Social Media Decreases the Attention Span of College Students

Part I: Personal Investment

I saw that my friends and I constantly checked our phones during lectures and regular classes, hence, I decided to write about how social media decreases GPA for college students. When a teacher is trying to teach the class directly in front of you, it is quite simple to drift off and be in your own space. Sadly, we live in a world where technology is at our fingertips. We can pick up our phones merely to sneak a peek at one video and then scroll through it virtually to pass the time.

In the modern day of technological advancements, social media is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. The social media community is quite toxic, yet it also offers a lot of useful information. Communities and friends can connect and keep up with the public through it. However, a lot of us operate social media out of pure insecurity over missing out on someone else's life. Subconsciously, we then start to compare ourselves. Social networking is more harmful to us than helpful. Realizing that social media can never completely replace face-to-face engagement is crucial. The hormones that make us happier, healthier, and more hopeful are released through human interaction.

Im passionate about this community because as a college student myself it is beneficial to be wary of the effects of social on myself and my peers. With multiple devices at everyones fingertips, social media has become a daily habit that everyone partakes in. Spending too much time on social media one can experience feelings of unhappiness, discontentment, or even loneliness, and this maybe is a sign to reevaluate one's habits and achieve a healthier balance. In high school, I used social media to pass the time. I have firsthand knowledge of how social media negatively impacts students. Researching this problem is essential for community engagement so that I can inform my friends and family and peers about it.

Part II. Community Problem

It is apparent that social media is decreasing attention among college students in their school work. A study conducted by Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University found that 52 % of college students reported that social media use had affected their learning activities (Kolhar et al 5). Social media affects college students negatively as their grades decrease when too much time is spent on social media. In addition,social media affects social interactions, later bedtimes, and learning processes.

The study at Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University discovered that social media usage affected social interactions among college students. Students could not socialize with their college classmates due to the Covid-19 outbreak (Kolhar et al 5). Additionally, this could be detrimental to student's mental health and lead to a feeling of isolation and depression. It can be concluded that perhaps too much time spent on social media can be made it difficult for students to participate in class discussions. The ability to stay focused is low.

According to a paper written by Summer Allen, a recent study on teens found that, as a cohort, high school seniors heading off to college in 2016 spent "an hour less a day engaging in in-person social interaction" like going to parties, movies, or riding in cars together compared with high school seniors in the late 1980s (Allen 8). This reduction was generally linked to more people using digital media. On a personal level, however, increased social media use was favorably related to more face-to-face social engagement. Which ultimately was reported as feelings of loneliness.

This is a problem that matters because social media causes students to go to bed late which means they arent getting enough sleep. This is bad because it can lead to a lower GPA. A study was done by the sleep foundation which established when we should be winding down for bedtime, the blue light emitted from our technology devices stimulates areas of the brain that make us feel alert, keeping us active (Newsom 5).

An article published on How Social Media Affects Student Productivity by the St. Cloud Technical and Community College collected thoughts from their instructor Katey Leverson, in her Positive Psychology course informs her students on the psychological effects of social media. She outlined several instances in which research has demonstrated the detrimental effects of social media on our sense of self and how we perceive ourselves in relation to others. The dopamine release caused by the previously described random reinforcements can make utilizing the apps addictive ( Leverson 9).

Scrolling has shortened and affected our attention spans and memory processes. Social media companies study and perfect attention-grabbing aspects of their website to promote high levels of engagement.- Katey Leverson

Linde Althaus, a psychology professor at St. Cloud Technical & Community College, shared her perspective on how social media impacts students' productivity. She said: It can be a break or a way to escape, but the difficult thing is putting it down when it's time to get to work. Our brains don't do well with doing them at the same time. This relates to multitasking, which hinders productivity in contrast to common assumptions (Althaus 10). Instead of concentrating all of your attention on just one item, you divide it across multiple things, which results in fewer accomplishments overall.

Part III: Getting Involved

One way to get involved in the tragic issue of social media usage is to use apps to help you limit your time on social media. It may sound amusing to use an app to spend less time using apps, but there are several features and apps that can help you minimize your social media use (5 Ways to Tame Your Social Media Use). Setting limits helps you stop yourself from going down a wasteful track of time.

Another good habit is to utilize your time on a hobby for one hour screen free at least once a day. According to research, those who devote two or more hours a week to hobbies related to the arts (performing arts, visual arts, reading, etc.) experience much higher levels of mental wellness than those who devote less time to such activities (5 Ways to Tame Your Social Media Use).

Last but not least, control your fear of missing out. Instead of checking your social media on the spur of the moment, understanding how to deal with worry will help you fall asleep. When it's almost time for bed and you start to get FOMO, try some relaxing techniques to put yourself to sleep (Newsom 17). If you can especially put a limit to social media before bed then it would increase productivity throughout the day. As mentioned earlier, our phones emit blue lights which are detrimental to our sleep cycle. If one individual can limit their usage of technology one hour prior to bed it would be easier to fall asleep.

There are many ways of being involved in spreading awareness social media decreases grades in college students. Holding a convention in your school to teach people the negatives and positives about social media. Even better is to dedicate a national month to social media to keep people aware of its effects. I would love to explain to one friend the benefits of keeping social media away for a little while. If I am able to make a change in one person, they can always spread that knowledge to others.

While the emergence of social media has provided limitless options and opened doors to greater advancement throughout the world, it has done so at the cost of human mental health. Social media would not exist if it were not for the mind, and the mind might lose key talents and attributes as a result of its use of social media.

Not all social media is evil. It enables a degree of global connectivity that was previously impossible. Simply be conscious of the effects it has on your brain and the actions you may take to enhance your personal, academic, and professional lives. As a mere 52 % of college students reported that social media use had affected their learning activities. The very last thing you want is to be late for class or work as a result of excessive scrolling.

Works Cited

Kolhar, Manjur, Raisa Nazir Kazi, and Abdalla Alameen. Effect of Social Media Use on Learning, Social Interactions, and Sleep Duration among University Students.Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences28, no. 4 (2021): 221622

Azizur Rahman, Syed, Amina Al Marzouqi, Swetha Variyath, Shristee Rahman, Masud Rabbani, and Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed. Effects of Social Media Use on Health and Academic Performance among Students at the University of Sharjah.2020 IEEE 44th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/compsac48688.2020.0-176.

Reid Chassiakos, Yolanda (Linda), Jenny Radesky, Dimitri Christakis, Megan A. Moreno, Corinn Cross, David Hill, Nusheen Ameenuddin, et al. Children and Adolescents and Digital Media. American Academy of Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 1, 2016. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/5/e20162593/60349/Children-and-Adolescents-and-Digital-Media?autologincheck=redirected?nfToken.

Newsom, Rob. Sleep and Social Media. Sleep Foundation, April 22, 2022.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-and-socialmedia#:~:text=This research found that the,symptoms of insomnia and depression.

Allen , Summer. Social Media's Growing Impact on Our Lives. American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association. Accessed November 10, 2022. https://www.apa.org/members/content/social-media-research.

How Social Media Affects Student Productivity. St. Cloud Technical Community College, October 20, 2020. https://www.sctcc.edu/news/10-20-2020/how-social-media-affects-student-productivity.

5 Ways to Tame Your Social Media Use. ReachOut Australia. Accessed November 10, 2022. https://au.reachout.com/articles/5-ways-to-tame-your-social-media-use.