Background Research
Before we started our survey, we decided to do research
on our topic using Google. We were searching for previous
studies that investigated the relationship between time
spent on Facebook and grade point average. We entered
searches such as “Is the amount of time spent on
Facebook related to G.P.A.” In result, we found many
websites that have done studies on our topic. Almost all
of the websites we frequented discussed the findings of
Dr. Reynol Junco.
The first source
(http://www.dailydot.com/news/facebook-studying-rey-junco-gpa/),
we found conducted a study of 1,839 undergraduate
students and found that the number of times a student
checked facebook was not strongly related to their
G.P.A. The website also mentions another study done by
Dr.Rey Junco that used a larger student sampling. He
found “Facebook use in and of itself is not detrimental
to academic outcomes, it depends on how it is used.
Using facebook for socializing is negatively related to
G.P.A. while using Facebook for collecting and sharing
information is positively related.”
This website we found,
(http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_60e9120a-f620-11e0-9e52-001cc4c03286.htm),
also discussed the study conducted by Dr. Rey Junco.
This website has the same information as the previous
website, only with more in-depth interviews of the
surveyed students. The website also says that there is a
negative correlation with posting status updates on
Facebook and grades. Junco also found that some
different Facebook activities had a positive correlation
with grades, such as sharing links.
This website,
(http://www.ehow.com/info_8580342_facebook-use-its-impact-gpa.html),
discussed an unpublished study done by Aryn Karpinski.
In her study, she interviewed 219 undergraduate and
graduate students regarding their grades and Facebook
usage. Karpinski found that students who used Facebook
had significantly lower grade point averages than those
who did not. Almost a whole letter grade in some cases.
She concluded that the probable causes of the
significant differences in grade point averages was due
to too much time spent online and not enough studying,
along with the declination of the English language from
overuse of “tech speak” and the procrastination that
comes with social networking websites.
On this website,
(http://www.psu.edu/dept/medialab/researchpage/newabstracts/facebook.html),we
found a similar study researched by three undergraduate
students at Penn State University. In their study they
had a 40 question survey sent out to 152 participants,
99 females and 53 males, comparing the amount of time
they spent on multiple social networking sites to their
G.P.A. Like us, they thought that there would be a
negative correlation between the amount of time spent on
social networking sites with G.P.A. However, they found
surprising results. In their conclusion they found that
people who spent over 90 minutes a day on a social
networking site, in fact had a higher G.P.A. so they
found it to have a positive correlation.