question that can be answered by the students’ performance within the classroom. In the same study of students conducted and reported in the India Times, “It was observed that the Facebook users had a typical grade point average – a score from zero up to four – of 3.06. Non-users had an average GPA of 3.82.”