Undisciplined College Students

Social media is defined as websites and applications used for social networking, in other words it is a way for people to interact and express themselves without being face to face. Social media has become a large part of the life of teenagers, who make up most of the population of people who are subjected to using social media in their daily lives. Many college students are faced with balancing their social lives with school and even athletics making priorities a big dilemma for them. College students in America are affected in many ways by social media whether it be their social life, their happiness, or their grades.

Back in my days, we were not fortunate enough to... Gotcha! Did you expect that to be a dull story like our grandparents or parents may have told to show us how much more difficult their lives were? Not exactly, this writing is about how college students of this generation make use of digital technology. The wide spread of today’s technology via computers or smartphones results in constant connectivity to the internet. Social media, video gaming, information databases, and online classes, have affected college students’ studies. As a result, more students are being distracted, making a wider academic gap with self-disciplined students.

Back in my days, we were not fortunate enough to... Gotcha! Did you expect that to be a dull story like our grandparents or parents may have told to show us how much more difficult their lives were? Not exactly, this writing is about how college students of this generation make use of digital technology. The wide spread of today’s technology via computers or smartphones results in constant connectivity to the internet. Social media, video gaming, information databases, and online classes, have affected college students’ studies, causes a wider academic gap between distracted students and self-disciplined students.

To elaborate, technology has caused us to have a shorter attention span. The common ringing of a phone can distract someone from their work. In the video “What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Epipheo, states we lose control of attention and we don’t enjoy consolidation.This proves that students’ attention can be lost because of a simple text message, or something they saw on social media earlier. Some may argue, it is average to check a social media website and text. However, constantly doing this can cause compulsive behavior.

(procon.org. 1). Anyway, while we pond on that question, let us discuss why social media discourages students from studying or why students who uses social networking sites don’t do well in school. Besides the fact that students who use social networking sites use them to connect with their family, and long distance friends, proponents of social networking sites may argue that it helps students to do better at school, and that 59% of students with access to the internet report that they use social networking sites to discuss educational topics and 50% use these sites talk about school assignments, according to procon.org (2). However, since these sites are not one hundred percent accurate and reliable, how are we sure that the students who uses social networking sites are actually doing well in their academics and not failing when it is obvious non users of social networking sites perform better. As a matter of fact, what chance does a student who uses social networking sites stand to a student who spends their time outside classroom doing their homework’s, reading their class notes, textbooks, and novels, and spending their time on other things other than on social networking sites? In as much as many of us don’t see the harm social networking sites are having on our students, it is an undeniable fact

Throughout the semester, this course has influenced my perspective on how people are using social media sites for their personal benefit. My personal use of social media sites included staying in contact with friends across the country through Facebook, sending funny Snapchats to friends about inside jokes, and scrolling through Instagram to look at photos of friends and famous people. The manner, in which I use social media sites are for when I am bored and need something to do, scroll through, or look at. I did not realize how influential social media sites are in this day and age. For example, if I do not check my Instagram account everyday I feel this need to scroll through every image until I reach the last photo I saw because I do not want to miss out on anything. Social media sites drive me to continue scrolling until I have seen everything and keep me entertained and occupied for hours, taking up vast amounts of my time that could be directed towards more beneficial activities.

The article written by Matt Richtel essentially examines the link between digital technology and student academics in the 21st century. Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction looks at a student-Vishal Singh, an aspiring 17-year-old filmmaker who spends the majority of his time on the Internet. When he is not on Facebook or YouTube, he is making digital videos. Vishal is also constantly in touch with his friends throughout the day by text or social media platforms. Technology has become a large part of this particular student’s life and is seen as his top priority. It is also seen as an effective tool for procrastination from his responsibilities. As a result, technology is consuming most of his time and schoolwork is being affected. Although

Annie Paul focused on student’s actions when multitasking complex activities such as doing homework while using social media. The younger generation (M2) that has grown with technology is lacking the will power to focus on one complex endeavor at once. “Media multitasking while learning” is a common task in students, they are learning spotty information if they aren’t giving their full attention. Paul opens with a study on observing: middle school, high school, and college students. Throughout each grade most opened some type of social media while working academically. Even though these students knew they were being observed, the students didn’t hold back on doing their regular routines. It didn’t take the students long to drift away from their homework. It’s a form of anxiety to the younger generation, no one wants to miss out on the new trends and news.

