THE ROLE OF SOCIAL PLATFORMS IN TRANSFORMING THE EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE

Аннотация

This article provides a comprehensive review of how social media and digital platforms are fundamentally reshaping educational practices, policies, and access to learning on a global scale. Drawing on a synthesis of international policy reports, peer-reviewed systematic reviews, and empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025, this paper analyzes the dual-edged nature of this transformation. It details the significant pedagogical opportunities for collaborative learning, professional development, and increased access. Concurrently, it critically examines the substantial challenges, including the proliferation of misinformation, deepening digital inequalities, data privacy concerns, and the need for pedagogical realignment. The findings underscore that while social platforms hold immense promise for creating more dynamic and inclusive educational ecosystems, realizing this potential requires deliberate policy interventions. Key recommendations emphasize the integration of media literacy into core curricula, significant investment in equitable digital infrastructure, robust data governance frameworks, targeted teacher training, and a renewed focus on context-specific, evidence-based implementation. The conclusion stresses that the future of education will be shaped not by the platforms themselves, but by how effectively we harness their capabilities to serve equitable and pedagogically sound learning objectives.