Spring Break
Students disagree on Facebook study
Amber Wertman
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: Features
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"Early findings show that over 85 percent of undergraduates use Facebook, compared to 52 percent of graduate students," according to an article published in livescience.com.
The study, performed on students at Ohio State University, also shows that Facebook users' grade point averages were in the 3.0 to 3.5 range, compared to 3.5 to 4.0 for non-users.
The article also states that Facebook users have lower overall grades than non-users, according to a survey of college students who said that the website does not interfere with the studying.
Jerry Cook, assistant family and consumer sciences professor, agrees with this theory, but points out a few problems with the study.
"It points out that people don't prioritize.... It's not a strong methodology," he said. "Those who are graduate students are less likely to use Facebook."
He said there is no cause and effect, just a simple relationship.
"Just because there is a relationship, doesn't mean it's directly related," he said. "Facebook is a distraction. But just like anything else, the more time you put into something the less time you have for something else."
The study attributes bad grades solely on Facebook and not other social networks.
"Students who spend more time enjoying themselves rather than studying might tend to latch onto the nearest distraction, such as Facebook. Or students who use the social networking might also spend more time on other non-studying activities such as sports or music," Hsu wrote.
Thanh Nguyen, junior liberal studies major, said there is no excuse for bad grades.
"I don't think people should use Facebook as an excuse, people should have their priorities straight," he said. "It should be Facebook over college, every time."
Cook, himself a Facebook user, said the social networking site could cause more serious problems than just low grades.
"Being on Facebook too much can cause inter-relationship problems," he said. "But then again, I think time away from homework can be related to so many other things like video games and chat rooms."
Some students find Facebook addicting and distracting.
Rachel Carlton, junior business major, said she checks her Facebook at least twice a day.
"It's so addicting; when I turn on my computer that's usually the first thing I do," she said. "Facebook ruins everything."
Carlton said she uses Facebook for social and homework purposes.
"For me, it's an easier way to locate people I have class with on Facebook than SacCT most times," she said. "It's a better, faster way to connect and get important information."
Kevin Wehr, assistant sociology professor, said he is friends with many of his students on Facebook.
"I think it's self-selection biased. In my experience, students who contact me on Facebook don't have low grades," he said. "More than anything the students I see doing poorly are texting in class and aren't entirely present."
Other Sac State students hardly ever use Facebook and find the networking tool only somewhat distracting.
Julio Gutierrez, freshman communication studies major, said he uses Facebook to organize study groups.
"I don't think Facebook takes away from my study time," he said. "A lot of times I use it to network and get study groups together."
Trista Tugman, junior psychology major, said addiction depends on what kind of person you are.
"It's very easy for people to get sucked into Facebook," she said. "But for me, homework always comes first."
Sabrina Vetter, senior communication studies major, said her grades are exactly the same as before she had Facebook.
"I've had Facebook for about five years now and I maybe check it once a day," she said. "But I don't think it has affected my grades at all; they have always been A's and B's, and they haven't changed."
Vetter said she agrees with the study though, and can see how someone might get lower grades because of Facebook.
"I think a lot of people are overly dedicated to Facebook, just because it has so many features and I see people spending hours on it."
Armando Perez, sophomore anthropology major, said he understands how easy it is to become addicted to Facebook.
"I'm not addicted, but I've seen other people at school using the computer to check their Facebook," he said. "If there's (an) Internet connection, people will check it; it's just a habit, but not for me."
While he said he doesn't use Facebook much, he does say his grades could be better if he wasn't on MySpace as often.
"I think my grades could be better if I didn't go on MySpace as much," he said. "My grades were better before I got MySpace for sure; that's where all my distractions are."
According to the article, the research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association on April 16.
Amber Wertman can be reached at awertman@statehornet.com
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