Does Social Media Really Help Us in Learning Compared to Teachers?

Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Surely all of you are already familiar with those words, right? Those are some of the types of social media that we often use on a daily basis. Maybe you guys already know what social media is. Social media is a digital platform that facilitates users to communicate with each other or share content in the form of writing, photos, videos, or anything on there. Based on data from Hootsuite, there are four social media platforms that are most frequently accessed by Indonesian social media users, namely YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. From the same survey, Indonesia has 160 million active users of social media. And in fact now, learning through social media is in demand by the public, ranging from children to adults. Social media is very much needed in various community activities during this pandemic, especially for student learning. Many people prefer to learn through social media independently without the guidance of a teacher. But if we wanna compare social media and teachers, there must be an impact. Then, the question is whether social media can really help us in learning compared to teachers?

There must be an impact learning through social media. In the same way technologies did, Social Network Sites (SNSs) have grown into a worldwide phenomenon in which people connect, communicate, and socialise (Campbell et al., 2016).On social media, any information is very accessible. Whatever you are looking for must be on social media, It's free and very practical. Moreover, social media is very popular among all ages, especially for students. Estimation shows that more than 90% college going students visit social networking sites on a regular basis. More and more students have started using social media, not just for communicating, but for gathering  information, share ideas and creativity (Sanjukta Mukherji, 2013). By using social media we can play while learning through educational applications or look for additional material via the internet. Social media is good but in social media a lot of things are not good, it feels like an unhealthy place. Social media can also have a negative impact on students, such as disturbing them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, spreading rumors, unrealistic views about other people's lives and peer pressure. The risk may be related to how much students use social media.  In sum, learning through social media must have its own impact. However, it can also be a dangerous place. 

Then, the question is whether social media can really help us in learning compared to teachers? Of course we find it difficult to compare it. Everyone needs teachers and social media. The teacher not only teaches but they also educates us. Social media is also very important for everyone today. It should be no surprise that students are not the only ones on social media. Teachers use social media too. They even use social media for education-related tasks. According to a survey done by Digital Trends in the Education Market Report: 81% of teachers use social media to get inspired with new teaching ideas, 54% connect with other educators, 53% use social media to find teacher discounts and deals. So it seems for teachers, social media is not all about personal uses. Furthermore, while educational scenarios and performance are being rethought due to the COVID-19 crisis, digital tools namely social media have become an important part of educational practice. Where social media is used by teachers to interact with their students. In sum, we cannot say that social media really helps us in learning compared to teachers. Social media is very helpful for us in terms of learning, not only us but also teachers are greatly helped by social media. 

Social media and teachers have advantages and disadvantages in helping us learn. The impacts can vary. But if we compare the two in terms of learning, of course it is difficult. Because both are very important in terms of learning. Of course we have to look at the positive, that social media really helps us and the teachers in terms of learning. If we use social media well, it will really help us, depending on how we use it. So, there is no need to compare it, because we need teachers and social media in terms of learning