The results of this study don't surprise me as I too fall victim to the distractions of social media at times. I, however, was surprised at the large amount of those studied who say that they spend 6-8 hours a day checking social media sites. I find 6-8 hours a day on social media to be pretty overboard, but in the end it is the user's choice to decide how much time they want to dedicate to social media. And while social media is a distraction for most college students, it is nice to have to stay in contact with friends and family and share experiences.
I kind of expected these results to turn out the way they did as well. I remember a time when I used to put in more than 4 hours cumulative time throughout the day to check facebook, blogs, gaming sites and such, but these days I try to cut that down by only checking once or twice a day, usually the beginning and the end of my day. The majority of my time on the net is usually spent on news sites, like CNN, MSN, and the like. Facebook is on my backlog usually, and i only check it if i want to post something i think if either funny or quippy, and that doesn't usually happen too often. LONG STORY SHORT, I can easily believe that this much time is wasted on a national level on social media. Kids younger than 10 nowadays have their own facebook pages. When I think about it, most of the time really is wasted while looking at facebook, because we always keep refreshing or going through people's useless statuses. It keeps the mind awake and asleep at the same time. And to be honest, there are times when that can be ok. It all depends on the person and what they do with their own time that makes a difference. Painting with broad strokes of such a study may give a general idea to the national status, but one must remember there are always exceptions to the rule.
The article presents some interesting data and is well cited with other research that supports the conclusion that too much social media is detrimental for college student success. I think it’s important to realize that data sample was limited to 48. This sample size was not adequately evaluated to cross-reference the interactions of the groupings of hours of social media usage, the age/grade level and the resulting grades of the students. Undoubtedly, I agree that 6-8 hours of social media will have effects on college students. I also agree that their 14.4% error rate for 48 students might affect their results.
The article presents some interesting data and is well cited with other research that supports the conclusion that too much social media is detrimental for college student success. I think it’s important to realize that data sample was limited to 48. This sample size was not adequately evaluated to cross-reference the interactions of the groupings of hours of social media usage, the age/grade level and the resulting grades of the students. Undoubtedly, I agree that 6-8 hours of social media will have effects on college students. I also agree that their 14.4% error rate for 48 students might affect their results.
I would like to see a more extensive study done that can show the correlation of usage to grades and beyond, possibly even employment success after graduation. With the consideration of gathering data at several points of time it might be the case that negative grades from over usage prompts less usage and higher grades at later dates. I would assume that as students move through college they adjust their social media usage as they experiences the effects of their time dedication.
After reading through this study I think it is pretty flawed. They have a small sample size and a very large sampling error to be able to draw any definitive conclusions. Common sense dictates that a student who spends all day on social media sites will probably not do as well as a student who uses that same time to study and focus on school. However, I don't think it is accurate to say there is a direct correlation between social media usage specifically and grades. They cited studies that found no correlation also. I would argue that many of these students who spend 6 - 8 hours per day on social media sites would still not be good students if they didn't have access to FB, Twitter, and Youtube. Instead they would use that time texting, playing games, surfing the web, or any of a number of things that cause the same results.
I'm not surprised the results of the survey turned out they did. Social media has evolved so quickly and so much that many people are using it on a daily basis(sometimes for countless hours). Lots of times social media can become a distraction for college students, making them less productive. I know there used to be plenty of times where Social Media was a reason for me to put off studying or doing homework. I have gotten better at not letting social media be a distraction while i'm studying though.
I'm not surprised the results of the survey turned out they did. Social media has evolved so quickly and so much that many people are using it on a daily basis(sometimes for countless hours). Lots of times social media can become a distraction for college students, making them less productive. I know there used to be plenty of times where Social Media was a reason for me to put off studying or doing homework. I have gotten better at not letting social media be a distraction while i'm studying though.
The fact that social media is a huge part of young people's lives is not surprising, but some of the statistics from this study were a little shocking to me. I will admit that when I was in middle school and part of high school I probably used Facebook and other social networking sites way more than I should have in a day. However, now that I'm in college I would say my activity levels with social networking sites has decreased by at least fifty percent; there are just too many things to do in a day with school, work, friends, etc. Furthermore, I wonder if the fact that many of these social networking sites became popular when I was younger has anything to do with why I spent so much time using them back then compared to now. By now I don't feel the need to check Facebook or Twitter every couple of minutes because I did enough of that in middle school. However, for younger kids who are just now "old enough" to start using social networking sites or apps on cellphones, the intrigue is still overpowering and most likely affects school work. I know for a fact that my twelve year old nephew who just got a phone and has access to a few social networking sites spends way more time on them than I do because they're new to him. I believe that this trend will continue to progress as our technology progresses.
I would say to an extent it would be true of myself. I am easily distracted as it is and Facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. do cause a distraction at times but I'm not sure these cause negative distractions as much as they provide a little break from work to turn off my brain and dive into the virtual world. Once I have had my fill returning more rejuvenated to my work. I personally spend less than 6 hours in a day on social media, but I also don't know the full extent of what is considered social media. If Netflix, spotify, and general internet use are in those categories then I would fit right into that 6-8hours. If the premises are limited to Facebook, twitter etc. then the negative distractions are well under the 6 hours that most students in this study held as a minimum.
I would say to an extent it would be true of myself. I am easily distracted as it is and Facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. do cause a distraction at times but I'm not sure these cause negative distractions as much as they provide a little break from work to turn off my brain and dive into the virtual world. Once I have had my fill returning more rejuvenated to my work. I personally spend less than 6 hours in a day on social media, but I also don't know the full extent of what is considered social media. If Netflix, spotify, and general internet use are in those categories then I would fit right into that 6-8hours. If the premises are limited to Facebook, twitter etc. then the negative distractions are well under the 6 hours that most students in this study held as a minimum.
First I would like to know what extent they are considering social media or limiting it to. If the study is referring to simply social media on the basis of sites as Facebook, twitter, YouTube etc. then I would fall short of the 6 hours that is the minimum for the majority in this study. If music media such as spotify and Pandora are also considered in this then I will fall right into the 6-8hours within a day average. Of these are then considered I would argue against the findings of negative effects of social media. Using these engines I either can take a mind numbing break from my work and become more productive after returning to my task at hand. Music media, if considered, is the driving factor to help me truly focus on a task at hand. In my case I feel like the proper time use and self control can turn social media into a helpful tool rather than a distraction.
My experience has definitely been similar. Twitter distracts me almost daily. It's an addiction to an extent, but I greatly value much of what I get out of it. Some of it is trivial, but seeing certain world events unfold in real time is greatly rewarding. With that said, when I'm trying to study or focus on a task, I often use it as an excuse to not do what I should be. I check Facebook regularly, but I don't stay on it for more than a few minutes at a time. I love the instant access that I have to just about anything in the world, not to mention how easy it is to keep up with people that otherwise wouldn't be a normal part of my social experience.
The results of the study seemed about right as far as the copious usage of the social media sites. I know, for one, that I am guilty of using Facebook when I should be more productive, but I have cut it down quite significantly than I did in high school. With that being said, having the conflicting views of whether or not social media usage was detrimental to grades didn't really help shed any light. After all that, it seemed that the prognosis was that heavy usage "could hurt" one's grades. More of an extensive study would be helpful, as well as if certain social media sites could be more helpful or harmful to academics. Even now, courses here are integrating social media programs, i.e Connect, into the coursework.
While it would be expected that if a student spend 6-8 hours on social media sites, I believe that many of these people over-estimate the amount of time they actually spend engaged on these sites. Now if they were asked to keep a detailed log of just when they were on a site, which site, and for how long, a better impression could be made for how much time was actually spent on these distracting social outlets. Honestly, since I neither have facebook, twitter or any of these other distractions, I find it hard to imagine that I could be devoting 6-8 hours of a day to check them, or be on them. I think if they wanted to get a more accurate picture of social media habits and the effect on school studies, they should take the time to get more samples, to reduce the error of their sample size, and also maybe get a little more in depth on just how much time is spent checking these activities. Sometimes what feels like hours has been only a few minutes, and conversely, what feels like a few minutes has turned into hours wasted.
I was very surprised to find that 45% of the participants spent 6-8 hours on social media sites. For that group, I can see why social media could be deemed a "distraction". However, the majority of my friends spent very little time using social media sites. Personally, I use social media when I'm bored but I rarely find myself logging in for more than 10 minutes a day.
Social Media and my life do not get along well, because social media for me is a recipe for procrastination. I discontinued my use of social media for that reason, though I didn't spend anywhere close to 6-8 hours a day on it, which the study showed a lot of people doing. I do think that time spent on social media can be valuable if it is used to promote business, but in my life right now social media is for the most part a waste of time.
I am not surprised to see the results of this study. Social media is such a huge part of my generation's life. If anything, I expect the use of social media to increase even more.
