EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ WRITING SKILLS AT THE HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of social media usage on the writing skills of English language learners at the higher secondary level in District Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan. The research focuses on Facebook and WhatsApp and examines their impact on four sub-skills of writing: expression, grammaticality, spelling, and organization. An experimental posttest-only control group design was employed, involving 60 students divided equally into experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in structured social media-based writing activities for eight weeks, while the control group received traditional classroom instruction. Data were collected through an essay-writing task and assessed using standardized criteria. The findings indicate significant improvements in expression, grammaticality, and organization among students exposed to social media. However, no significant effect was observed on spelling. The study concludes that social media can serve as an effective supplementary tool for enhancing selected writing sub-skills when integrated appropriately into language teaching practices.