Pros and Cons of Studying with Friends or Groups

Studying in groups has not only advantages but also disadvantages. So when we are learning in a group, we must do it more safely. I define group studying as a knife that has blades on both sides. When we study with friends, we must choose the team carefully because the study group members will decide how productively we study.

In my secondary education, I have experienced more disadvantages of collaborative learning. So at the start of my advanced level education, I mostly preferred to work alone. But after a few weeks, I met my best friend. She changed my opinion, and we started studying together. As both of us wanted to be toppers, we worked hard together, and in the end, I was the first, and she was the second in our class. So in this article, I am sharing my experiences of studying with friends.

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Advantages of studying with friends

Well motivated 

When we study alone, we always feel bored. So then we tend to sleep or waste time by doing something like scrolling through social media. But with friends, we have no sleepiness because we can talk when we have a sleepy feeling. And when we see others working hard, our brain automatically forces us to study. So we don't need extra motivation. 

No procrastination

Researchers found that working in a group can lower the procrastination of students. Not only that, in my experience, I know how true that is. Because when I have planned my study schedule with my friends, we always do the same thing simultaneously. So if I postpone any task, I cannot show what I have done. And when studying together physically we can see each other so we can't give up studies. When we learn alone, no one is there to push us to learn, but in groups, we all can decide what we will do and do it together.

Help each other

When choosing a group to study, we must include more than one bright one because if someone has any problem regarding lessons, he can ask that guy and solve it instantly. Honestly, no one knows everything; in my experience, I am an expert in calculus, but I am always struggling with linear algebra. But my best friend's favorite subject is linear algebra, so when we study together, I don't have to worry about finding notes and asking teachers. Because she teaches me how to solve it. Imagine it, when you have members with expertise in different subjects you all can help each other and improve your work efficiency 10 times faster than studying alone.

More memorization

I always say teaching is the best way to memorize anything. When you work with friends, you have students to teach, but when you are alone, you have no one to listen to you. When you are teaching real people, they ask questions. It is essential in group learning because when you have more questions, your brain usually has to recall everything related to that lesson. Then you will definitely have more understanding in that lesson like a teacher. And also, when arguing with friends, you will cover more areas in your topic. And you all can solve your general problems together by discussing them.

Develop social skills

Some are introverts, so they are shy to deal with others. But if they study with friends, they can easily build their communication skills and interact more with others. After working with friends, I'm sure you are no longer ashamed to ask questions from teachers or to speak in class. When we study alone, we only think about ourselves. Still, with friends, we are learning to take care of others and help each other to overcome problems. You can build more social skills and be more socialized after group studying.

Disadvantages of studying with friends

Bad habits

As a study group consists of not only toppers but also average students, some may have bad habits. So as group studying has good advantages for low-level students, it may have adverse effects on toppers. Let me say my life experience. When I was in secondary school, some of my friends asked me to work with them, but when we worked together, they always tended to watch TikTok and YouTube videos while studying. Not only that, but they also showed me some, and I realized, "if I watch these, I may be addicted to watching them like these guys." So I left the group and started working alone. Like that, there are many bad habits among some students. And also you can get bullied by them.

Time wasting

Each person has different perspectives, so each one has different ideas. So when it comes to group studying, students might waste time arguing. In this type of situation, I stay away from the debate, and I say, "I have my opinion; if you want, you can believe me; otherwise, you can stay with your opinion. I know I am correct, so I don't need to argue anymore". And especially in girl's groups, they are always gossiping. They waste their time talking about others, fashions, etc., when we work alone, there is none to talk with, so our main job is to finish all the curricula. 

If you can use a digital timer like the one below, you can manage your study time well.

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Toppers unable to study

Most of my friends asked me for group work because they wanted to learn from me. And When we were working together, they always disturbed me and asked tons of questions. I know teaching can improve my memory, but I can't even do my studies when it's too much. So when you are choosing a group to study with, discreetly choose it because your group members' attitudes will decide whether you learn effectively or not. And having such friends like this can also be troublesome for you in the exam. And also, when you always get the help of others, you will automatically become dependent. So try to do something on your own to be successful in your studies.

More distractions

I had a friend who always wanted to read questions aloud. So when we were working together, I had no chance to do my own studies because I couldn't focus with that type of distraction. When you work alone, you get distractions, and you get distracted 10 times more when you work in a group because each one has their contribution for distraction. When someone is gossiping, if you tell him not to do that, it can lead to a fight. So studying alone is safer when that type of thing happens.

Scheduling problems

To work together, everyone should have free time at the same time. So when one group member has no time to attend to a group studying, the others can't maintain studying. And the other thing is that some are not interested in some subjects so when they want to skip that subject, the whole group loses it. When working alone, we don't need to wait for others. We are at home, so we only need to sit at the study table and start working. And we have complete control of our study schedule. If you want to work the way you want, the best choice is to study alone.

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Conclusion

You can do group studying online or offline. Online you can make a WhatsApp or Telegram group; offline, you can gather at a friend's home and start studying together. So I talked about the pros and cons of studying with friends. Now you can decide whether studying with friends or alone is best for you. When your friends ask to study in a group, you can send this article to them and ask them to avoid such bad things and study more efficiently. And don't forget to share your opinion with us.