Essay Draft 3

Social media is evidently more prevalent in society today. The ease of access to these social media platforms has resulted in many becoming an addict to social media. This phenomenon was also found to be detrimental to the students’ performance in school. According to Lomeli (2011), a study conducted by Johnson & Wales University has reported that 80 percent of participants in the study who use social media networks while working on homework will see negative implications on their efficiency and grades. The addiction to social media also resulted in students taking up to six-to-eight hours per day to complete their homework because of distractions induced by online social media such as Facebook. In Singapore, it has been found that 74% of 5.4 million people in 2013 use social media regularly (Hashmeta, 2014). Based on the study conducted by Johnson & Wales University in the United States, social media addiction has the potential to negatively affect the grades of students in Singapore. It is no surprise that the vast usage of social media poses a growing threat in the academic success of students. As such, educators should intervene and collaborate in order to raise students’ awareness through running campaigns, which actively involve students to find out more on the appropriate social media consumption, and also parents to have closer and stricter watch over their children.

There are many reasons how one slowly ended up being addicted to the use of social media. For example, according to a Singaporean psychologist, Gisela Guttman, from Alliance Professional Counselling claims “many of us take another picture or post another update as we want that hit of dopamine only logging back in and seeing that our content is generating interaction can bring. This leads to our compulsive use and social media addiction” (Guttmann, 2013). This means that it is the need and want for attention and recognition that motivates the user from constantly returning to the social media platform in hope for a response. As time goes by, this urge gets stronger and eventually resulted in an addiction.

The Ministry of Education, being the main influence in the educational policies in Singapore (MOE, 2015), should collaborate with respective schools and carry out campaigns informing students on the right etiquette of using these online social media platforms. One such campaign could involve the organizing of competitions such as poster designs and videos related to the healthy usage of social media. For example, to become more aware social media addiction and its dire consequences on studies, students could design posters that educate others on the appropriate length of time that ought to be spent on social media, or emphasize the need to take a break from the screen after prolonged usage. Students could then upload their posters or videos onto social media platforms to submit their entries and spread the word. The top 10 entries, chosen through public voting, would have their materials broadcasted through other media sources such as television and radio.  In this manner, MOE can stress on the importance of healthy social media usage by and educate students on how the overuse of these distractions can be detrimental to their grades and performance in school. Students might also be more influenced to exercise healthy usage of social media since other students of a similar age are themselves creating materials to highlight its importance.

These campaigns might be very effective because they would reach a broad audience, every student in Singapore’s public schools. The method of using posters and videos would be useful because students must learn firsthand about the topic before they can come up with ideas. Through this process of gaining knowledge, they might better understand the need for healthy social media usage, and this would have a greater impact on changing their unhealthy social media habits.  A possible implication of these campaigns is that not all students possess the artistic capability or technical skills to design posters and create videos for the competition. Despite the numerous innovative ideas a student may have, they may not have the ability to execute these ideas in the form of a poster or video. As a result, these campaigns may be unfair to such students.

Besides the MOE, another party responsible for the learning journey of a student is the parents. A recent 2010 study by researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of Leeds found that parents’ efforts towards their child’s educational achievement is crucial, playing a more significant role than that of school or child (University of Leicester, 2010).  Apart from school, students may spend much of their time at home under the supervision of parents.  With proper discipline and guidance from parents, they could learn the importance of healthy social media usage and cultivate a better attitude towards learning, ultimately resulting in better school performance, better grades and more confidence.

Another effective solution to the problem of the over-usage of social media would be for parents to work closely with respective schools and teachers, closely monitoring their children’s grades and controlling their social media consumption at home, as well as offering constant guidance and discipline where necessary. On top of monitoring and offering guidance, parents can also reinforce good practices and habits for social media usage by educating their children on the adverse effects of the overuse of online platforms. However, if both parents are working full-time, it would be difficult for them to be highly involved in their child’s educational development due to time constraints. This is a common situation among Singaporean families because of Singapore’s highly competitive economic climate.

In conclusion, the MOE and parents must pay attention to various negative effects of social media over-usage on students in today’s highly digitalised world, before it becomes an even bigger threat to students’ grades and school performance.

(968 words)

References:

Guttman, G. (2013). How does social media affect your life? Angloinfo. Retrieved from: http://singapore.angloinfo.com/information/lifestyle/articles/social-media-addiction/

Hashmeta (2014, August). Social media landscape in Singapore. Hashmeta. Retrieved from: http://www.hashmeta.com/social-media-singapore-infographic/ 

Lomeli, J. (2013, October 4). Social media affects grades. Coyote Student News. Retrieved from: http://coyotestudentnews.com/2013/10/04/social-media-affects-grades-and-communication-skills/

Ministry of Education (2015). Ministry of Education: About Us. Retrieved from: http://www.moe.gov.sg/about/

University of Leicester (2010, November 5). Parents’ effort key to child’s educational performance. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101029121554.htm