With that said, I fall under the 12% who are on social media less than two hours each day. I get bored with it and skim through most of the information. But I do think that social media is important in the business world. Most people are on social media and it is easy for them to network and access information about businesses. If a business embraces social media and takes an active part in it, they can raise awareness of events or keep people in the loop about the business.
I have found that, in an academic environment, social media has no place. I, personally, do not consider an academic blog to be a social media source. I believe that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have diminished the quality of education received. I am generally a "back row of the class" inhabitant, and I can look up and see over half of the computer users on social media. It detracts attention away from the educator, and places the mind on external issues. It is a means of entertainment when a student should be focused on getting the education that they are there for.
Social media has the opportunity to be extremely beneficial to the college student or even a high school student. I could see asking for opinions on a paper topic being beneficial, or perhaps even discussing that day's current events (not the celebrity gossip) to enhance our understanding of the world we live in today. However, the issue arises that social media is not, and never will be used in this manner. Way too often I log into my social media accounts and see the trivialities of people's lives that I am not concerned with, nor have anything to do with my education. Who broke up with whom, "I'm so lonely", and "check out what I just got," are prime examples that we all despise and could very easily be guilty of. Social media poses the possibility for huge benefits in the educational process; however, if current standards hold, it will be extremely difficult to bring those benefits to fruition.
I think it is interesting that the study points to multitasking between social media and academics as a solely negative thing. In an alternate view, students' ability to monitor social media accounts while completing homework assignments or even during class may inadvertently be preparation for the professional workforce where multitasking is a crucial skill. Certainly, multitasking can take away from academics and be a negative influence on student performance, but I think it is important to note the possibility of developing professional skills as well.
I can't say I have much of a reaction to this study, given the small size of the sample. However, it is interesting to see how strong of a hold these social media sites seem to have on the students sampled. I would be interested to learn more about those students who are spending 6-8 hours per day on social media sites - are they particular to just one site, or are those users switching between many different sites? 6-8 hours on Facebook is completely different from 6-8 hours of watching YouTube videos with a friend. The authors mention sample size and time frame as potential problems with their results, but I think they would need to break things down further and actually look at the way these sites are being used to develop meaningful results. It would be useful to see if students may actually be benefiting from their social media usage, especially with resources such as Khan Academy available through these sites.
The claim that social networks are having a negative impact on college aged people because it would, "likely increase distraction of the students which can be detrimental to student performance," lacks evidence. First, this study was done in the form of an, "anonymous questionairre," so the results are nothing more than the opinions of the participants, not scientific date. Additionally, a study at the University of Illinois (Ariga & Lleras) indicates the exact opposite as far as distraction being detrimental. One of the authors of the Illinois study, Alejandro Lleras, summarizes the work by saying, "from a practical standpoint, our research suggests that, when faced with long tasks (such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes), it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task (sciencedaily.com)." Simply, taking brief breaks on social networks will improve productivity.
In conclusion, society has a habit of demonizing new things because they are new. I find technology remarkable. Currently, I have the ability to communicate with another human being, anywhere in the world, in seconds; however, in 1919, not even 100 years ago, it still took 19 days to get from one side of the Atlantic to the other(bluejacket.com). Until the day Google invents sentient robots that can drive cars, technology is helping us, not hurting us.
I am surprised by the outcome of this study. 6-8 hours seems like an excessive amount of time to be checking social media. The average American is awake 16 hours of the day. 6-8 hours is almost half of that time. The people studied were all college students and most had at least a part-time job. I am just trying to imagine if I spent 6 hours a day on social media. I couldn't do it! Sometimes I feel like my phone is glued to my hand, and I need to take a break from Facebook and instagram. However, it looks like I am not doing too bad on avoiding social media when compared to the students in this study. Even though I may not check social media 6-8 hours a day, I still try to enjoy the physical and who and what is happening around me rather than ignoring them to see what is going on online. For me, the people around me and the experiences I am having first-hand are more important than what I can see online.
I would say this research accurately describes my own experience as I am sure is true for most college students today. It says something about how driven we are to be constantly entertained. Rather than devoting your attention to any single one thing for a prolonged amount of time, such as school work. Anyone can get on a multimedia site like Facebook or Twitter and skim through thousands of different posts in the same amount of time or less. With age and maturity I think this need to be entertained at all times lessens. I find this true in myself as I have become a lot better at eliminating distractions like social media whenever I know I have to get something done.
I am absolutely not surprised that 57% of students claim utter distraction due to the social media onslaught. I love social media for the same reasons everyone else does, and my primary reason for it is stay connected to people all around the world that I love and have friendships with which would not be possible without it. BUT I do believe there is a time and a place for it and the reality is that "multi tasking" has become a cop out for not paying attention and/or not listening. This seems to have a negative affect both educationally as well as with interpersonal real life relationships. It was definitely an interesting read!
This was an interesting paper to read because it connects college education and social media, portraying the benefits and risks involved in the relationship. As a college student, it was interesting to see the numbers they reported. However, I do think it is important to remember that it is so easy to get the results you're looking for when doing research and writing a thesis paper, such as this one. The writers could have easily selected a certain sample group to portray the exact findings they wanted.
I personally found it really surprising that 45% of college students admitted to using 6-8 hours a day to check social media. That means that over 25% of their day is spent checking Facebook, instagram, Twitter, etc. Are they really learning anything or are they just reading entertaining buzzfeed lists and watching vine vidoes? In today's world, social media has almost become an addiction that people are drawn to in every moment of spare time. The results of this study aren't clear as to whether the time spent on social media effects the grades of college students or not, but I'm sure it does for most students. If we spent those spare moments studying or reading something relevant to our education, we would probably be far more knowledgable than we would be after a 20 minute check on social media.
In the paper, the authors cited this quote: “we need to keep in mind that the benefits of this interactive technology far outweigh the risks,” says Leri. “When it’s used in a positive way, it can be an extraordinary tool (Brydolf, 2007).” I agree with this statement- technology and social media can be used for extreme benefit in the workplace and classroom. The outcome (benefit or risk) is dependent on the specific user and type of use.
People obviously use their social media accounts way too much. I find myself checking facebook and twitter numerous times a day. My problem with this article is their attempted correlation between social media and grades. No hard evidence was presented and the sample size they used was very very small. All the survey proved was that students use social media a lot. I would be interested to know if students were checking social media sites while in class. I know this happens because I am guilty of this. A simple glance at my facebook during class causes me to ignore what the professor is lecturing over and I sometimes miss important information. This is likely what causes most of the problems and may result in lower grades.
Social Media is really affecting the way college students live their lives. In the past students might do more recreational activities. Now students are spending much more time in the computer world. Being involved in social media can be a good thing, this is true, but it can also take away from a lot of the beauty of our real world. I think if a person uses social media in a healthy way they would only check their media site only from an hour a day. I think social media can really help in getting a hold of people so they can meet together. I will plan group meetings on Facebook. It helps so much! If the time is abused it can be very distracting from the people around you that are not online. It can also be very distracting from classes. I have caught myself checking my email and Facebook in class, when I do this I can tell I missed some information the professor was telling me. It's easy to be distracted by social media during class, but that doesn't make it right. When I am at home and know I have homework I will open up my laptop. The first thing I usually do is open up my email and Facebook. I usually get distracted for longer than I had planned on it. It's important to monitor how much time is being spent in social media and coursework. It is just way to easy to be lost in the world of social media when its time to be in the real world.
Since I bring my laptop to class, I tend to check on my Facebook or twitter page more often. Nevertheless I always make sure to do my assignments and take notes during class. I think it is a matter of choice; if you want to do something useful, nobody can stop you from it.
Recently, i have read many articles about whether social media is distracting or not due to my academic studies. In my opinion, older generation in working industry more likely to agree the fact that social media is very distracting, and time wasting(Now, i am not making any statement here). I have always tried to see the pros and cons of the subject. I do often find myself distracted by mainly Facebook and Instagram, but since most of us realize how distracting social media can be, we should to learn how to use it efficiently. Because, can you imagine your life without all this social media? Because, i cannot. On the other hand, social media can be very useful. i always find random information i would never have known, and it is very convenient way to keep in touch with your family and friends. Social media is the easiest and fastest way to get some information most of the times. I am very aggressive person. Sometimes, social media inspires me when i see all these successful people of my generation. It keeps me updated. Also,social media can give you new ideas. i often catch myself spending too much time on Social Media as others(4-6 hours), but when i do, i know i am the only one to stop myself. i think Social Media can affect your grade unless you use it efficiently, and have some self discipline. It's all up to the person.
I think that it's okay to assume that social media outlets take away the attention of students in out of the classroom. However so, I don't believe that one can correlate the use of social media to cause a decrease in GPA, as the research has shown.
With that being said, I feel that pouring time into a social media outlet can be a fantastic way to network, learn, decompress, and reconnect whenever it's done in moderation. As far as deciding where to draw the line between where over consumption lies, I believe will vary from person to person and is completely situational.
