Study, Meet Social Media

For many of us, social media is the alluring face of procrastination – a big no-no when it comes to study time. But we’re humans who inherently crave social interaction, so why deprive ourselves? In fact, at OUA, we encourage our students to connect with their classmates on social media, by creating private study groups on Facebook, or joining a classmate’s LinkedIn network for example. As long as you keep focused, you can use social media to get the most out of your study experience. How, you ask? Let’s discuss.

Find strength in unity

Why is it that when we’re falling behind, we assume it’s only us, and that everyone else is breezing through? Nothing kills productivity quite like self-doubt, and sometimes all you need is to talk to another student about how they’re handling the assigned task. There’s something about the phrase “I haven’t started yet either” that is cleansing… dare we say spiritual? While it doesn’t help you find an answer, it does assure you that you’re not alone. The uni experience has many highs and lows, and everybody needs a place to vent their frustrations, and celebrate their triumphs. That sense of unity between classmates, travelling together through thick and thin, can have great motivational power.

Dive deeper into learning

Studying in isolation can feel like playing ping-pong without a partner. You may be hitting a lot of ideas out into the open, but you’re getting no feedback. It’s great to bounce ideas off other students, because no two brains are the same. With every hit back and forth, your idea will take a slightly different spin, causing you to think about it in a different way. Multiple brains also means a wider pool of resources for you to dip into. Your fellow students might have some great articles, sites or apps they’d be willing to share, which you can use to supplement your course reading material. It’s always a good thing to consider another perspective, so use your peers to add more depth to your learning experience.

Catch the right person’s eye

Social media is a huge opportunity to showcase yourself – your intelligence, your good nature, your talents, and your interests. You never know who could be watching, so the bigger your social network, the better! Everybody starts at the bottom, and the guy in your business class could very well become the CEO of a huge company – so wouldn’t it be great to have him in your social network? Or maybe it’s you who becomes that CEO, looking to recruit new talent. The ideal person might be right under your nose- perhaps a former classmate. You’ll not only be sure they’ve got the right skills, but you’ll also have a good idea of their temperament, work ethic and enthusiasm. Talk about finding the perfect fit!

Study and social media can intermingle beautifully, as long as you’ve got self control, otherwise you might learn more about your friend’s uncle’s renovation than you did about your study topic. So put yourself out there in the social world and see what you think. If it alleviates the feeling of isolation, helps you get better marks, or gets you industry-connected – consider that a victory!