Social Media and Academic Performance
BIO 4970*02
Fall 2018
Dr. Roxie James
December,10,2018
Abstract
Social media usage by students is so widespread recently because of easy access to devices such as smart phones, i-phones, tablets, i-pad and laptops which are all connected to the internet. Addiction to the usage of social media has extremely increased in recent times. The risks of its effects on the academic performance of the over-involved students are disturbing. Academic performance which is depicted by the grades of students is a great concern for students that spend excessive time on social networks become dependent on it and it is believed that their academic performance diminishes proportionately. This study analyzed the effects of social media usage on the academic performance of students. Participants were given a survey which asked a series of questions which provided both qualitative and quantitative information. Results from the survey showed that almost 80% of students believed social media is a distraction when studying. However, although students reported social media as a distraction when studying their GPA scores were not shown to be directly impacted with most students having an average GPA of 2.6 and above. Although it may not affect directly the GPA of student’s social media does play a distractive role affecting the academic performance of students and should be limited during studying.
Introduction
Social media has exploded as a category of online discourse where people create content, share it, bookmark it and network at a prodigious rate. Because of its ease of use, speed and reach, social media is fast changing the public discourse in society and setting trends and agenda in topics that range from the environment and politics to technology and the entertainment industry (Asur and Huberman, 2010). In the last ten years, the online world has changed dramatically, thanks to the invention of social media, young men and women now exchange ideas, feelings, personal information, pictures and videos at a truly astonishing rate. Seventy-three percent of wired American teens now use social media websites Abalaty (2010). Forste (2008), and Lusk, (2010) share the same concept of social media. To them, social media is the use of Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and Linked In for communication, sharing photos as well as videos. However, for this study social media is captured within the use of internet through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter for communication sharing of ideas, sharing of photos and videos by users and entertainment purposes. What started out as a hobby for some computer literate people has become a social norm and way of life for people from all over the world (Boyd 2007). Teenagers and young adults have especially embraced these sites to connect with their peers, share information, reinvent their personalities, and showcase their social lives (Boyd, 2007).
The rapid advancement of media technology has had a great impact on the way people communicate daily. The growing dimension of the use of the social media among the youth of today cannot be over emphasized. Over the years, social networking among students has become more and more popular. It is a way to make connections, not only in school but with friends outside of school. Social networking is a way that helps people feels they belong to a community. Due to the increased popularly of it, scholar is questioning whether grades of students in English language will not be affected by how much time is spent on these sites.
The use of technology such as internet is one of the most important factors that can influence educational performance of students positively or adversely. Many parents and guardians are worried that students are spending too much time on Facebook and other social media sites and have not enough time to study. Though parents are worried about students’ constant use of the social media sites, many students continue to utilize these sites daily. It is against this background that this research is being conducted to ascertain the impact of social media usage on academic performance of college students.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The general objective of the study was to investigate the impact of social media on academic performance of college students.
The specific objectives of the study were as follows:
1. Investigate the relationship that exists among the independent variables (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat) and dependent variable (Academic Performance) among college students.
2. Investigate the relative contribution of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat on the academic performance of the secondary school students.
3. Investigate the amount of social media usage during studying and its effects on the academic performance on students.
Hypothesis: Social is a distracting factor that does not have any benefits in an academic setting and leads to poor academic performance in students.
Method
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The instruments selected for this study was a survey that is made up of ten items measuring the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondent, time spend on social media, frequency of the use of the social media, the type of social media which students prefer to use for academic exercises and measuring the academic performance of the students.
The participants were asked to respond to each item ranging Agree to disagree, Frequently to Rarely, and Yes or No. Participants were also asked to provide a short answer as a follow up to explain why they feel social media is a distraction when studying. The questions were arranged according to the arrangement of the objectives of the study. The respondents were not required to identify themselves on the questionnaire. This anonymity and impersonality no doubt enhanced the rate of return of the questionnaire and objective response.
