Facebook Aficionados Study Less
by Motte Brown on 04/13/2009 at 3:40 PM
Researchers have found that college students who use Facebook make a grade lower than their peers who shun the site. And you don't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to figure out why. It's because they're too distracted with friending, updating, chatting, poking, flairing, and sharing.
“Our study shows people who spend more time on Facebook spend less time studying,” said Aryn Karpinski, a researcher in the education department at Ohio State University. “Every generation has its distractions, but I think Facebook is a unique phenomenon.” ...
The Ohio report shows that students who used Facebook had a “significantly” lower grade point average -- the marking system used in US universities -- than those who did not use the site.
A student in the UK shares her story of how distracting -- and destructive -- it can be.
Daisy Jones, 21, an undergraduate in her final year at Loughborough University, realised the time she was spending on Facebook was threatening her grades -- prompting her to deactivate her account.
“I was in the library trying to write a 2,000-word essay when I realised my Facebook habit had got out of hand,” she said.
“I couldn’t resist going online. You do that, then someone’s photo catches your eye. Before you know it, a couple of minutes has turned into a couple of hours and you haven’t written a thing.” Jones is among the few to have recognised the risks. According to Karpinski’s research, 79% of Facebook-using students believed the time they spent on the site had no impact on their work.
That "a couple of minutes has turned into a couple of hours" thing affects more than just students. Pursuits ranging from work to Bible study to homemaking to family time can suffer from an unchecked Facebook habit.
1. BDB said the following at 3:49 PM on Apr 13:
Ironically, once people get a job, they can be more productive, according to this study.
Of course, I'm of a certain age that cannot possibly fathom why people are constantly on their cell phones or texting each other. Perhaps it was good that e-mail, cell phones etc. etc became widespread only after I finished college.
2. Simon said the following at 4:17 PM on Apr 13:
Thanks Motte.
I had to laugh when at the end of the blog post I saw the link to "Share on Facebook".
3. mindlab said the following at 4:30 PM on Apr 13:
correlation is not causation. . .
duh. That's because the people who are inclined to shun such a popular tool are the standouts and highly motivated students. I'm certain you could acquire similar statistics comparing GPA to whether or not the student makes their bed every morning.
4. Emily in MS said the following at 4:40 PM on Apr 13:
Then there's those of us who wouldn't dream of wasting time on Facebook, but manage to waste plenty of it browsing the terrific article archives here on Boundless . . .
5. SJ said the following at 4:56 PM on Apr 13:
As stated above, correlation is not causation. I suspect that even if Facebook didn't exist, those who were distracted by the popular website would probably find something else to divert their attention with.
6. Leah said the following at 5:30 PM on Apr 13:
I got a good GPA (yes Australia uses GPAs too). Granted I only discovered Facebook in the last few weeks of my university degree but it was right before exams and my final assignments lol. Could I have gotten a better GPA? Doubt it. My grades got (almost) consistently better over the 6 semesters I studied.
My sister has facebook and is doing an engineering degree. She's not getting fantastic marks but in engineering, a 'pass' is an achievement. I know plenty of smart, hard-working guys who spend very little time on facebook (if any) who have failed classes in that degree.
7. amerrychase said the following at 6:38 PM on Apr 13:
I deactivated my account so I'd have fewer things to 'check on' when procrastinating. It worked for awhile, but I just found another frequently updated site to waste time with. It might be worse than ever now. *sigh*
8. BJ said the following at 7:38 PM on Apr 13:
It's important for facebook to be kept in proper perspective. It's my only connection with some of my overseas friends, but it can become a time consumer if not kept in check.
btw, I'm a senior biology major w/ a 4.0 who is on facebook... i guess there are always exceptions.
9. Chris said the following at 7:51 PM on Apr 13:
Pfft. Big deal. People who choose to do something other than study get lower grades than those who do not do that something else. Replace "Facebook" with your choice:
a) video games
b) texting
c) fishing
d) DVDs of Torchwood
e) comic book conventions
f) Dungeons and Dragons (actually, I believe this may actually correlate with good grades, but you get the point)
g) ....
....
z) Engelbert Humperdink fanatic websites
10. Kate said the following at 8:02 PM on Apr 13:
mindlab #3 said, "I'm certain you could acquire similar statistics comparing GPA to whether or not the student makes their bed every morning." LOL!
I didn't get on facebook until the later half of my undergrad career. It's hard to say for sure if it would have made a difference or not in the beginning, but I definitely procrastinated without it by IMing, looking at pictures online, blogging, hanging out, playing games, going for walks, going to events, etc. Sometimes those procrastinations took as large a chunk of time without my realizing it as this article describes, but I always got my assignments done. I graduated with a 3.9... so I don't know what that says about this study, especially since I did have facebook (and many other "distractions") during the last 2(?) years of it.