In my own experience, I feel that I have ocassionaly fallen into the endless YouTube time warp when I was supposed to be working on an important assignment. Even so, I am not one to miss an assignment or deadline, and have been a successful student in my past 2 years of higher education.
All in all, I would say that the healthy amount of social media is completely situational and differs from human being to human being.
This study is astonishing on the results that were produced. It is shocking how much time students spend on social media sites daily. Personally, I do not spend much time on social media sites daily. Social media can be used for social networking with other students, which can be good but most are not using the sites for school purposes. I am guilty of using social media to procrastinate at times but I also use it to get into contact with other students. Students should not be using these sites while in class because it is distracting to not only yourself, but others as well.
I am a full-time college student and do not have I repeat DO NOT have time to interact on social media! I believe it just depends on the person and the amount of free time you have on your hands. The results were a little shocking. I thought it would be teenagers who spent 6-8 hours a day on facebook and twitter. I spend maybe 20-30 minutes a day tops on social media.
I wish the sample size was bigger - I think it would give a better idea as to the use of social media by college students and the effect on grades. I have a facebook account, but I get bored after about 30 minutes. I am surprised to see how long a person will stay on the social media site! I do not check my Facebook or LinkedIn account during class time, and I am not on there when I am doing homework. I use it more as a reward for when I get done with my homework. I do think that social media is a great way to stay connected to others when there is not much time between school, homework, work, and family. It is also a great way to ask for different people's advice from their experiences and share important experiences/knowledge with others.
I was very surprised to read that forty five percent of the people that answered the questionnaire admitted to spend 6 - 8 hours a day in social media. I wonder how the results would shift if they have also evaluated the data by segregating the population among students working full time/part time and not working. Also, I do believe that for international students the hours utilizing social media might be higher than for other students. It is very common to for people with family abroad to utilize social media, including Skype, as a way of keeping in touch with family members. Whereas the study mentioned that social media can negatively effect grades, it failed to demonstrate the actual data showing grades versus time spent in social media.
I am surprised at how many students stated they use social media 6-8 hours a day. I would tend to disagree with the results of the study as most of the students I was friends with did not utilize social media to that extent. I currently use social media 0-1 hour per day and it is spent half of the time for social interaction and the other half for finding information on news or current events. I think an expansion of not only the number of students surveyed but also the location of the students would be beneficial. I would also like to see questions related to when students use social media. It seems difficult to believe that 68% of students spend 6 hours or more on social media. It is hard to believe that those taking the survey had that much free time considering 61% have either a full time or part time job and are also attending school. I rarely have an hour of free time in my day.
Social media has become so easily accessible via tablets, laptops, and smartphones that it can easily distract any student. I'm shocked to hear that the majority of the study spent 6-8 hours per day viewing social media. That's almost a full-time job. However, the study does indicate that the majority of the population did not have a job which would allow a lot of time available for social media use. With the relationship of social media and grades, it's hard to define that relationship from the study with the sample size being small. The authors even admit of the large sample error. Also, if a student prioritizes checking social media over academic work, there's probably other factors that are not considered in this study. Personally, I check Facebook daily throughout the day and try not to let it interfere with my studies or my work.
Social media is a convenient way to network and keep in touch with old friends, but it's addictive properties make it not worth having, in my opinion. When it starts interfering with a student's work or someone's job is when it's time to cut back. Deleting my Facebook was a great decision! Glad to be in that 1% of students without one.
Like most commenters, I am not particularly surprised by this study's findings. However, what caught my attention more was the claim that use of social media sites improves users social and interpersonal skills. I am a relatively infrequent Facebook user, not because I can't control myself from procrastinating, but because I don't usually find the content particularly interesting or valuable. I frequently find myself frustrated with my peers who post messages or statuses that were very obviously drafted with no thought given to the audience that will be able to see their content.
One citation notes that, “Students who may be reluctant to speak up in class are participating in book discussion blogs and writing for real audiences. There are new Web tools emerging all the time that are enhancing learning (Brydolf, 2007).” While I'm all for participation in educational settings, however it's achieved, I think the distancing of a user's audience behind the screen of a social networking site can also be a crutch that allows people to post things without fully considering their audience and the potential fallout. We are bombarded with anecdotal evidence of this every time we hear about another Twitter scandal where someone has to retract a post or offer a public apology.
This article did not shock me at all. The statistics and numbers actually seemed right on par on my initial predictions. Social media has increased within the past 5 years. Now and days there is more than just facebook, there is now Vine, Twitter, and Instagram. Giving more options of what people choose to use. In fact with the help of Iphone it makes it ten times easier for people to be constantly checking these social medias. Also given the fact that these are college students, its very rare that you have not checked your Twitter account in class. Though I do agree that social media is a distraction for most college students, it is a nice way to take a 5 minute break from studying. It allows us to stay in contact from high school friends to people you meet across the world. No one ever said social media was bad, though maybe there is an excessive amount that is harmful, just like everything else.
I agree with several of the other comments posted here in that it is difficult to evaluate trends and reach a solid conclusion from such a small sample size. I am a little surprised to see that the "average" college student spends 6-8 hours using social media. I would have expected something at the 4-6 hour mark. Even still, I do not find this surprising as most college students are unemployed or only employed part time. With social media being reflected over such a large portion of the internet (think of everywhere you have seen a "Share" or "Like" button), coupled with the demographic's constant need to see what their friends are doing and share what they are doing, it is easy to see how such a large amount of time can be spent on these sites.
In my experience as an undergrad, there was a constant desire for most to check Facebook/Twitter when they were bored and when they welcomed distractions (e.g., when studying). As students sat in their dorm rooms and/or apartments, they were constantly wondering what everyone else was up to, so off to Facebook they went.
I agree with several of the other comments posted here in that it is difficult to evaluate trends and reach a solid conclusion from such a small sample size. I am a little surprised to see that the "average" college student spends 6-8 hours using social media. I would have expected something at the 4-6 hour mark. Even still, I do not find this surprising as most college students are unemployed or only employed part time. With social media being reflected over such a large portion of the internet (think of everywhere you have seen a "Share" or "Like" button), coupled with the demographic's constant need to see what their friends are doing and share what they are doing, it is easy to see how such a large amount of time can be spent on these sites.
In my experience as an undergrad, there was a constant desire for most to check Facebook/Twitter when they were bored and when they welcomed distractions (e.g., when studying). As students sat in their dorm rooms and/or apartments, they were constantly wondering what everyone else was up to, so off to Facebook they went.
I agree with several of the other comments posted here in that it is difficult to evaluate trends and reach a solid conclusion from such a small sample size. I am a little surprised to see that the "average" college student spends 6-8 hours using social media. I would have expected something at the 4-6 hour mark. Even still, I do not find this surprising as most college students are unemployed or only employed part time. With social media being reflected over such a large portion of the internet (think of everywhere you have seen a "Share" or "Like" button), coupled with the demographic's constant need to see what their friends are doing and share what they are doing, it is easy to see how such a large amount of time can be spent on these sites.
In my experience as an undergrad, there was a constant desire for most to check Facebook/Twitter when they were bored and when they welcomed distractions (e.g., when studying). As students sat in their dorm rooms and/or apartments, they were constantly wondering what everyone else was up to, so off to Facebook they went.
Looking at this study doesn't surprise me one bit. Since the rise of social media and the smart phone I find myself using social media sites throughout the day, looking at news, weather, sports, and keeping up with what my friends and relatives are up to. I see social media as more of a distraction as a college student, often seeing myself spaced out on my phone while I'm supposed to be studying. Some students see it as a break during those long study hours though and I can understand that. I'd say overall my interaction with social media as a student is not a good one.
Looking at this study doesn't surprise me one bit. Since the rise of social media and the smart phone I find myself using social media sites throughout the day, looking at news, weather, sports, and keeping up with what my friends and relatives are up to. I see social media as more of a distraction as a college student, often seeing myself spaced out on my phone while I'm supposed to be studying. Some students see it as a break during those long study hours though and I can understand that. I'd say overall my interaction with social media as a student is not a good one.
I am not surprised at the amount of time that students spend on social media. With all the ways that it is possible to be connected to it- whether it be a smart phone, tablet, or laptop- students are constantly able to log on to their accounts at the different social media sites to view what they want. Although I think that spending 6-8 hours per day on social media sites is a excessive, I can easily see why the number of students who do is so high.
Some of the figures in this essay were daunting. An average of 100 minutes on facebook? I was then reminded of all the times throughout the day that I get on my phone and mindlessly scroll through the news feed, which is becoming largely commercial (marketing man...) I was disgusted though when I read 6-8 hours on all forms of social media was the norm for a majority of college students. Think of the effort we could put into blog postings if only it weren't for the cute pictures of cats your cousin's neighbor just posted on his mom's wall!