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Demographical variables:
Age Frequency Percentage
18-24 10 76.9%
25-31 3 23.1%
32-27 0 0%
Total 13 100%
Table 1. Distribution of the respondents by Age
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 9 69.2%
Female 3 23.1%
Prefer not to say 1 7.7%
Total 13 100%
Table 2. Distribution of the respondents by Gender
Major Frequency
Computer science 3
Business 1
Nursing 1
English 2
STEM 1
Biology 1
Animation 1
Aeronautics 2
Table 3. Distribution of the respondents by Major
Figure 1. Chart showing the number of social medias used by respondents
Figure 2. Chart showing the frequency of social media use during studying by respondents
Figure 3. Chart showing the number of hours spent on social media per day
Table 4. Table displays the current GPA of students
GPA Frequency Percentage
2.0 or below 1 7.7%
2.1-2.5 2 15.4%
2.6-3.0 4 30.8%
3.1-3.5 2 15.4%
3.6-4.0 4 30.8%
DISCUSSIONS
When respondents were asked whether the use of the social media usage has a negative influence on their academic performance, 10 of the respondents or 76% answered Yes while 2 respondents representing 15% said No and 1 respondent answer Maybe representing 7%. It could be deduced from the result that majority of the respondents 76% affirmed that the use of social media affects their academic work. This study confirms Jenkins, (2006) study that the use of technology such as the internet is one of the factors that can influence students’ performance positively or adversely. This is further supported by Ellison, (2007) and Englander(2009) who believe that students’ use of social media will have negative effect on their academic performance.
The analysis shows that Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the favorite social media sites. This confirms Greenhow (2009) assertion that approximately 85% of undergraduate students are Facebook users. Time spent on social media site per day Response Frequency Percentage (84 %) spend 2-4 hours and (15.4 %) spend 5-7 hours per day on social media which in this study confirmed that it has negative effect on their academic performance.
The study confirms Ellisons (2007), assertion that due to the popularity of social media sites, economists and Professors are questioning whether grades of students would not be affected by how much time they spent on these sites Jenkins, (2006), further corroborated this and state that the use of technology such as the internet is one of the most important factors that can influence educational performance of students positively or adversely.
The more the use of social media, the less academic performance students. This implies students that who use the social media sites frequently turnout to perform poorly academically. Englander (2010), focused on the relationship between the use of Facebook and the academic performance of students.
Conclusion:
This study has demonstrated that college students are aware of the social networking sites and have access to them. Findings also indicated that they are influenced by the social media negatively because attention there is focused on chatting and music while their academic activities are neglected and left to suffer.
The study was conducted to examine the impact of students’ use of social media sites on their academic performance. The study revealed that majority of the respondents had mobile phones with internet facilities and had knowledge of the existence of social media sites. As a result, they visit their social media sites and spend between 2-4 hours per day, 5-7 hours per day. The hypothesis tested on impact of the social media usage and academic performance revealed that there is no significant relationship between social media usage and academic performance. The study further revealed that most respondents use the social media sites for entertainment than for academic purpose.
Recommendation:
Based on the findings, the researchers made some recommendations as follows;
1. Students with phones having internet facility should be encouraged to either use it to supplement their academic work rather than the usual chatting with friends all the time.
2. Students should be advised by the school management, counselors, teachers and parents to limit the time they spend on social media sites per day and encourage them to rather substitute those hours to read novels and relevant academic books to improve their knowledge. Since the study confirmed that the use of social media sites had affected the academic performance of students negatively, there is the urgent need for the introduction of students to the availability of novels and other information resource or e-materials in the library that can help them.
3. Social networking sites should be expanded, and new pages should be created to enhance academic activities to avoid setbacks in the students’ academic performance.
4. The students should create a balance between chit-chatting and academic activities. More attention should be directed to academic activities.
5. There should be a decrease in the number of time spent by students when surfing the net which will help them to focus on their study.
6. School management should provide visual library to encourage the students to use internet for academic work and counselors and other teachers should monitor and guild the students on how to get materials online.
7. The examination board and ministry of education should orientate the students on the benefits and aversion of the social media on academic performance
Suggestion for further Studies on the impact of social media on academic performance of secondary school students.
Further studies should be conducted to create more pages for research and academic activities to enable students to improve in their academic performance, thereby avoiding a distraction which leads to deviation from their academic work. Furthermore, access to the media should be made easy for students as an encouragement and should be for both the lecturers and students to meet up with the academic work. The scheme of work for the academic session should be placed online to enable the students get interested in academic activities.
References
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Asur, S. &. Huberman, B.A. (2010) Predicting the Future with Social Media. Social Computing Lab: HP Labs, Palo Alto, California..
Boyd, D.(2010) Taken Out of Context: American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics Berkeley, CA: Uniiversity of California; 2008.
Boyd, D.M. (2008). Why youth (heart) social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, identity, and digital media.The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Boyd, D.M., & Ellison, N.B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago: The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Ellison, N.B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites..
Englander, F., Terregrosa, R. & Wang, Z. (2010).Internet use among College Student : Tool or Toy? Educational Review.
Forste, R. (2011). The Wired Generation: Academic and Social Outcomes of Electronic Media Use Among University Students. Cyber Psychology Behaviour & SocialNetworking.
Greenhow, C., &Robelia, E. (2009). Old communication, new literacies: Social network sites as social learning resources. Journal of ComputerMediated Communication.