Lau’s article analyzes the outcome of social media through multitasking. With students using social media, Lau becomes interested with the way it engages individuals and how it arouses their interests. Lau’s experiment was to examine the results to see whether or how social media affects student’s GPA. He believes that with various methods of multitasking, multitasking would benefit students with different learning criteria.

After a few weeks, I decide that it is time to put my phone down and begin to make more connections. For the first time, I walk around Graham Center with a smile on my face. I am ready to start conversations I have urged to begin with my FIU peers and professors. I feel this explosion of happiness as questions, conversations, and sign-up sheets are being thrown my way. To my astonishment, these students are taking an interest in me because my eyes aren’t locked to my cellphone. Jessica Winter states “Instagram messes more with your sense of time” and I couldn’t agree more. I have been wasting precious time on social media that I can use to grow my circle here at FIU instead. Filters and likes are all people seek on social media, but my thumbs and mind take over me and give them what they want. This time it seems someone is letting me borrow a spare key to unlock the handcuffs that chain my cellphone and I together.

Are we becoming less human with the passing of each day? Have we become too dependent on technology, specifically social media? In this day and age, people have different views on social media. They question its true purpose and its effect on society as a whole. With that said, although there are many thoughts concerning the topic/trend of social media something that is undoubtedly true is that social media plays an active role in the lives of the majority of people. Whether in a positive or negative way, social media influences the lives of all people. However this paper focuses on the effect of social media on college students. It addresses both the positive and negative effects of social media on those in college; focusing on a student’s academic efficiency, social interactive skills, and overall productivity.

College students are among the main demographic for new and latest technology and with that many of the college miss use the purpose of technology. Many college students have laptops but how many of them are using their laptops for work in the class room? The reason for the cause of this ““negative effects of stressful life events” (Pearlin, 1989). “Because they are more socially isolated, college students tend to rely on technology to obtain social support” (LaRose, Eastin, & Gregg, 2001)” The short answer is that no very many since most of them are just on Facebook or any other social media. For them to on these social network they missing out in important information from the classroom. There are also many other students that are actually using their laptops for their education but just the

In today’s society almost every individual has some type of social media, whether it is Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter, People have accustomed to utilizing these types of social media and it has become part of their life and daily use. According to the essay “Students Addicted to Social Media” by the International Center for Media and Public Agenda, the study from the University of Maryland claims “American college students today are addicted to media” (Signs of Life in the USA 403). The university discovered that when these students are restricted from using media it is similar in terms of drug and alcohol addictions. During the study that the university conducted, students discuss how boring it is without media and how it gives them anxiety about not receiving information through social media. Other students claimed that texting and IM'ing gives them comfort and if they do not have these items then they feel alone and isolated from the world ( Signs of Life in the USA 404). Students are not the only ones who have an addiction of media but also parents and non-students. However, the International Center is accurate in some aspects and the responses students gave are very relatable which some people can agree with.

The goal of this paper is to examine the effects of social media on teenagers and young adults. This study is aimed at looking at whether social media as a key influence in determining the attention span of young people and their capability in fulfilling their studies and responsibilities. As participation in technological social network has become a mainstream communication method for many, this research will delve on the underlying problems of social media addiction among students. It is also for this reason that this research will conduct a thorough survey on the causal relation between the amount of time spent on social media and the academic results in students. This paper will also look on the relationship between the age and the number of hours spent on social media.

Technology was designed to help people work more efficiently and to lessen work time. Even though technology has a positive impact on everyday life, it can have a negative effect on students. Since the advancement of technology and social media, students have easily accessed distractions. According to Pew Research Center over 73% of teens in the United States have access to smart phones. Containing social media platforms like; Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook smart phones have the largest distractions for teens. Not only are social media platforms distracting, but instant messaging, email, and gaming apps are distractions too.