This is an interesting study they conducted. Social media does seem to totally consume us. I will admit there were probably times I could of studied for a exam an extra 30 to 45 minutes if I wasn't distracted by my social media. However, I think if there wasn't social media we would just find something else to distract us. I think young people especially can't concentrate for a long period of time. If its not Facebook sidetracking us, it's a TV show, movie, video game or something like that. I think that is just how it is and it is up to the person to make a conscious effort to limit their social media use and other activities so their schoolwork doesn't suffer.
I am not surprised that social media causes so much distraction for college students. I'm guilty of being on my phone too often, however, the older I get I think I'm on it less & less. If I didn't have a smart phone I would rarely log on to social media sites; the convenience factor is definitely what gets me.
Social media has come a long way for students these days. I remember being in grade school and not having facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. and making it through my daily life without having to deal with these social media distractions. Now that i'm older I have a facebook and check it at least once everyday. Its one of those habits that is hard to break which causes for distraction at work or school checking these social media sites. The main thing is how far technology has come and the fact now people have smart phones that allow them to access these sites and many others. I use my phone to deal with the boredom that class can bring about and work also does. If I didn't have a smart phone I wouldn't have any of these distractions.
I don't know exactly how much time I spend on social media daily, but 6-8 hours? Almost half of the students sampled spend that much time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc? It is unsettling to me that so many people in the study are willing to spend over one-fourth of their day on social media. Then again, the sample size is pretty small and the group sampled is limited to a certain population so I don't think it is representative of all students. Even still, I don't see the study as being that far off, as I notice more people around me are increasingly spending their time on their phones and computers.
Wow, I really find it hard to believe that some of my peers are spending 6-8 hours a day checking social media... I feel like it is a huge waste of time. I think that if these hours were spent doing something productive, then we all would see positive improvements in our lives.
I think the study overall was performed decently, but I think the sample size could have been much larger then what it was to report those numbers. That being said, I know my wife stopped using facebook because of how much time she was spending on it. She put off homework quite a bit to surf facebook. Really I think this research wasn't anything pivotal in what most people already knew.
The consensus of the survey did not surprise me, as I figure many college students take advantage of multiple types of social media platforms. It doesn't take a survey to prove that students use social media during times when they could be studying. I do think that the survey results might be flawed because of the sample size that was surveyed. I also do not agree with some of the sources used, such as on page 7 when it says that college students who use the 500 million member social network has significantly lower GPAs than students who don't use social networking. Prior to page 7 of the research paper, we are told that 99% of college students had a Facebook account by 2008. These two sources don't prove that GPA can be directly correlated with social media usage because the amount of students without Facebook would be 1% of the college population, which isn't enough people to determine if the GPA of college students who do not use social media is higher than that of students who do use social media. I was also very surprised that 45% of students said they spent 6-8 hours a day checking social networking sites. I lived in a fraternity house in college and nobody would spend that amount of time using social media.
This survey brought a lot of light on a subject that I had not thought to be a problem for college students. Having said this, I was blown away from the survey result stating "45% admitted they spent 6-8 hours a day checking social media." If these people are truly spending this much time with social media, it is hard to argue that it is not affecting their grades and productivity.
The results of this study don't surprise me at all, considering that when I look around the classrooms during class at least 90% of the students are on either their phone or computer, and I'm sure most of them are using social media. It's rare to see someone today that doesn't have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop with them at all times. I work in a restaurant and everyday I see families sit down at a table and the first thing the parents will do is get out an iPad so thier kids can watch Dora the Explorer or play Temple Run or just anything to keep them occupied during the meal. While this is going on the parents usually have all of their attention on the iPhone where they're on Facebook or Twitter. While the statistics of this study didn't really surprise me, I didn't expect that many students to spend 6-8 hours a day on social media, that's just way too much for me. However, I'm not surprised because it's not just college students, it's everyone. I would be very interested to see a study that compares the amount of time that college students spend on social media compared to adults with a degree and a full time job or even high school students.
The results of this study don't surprise me at all, considering that when I look around the classrooms during class at least 90% of the students are on either their phone or computer, and I'm sure most of them are using social media. It's rare to see someone today that doesn't have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop with them at all times. I work in a restaurant and everyday I see families sit down at a table and the first thing the parents will do is get out an iPad so thier kids can watch Dora the Explorer or play Temple Run or just anything to keep them occupied during the meal. While this is going on the parents usually have all of their attention on the iPhone where they're on Facebook or Twitter. While the statistics of this study didn't really surprise me, I didn't expect that many students to spend 6-8 hours a day on social media, that's just way too much for me. However, I'm not surprised because it's not just college students, it's everyone. I would be very interested to see a study that compares the amount of time that college students spend on social media compared to adults with a degree and a full time job or even high school students.
As soon as I seen the title I was intrigued. I have to admit that I used to be one of the students being surveyed, checking my MySpace (when it was popular) and Facebook constantly, 6 hours sounds about right. After years of being on the social media sites I noticed a few things about myself and what I wasn't accomplishing. I felt like I was wasting time checking or viewing my Facebook page and was tired of reading the updates of people saying meaningless things like what they ate for lunch or what mood their in. I have to admit that I received a lot of backlash when I posted my last post on Facebook from "my friends list" but I don't regret my decision at all. I mean I did have withdrawals, like what do I do with my time now? It was a little awkward not constantly picking up my phone and remember that I don't have a Facebook page anymore. I can say also that I have run into a lot of people asking to look me up on Facebook and me telling them I don't have one. The looks and comments are like "WHAT"!!!!
That being said, reading the results of the students and the conclusion from the results wasn't shocking to me. All social media sites, I feel, really do distract students from their studies especially if they are using them while studying. I also want to add that even though some may not think that being on there isn't a distraction because they get on there in intervals through out the day, it adds up. 6-8 hours is a really long time, that's a full working shift for some, so that is something to consider while reading this for me.
I am proud to say I am in the bottom 12% of that group using less than 2 hours a day. I would also be a part of the group that works full time, putting in around 30 hours a week while being a full time student. That being said, it blows my mind that anyone has 6-8 hours a day to spend on social media cites, let alone such a high percentage of students. When I saw the name of the college that did the study my first thoughts were that since it was coming from such an academic school that the results would reflect that, showing very low amounts of time spent on social networking yet my predictions were completely wrong. I do know people who spend such high amounts of time on the internet like that, and they are almost all unemployed. For this reason I do not even have a facebook because I know how addicted people get to it. With this much time spent on these cites I see a growing potential for advertisements though. Firms with target demographics in the high school to college range should be spending more time spreading their name virtually.
This is a very interesting study. Beings that it was conducted over 2 years ago, I wonder how much the statistics have changed. Students, both undergraduate and graduate, see social interaction as part of the college experience. Social media facilitates a lot of this interaction. I have seen first-hand that you want to be connected with the students in your program. Students use social media to set up study groups, find common interests, and eventually connect professionally. Personally, I would classify myself in the 12% that use social media for less than 2 hours per day. I see it as a necessity but not a priority in my studies.
Social media is the ultiomate Jekyll and Hyde use of technology. On the one hand, its very possible (and perhaps prevalent in some populations) to become addicted to the stuff and let it take up massive amounts of your time while accomplishing nothing worthwhile. On the other hand, it is a cheap and very effective tool for companies to connect to customers and potential employees alike. At every job fair I've attended, the vast majority of employers mentioned some kind of a social media presence. College students need to learn how to balance this mix of social media for pleasure and social media for more professional pursuits.
The sample size was small, but almost a quarter of the respondents admitted to spending 8 hours a day (!!!) on social media. I can't imagine doing that from a sheer quantitative standpoint. If you get out of class at 3 pm, that means you are doing nothing but social media activities until 11 pm. This is beyond the fact that most students are on social media sites during some of their less engaging classes, which seems like a large waste of money, barring some other way that they can master the material and pass these courses.
I witnessed the proliferation of Facebook during my undergrad years, but it never altered my social behavior. There was also a time when Facebook didn't feature photo albums and videos. I'm sure the students surveyed for this study could not imagine justifying around a quarter of their day to checking a website as bland as that.
I agree with the majority of the class. I also am not surprised with the results. I believe that the younger generations spend a lot of time on social media and playing games on their phones. It is no fault to them in my opinion because it is their age group that these type of sites strongly aim their marketing strategies towards. Also my generation and the ones preceding did not have the technology we have today. Where the world was available to you at the touch of a button. I also agree that the sample size was too small to get a completely accurate analysis. With that said I do not believe the outcome would be all that different!
I fall into the 12% that spends less than 2 hours a day on social media. It's too easy for me to procrastinate just surfing online news. I know that if I spent 6-8 hours like the majority on social media, my grades would seriously suffer. However, I think this study had to small of a sample size and too high of an error rate to draw any generalization that a high usage rate detrimentally impacts students' grades.
