Social media usually comes with a bad connotation, especially in regards to studying. It is generally seen as a distraction. However, when the time comes to begin your firefighter promotional exam prep, remember there are some study benefits to social media, keep reading to find out what they are.
No Actual Social Interaction
Beginning your firefighter promotional exam journey may mean you need to meet new people. For some people this is no problem but for others, reaching out to people you don’t know well to either mentor you, ask questions, form study groups with and so on can be a really difficult task. Going to social media to find these people and make these contacts can be a lot easier for some people. It’s not easy for everyone to ask for help, for some doing it online without that face to face interaction can be so much easier. There are some places you go online where everyone is completely anonymous, such as reddit. Seeking support that is anonymous may be what some firefighters need when they are struggling with their promotional journey. In addition, you can even find so much information from social media groups without even making a post of your own. So you may have a question in regards to firefighter promotion or your written exam that someone else already had and find the answer already there for you within one of these groups, so you have no interaction at all. Of course human interaction is important but that is not everyone’s cup of tea and for some introverts social media interactions are just the kind of support they need.
Online Groups
Social Media is full of all sorts of groups for studying and support. Go to Facebook and search firefighter promotional exam study groups and see what you find. I guarantee there are many study groups online full of people willing to help you succeed in your promotional journey. This can become a space where you can ask questions any time of day, because you know there is always someone awake as the other members may be people all over the country or world. Support groups also exist online and are necessary, sometimes to lament on the challenges you are facing while working to promote, and also to build each other up and celebrate the successes. These online groups give you the chance to interact and learn from people all over the world. You can meet people who are at the same place in the promotional process as you are but also people who have already been where you are and want to help. It is an opportunity to find new study techniques and tips and tricks to help you ace your written exam, some you may not have found otherwise. The best advice comes from those who have lived it and social media is a great place to find those people. Promoting in the fire service is hard and you need people to help you through, some of the nicest people you may find on this journey are strangers on the internet.
Create Your Own Groups
One of the best things about social media is the ability to create a group for literally anything. If you are having trouble finding the right online group for you to help you on your promotional journey, you can create your own. That is the beauty of the internet. Go to places like reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn and you will find that the people you are looking for will come to you if you create a space for them. This also allows the group to be on your terms. One downside may be that you are then in charge of moderating the group, but if you created it I’d imagine you would want it that way anyways. The upside is, you can choose exactly how you want it to be, who joins, how large it gets, how the discussion flows and so on. Creating your own social media group focused around firefighter promotion gives you the control you may want or need, as well as the content you need.
Network & Make Contacts
Not everyone has a huge support group in their life to help them and support them as they begin their journey up the ranks in the fire service. Social media, as bad as it can be, can also be a great place to build that support network that is so important. It gives you the opportunity to seek out like-minded goal oriented people. It gives you the ability to build your own support network, through groups, as mentioned above. Not only that, you also may be able to meet local people through friends of friends that are also promoting and become real life friends. Doing anything alone is hard, especially big life milestones, so building a support network, even one online with people you’ve never met, will be highly beneficial to you and the promotion process.
Word of Caution
Screentime Audit
Don’t let all of this social media time take over your life. Using social media to help you study, network, and meet like-minded firefighters is a positive. However, spending all of your time on social media because you are networking and so on can lead to too much time online. Make sure you are taking an audit of your screen time every so often and making sure what you are doing is productive. Are you talking about promotion or are you talking about something random because you got distracted? Are you reading a group discussion on a topic you need help with or are you reading hundreds of comments about some unrelated drama. It is easy to get off topic online, so check in with yourself and make sure you are doing productive work not just “socializing” and being nosy.
Mean people
There are so many wonderfully kind people on social media, but there are also a large number of people who are just bullies. So make sure you are joining groups that are heavily moderated so people stay respectful, because some people can get out of hand online due to their own boring lives. You don’t need to add any stress to yourself as you are trying to promote. If you come across one of these internet trolls, be sure to remember they are the ones that are not okay, and get pleasure out of treating people poorly.
The Takeaway
Social media can be viewed as a very bad thing for some, but for others, it is just the place they need to be to get the help they need as they promote in the fire service. There are lots of positives to social media such as the endless contacts and support you can find. Social media, like everything else in life, does come with some negatives, so do your best to navigate the pros and cons as you decide if social media is the best place for you as you begin your firefighter promotional journey.