Facebook is not the problem, the problem is people's poor time management!
11. EKB said the following at 8:02 PM on Apr 13:
Interesting study. I agree with SJ though; correlation does not imply causation. It is very possible that less serious students are more drawn to social networking sites in the first place.
12. Louise from Chicago said the following at 8:12 PM on Apr 13:
Doesn't surprise me one bite!
But, I still wish the internet had existed during my college years/twenties decade!
:)
13. KJ said the following at 8:41 PM on Apr 13:
mindlab and SJ may be onto something here - when I was in college the internet was new and facebook didn't exist, but I managed to kill an awful lot of hours playing solitaire and whack-a-mole, or reading stupid forwards that people sent, or entertaining myself on a word processor with the fantasy that I could be a published author one day, or taking naps, or chatting with real people mindlessly for hours, or looking up all the existing archives of the devotional that we'd used in my high school Bible study...well, you get the picture.
14. O from Canada said the following at 9:19 PM on Apr 13:
Like others have said, correlation is not causation. It is mainly that a lot of people who like to procrastinate or are possibly easily distracted will like Facebook and use it as a means to feed that procrastination. If it wasn't Facebook it would be YouTube videos or something else.
15. Keith said the following at 7:40 AM on Apr 14:
Great article !!!
It is unbelievable how much time people waste on facebook and television. HOw many hours are not spent in the Word or spending time with family and friends?
16. Michael said the following at 7:58 AM on Apr 14:
Exactly. The problem isn't a website or sport, or anything else. It's people learning to control their own desires, emotions, and self control. Facebook can be an incredible way to stay in touch with family or friends without the expense of phone calls or waiting for letters (does anyone even write those anymore?). But like everything else, we decide if we control it or let it control us.
17. NeedACatchyName said the following at 8:02 AM on Apr 14:
I think Mindlab is right in #3. If I had to guess*, I'd say it's not so much a matter of "Facebook causes people to not study" as "not studying causes people to Facebook." There's always some popular time-waster that students use to avoid studying. And college students are great at finding ways to avoid studying. I'm willing to bet that if you locked your average college student in a room with a paddle ball and their books and told them to study, most of them would just get really good at the paddle ball and there would be headlines all over the place complaining about lower grade point averages amongst paddle ball players. :)
* Though of course this is only a guess, because as I have noted before, you can't determine causation from a statistical survey.
18. Todd said the following at 8:31 AM on Apr 14:
Uh, like, no duh. Someone needs to commission a study on why schools need to commission such silly studies in the first place.
19. Charlotte C. said the following at 9:41 AM on Apr 14:
Honestly, facebook. Why does Boundless always have to talk about facebook as if it's evil. Okay maybe not evil, but something similar to evil. I use facebook to keep in touch with friends that are overseas and I'm not addicted LOL I don't think facebook is all that bad and besides, I barely log in to it most of the time.
I spend more time on Boundless than any other site and I don't want to blame Boundless if I don't get good grades. It'd be wrong and bias.
It's responsibility for one's time (time management), self-control and proper organization, etc.. And you know, if it's not facebook then it could be something else. Some people waste a lot of time doing other things that waste just as much. Saying that facebook is the only reason for low grades is bias.
This research makes me think that some people are just blaming something else for something they couldn't do by themselves. It's not a surprise.
The real nitty gritty is manage your time and control yourself! It says in the Bible to not let anything take away your self control.
20. Andrea-Elena said the following at 9:50 AM on Apr 14:
When I was a college student, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was the big distraction. (White text scrolling on black background... back before my alma mater got the Web with graphics.) Or Mortal Kombat or MTV in the student center. (Ah, the days of grunge... and plaid flannel shirts. *snicker*)
I agree... If one wants to do something other than homework/studying, then one is going to find anything to distract himself.
I often resorted to cleaning out closets or drawers when avoiding writing essays and papers. =P
21. BDB said the following at 11:16 AM on Apr 14:
Let's see...conducting a review of FB friends, it looks like the people who use it the most are moms posting pictures of their kids...and students posting pictures of themselves at parties.
I suspect that FB is simply a tool adopted by those who like to party - and now they can document it.
Even before FB, these students got lower grades...
22. Hannah C. said the following at 11:47 AM on Apr 14:
As a current college student, I can tell you that it's not Facebook which is the problem; it's students who really don't want to do their work in the first place using Facebook as a distraction, or allowing themselves to be distracted. If it wasn't Facebook it would be something else. Facebook is just incredibly good for it.