I definitely feel that technology is a HUGE part in today's society. It's also a huge part of any twenty-something, college student's life whether they want it to be or not. I love technology and I think it's extremely useful; however, it is a distraction to me on a regular basis. I guess that's a choice I can make, whether I want to use that as an excuse for procrastination or not, but it is also difficult to avoid. In addition to that, I find it very frustrating that our laptops, the internet, and other types of technology are required for so much of our college education. I should probably get over it because that's just how life is in today's society; however, I am a very old-fashioned learner. I learn best when I have pen/pencil, paper, and an actual book in my hand. I agree with this article/story, in the sense that technology/social media is a HUGE and vital part in completing college successfully. I'm not sure if I would be able to without it. I also agree that social media encourages and promotes procrastinations. Like I said previously, I know it's a choice you make (to procrastinate) but it is a very compulsive act, and almost instinctive at this point, to get on the internet and immediately check Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. I actually also agree that it may promote the sharing of opinions about important and creative ideas. It can really open your eyes to other's perspectives and opinions about certain issues that you may never have thought of before.
This article didn’t really surprise me at all. College students have been consumed by social media and are almost at its mercy. I did find it interesting that a large percentage of students spend up to 8 hours a day checking social media sites. I can’t see that as a positive influence in any way. I do agree with Leri, in that the benefits of interactive technology outweigh the risks and that when it’s used in a POSITIVE way, it can be a great tool. It’s when social media sites are used in a negative way that it hinders production. Students must learn some control and consider some time management if they do not want their grades to suffer. This might be something too much, though, to ask of an undergraduate population.
The results of the article didn’t surprise me but I can’t say that it totally relates to my experience. I’m on a majority of the sites in the study but I spend at the most an hour a day checking social media. I can see how spending six or more hours on social media would be a distraction and grades could possibly suffer. The only objection I have to the study is that it’s pin pointing social media as the culprit. The research was really a study of procrastination and how much time students spend doing things other than studying. If a student spent more than six hours procrastinating doing any activity it would hinder their grades. Before social media I would get distracted with tv or surfing the web on my dial up internet connection. An interesting follow up study would be to compare procrastination habits with and without social media.
Being that our generation has grown up with social media, and I have been a part of it myself, the results of this study are not very surprising. Too many people have too much free time. if you don't have a plan for your day, or goals in general, it is easy to lose a ton of time staying caught up in the never-ending feed of news, gossip, and random (often pointless) quotes or phrases that people post. I use social media, but I don't let it become a part of my life. Its cool to see what people are up to sometimes, maybe whats going on in the world around you, but its not something I want to invest 6-8 hours in like 45% of those surveyed… that is ridiculous. To those people I say this: find a different hobby. Do something productive. Invest time in bettering YOURSELF rather than staying caught up in what everyone else is doing. Although I have some negative opinions I do believe social media has several benefits (otherwise I would kind of be a hypocrite for using them).
The sample size of this study is way too small to draw any alarming conclusions, but is it really surprising to find out that college students are distracted? Really? Whether you are a full-time student, or a multi-tasker working full time and going to school at night, there are always going to be distractions. If you choose wisely, hopefully you can get all of the work done and still have some time to be entertained. If social media is your vice, enjoy it in moderation.
While I don't agree that increased use of social media increases the likelihood of a student to "drink and drug", I do agree that it contributes to procrastination. However, sometimes social media is just used as an excuse. A procrastinating student is bound to put off work and turning to Facebook might just be a way to fill their time. I find it to be a weak argument to say that social media causes procrastination in students - while it's a possibility, it's unlikely that a student who consistently procrastinates can really blame it on social media.
In my own experience, I also don't find that social media teaches students how to be good communicators. Sure, you can type uber messages to your friends, but when you're in a face-to-face conversation with them, can you keep eye contact, speak clearly, etc.? Overall, I think finding social media to blame for classroom failures and communication successes is due to more deeply-seeded issues other than just logging on to Facebook.
Procrastination hits the nail on the head. In hallways, lunch rooms, and classroom I see students with computers open, logged on to Facebook, even while the Prof. is giving lectures! If these students can’t seem to stay away from it for a class period, I cannot imagine how much time they spend logged on when outside the class. I have not had the pleasure of a FB account yet, or any other social media, so I have not seen all the excitement yet. Everyone I know has one and has encouraged me to get one too, all for different reasons; you’ll find lost friends, we can share pictures, easier to stay in touch, etc. I prefer a simple phone call or an email and evidently saving myself hours a day I didn’t know I would be losing.
I, as well as many, have definitely fallen victim to overuse of social media. While I have never recorded how much time out of a day I spend checking these accounts on my phone or computer, I can guess that at times it has been longer than I'd like to admit. I was surprised to read that some spend 6-8 hours on social media in a day, but since they can do this while doing other things..cumulatively, it is possible. I would think more individuals use it in bursts via smart-phones rather than longer periods on the computer but both do happen. I agree with this article that social media has given me academic support and assistance at times, however I do think it has served more often as a distraction and a form of procrastination for me. As our generation has become accustomed to this level of multitasking, it can be detrimental and keep us from being fully present.
I would have to suggest taking the results of this study with a very large grain of salt. The study only surveyed 48 people and the report does not detail the survey methodology. It would be my guess that they handed this survey to their peers during one of their marketing classes, hardly a "random sample". I would believe that a marketing student would be more inclined to spend large amounts of time on social media. I can only assume, but I would postulate that many students engaged in engineering, math, and sciences would bring this average down considerably.
I would want to see the results of a larger survey administered across a range of academic disciplines before drawing conclusions from the data, especially that the average college kid spends more than 4 or 6 hours every day on social media.
Who are these people that spend 6-8 hours a day checking social media sites like its their full time job. I work full time and go to school full time, and as Sweet Brown always says: "Ain't nobody got time for that!" :)
72 comments:
The results of this study don't surprise me as I too fall victim to the distractions of social media at times. I, however, was surprised at the large amount of those studied who say that they spend 6-8 hours a day checking social media sites. I find 6-8 hours a day on social media to be pretty overboard, but in the end it is the user's choice to decide how much time they want to dedicate to social media. And while social media is a distraction for most college students, it is nice to have to stay in contact with friends and family and share experiences.
I kind of expected these results to turn out the way they did as well. I remember a time when I used to put in more than 4 hours cumulative time throughout the day to check facebook, blogs, gaming sites and such, but these days I try to cut that down by only checking once or twice a day, usually the beginning and the end of my day.
The majority of my time on the net is usually spent on news sites, like CNN, MSN, and the like. Facebook is on my backlog usually, and i only check it if i want to post something i think if either funny or quippy, and that doesn't usually happen too often.
LONG STORY SHORT, I can easily believe that this much time is wasted on a national level on social media. Kids younger than 10 nowadays have their own facebook pages. When I think about it, most of the time really is wasted while looking at facebook, because we always keep refreshing or going through people's useless statuses.
It keeps the mind awake and asleep at the same time.
And to be honest, there are times when that can be ok.
It all depends on the person and what they do with their own time that makes a difference. Painting with broad strokes of such a study may give a general idea to the national status, but one must remember there are always exceptions to the rule.
The article presents some interesting data and is well cited with other research that supports the conclusion that too much social media is detrimental for college student success. I think it’s important to realize that data sample was limited to 48. This sample size was not adequately evaluated to cross-reference the interactions of the groupings of hours of social media usage, the age/grade level and the resulting grades of the students. Undoubtedly, I agree that 6-8 hours of social media will have effects on college students. I also agree that their 14.4% error rate for 48 students might affect their results.
The article presents some interesting data and is well cited with other research that supports the conclusion that too much social media is detrimental for college student success. I think it’s important to realize that data sample was limited to 48. This sample size was not adequately evaluated to cross-reference the interactions of the groupings of hours of social media usage, the age/grade level and the resulting grades of the students. Undoubtedly, I agree that 6-8 hours of social media will have effects on college students. I also agree that their 14.4% error rate for 48 students might affect their results.
I would like to see a more extensive study done that can show the correlation of usage to grades and beyond, possibly even employment success after graduation. With the consideration of gathering data at several points of time it might be the case that negative grades from over usage prompts less usage and higher grades at later dates. I would assume that as students move through college they adjust their social media usage as they experiences the effects of their time dedication.
After reading through this study I think it is pretty flawed. They have a small sample size and a very large sampling error to be able to draw any definitive conclusions. Common sense dictates that a student who spends all day on social media sites will probably not do as well as a student who uses that same time to study and focus on school. However, I don't think it is accurate to say there is a direct correlation between social media usage specifically and grades. They cited studies that found no correlation also. I would argue that many of these students who spend 6 - 8 hours per day on social media sites would still not be good students if they didn't have access to FB, Twitter, and Youtube. Instead they would use that time texting, playing games, surfing the web, or any of a number of things that cause the same results.
