Online communication on social media has changed the way we write and speak. Now, we have a concept of social media language, with its specific lexical items, abbreviations, acronyms, emojis, and other peculiarities.
The only catch:
Its influence is creeping into other fields, shifting the functional styles of the English language. These styles include official, publicistic, poetic, conversational, eloquent, and scientific (academic). The latter also relates to students:
They learn and master writing skills through essays and research papers in school and college. At the same time, they write a lot on social media, using it as a primary communication channel.
The result?
The line between writing styles blurs. Students start transferring the specifics of social media language to their entire communication and rely on AI-based instruments like the Textero tool in writing their essays or other academic works.
In this article, we delve into the influence of social media on students’ writing skills and list some tips on how students can use it to write better.
Positive vs. Negative Impacts of Social Media on Student Writing
Let us get things straight:
We aren’t severe prosecutors and don’t aim to accuse social media writing of all sins. We can’t underestimate the positive impacts of social media on students’ writing skills, which are as follows:
- Enhanced speaking skills
- Exposure to basic writing skills, especially in the secondary school setting
- Motivation to write correctly, mainly when a student writes a blog post or a lengthy caption on Instagram or LinkedIn
- Cooperative learning
- Ease of learning the educational material
Social media influences student writing habits. Now, they are more concerned about the technical aspects of their messages than creativity. Their written language becomes more casual and less grammatically competent. The originality and depth of their writing also suffer:
Social media promotes short-form messages and instant replies, encouraging simple vocabulary, acronyms, emojis, and superficiality. (“I have no time to research and check the information I share; I need to post it right now before it becomes irrelevant!”) As a result, students get distracted from engaging in their studies and topics of discussion. It may lead to lower academic performance, plagiarism, and the excessive use of AI:
Instead of growing their writing skills, students demolish them.
Given the above, here are the main negative impacts of social media on students’ writing skills:
- Poor grammar and spelling. Most social media prescribe character limits for messages users send, which makes them rely on eliding (removing vowels in words, like in “tnx,” “4 u,” etc.) and sacrificing grammar rules. It may lead to forgetting the spelling, grammar, and punctuation and encourage the development of bad writing habits (unacceptable for academic writing).
- Limited vocabulary. The repetitive use of informal phrases (like “wanna” or “gotta” instead of “want to” and “going to”), slang words, and acronyms look natural when speaking. However, it can limit a student’s overall vocabulary and leave them struggling to find proper words when writing more formal and academic texts.
- Lack of clarity. Students often deal with academic writing and professional correspondence in college and later in their careers. It prescribes clear, formal, and precise language. The excessive use of jargon and casual references on social media can hurt the skill of clear writing and lead to misinterpretations or misunderstandings in students’ formal texts.
Tips for Students: How to Use Social Media to Improve Writing Skills
We can’t ban social media or tell students not to use it. Instead, we can guide them in using social media and communicating there to benefit their writing skills.
Below are simple strategies they can try:
1. Make the most of each platform’s features
Social media platforms have specific features that can influence our writing. Students can focus on the platforms that most suit their writing needs.
Thus, X can help polish the skills of writing concise and catchy messages. Instagram captions are for storytelling or descriptive writing, while LinkedIn is for persuasive and professional messages. Platforms like Medium can help master the art of writing longer and in-depth texts.
The trick is to put each social media platform to good use.
2. Follow the users who write well
On social media, we follow influencers, brands, celebrities, and opinion leaders who inspire, teach, or challenge us. Why not subscribe to those who write well?
Reading their posts, students can observe the language, sentence structures, and writing techniques they use to communicate their message. Interacting with good writers via commenting or asking questions can also serve as online learning.
The trick is to follow influencers with a loyal audience and who write about topics of our needs.
3. Write regularly, experiment with formats, and remember to edit
Regular social media posting helps hone one’s writing craft and develop a voice. Students can share their experiences, opinions, and passions to inform or entertain followers, get feedback, and grow the audience.
Practice makes perfect and helps overcome the blank page syndrome.
Social media writing in different formats is also a surefire way to polish writing skills. Posts of various lengths (threads, short captions, or long reads) and genres (blogs, memes, stories) boost understanding of writing techniques and styles.
When students aren’t afraid of experimenting with writing formats on social media, they learn to write better.
The habit of editing social media writings before and after publishing will also come in handy. It helps improve the accuracy, clarity, and readability of our texts.
In a Word
Social media is an integral part of our lives today, transforming how we write and speak. For schoolers and college students, it’s the main communication channel where they write a lot. No wonder its impact on students’ writing skills has been a subject of discussion among educators and researchers.
Despite the positive aspects like enhanced speaking skills or cooperative learning, the negative impacts also take place:
The improper and excessive use of social media can hinder students’ writing skills. That’s why it’s critical to guide them on healthy communication on social networks to balance its impact on their writing abilities.