I have a Facebook account and one of the highest GPAs among my friends. Then again, I currently share internet with my roommate and only one of us can be on at a time..and she's on a lot more than I am, so maybe this is part of it? No online distractions for me! :)
(as i write this in class...shhh. It's a computer class, we haven't started yet.)
23. Mike Theemling said the following at 12:01 PM on Apr 14:
Piggybacking on what Chris(#9) said, I wonder if Boundless will now demonize Facebook and other social networking sites like they did with video games.
But oh, wait. Video games are somehow "different" than other forms of entertainment. 3 hours a day of video games are a red flag but 3 hours of a day of TV or in this case, social networking/browsing isn't.
Yeah, the "Share on Facebook" and "Be friends with Boundless" link on the side does give some ironic humor.
24. Lis said the following at 1:25 PM on Apr 14:
i really like facebook. it has been a great way to keep in contact with friends and family while i am at school. what matters is that it just does not become an obsession.
25. Tamara (from Canada) said the following at 2:20 PM on Apr 14:
I have to agree with the many who have said that is doesn't just have to be Facebook. Even just the four or five years ago or so that I was in college Facebook wasn't the thing to be on, and believe me, there were still things you could do to waste time rather than studying. Facebook just happens to be the common distraction chosen today. Let's not "demonize" something that can be a valuable tool for keeping in touch with distant family and friends.
I also know many current college students who are on Facebook for whom it's not a distraction. Just as with email and other things, they have set themselve a limit on how much time they spend on Facebook. And, through their own self-discipline, they stick to it.
26. Celebrindal said the following at 3:37 PM on Apr 14:
Speaking as a grad student with a 4.0 GPA who just recently opened a Facebook account, Facebook can be either a good tool for keeping in touch/making new friends or a time-waster. It depends on how you use it. Like watching tv, reading, talking on the phone, or a million other things it can be used or abused. A person who is self-disciplined enough to be able to say no to distracting activities will not have their grades negatively impacted by having a Facebook account. On the other hand, people who are easily distracted should probably not have one if they want to get good grades. I joined because I wanted to keep in touch with my friends from school after I graduate in May. I never had the time (or the inclination) to mess with a Facebook account as an undergrad. However, I think I know how to manage my time well enough by now to be able to have an account without abusing it.
27. Esther said the following at 8:07 PM on Apr 14:
I find this amusing for several reasons:
1. When I was in college (not that long ago) facebook wasn't invented, and the major time waster was IM. I only had it for about 2 weeks before realizing that it was distracting for me, and shut it down.
2. I don't know if anyone keeps track of these things, but I haven't been posting here for a while because I gave up Boundless for Lent. Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but I spend more time here reading stuff and responding to comments than I do on facebook or anywhere else, and the minutes add up quickly. So, while I find the site encouraging and inspiring in some ways, I also felt that I was somewhat more effective in my time management when I wasn't always "just checking" to see what the latest blog post is.
28. Leah said the following at 8:09 PM on Apr 14:
Andrea-Elena (20) - bahahahaha... my 15 year old sister calls IRC "Caveman MSN". It makes me laugh so much. I don't use IRC but my 19 year old engineering-student sister does.
29. beatrice81 said the following at 10:36 PM on Apr 14:
Wow, I'm really surprised to hear that not studying leads to lower grades. And that people who are easily distracted and lack discipline don't tend to do as well in college as those who are focused and displined.
Of course, it has zero to do with Facebook, other than to provide a Boundless editor with a convenient prop. In fact, let's test it. Let's let one student fritter away 20 hours a week on Facebook, while another student fritters away 20 hours playing Christian music or doing 'children's ministry' in the church basement. Both students will suffer from a loss of 20 hours that they could have spent studying.
30. Jo said the following at 8:51 AM on Apr 15:
So, I turned on the computer about half an hour ago. I checked my email, then I spent about a minute on Facebook, then I came to Boundless and I've been here ever since. What does that say about me, I wonder?
31. sarah elizabeth said the following at 11:50 AM on Apr 15:
I finished undergrad with a good gpa while having facebook. I am currently succeeding in grad school while having facebook.
There are times where I find myself having wasted an inordinate amount of time on there. HOwever, in comparison to other time wasting things, I find it to be less.
I can easily spend less time being distracted on FB than if I had sat down to watch a tv program or movie.
I spend less time distracted that if I had gone out with friends.
I spend less time distracted than if I decide to check out the boundless posts such as these becasue it takes time to read through all the responses! Im pretty sure if I were a regular boundless poster/reader, I would spend much more time on boundless than FB easily!
