Topic: Effect of social media on language

Modernage Girls Campus:

Class: Grade 5

Teacher: Ms Zobia Asghar

Members:

Arfa Moheet

Fizza Qasim Shah

Mishal Shahzad

Zikiriya Sheikh

Ayesha Noor

Naima Ali

Humaira Malik

Muhammad Mujtaba

Maheen Adeel

Aima Anjum

Seerat Yasir

Hareem Bashir

The fifth-grade students were introduced to the research topic, which focuses on how social media affects language. They received an explanation of what research entails and the research process. Following this, a group of students was selected, and a meeting was held in the seminar hall to brief them on the research approach, its significance, and the chosen topic. During the first meeting, students were tasked with gathering information about social media, social gadgets, and their usage frequency. This marked the initial stage of the research project.

 

Following their research orientation, the students proceeded to craft inquiries aimed at understanding the influence of social media on language. They sought to identify questions that could be posed to individuals to ascertain the extent to which social media affects their language.

 

Each student brought their own set of questions, and during the meeting in the hall, we collectively reviewed and selected specific questions to be included in our final questionnaire.

 

The questionnaire was created, refined, and subsequently transformed into a Microsoft Forms format. This allowed us to efficiently distribute it to individuals for response collection and facilitated easy access to the results on the backend.

 

The Microsoft Forms questionnaire was distributed to individuals through WhatsApp, and we received responses from 55 participants. 

Social media:

Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

Language:

Language is a system that people use to communicate or share information.

Social media have been changing the individuals’ method for living in many ways especially in the objects linked to the communication domain, knowledge, and education.

The effects of social media on language can be both positive and negative. There are are some of the effects:

1. Abbreviations and acronyms: Social media platforms have popularized the use of abbreviations and acronyms to communicate more quickly and concisely. Examples include “lol” (laugh out loud), “brb” (be right back), and “omg” (oh my god). While this can be convenient, it may also lead to a decline in proper grammar and spelling.

 2. Informal language: Social media encourages informal communication, with users often adopting a more relaxed tone and using colloquial language. This informality can impact language use in other areas of life, leading to a blurring of boundaries between formal and informal language.

3. Language evolution: Social media has become a platform for creativity, with users inventing new words, phrases, and memes. This contributes to the evolution of language and the creation of new linguistic trends and expressions.

4. Increased exposure to different languages: Social media connects people from different cultures and languages, providing a space for multilingual communication. Users often encounter words and phrases from other languages, which can contribute to language diversity and cross-cultural understanding.

5. Attention span and writing skills: The fast-paced nature of social media, with its character limits and constant stream of content, has led to a decrease in attention span. Some argue that this impact writing skills by promoting shorter, less structured, and more fragmented texts.

6. Influencer language: Social media influencers have a significant impact on language trends. Their distinctive language use, catchphrases, and vocabulary can influence a wide audience and contribute to the adoption of new linguistic styles.

7. Emoticons and emojis: Social media platforms popularized the use of emoticons and emojis as visual representations of emotions. While they enhance communication, they can also be seen as a simplification of language and a potential reduction of textual nuance.

In summary, social media has had a significant impact on language use and communication styles. It has fostered the evolution of language, led to the emergence of new linguistic trends, and encouraged informal and abbreviated language. However, it also poses challenges such as fake news dissemination and potential negative effects on attention span and writing skills.

Based on our research, a significant number of individuals use social media, with many believing that it contributes to language learning. However, our findings also indicate that for children, careful monitoring and supervision are crucial. Therefore, our research leads to the following conclusion:

In summary, our research underscores the widespread use of social media and its potential benefits for language learning. However, it highlights the importance of implementing appropriate measures to ensure the safe and responsible use of social media, particularly for children. It is essential for parents, guardians, and educators to actively monitor and guide young users in order to maximize the positive aspects of social media while minimizing potential risks.