How Social Media Can Help You Learn

Question: How can social media help teens learn? 

Answer: This is such a great question! We’ve heard from many teens about how social media helps them learn – both for school-related things (like helping with homework) and for extracurricular activities and hobbies (like watching videos about how to code or how to bake cookies). Let’s talk about each of these a bit more below. 

Using Social Media to Help with School 

It’s common for teachers to use social media to help students learn in the classroom. Three out of four pre-K through 12th grade teachers say they use YouTube for teaching in the classroom, and almost half of them use it daily or weekly.  

Students also use social media and the internet on their own to help them learn: 

• One study found that using social media for school-related reasons (like watching school-related content and sharing it with others) helps students do better in school.  
• Another study found that teens share videos with each other about different school-related topics. These videos can make tough concepts easier to understand and help to explain assignments. 
• Teachers also use discussion boards, learning apps, and online forums to help students engage with content outside of the classroom or to communicate with students about school assignments and other school-related tasks. 
• Some teens say having Internet access at school can help them manage stress better. For example, listening to music might help you focus better on your schoolwork. 

Using Social Media for Other Interests 

• Social media can help you learn about topics that interest you outside of school, too, whether that’s sports, art, coding, music, cooking or something else. It can also help people who learn in different ways. Some people learn better by watching videos or seeing pictures (visual learners) and others learn better by reading articles, posts, or step-by-step guides (textual learners).  
• Teens can share videos related to their hobbies with their peers and watch informational videos together with family members. There are also platforms with dedicated feeds for learning, such as a feed focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Other platforms include learning via short videos focused on how to create something or fix something. Sharing videos and talking about what you watch with your friends or family can help you better understand what you saw. 
• Social media can be a way for students to learn new information together and connect with other people who share their interests. You might join a group, participate in discussions, or work on projects together. Along the way, you’ll learn skills that are useful in school and in everyday life, like communication, teamwork, and collaboration. 

Resources and Next Steps 

While there are benefits to using social media to help you learn, there are also risks. Read these past portal responses to learn more:  Screen Time and Academic Performance and Effects of Screen Time on Concentration, Memory, and Class Attendance. 

You can also check out these resources below to help you balance your social media use and develop strategies to be sure you’re using social media in a way that helps you learn. 

• Teen Wellness Toolkit: This toolkit has resources to help you manage your social media use and shape your social media feeds, which can help you see more posts related to your interests both inside and outside school. 
• Family Media Plan: If you’re concerned that your media use might take away from the time you need to do schoolwork or other tasks, or if you want to set boundaries for yourself, check out the AAP Family Media Plan. It supports you and your family in reflecting on your media use together and setting boundaries that help you to meet your goals. 

References 

• Honkomp-Wilkens, V., Jung, P., Altmaier, N., Wolf, K. D., & Pentzold, C. (2026). Learning Together with YouTube? Adolescents’ Collective Use of Explanatory Audiovisual Content. Computers in the Schools, 43(2), 129–149.  
• Luo, J., Liang, L., & Li, H. (2020). The divergent roles of social media in adolescents’ academic performance. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 34(2), 167-182.  
• Milkovich, L. M., Carlson, J. A., Chertoff, K., & Randell, K. A. (2026). How School-Related Internet Use Shapes Teens' Learning, Communication, Academic Stress, Online Behavior: A Qualitative Study. Academic pediatrics, 26(3), 103210.   
• Pritchard, C., Carpenter, J. P., & Rosenberg, J. M. (2026). Teachers’ Instructional Use of YouTube: A National Survey. Educational Researcher, 0013189X261457604.   
• Youssef, E., & Al Malek, M. (2023). Investigating the impact of social media platforms use among children on formal and informal learning: From the uses and gratifications theory perspective. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(1), 3026.  

Age: 13-18 

Topics: School, Education, learning, social media, hobbies 

Role: Adolescent/Youth