EXPLORING THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ENHANCING ENGLISH ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY STUDENTS

Abstract

Social media has become an important tool for educational institutions as it  is connected with students and shares updated information. In recent years, its usage has grown rapidly among learners. Through the platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, students can interact with peers and teachers, discuss academic topics, and exchange learning resources. Despite its benefits, the excessive use of social media may influence students’ academic writing skills. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social media use on the academic writing skills of upper secondary level students in Pakistan. This main purpose of the study is to investigate how social media can assist upper secondary learners  in enhancing their writing abilities. The present study employed a descriptive methodology and a quantitative strategy. The data was collected  by distributing questionnaires among 175 higher secondary students from the Government Graduate College Women Sangla Hill (Nankana Sahib) . Higher secondary students were given surveys by the researcher, and they had 30 minutes to fill them out and send them back. The researcher used questionnaire as a research tool to obtain precise data for the study. After that, SPSS software version 22 was used to statistically analyze the data. In the end, the tool, the questionnaire, showed how social media influences higher secondary students' writing abilities, aids in the enhancement of their talents, boosts their confidence, gives them ample opportunity to practice writing skills, gives them platforms to share their ideas, offers opportunities for peer discussion, and motivates them. The study's conclusions also suggest that social media be integrated into the educational system to greatly improve college learners writing skills at the upper secondary level. As social media platforms become more popular, it is questionable whether they should be utilized as useful teaching tools.