Social Networking & Students' Grades...

Thursday, January 7, 2010, 11:37

Many parents are worried that their kids are spending a lot of time on social networking sites, which in turn is affecting their academic performance. However a new study suggests its contrast to its assumption. It seems students who heavily engage in social networking do just as well academically as students who are less interested in keeping in touch with the medium.

Social media is being integrated with rather than interfering with students" academic lives. College students have grown up with social networks, and the study shows they are now simply part of how students interact with each other with no apparent impact on grades. Facebook and YouTube are the most popular social media platforms with college students, with 96 percent of students saying they use Facebook and 84 percent saying they use YouTube.

Only 20 percent said they use blogs, 14 percent use Twitter, 12 percent use MySpace and 10 percent use LinkedIn.

The research team from the University of New Hampshire, headed by professor Chuck Martin conducted the study. The survey involving 1,127 UNH students found no correlation between the amount of time students spend using social media and their grades. Grades followed similar distributions for all colleges, with the majority of students having As and Bs.

Sixty-three percent of heavy users received high grades, compared to 65 percent of light users. The researchers found similar results with lower grades. While 37 percent of heavy users of social media received what were defined as lower grades, 35 percent of light users received fell into that same category.