Social Media and Academics - Essay Example

 Social Media and Academics Introduction This present paper is based on social media and the key areas of discussions are on how social media is linked to academics and the effect of social media on academics. As a brief background of the study, the essay will begin with a discussion of social media as the new form of new media. Social media as a form of new media According to studies conducted by Wardrip-Fruin et al. (2003), new media technology is any form of application that is designed to transmit any communication message or information through data networks, digital techniques, or computerized systems. New media technology is highly associated with transfer of information that is designated to be manipulated in some way. There are basic traits that are common across all forms of new media technology that confirm that social media is a form of new media. First, all forms of new media technology can be utilized in nearly all the markets across the world, that is, they are not bound or limited to any geographical factor such as distance. New media technologies also have great level and speed of communication, which is attributed to the fact that they highly utilize the internet. Thirdly, the high level of interactivity enables the users to adopt new methodologies while they are transferring their own information. Fourthly, the new media technologies can incorporate other forms of communication such as telephony and video, which were previously isolated by old media (Leah and Sonia, 2002). Based on this traits, it is correct to assert that social media is a form of new media since the studies by Neal (2012), equally stated that various social media sites have the traits listed above. Social media sites The discussion in this present study will be referring to social media sites such as Facebook, which is the world’s most popular social media sites, followed by Twitter. LinkedIn is a popular social networking site mainly for businesspersons and professional while academia.edu is a social networking site for researchers and academicians. Other popular social media networking sites with mixed capabilities include MySpace, Google Plus, and Tagged, among others. According to Leah and Sonia (2002), one of the most critical features of these social media sites is interactivity. In this regard, the authors stated that social media technologies have the capacity to enable user-to-user interactivity and interactivity between the information and the user. This statement tends to prove that social media has brought about a paradigm shift that existed in the traditional model of communication which was “one-to-many” i.e. mass media communication. However, social media has enabled communicated to be conducted via the approach of “many to many” communication i.e. individualization media. Oliver (2007) further stated that interactivity option in most social media sites has so far been enabled by media convergence, the digitalization of media and dissemination of internet access points. The interactive capabilities of social media sites enable it to be applied for various uses that include socialization, educational, marketing, and a medium of communication. How social media is linked to academics As it has been noted above social media, has great capabilities of improving the interactivity between users and therefore, from an academics perspective Joosten (2012), stated that it has recently been integrated into the online learning or e-learning platform, whereby besides using the official e-learning websites, the teachers and learners also interact with each other via social media sites. In the writings by Wankel (2011), he stated that social media has created a link with academics since learners have develop their own links or pages whereby they interact and share notes as well as ideas that pertain to their learning process. For example, in a social site such as Facebook it is easy to locate a page that has been setup by a particular group of students undertaking a common course. Within such a Facebook page, members of the page interact on regular basis to share information about the subjects they are learning or to discuss about their academic progress and experiences. According to Tru et al. (2013), social media links with academics on the aspect that it is able to bring together learners, teachers, or academicians from different corners of the world and enable them to share knowledge and information. For examples, sites such as academia.edu enable academicians and researchers to interact and share knowledge, which can then be used to develop an international study that has been aided with correspondence of academicians and researchers located in different countries. Because of the fact that academics largely involves developing knowledge, Al-Deen and Hendricks (2012) stated that social media creates a link with academics because of the fact that it is able to offer users knowledge that they previously did not know about. For example, knowledgeable users can post information, comments, or posts that have facts, which are not widely known and therefore, those who will read the comments or posts will have acquired new knowledge through the social media platform. How social media affects academics Tru et al. (2013) gave a negative review about the impact of social media on academics since it was noted from a previous research studies that learners especially those in high school and below, tend to easily get distracted with social media sites and they end up wasting valuable hours on social media sites instead of undertaking constructive learning. For example, it is a common trend to find students regularly logging into social sites such as Facebook and Twitter when they are conducting their private studies or even while the teacher is in the classroom. Therefore, social media sites are a great source of distraction especially on young learners who can easily become addicted to the social sites to an extent that they lose track of their academic performance. However, Al-Deen and Hendricks (2012) in their studies stated that the effect of social media on academics largely depends on the perspective and priorities of the individual learners. This is to say that individual learners will determine how they will use social media in relation to their academics. For example, some learners may opt to register with social media sites such as academia.edu in order to get access to academic materials and enrich their knowledge whilst improving their academic performance. Alternatively, others may opt to use Facebook and Twitter to gather information relating to what they are currently learning at school, which is a constructive way of using social media. On another front, another group of students may use the social media sites to gather irrelevant information or simply to interact with friends. Therefore, the question of how social media affects academics largely depends on the perspective and priorities of the individual students, which will influence how the student will use social media. However, Tru et al. (2013) stated that parents and teachers can play a role in controlling how learners are using social media and perhaps direct them to use it in a manner that will enrich their knowledge or to avoid using social media sites in a destructive manner that will interfere with their studies. The control measures involve strict monitoring of the learners’ usage of computers and mobile phones, limiting access to gadgets with internet access, or blocking certain social media sites from access by the learners. Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has established that social media is a form of new media with many number of users who are spread across the world and who depend on it for current news and other information. Social media sites vary in their main usage but to a great extent it draws a clear link with academic since it is also a source of new knowledge. However, its effect on academics largely depends on how learners will use, it could be to enrich their knowledge, or it could be a source of distraction. References Al-Deen, H. and Hendricks, J. (2012). Social Media: Usage and Impact. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books Joosten, T. (2012) Social Media for Educators: Strategies and Best Practices. New York, U.S: Jossey-Bass Leah A. L., and Sonia L., (2002). The Handbook of New Media. London, Sage Publishers Neal, D. (2012). Social Media for Academics: A Practical Guide. Chandos Publishing (Oxford) Ltd Oliver G., (2007) Media Art Histories. Cambridge: MIT Press/Leonardo Books Tru, B. Tru, M. and Cmeciu, C. (2013). Social Media and the New Academic Environment: Pedagogical Challenges. Information Science Reference Wardrip-Fruin, N, and Nick, M., (2003) The New Media Reader. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press Wankel, C. (2011). Educating Educators with Social Media. Bradford, UK: Emerald Group Publishing   Read More