Should online learning be more like social media?
The question may seem taboo as the discourse around many social platforms turns increasingly negative with very legitimate concerns raised by parents and lawmakers about their impact on wellbeing. This debate, ignited by books like the Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, has most learning platforms running away from any kind of comparison between social media and the gravely important act of educating our next generation. But let us not forget that these platforms were originally designed to increase human connection and create engaging experiences that keep users on their platforms, and what continues to be the biggest challenge in online learning today? Completion rates.
The average completion rate for self-paced online courses is reportedly as low as 5 - 15%. High student engagement is the holy grail of online learning that higher education leaders and technology platforms have been striving to achieve for years. Yet, one critical perspective seems to be missing from the conversation: what social media—the ultimate engagement platform–can teach us about keeping learners engaged.
As a former brand executive at Snap, I am deeply aware of social media’s flaws and have also witnessed first hand its ability to bring communities together. At its worst, social media polarizes its users, breeds misinformation, and negatively impacts mental health. However, when designed more thoughtfully, social media can be a powerful tool for connection and productive discourse. If we are to solve the problem of engagement in online learning, we must be willing to examine the phenomenon of social media and adopt strategies that increase human connection and avoid those tactics that lead to more destructive behavior.
Do create opportunities for human connection and self expression. The neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman famously said, “we are wired such that our well-being depends on our connections with others…” This insight is one that social media platforms have capitalized on and online learning platforms have been slow to adopt, to their detriment.
Filters, direct messages, stories, chats, and more–social media provides users with multiple on-ramps for self-expression, empowering them to engage in whatever way feels right to them on any given day. This is perhaps the most significant piece missing from most online education platforms.
The standard discussion boards of online learning don’t provide the space for the off-the-cuff expression that makes learning dynamic, like sharing an anecdote about the learning material or expressing confusion. The latter is particularly critical. When online learners don’t have space to say “I don’t get it,” or “I’m confused,’ they attribute these feelings to themselves. They assume everyone else gets it, and they don’t belong.
It’s time to develop features and tools in online learning that maximize opportunities for students to express themselves and “feel seen” by their peers and teachers. One area social media has excelled in is creating digital spaces for humans to show their creativity and connect with one another.
Don’t rely on “likes” for positive engagement. The way learners connect with each other matters greatly. Most social media platforms are built on attention metrics in service of advertisers. Their algorithms and features are not in service of discourse, but of virality. Defaulting to superficial “engagement” features like a simple “like” or emojis reduces opportunities for learners to employ critical thinking in their responses. What’s more, prioritizing virality metrics like these increases the risk of anxiety and depression among users.
When we think about bringing multiple points of expression into online education, we must be cautious and avoid falling into the same “like” trap. We start to play the comparison game when likes are involved, always chasing a higher number of likes. Education can already be stressful, particularly for learners who balance education with other life responsibilities. We need to add opportunities for social connection without creating social pressure.
Do create ephemeral opportunities for students to express themselves. This means reactions and posts that disappear after a certain period of time. When someone posts something with the knowledge that it will live online forever, it creates an enormous amount of pressure to look smart and/or perfect. At Snap, we leaned into ephemerality in the hopes of removing that pressure. We created a channel of self-expression that was fleeting and not measured by likes, allowing users to be more authentic.
In fact, ephemerality is exemplified in a live, in-person classroom. Learners acknowledge each other’s points with nods and fleeting words of agreement that are unquantifiable. How can we replicate this experience of the in-person classroom online? If you are a Peloton user, you have seen the option to “high-five” the others in a live class. The high-fives appear and disappear quickly, providing a feeling of being seen and celebrated without creating a quantified goalpost. How wonderful would it be to provide online learners with a similar way to acknowledge each other?
Don’t allow discourse to go unchecked by an experienced educator or moderator. One of the most important skills we learn through educational settings is how to engage in productive discourse and respectful disagreements. In a live classroom, this discourse is guided and moderated by an instructor. It should be no different online.
Social media has provided us with numerous case studies in what happens when no moderator is present. Algorithms that are trained to prioritize virality favor any view that gets the most attention without filtering out extremist views or misinformation. If we learn one thing about what not to do from social media, let it be that content moderation is key. The instructor plays an important role moderating the discussion ensuring one student isn’t pursuing too many dopamine hits.
In addition to moderation, we can design the online learning environment in a way that favors discourse, not trolling. One way to do this is to make the learning artifact the most dominant thing visually, rather than the top performing comment. This anchors the discussion in the learning artifact itself.
As we continue to grapple with the persistent challenges of student engagement and low completion rates in online learning, it’s time to rethink how online learning experiences are designed. Social media, despite its flaws, offers critical lessons in fostering connection, self-expression, and engagement—elements that are often missing in online education.
If we borrow thoughtfully from social media’s successes—and learn from its missteps—we have a real opportunity to transform online learning into a medium that not only supports learners academically but also fosters their sense of connection and belonging.