I'm not surprised the results of the survey turned out they did. Social media has evolved so quickly and so much that many people are using it on a daily basis(sometimes for countless hours). Lots of times social media can become a distraction for college students, making them less productive. I know there used to be plenty of times where Social Media was a reason for me to put off studying or doing homework. I have gotten better at not letting social media be a distraction while i'm studying though.
I'm not surprised the results of the survey turned out they did. Social media has evolved so quickly and so much that many people are using it on a daily basis(sometimes for countless hours). Lots of times social media can become a distraction for college students, making them less productive. I know there used to be plenty of times where Social Media was a reason for me to put off studying or doing homework. I have gotten better at not letting social media be a distraction while i'm studying though.
The fact that social media is a huge part of young people's lives is not surprising, but some of the statistics from this study were a little shocking to me. I will admit that when I was in middle school and part of high school I probably used Facebook and other social networking sites way more than I should have in a day. However, now that I'm in college I would say my activity levels with social networking sites has decreased by at least fifty percent; there are just too many things to do in a day with school, work, friends, etc.
Furthermore, I wonder if the fact that many of these social networking sites became popular when I was younger has anything to do with why I spent so much time using them back then compared to now. By now I don't feel the need to check Facebook or Twitter every couple of minutes because I did enough of that in middle school. However, for younger kids who are just now "old enough" to start using social networking sites or apps on cellphones, the intrigue is still overpowering and most likely affects school work. I know for a fact that my twelve year old nephew who just got a phone and has access to a few social networking sites spends way more time on them than I do because they're new to him. I believe that this trend will continue to progress as our technology progresses.
I would say to an extent it would be true of myself. I am easily distracted as it is and Facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. do cause a distraction at times but I'm not sure these cause negative distractions as much as they provide a little break from work to turn off my brain and dive into the virtual world. Once I have had my fill returning more rejuvenated to my work. I personally spend less than 6 hours in a day on social media, but I also don't know the full extent of what is considered social media. If Netflix, spotify, and general internet use are in those categories then I would fit right into that 6-8hours. If the premises are limited to Facebook, twitter etc. then the negative distractions are well under the 6 hours that most students in this study held as a minimum.
I would say to an extent it would be true of myself. I am easily distracted as it is and Facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. do cause a distraction at times but I'm not sure these cause negative distractions as much as they provide a little break from work to turn off my brain and dive into the virtual world. Once I have had my fill returning more rejuvenated to my work. I personally spend less than 6 hours in a day on social media, but I also don't know the full extent of what is considered social media. If Netflix, spotify, and general internet use are in those categories then I would fit right into that 6-8hours. If the premises are limited to Facebook, twitter etc. then the negative distractions are well under the 6 hours that most students in this study held as a minimum.
First I would like to know what extent they are considering social media or limiting it to. If the study is referring to simply social media on the basis of sites as Facebook, twitter, YouTube etc. then I would fall short of the 6 hours that is the minimum for the majority in this study. If music media such as spotify and Pandora are also considered in this then I will fall right into the 6-8hours within a day average. Of these are then considered I would argue against the findings of negative effects of social media. Using these engines I either can take a mind numbing break from my work and become more productive after returning to my task at hand. Music media, if considered, is the driving factor to help me truly focus on a task at hand. In my case I feel like the proper time use and self control can turn social media into a helpful tool rather than a distraction.
My experience has definitely been similar. Twitter distracts me almost daily. It's an addiction to an extent, but I greatly value much of what I get out of it. Some of it is trivial, but seeing certain world events unfold in real time is greatly rewarding. With that said, when I'm trying to study or focus on a task, I often use it as an excuse to not do what I should be. I check Facebook regularly, but I don't stay on it for more than a few minutes at a time. I love the instant access that I have to just about anything in the world, not to mention how easy it is to keep up with people that otherwise wouldn't be a normal part of my social experience.
The results of the study seemed about right as far as the copious usage of the social media sites. I know, for one, that I am guilty of using Facebook when I should be more productive, but I have cut it down quite significantly than I did in high school. With that being said, having the conflicting views of whether or not social media usage was detrimental to grades didn't really help shed any light. After all that, it seemed that the prognosis was that heavy usage "could hurt" one's grades. More of an extensive study would be helpful, as well as if certain social media sites could be more helpful or harmful to academics. Even now, courses here are integrating social media programs, i.e Connect, into the coursework.
While it would be expected that if a student spend 6-8 hours on social media sites, I believe that many of these people over-estimate the amount of time they actually spend engaged on these sites. Now if they were asked to keep a detailed log of just when they were on a site, which site, and for how long, a better impression could be made for how much time was actually spent on these distracting social outlets. Honestly, since I neither have facebook, twitter or any of these other distractions, I find it hard to imagine that I could be devoting 6-8 hours of a day to check them, or be on them.
I think if they wanted to get a more accurate picture of social media habits and the effect on school studies, they should take the time to get more samples, to reduce the error of their sample size, and also maybe get a little more in depth on just how much time is spent checking these activities. Sometimes what feels like hours has been only a few minutes, and conversely, what feels like a few minutes has turned into hours wasted.
I was very surprised to find that 45% of the participants spent 6-8 hours on social media sites. For that group, I can see why social media could be deemed a "distraction". However, the majority of my friends spent very little time using social media sites. Personally, I use social media when I'm bored but I rarely find myself logging in for more than 10 minutes a day.
Social Media and my life do not get along well, because social media for me is a recipe for procrastination. I discontinued my use of social media for that reason, though I didn't spend anywhere close to 6-8 hours a day on it, which the study showed a lot of people doing. I do think that time spent on social media can be valuable if it is used to promote business, but in my life right now social media is for the most part a waste of time.
I am not surprised to see the results of this study. Social media is such a huge part of my generation's life. If anything, I expect the use of social media to increase even more.
With that said, I fall under the 12% who are on social media less than two hours each day. I get bored with it and skim through most of the information. But I do think that social media is important in the business world. Most people are on social media and it is easy for them to network and access information about businesses. If a business embraces social media and takes an active part in it, they can raise awareness of events or keep people in the loop about the business.
I have found that, in an academic environment, social media has no place. I, personally, do not consider an academic blog to be a social media source. I believe that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have diminished the quality of education received. I am generally a "back row of the class" inhabitant, and I can look up and see over half of the computer users on social media. It detracts attention away from the educator, and places the mind on external issues. It is a means of entertainment when a student should be focused on getting the education that they are there for.
Social media has the opportunity to be extremely beneficial to the college student or even a high school student. I could see asking for opinions on a paper topic being beneficial, or perhaps even discussing that day's current events (not the celebrity gossip) to enhance our understanding of the world we live in today. However, the issue arises that social media is not, and never will be used in this manner. Way too often I log into my social media accounts and see the trivialities of people's lives that I am not concerned with, nor have anything to do with my education. Who broke up with whom, "I'm so lonely", and "check out what I just got," are prime examples that we all despise and could very easily be guilty of. Social media poses the possibility for huge benefits in the educational process; however, if current standards hold, it will be extremely difficult to bring those benefits to fruition.
I think it is interesting that the study points to multitasking between social media and academics as a solely negative thing. In an alternate view, students' ability to monitor social media accounts while completing homework assignments or even during class may inadvertently be preparation for the professional workforce where multitasking is a crucial skill. Certainly, multitasking can take away from academics and be a negative influence on student performance, but I think it is important to note the possibility of developing professional skills as well.
I can't say I have much of a reaction to this study, given the small size of the sample. However, it is interesting to see how strong of a hold these social media sites seem to have on the students sampled. I would be interested to learn more about those students who are spending 6-8 hours per day on social media sites - are they particular to just one site, or are those users switching between many different sites? 6-8 hours on Facebook is completely different from 6-8 hours of watching YouTube videos with a friend. The authors mention sample size and time frame as potential problems with their results, but I think they would need to break things down further and actually look at the way these sites are being used to develop meaningful results. It would be useful to see if students may actually be benefiting from their social media usage, especially with resources such as Khan Academy available through these sites.
The claim that social networks are having a negative impact on college aged people because it would, "likely increase distraction of the students which can be detrimental to student performance," lacks evidence. First, this study was done in the form of an, "anonymous questionairre," so the results are nothing more than the opinions of the participants, not scientific date. Additionally, a study at the University of Illinois (Ariga & Lleras) indicates the exact opposite as far as distraction being detrimental. One of the authors of the Illinois study, Alejandro Lleras, summarizes the work by saying, "from a practical standpoint, our research suggests that, when faced with long tasks (such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes), it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task (sciencedaily.com)." Simply, taking brief breaks on social networks will improve productivity.