32. Winn ftw! said the following at 3:05 PM on Apr 15:
I've had a Facebook since Jan 2005, but don't think it made much of a difference in my GPA. I hadn't even remembered I had an account until May 2005 (after a coworker mentioned the site). I tried recreating an account then, when it popped up that I already had an existing account! With all the many ways to stay in touch with people, Facebook is mighty convenient. For someone like myself who is long distance from ALL close family and friends, sometimes checking Facebook is just plan cheaper than making a long distance phone call. However, you always do need to remember to balance out your online time with family time, that can get tricky at times :).
33. Ariana said the following at 4:12 PM on Apr 15:
Interesting, though I wouldn't attach much significance to the findings since nowadays everyone and their mother is on facebook (literally!)--including people who graduated as valedictorians and summa cum laude, etc. And everyday I keep running into old university professors who are joining the site.
34. Leah said the following at 7:49 PM on Apr 15:
beatrice 81 - well perhaps you can do several hours of 'children's ministry' each week to free up the uni students who should apparently be studying.
I'm not saying anything against facebook, I love it, but at least kids' ministry leaders are doing something eternally beneficial with their time. And what's with putting it in quotation marks, as if it's not a real ministry?
If impacting kids' lives with the message of Jesus means dropping a few marks here and there, so be it. I'm sure Jesus would rather you're serving him and getting a GPA of 4 than not serving him and getting a GPA of 5.
35. Rachael said the following at 9:26 PM on Apr 15:
Wow, a GPA of 5? Does that happen in Australia?
36. Morgan said the following at 9:33 PM on Apr 15:
Facebook let me acquire all my friends' addresses to send out wedding invitations in about two days time, saving me much time. What a productivity booster!
But really, silly study. I hate correlation studies because too many people don't understand the nature of research and misinterpret the results. #3 and #9 said it best.
37. Bruce said the following at 10:31 PM on Apr 18:
This study is the dumbest crap I've ever seen. It's obviously spurious reasoning. They could have just as easily come to the conclusion that people who don't study are more likely to join a social network. Since I started using facebook 2 years ago, my GPA has gone from a 3.8 to a 4.1 so this proves to be incorrect in my personal life as well. Facebook doesn't cause people to not study. People decide to not study and find something else to do with their time. All this proves is that people who don't like to sit at home studying are more likely to be social people.
38. Leah said the following at 11:46 PM on May 4:
Rachael - the top GPA in Australia (at my uni in any case) is a 7. I don't know anyone who's ever gotten a 7. You have to get straight High Distinctions for that.
High Distinction - 7
Distinction - 6
Credit - 5
Pass - 4
Fail - 1.5
An average 3 year degree consists of 24 subjects, so you'll get 24 marks. You average out your marks to figure out your GPA.
eg. If you get 7 passes, 10 credits, 5 distinctions and 2 high distinctions, that means (7x4) + (10x5) + (5x6) + (2x7) = 122
122/24 = GPA of 5.08
So like I said to beatrice81, I'm sure Jesus would rather you're serving him and getting a GPA of 4 (Pass average) than not serving him and getting a GPA of 5 (Credit average).
There is a common catch phrase here... "Ps get degrees". It basically means all you have to do is pass to get your degree! Sure if you're failing maybe you need to cut back the ministries you're serving in. But if you're passing- and passing comfortably, maybe pulling credits, distinctions, even high distinctions - then I think it is fair enough to perhaps sacrifice a few marks here and there (perhaps getting a credit instead of distinction) if it means you're also serving in your church. God commands us to serve him... he never commands us to get a high GPA.
39. Ted Slater said the following at 11:55 PM on May 4:
What a strange world. When I went to school, a "4" was a perfect grade. I don't know how to even process a ... what? ... 7?
GPAs have become meaningless....
40. DannieA said the following at 12:24 AM on May 5:
uh Ted....I'll let you in on a secret...GPAs are meaningless....when you get into the workfield you could be working next to a person that had a 2.0 GPA....and oh my goodness...you all make the same money!
41. BDB said the following at 1:08 AM on May 5:
Apparently, it requires an algebraic equation to process a 7.
Oh, I see it now:
A = 7
B = 6
C = 5
D = 4
F = 1.5
Not sure why anything is recorded for a fail.
42. Leah said the following at 6:03 PM on May 5:
DannieA- GPAs aren't meaningless. It depends on your degree and the job you're after, but I've definitely seen jobs advertised where they require, say, a Bachelor of Engineering with a GPA of at least 5.
As for Ted's assertion that GPAs are meaningless... no, just different between countries. That really doesn't matter.