What Influences Students?

With the recent release of Netflix’s Adolescence, the question of what influences young minds has naturally come to the fore. It is well known that students are constantly aware of the influence and expectations of their peers. This blog has recently written on this and the influence of peers upon student performance and behaviour.

Impact of The Internet

As Adolescence has shown, the internet has now similarly become an ever-present and world-shaping influence upon young people – and if we are honest, upon us all. The pursuit of “engagement” with their platform and content has led developers and companies to create echo chambers and controversy rabbit holes designed to draw us in to the detriment of other aspects. This “high sugar diet” of content is addictive – as we fall to the comforts of constant affirmation and our own confirmation bias, alongside the intoxicating draw that conflict and controversy brings, we ignore what is truly important.

Phone and Social Media Influence

It is difficult to resist the appeals of the internet as an adult, many of us are far more addicted to our phones and social media than we would like to admit. It is, of course, far more difficult for developing minds to resist these temptations. With the internet and its “fast food” approach, it is very hard for young minds wired to seek novelty and risk to resist. The current schooling system is also not ideally set up to support and guide students through this process. With class sizes now averaging around 30 students or more, it can be difficult for teacher to assess and support students and their unique needs in a window of what is really only 2 minutes per student. When unhealthy habits arise, it can therefore be difficult to combat these. This is a struggle even in the best of times, but with exam season approaching and the pressures rising – temptations can be even more alluring than usual.

How Tuition Can Help

This is where tutoring comes in. Private tuition allows for students to be engaged and to receive a tailored experience that is designed to limit and remove these negative influences. Tutoring allows for an accountability network that ensures that students are developing to achieve their full potential, rather than allowing students to give in to temptation and distraction. Tutors can also provide positive academic role models that can help students understand and engage with content in a manner that was previously inaccessible. I personally have helped guide students towards a degree or career path that was previously unknown or inaccessible, and these stories are not uncommon at Cardiff & Value Tutoring. We specialise in providing high quality tuition from credible and approved tutors to allow each student to achieve their full potential.

This Blog was Written By Dr Daniel Chesse

Do take a look at earlier blogs:

How to make the best of the Festive Break – Cardiff Vale Tutors

Screentime and Back-To-School Routines – Cardiff Vale Tutors

The Importance of Sleep and Nutrition for GCSE Students – Cardiff Vale Tutors