Social media is a staple in the lives of many students as well as professors in society today. A lot of good has come out of social media, but the risks associated with the use of social networking sites can not be outruled. Social media has had both benefits and detriments of use in schools worldwide. The use of social media on College campuses endangers Academic Integrity, Can cause irreversible damage to rather elite reputations, and causes emotional distress to both students and staff. Most teens to young adults, including myself, have had a fairly large amount of experience with the use of social media. My personal experience with sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram resulted in a full understanding of the risks associated with voicing individual opinions through these sites. I have seen firsthand the effects of social media use in the classroom. Students on their phones become immersed in the wrong thing and miss out on important information, including myself. I have found myself sitting in lectures browsing social media sites rather than being focused on the material, and that is why I have a good grasp on my topic. Anyone from Freshman students in college all the way to the most notable professors have been affected by social media in some way. Unfortunately, it only takes one post to one of these sites to potentially permanently alter reputations and endanger academic integrity. Professors are not ruled out of the corruption of social media, as my sources prove. Educators have either been forced to resign or voluntarily withdrew from their professions after social media postings by themselves, students, or other staff.

One of my sources outlines particular tweets by elite university professors that eventually led to their downfall. Jeffrey Pomerantz looks into instances in which social media use has negatively affected reputations of students and staff. This source was found on Academic Search Complete. I believe that Jeffrey does not have much bias in the fact that he mainly uses facts rather than opinions. This article is mostly informative and focuses on the negative effects of social media in the learning environment. The primary focus of this particular research article is the presence of very real danger for professors in reference to social media. The very real problem of only one quarter of Universities actually having an accessible social media policies is a main focus in this source. The Authors of this source are worried that very few universities require their staff to post appropriate content. Taking into consideration the rapidly changing landscape of social media today, the Authors suggest the revision of social media policies within Colleges. The paper is a published work of three graduate students from three notable universities. These students are from The University of North Carolina, The University of Tennessee, and Indiana University respectively. These Students likely have little bias to the topic, but would rather like to see a change in policy, protecting both Students and Staff.

Next, John Rowe, from the University of Perth in Australia has concerns regarding the vast accessibility of anything posted to social media to all parties within a campus.  In Rowe's "Student Use Of Social Media: When Should The University Intervene?." which was found in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and management he focuses on the apparent enthusiasm from universities to allow social media use. This source differs from the other two because he is making claims that the education system encourages social media use. John may have bias in the fact that he is writing in a journal whose goal is to update social media policies. Therefore, John may be trying to sway the reader to see the potential drawbacks of social media use in an educational environment. This source was found on Academic Search Complete.Rowe focuses significantly on the damage that can be done to both Student reputations on campus and Staff alike.John is credible due to the fact that he was chosen to write for a notable journal. This article uses research done in 2011 to support claims made against social media. Rowe is concerned that many students regard their social media pages as being private and somewhat of a safe space, even when that claim is entirely wrong. One of the key goals of the research used in this article is to set appropriate limits to the interference of universities in social media. Another goal of the research was to decide how inappropriate comments should be dealt with or reported. The frightening realization that there are no clear limits to what a university should do to deal with malevolent postings is a large point in this paper.

Chris Piotrowski of the University of West Florida delves into the enthusiasm behind the integration of social media along with educational work. Contrary to the other two sources, who analyze the obvious concern of students and faculty regarding the connection between social media and school, Piotrowski looks into the frightening enthusiasm toward social media and academic integrity.In Piotrowski's "Scholarly Research On Educational Adaptation Of Social Media: Is There Evidence Of Publication Bias?." which is found on Academic Search Complete in the College Student Journal, he writes with a bias against potentially universities themselves. It seems as if Chris may be trying to play to the emotions of the students by putting down the university.Piotrowski believes that instructors often overlook potential drawbacks of using social media as a conduit to involve school with social life.The author quotes numerous studies related directly to the concern.Piotrowski believes that there is a sort of publication bias when social media is in question and references how the information gathering tool, proquest, limits its information on social media. Piotrowski found through polls that only 25% of students were open to involving education with social media, while 50% of faculty believed it should be incorporated. Piotrowski seems to be completely against social media being binded with education.

The question of just how dangerous social media is to Higher education has multiple views. There seems to be some serious danger regarding students and faculty thinking that their posts are safe. While Jeffrey Pomerantz lists all the potential problems of social media in education and what is being done about it, John Rowe attempts to make the claim that nothing at all is being done to correct these issues. On the far end of the spectrum, Chris Piotrowski claims the complete opposite of both sources and says that universities are actually actively welcoming social media use in education. Both Pomerantz and Rowe agree that there is a problem with social media in education while Piotrowski does not mention any issue. The lack of policies in most universities causes some serious conflict in whether the terms of these institutions are outdated. Some people may not think that there is a problem at all with the interaction of social media and education, but others obviously have very strong opposing views backed with research. One source quotes horrible tweets by professors to attempt to solidify a viewpoint against integration of social media in education. Devices can be used during class to distract students with social media which can result in lower grades. Another source presents data that shows that not all students nor staff agree that social media should not mingle with education. I had originally been for the use of social media as a means to further education. Now I feel rather complacent, and want to look into how to further utilize social media as a learning tool rather than a distraction while outlining all of the issues that must be overcome to do so.