In conclusion, society has a habit of demonizing new things because they are new. I find technology remarkable. Currently, I have the ability to communicate with another human being, anywhere in the world, in seconds; however, in 1919, not even 100 years ago, it still took 19 days to get from one side of the Atlantic to the other(bluejacket.com). Until the day Google invents sentient robots that can drive cars, technology is helping us, not hurting us.
-S. Cable
Sources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110208131529.htm
Atsunori Ariga, Alejandro Lleras. Brief and rare mental 'breaks' keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007
http://www.bluejacket.com/usn_avi_nc4.html
I am surprised by the outcome of this study. 6-8 hours seems like an excessive amount of time to be checking social media. The average American is awake 16 hours of the day. 6-8 hours is almost half of that time. The people studied were all college students and most had at least a part-time job. I am just trying to imagine if I spent 6 hours a day on social media. I couldn't do it! Sometimes I feel like my phone is glued to my hand, and I need to take a break from Facebook and instagram. However, it looks like I am not doing too bad on avoiding social media when compared to the students in this study. Even though I may not check social media 6-8 hours a day, I still try to enjoy the physical and who and what is happening around me rather than ignoring them to see what is going on online. For me, the people around me and the experiences I am having first-hand are more important than what I can see online.
I would say this research accurately describes my own experience as I am sure is true for most college students today. It says something about how driven we are to be constantly entertained. Rather than devoting your attention to any single one thing for a prolonged amount of time, such as school work. Anyone can get on a multimedia site like Facebook or Twitter and skim through thousands of different posts in the same amount of time or less.
With age and maturity I think this need to be entertained at all times lessens. I find this true in myself as I have become a lot better at eliminating distractions like social media whenever I know I have to get something done.
I am absolutely not surprised that 57% of students claim utter distraction due to the social media onslaught. I love social media for the same reasons everyone else does, and my primary reason for it is stay connected to people all around the world that I love and have friendships with which would not be possible without it. BUT I do believe there is a time and a place for it and the reality is that "multi tasking" has become a cop out for not paying attention and/or not listening. This seems to have a negative affect both educationally as well as with interpersonal real life relationships. It was definitely an interesting read!
This was an interesting paper to read because it connects college education and social media, portraying the benefits and risks involved in the relationship. As a college student, it was interesting to see the numbers they reported. However, I do think it is important to remember that it is so easy to get the results you're looking for when doing research and writing a thesis paper, such as this one. The writers could have easily selected a certain sample group to portray the exact findings they wanted.
I personally found it really surprising that 45% of college students admitted to using 6-8 hours a day to check social media. That means that over 25% of their day is spent checking Facebook, instagram, Twitter, etc. Are they really learning anything or are they just reading entertaining buzzfeed lists and watching vine vidoes? In today's world, social media has almost become an addiction that people are drawn to in every moment of spare time. The results of this study aren't clear as to whether the time spent on social media effects the grades of college students or not, but I'm sure it does for most students. If we spent those spare moments studying or reading something relevant to our education, we would probably be far more knowledgable than we would be after a 20 minute check on social media.
In the paper, the authors cited this quote: “we need to keep in mind that the benefits of this interactive technology far
outweigh the risks,” says Leri. “When it’s used in a positive way, it can be an
extraordinary tool (Brydolf, 2007).” I agree with this statement- technology and social media can be used for extreme benefit in the workplace and classroom. The outcome (benefit or risk) is dependent on the specific user and type of use.
People obviously use their social media accounts way too much. I find myself checking facebook and twitter numerous times a day. My problem with this article is their attempted correlation between social media and grades. No hard evidence was presented and the sample size they used was very very small. All the survey proved was that students use social media a lot. I would be interested to know if students were checking social media sites while in class. I know this happens because I am guilty of this. A simple glance at my facebook during class causes me to ignore what the professor is lecturing over and I sometimes miss important information. This is likely what causes most of the problems and may result in lower grades.
Social Media is really affecting the way college students live their lives. In the past students might do more recreational activities. Now students are spending much more time in the computer world. Being involved in social media can be a good thing, this is true, but it can also take away from a lot of the beauty of our real world. I think if a person uses social media in a healthy way they would only check their media site only from an hour a day. I think social media can really help in getting a hold of people so they can meet together. I will plan group meetings on Facebook. It helps so much! If the time is abused it can be very distracting from the people around you that are not online. It can also be very distracting from classes. I have caught myself checking my email and Facebook in class, when I do this I can tell I missed some information the professor was telling me. It's easy to be distracted by social media during class, but that doesn't make it right. When I am at home and know I have homework I will open up my laptop. The first thing I usually do is open up my email and Facebook. I usually get distracted for longer than I had planned on it. It's important to monitor how much time is being spent in social media and coursework. It is just way to easy to be lost in the world of social media when its time to be in the real world.
Since I bring my laptop to class, I tend to check on my Facebook or twitter page more often. Nevertheless I always make sure to do my assignments and take notes during class. I think it is a matter of choice; if you want to do something useful, nobody can stop you from it.
Recently, i have read many articles about whether social media is distracting or not due to my academic studies. In my opinion, older generation in working industry more likely to agree the fact that social media is very distracting, and time wasting(Now, i am not making any statement here). I have always tried to see the pros and cons of the subject. I do often find myself distracted by mainly Facebook and Instagram, but since most of us realize how distracting social media can be, we should to learn how to use it efficiently. Because, can you imagine your life without all this social media? Because, i cannot. On the other hand, social media can be very useful. i always find random information i would never have known, and it is very convenient way to keep in touch with your family and friends. Social media is the easiest and fastest way to get some information most of the times. I am very aggressive person. Sometimes, social media inspires me when i see all these successful people of my generation. It keeps me updated. Also,social media can give you new ideas. i often catch myself spending too much time on Social Media as others(4-6 hours), but when i do, i know i am the only one to stop myself. i think Social Media can affect your grade unless you use it efficiently, and have some self discipline. It's all up to the person.
I think that it's okay to assume that social media outlets take away the attention of students in out of the classroom. However so, I don't believe that one can correlate the use of social media to cause a decrease in GPA, as the research has shown.
With that being said, I feel that pouring time into a social media outlet can be a fantastic way to network, learn, decompress, and reconnect whenever it's done in moderation. As far as deciding where to draw the line between where over consumption lies, I believe will vary from person to person and is completely situational.
In my own experience, I feel that I have ocassionaly fallen into the endless YouTube time warp when I was supposed to be working on an important assignment. Even so, I am not one to miss an assignment or deadline, and have been a successful student in my past 2 years of higher education.
All in all, I would say that the healthy amount of social media is completely situational and differs from human being to human being.
This study is astonishing on the results that were produced. It is shocking how much time students spend on social media sites daily. Personally, I do not spend much time on social media sites daily. Social media can be used for social networking with other students, which can be good but most are not using the sites for school purposes. I am guilty of using social media to procrastinate at times but I also use it to get into contact with other students. Students should not be using these sites while in class because it is distracting to not only yourself, but others as well.
I am a full-time college student and do not have I repeat DO NOT have time to interact on social media! I believe it just depends on the person and the amount of free time you have on your hands. The results were a little shocking. I thought it would be teenagers who spent 6-8 hours a day on facebook and twitter. I spend maybe 20-30 minutes a day tops on social media.
I wish the sample size was bigger - I think it would give a better idea as to the use of social media by college students and the effect on grades. I have a facebook account, but I get bored after about 30 minutes. I am surprised to see how long a person will stay on the social media site! I do not check my Facebook or LinkedIn account during class time, and I am not on there when I am doing homework. I use it more as a reward for when I get done with my homework. I do think that social media is a great way to stay connected to others when there is not much time between school, homework, work, and family. It is also a great way to ask for different people's advice from their experiences and share important experiences/knowledge with others.
I was very surprised to read that forty five percent of the people that answered the questionnaire admitted to spend 6 - 8 hours a day in social media. I wonder how the results would shift if they have also evaluated the data by segregating the population among students working full time/part time and not working. Also, I do believe that for international students the hours utilizing social media might be higher than for other students. It is very common to for people with family abroad to utilize social media, including Skype, as a way of keeping in touch with family members. Whereas the study mentioned that social media can negatively effect grades, it failed to demonstrate the actual data showing grades versus time spent in social media.
I am surprised at how many students stated they use social media 6-8 hours a day. I would tend to disagree with the results of the study as most of the students I was friends with did not utilize social media to that extent. I currently use social media 0-1 hour per day and it is spent half of the time for social interaction and the other half for finding information on news or current events. I think an expansion of not only the number of students surveyed but also the location of the students would be beneficial. I would also like to see questions related to when students use social media. It seems difficult to believe that 68% of students spend 6 hours or more on social media. It is hard to believe that those taking the survey had that much free time considering 61% have either a full time or part time job and are also attending school. I rarely have an hour of free time in my day.
