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Monday, April 29, 2013

Study Finds Social Media Use Can Hurt GPA

A report last year from the University of Toronto showed how using an electronic device in the classroom is a distraction not only for the student user but also for peers sitting nearby. Now, research from The Miriam Hospital’s Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine has found a link between social media use and poor academic performance.

Study participants said that social networking and watching television negatively affected their academic performance. At the same time, the researchers found that freshman women spent nearly 12 hours a day using one of the many forms of social media.

The study said students who spent the most time using social media had “fewer academic behaviors, such as completing homework and attending class, lower academic confidence, and more problems affecting their schoolwork, like lack of sleep and substance use.”

In addition, a 2011 study from e-textbook provider CourseSmart found that four in 10 college students said they couldn’t go 10 minutes without checking their mobile device. Ninety-eight percent of the students surveyed owned a digital device, with 85% claiming the device saved time while studying.

The Miriam Hospital report also found that listening to music and reading the newspaper were the two media-related activities linked to higher grade-point averages.