Can too much social networking result in a Facebook fail?
By Dave Jeyes
As more teens log onto social networking sites such as Facebook, evidence is cropping up that students that use these sites perform worse at school. Will net-savvy parents begin placing restrictions on use of the site instead of grounding?
A study by Ohio State University found that users of the Facebook social networking service studied less and earned poorer marks than other students. This could mean that Facebook users spend too much time interacting with friends online and not enough studying.
While 79 percent of the students claimed that social networking didn’t interfere with their studies, the evidence suggests the two are related. OSU Doctoral student and co-author of the study Aryn Karpinski says, “there’s a disconnect between students’ claim that Facebook use doesn’t impact their studies, and our finding showing they had lower grades and spent less time studying.”
Not surprisingly, the students most likely to spend time socializing on Facebook are future technology and business workers. Science, technology, engineering, math and business majors were more likely to use Facebook than students of social sciences or humanities.
While there isn’t a case that suggests that Facebook is directly responsible for anyone failing classes yet, it could certainly contribute to a student’s poor performance. The trick might be curbing a Facebook fanatic’s usage to ensure it doesn’t affect study habits.
One method that could become popular among parents and school administrators is to restrict students’ access to Facebook. Blocking access to Facebook could become the 21st century answer to taking away a child’s phone privileges or grounding them.
The flip side of this argument is that socializing online could help improve networking skills that are critical to success in the business world. Do you think that networking with their friends online will hamper students’ ability to become successful in the long run?
Related:
Entry was posted
on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
under
Read more entries by Dave Jeyes.
Stumble It!
