5 ways students can use social media to their advantage

In 1964, Canadian Philosopher Marshal McLuhan coined the theory of Global village, which described the phenomenon of the world’s culture contracting and expanding at the same time due to technological advancements. The theory is more relevant now than it was sixty years ago.  

The emergence of the internet has led to the birth of social media platforms, which has bridged the cultural, physical, technological, and social divides of the world. Each social media platform can be used in the classroom, for activities like sharing time tables to holding live lectures. Social media has highly benefitted the students as it has enhanced the learning experience with information beyond textbooks and classroom lectures. Therefore, it has now become an integral part of a student’s daily life.  

With remote jobs and online classes gaining popularity in the pandemic, training students to cope with online studies and work from a distance is an important lesson, and social media can help students with that. However, because of the negative aspect of social media platforms, some parents do not let their children use social media. Here is how a kid can utilize social media platforms in a judicious way for learning. 

Building a strong network 
Networking plays a big role in human life. It helps a person to enhance their life skills and grow their business. Social media platforms help a person communicate efficiently and build strong connections with people from the industry. By using social media on regular basis to connect with friends, family, and teachers,  students can master the art of networking. Encourage your children to join communities, groups to help them network efficiently. 

Communicate efficiently 
Social media has allowed people to know and communicate with others from different cultures, countries, religions, etc. It helps to build communication skills (oral and written) because the more you will talk to strangers, the better communication skills you will master. Learning to strike a conversation and persuade people are important life skills.  

Making meaningful collaborations 
Social media has made it possible for people to connect and collaborate with others from different parts of the world. When students can’t solve homework problems, they are able to communicate with friends and tutors through social media. Not only this, but social media has allowed working in collaboration on one document possible from different places. It can be done by sharing documents through Google Docs., Google Drive Box, etc. 

Taking inspiration from creative content 
Another benefit of social media in education is students can use it to enhance creativity. People showcase talent on social media platforms as allows them to reach more people at one time. Therefore, more and more youngsters are coming forward and using creativity in their storytelling to attract followers. Students can learn from new trends emerging and use social media for their benefit. 

Using social media as a source of knowledge 
Social media is not only about entertainment, there are a plethora of social media pages catering to people from different disciplines. Ask your child to follow social media pages according to their interests. It will help the child learn beyond textbook education and develop a better understanding of the surroundings.