Social networking sites use and college students’ academic performance: testing for an inverted U-shaped relationship using automated mobile app usage data

LiveMore ScreenLess’s Summary

Given the pervasiveness of social media use by college students, it is necessary to understand its relationship to academic performance. Earlier studies have relied on self-reporting, which is notably  inconsistent. Other studies examined the issue in linear terms, ignoring the potential moderating role of the intensity of social networking sites use. Drawing on contrasting arguments in the literature predicting positive and negative effects of social networking use on college students’ academic performance, this study  proposes an inverted U-shaped relationship. 

Data on social networking use was collected in this study not by self-reporting, but by having college students install a tracking app on their smartphones for 1 week; this was then compared with academic performance data from internal college records.

Two main theoretical perspectives are put forth in the literature to explain the relationship between social networking use and college students’ academic performance: the time-displacement/multitasking argument versus the collaborative learning argument.

Time displacement is over misuse of time that should be focusing on academic matters, while the multitasking explanation suggests that attending to two or more tasks at the same time can result in cognitive overload. 

The contrasting perspective holds that social media can be harnessed to facilitate collaborative learning and create a more constructive learning engagement.  Students  become active partners in the process of exchanging information and solving problems, which increases their overall learning and academic performance.

The inverted U-shaped relationship fits the data better than a linear relationship. The turning point on the inverted U-shaped regression curve occurred at 88.87 min, suggesting that spending up to 88.87 min daily on social networking sites (about an hour and a half) is positively associated with students’ academic performance, while spending more than 88.87 min daily on social networking sites is negatively associated with students’ academic performance.

Used modestly, social networking sites are positively associated with students’ academic performance. Social networking sites have been shown to facilitate collaborative learning, sharing course material, and interacting with each other and their instructors.

Heavy use of social networking sites interferes with students’ academic activities, by  diverting time away from crucial academic tasks or to multi-task, which will eventually hamper their academic performance. Heavy use can degenerate into compulsive behavior, such as excessive use and addiction, which can detriment not only students’ academic performance but also their overall well-being.