In an era where we have powerful technology right in our hands and at our fingertips, it appears as if we’re more reliant on the internet than ever before. For college students up and down the USA, that’s no different.
Social media is a key part of online connectivity, and if used correctly, it can be a useful tool. Not only does it allow us to stay in touch with our friends, but it also lets us view the content we wish to view, draw inspiration, get news updates, and a whole lot more besides.
Social media is not a new concept. It’s been around for decades when you look at sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These sites have withstood the test of time, and despite new sites and apps constantly being created, they don’t let the set go away anytime soon.
Some may say that younger users are more easily influenced and perhaps more impressionable, and that is definitely a concern regarding college students across America. There is worrying evidence to suggest that sites and apps aimed at being “more social” may be having a negative impact on the way that students communicate and write while studying in college and in the outside world. Here’s a look at whether these concerns are justified.
How frequently are young adults using social media?
Social media is a common part of everyday life, yet more and more young adults are showing signs of becoming addicted to it. Experts have found that social media addiction is all too common and that it only looks set to get worse unless drastic changes are made.
Studies have shown that the vast majority of students use some form of social media once per day, and that is at the very least. More worrying is the fact that they use it several times a day, often splitting their time between different sites.
Some research also points to how social media can affect the ways in which students communicate digitally, along with their overall grades. Some social media sites and apps also influence the ways in which students stay up-to-date with the goings on in the world. Instead of getting their facts from reliable and credible news outlets and sources, they are instead becoming more reliant on social media for news updates. A great deal of “fake news” appears on social media each day, despite the site owners attempting to clamp down on this.
How is social media influencing writing in college?
With so many people using various social media apps and websites each day, this shows just how reliant we are, as a society, on these platforms.
As far as how these sites and apps affect student learning, there is growing concern amongst experts that they could have a negative impact on how well students do in college. Even more worrying is the fact that these sites and apps can influence how students in college communicate and write. For the most part, these impacts will be negative.
Here’s a look at the influence of social media on writing in college.
More students prefer writing in shorthand because of social media
One thing you’ll notice when you browse social media posts created by others is the fact that most posts are written in shorthand. Interestingly, the process of writing in shorthand is known as ‘Stenography’ and is derived from the Greek words ‘Stenos’ and Graphein’.
Shorthand is a form of writing in which abbreviations and symbols are used. It is a much quicker way of writing and communicating, yet it can be detrimental when it comes to learning. With shorthand, as students are using abbreviated terms, this means that they aren’t always spelling out full words, especially for longer words.
Shorthand is commonly used online in social media, but it is certainly not recognized as an accepted form of communication in the outside world. A job application written in shorthand, for example, would likely be ignored before the reader even made their way to the end.
Social media may be causing students to mix up upper and lowercase letters
Another worrying trend noticed by experts studying the writing habits of college students is the fact that more and more of them are mixing up their upper and lowercase letters when constructing essays.
Even with predictive text, because students do so much communicating online via social media, they’re getting into the habit of not using uppercase letters where they should or getting the two mixed up with one another. This can affect their punctuation and grammar and can negatively impact their grades when it comes to essay writing.
Social media can cause students to pick up bad writing habits
There is growing evidence to suggest that the more time students spend on social media apps and sites, the more it is negatively impacting the ways in which they communicate online and in the real world.
Students who commonly write status updates, reply to friends, and comment on other posts or videos in shorthand, are finding that they’re picking up bad writing habits that are carrying over into the real world. Instead of writing ‘yes’, for example, they’ll write ‘yh.’ Instead of ‘see you later’, they’ll write ‘c u later’ or even ‘c u l8r’. The more that they write in this manner, the more it will affect how they communicate off of social media.
Social media may be causing college students to write in a casual tone
Sometimes when writing, a casual tone rather than formal is better. In other instances, however, such as a job application or a business plan, a formal tone should be chosen over a casual one.
Because social media is all about socializing with others, people largely communicate on there in a relaxed and casual tone. This, again, is breeding bad writing habits. The more college student gets used to writing in a casual tone, the harder they’ll find it to switch to a professional and formal tone instead.
Social media may be promoting an increase in the popularity of creative writing
Whereas social media may be causing college students to pick up bad writing habits, it isn’t all doom and gloom. There are also some positive influences that social media has had on college students’ writing habits. Studies have found that social media may be helping to get students interested in creative writing.
With a lot of social media, other than with pictures or videos, writing is the way to be noticed and to make your voice heard, as it were. Because of this, more and more young adults are showing a keen interest in creative writing, brought on by witty and clever posts and status updates that they have made.
Since social media, more and more people are writing for pleasure rather than purely out of necessity.