Social media has become so easily accessible via tablets, laptops, and smartphones that it can easily distract any student. I'm shocked to hear that the majority of the study spent 6-8 hours per day viewing social media. That's almost a full-time job. However, the study does indicate that the majority of the population did not have a job which would allow a lot of time available for social media use. With the relationship of social media and grades, it's hard to define that relationship from the study with the sample size being small. The authors even admit of the large sample error. Also, if a student prioritizes checking social media over academic work, there's probably other factors that are not considered in this study. Personally, I check Facebook daily throughout the day and try not to let it interfere with my studies or my work.
Social media is a convenient way to network and keep in touch with old friends, but it's addictive properties make it not worth having, in my opinion. When it starts interfering with a student's work or someone's job is when it's time to cut back. Deleting my Facebook was a great decision! Glad to be in that 1% of students without one.
Like most commenters, I am not particularly surprised by this study's findings. However, what caught my attention more was the claim that use of social media sites improves users social and interpersonal skills. I am a relatively infrequent Facebook user, not because I can't control myself from procrastinating, but because I don't usually find the content particularly interesting or valuable. I frequently find myself frustrated with my peers who post messages or statuses that were very obviously drafted with no thought given to the audience that will be able to see their content.
One citation notes that, “Students who may be reluctant to speak up in class are participating in book discussion blogs and writing for real audiences. There
are new Web tools emerging all the time that are enhancing learning (Brydolf, 2007).” While I'm all for participation in educational settings, however it's achieved, I think the distancing of a user's audience behind the screen of a social networking site can also be a crutch that allows people to post things without fully considering their audience and the potential fallout. We are bombarded with anecdotal evidence of this every time we hear about another Twitter scandal where someone has to retract a post or offer a public apology.
This article did not shock me at all. The statistics and numbers actually seemed right on par on my initial predictions. Social media has increased within the past 5 years. Now and days there is more than just facebook, there is now Vine, Twitter, and Instagram. Giving more options of what people choose to use. In fact with the help of Iphone it makes it ten times easier for people to be constantly checking these social medias. Also given the fact that these are college students, its very rare that you have not checked your Twitter account in class. Though I do agree that social media is a distraction for most college students, it is a nice way to take a 5 minute break from studying. It allows us to stay in contact from high school friends to people you meet across the world. No one ever said social media was bad, though maybe there is an excessive amount that is harmful, just like everything else.
I agree with several of the other comments posted here in that it is difficult to evaluate trends and reach a solid conclusion from such a small sample size. I am a little surprised to see that the "average" college student spends 6-8 hours using social media. I would have expected something at the 4-6 hour mark. Even still, I do not find this surprising as most college students are unemployed or only employed part time. With social media being reflected over such a large portion of the internet (think of everywhere you have seen a "Share" or "Like" button), coupled with the demographic's constant need to see what their friends are doing and share what they are doing, it is easy to see how such a large amount of time can be spent on these sites.
In my experience as an undergrad, there was a constant desire for most to check Facebook/Twitter when they were bored and when they welcomed distractions (e.g., when studying). As students sat in their dorm rooms and/or apartments, they were constantly wondering what everyone else was up to, so off to Facebook they went.
I agree with several of the other comments posted here in that it is difficult to evaluate trends and reach a solid conclusion from such a small sample size. I am a little surprised to see that the "average" college student spends 6-8 hours using social media. I would have expected something at the 4-6 hour mark. Even still, I do not find this surprising as most college students are unemployed or only employed part time. With social media being reflected over such a large portion of the internet (think of everywhere you have seen a "Share" or "Like" button), coupled with the demographic's constant need to see what their friends are doing and share what they are doing, it is easy to see how such a large amount of time can be spent on these sites.
In my experience as an undergrad, there was a constant desire for most to check Facebook/Twitter when they were bored and when they welcomed distractions (e.g., when studying). As students sat in their dorm rooms and/or apartments, they were constantly wondering what everyone else was up to, so off to Facebook they went.
I agree with several of the other comments posted here in that it is difficult to evaluate trends and reach a solid conclusion from such a small sample size. I am a little surprised to see that the "average" college student spends 6-8 hours using social media. I would have expected something at the 4-6 hour mark. Even still, I do not find this surprising as most college students are unemployed or only employed part time. With social media being reflected over such a large portion of the internet (think of everywhere you have seen a "Share" or "Like" button), coupled with the demographic's constant need to see what their friends are doing and share what they are doing, it is easy to see how such a large amount of time can be spent on these sites.
In my experience as an undergrad, there was a constant desire for most to check Facebook/Twitter when they were bored and when they welcomed distractions (e.g., when studying). As students sat in their dorm rooms and/or apartments, they were constantly wondering what everyone else was up to, so off to Facebook they went.
Looking at this study doesn't surprise me one bit. Since the rise of social media and the smart phone I find myself using social media sites throughout the day, looking at news, weather, sports, and keeping up with what my friends and relatives are up to. I see social media as more of a distraction as a college student, often seeing myself spaced out on my phone while I'm supposed to be studying. Some students see it as a break during those long study hours though and I can understand that. I'd say overall my interaction with social media as a student is not a good one.
Looking at this study doesn't surprise me one bit. Since the rise of social media and the smart phone I find myself using social media sites throughout the day, looking at news, weather, sports, and keeping up with what my friends and relatives are up to. I see social media as more of a distraction as a college student, often seeing myself spaced out on my phone while I'm supposed to be studying. Some students see it as a break during those long study hours though and I can understand that. I'd say overall my interaction with social media as a student is not a good one.
I am not surprised at the amount of time that students spend on social media. With all the ways that it is possible to be connected to it- whether it be a smart phone, tablet, or laptop- students are constantly able to log on to their accounts at the different social media sites to view what they want. Although I think that spending 6-8 hours per day on social media sites is a excessive, I can easily see why the number of students who do is so high.
Some of the figures in this essay were daunting. An average of 100 minutes on facebook? I was then reminded of all the times throughout the day that I get on my phone and mindlessly scroll through the news feed, which is becoming largely commercial (marketing man...) I was disgusted though when I read 6-8 hours on all forms of social media was the norm for a majority of college students. Think of the effort we could put into blog postings if only it weren't for the cute pictures of cats your cousin's neighbor just posted on his mom's wall!
This is an interesting study they conducted. Social media does seem to totally consume us. I will admit there were probably times I could of studied for a exam an extra 30 to 45 minutes if I wasn't distracted by my social media. However, I think if there wasn't social media we would just find something else to distract us. I think young people especially can't concentrate for a long period of time. If its not Facebook sidetracking us, it's a TV show, movie, video game or something like that. I think that is just how it is and it is up to the person to make a conscious effort to limit their social media use and other activities so their schoolwork doesn't suffer.
I am not surprised that social media causes so much distraction for college students. I'm guilty of being on my phone too often, however, the older I get I think I'm on it less & less. If I didn't have a smart phone I would rarely log on to social media sites; the convenience factor is definitely what gets me.
Social media has come a long way for students these days. I remember being in grade school and not having facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. and making it through my daily life without having to deal with these social media distractions. Now that i'm older I have a facebook and check it at least once everyday. Its one of those habits that is hard to break which causes for distraction at work or school checking these social media sites. The main thing is how far technology has come and the fact now people have smart phones that allow them to access these sites and many others. I use my phone to deal with the boredom that class can bring about and work also does. If I didn't have a smart phone I wouldn't have any of these distractions.
I don't know exactly how much time I spend on social media daily, but 6-8 hours? Almost half of the students sampled spend that much time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc? It is unsettling to me that so many people in the study are willing to spend over one-fourth of their day on social media. Then again, the sample size is pretty small and the group sampled is limited to a certain population so I don't think it is representative of all students. Even still, I don't see the study as being that far off, as I notice more people around me are increasingly spending their time on their phones and computers.
Wow, I really find it hard to believe that some of my peers are spending 6-8 hours a day checking social media... I feel like it is a huge waste of time. I think that if these hours were spent doing something productive, then we all would see positive improvements in our lives.
I think the study overall was performed decently, but I think the sample size could have been much larger then what it was to report those numbers. That being said, I know my wife stopped using facebook because of how much time she was spending on it. She put off homework quite a bit to surf facebook. Really I think this research wasn't anything pivotal in what most people already knew.
The consensus of the survey did not surprise me, as I figure many college students take advantage of multiple types of social media platforms. It doesn't take a survey to prove that students use social media during times when they could be studying. I do think that the survey results might be flawed because of the sample size that was surveyed. I also do not agree with some of the sources used, such as on page 7 when it says that college students who use the 500 million member social network has significantly lower GPAs than students who don't use social networking. Prior to page 7 of the research paper, we are told that 99% of college students had a Facebook account by 2008. These two sources don't prove that GPA can be directly correlated with social media usage because the amount of students without Facebook would be 1% of the college population, which isn't enough people to determine if the GPA of college students who do not use social media is higher than that of students who do use social media. I was also very surprised that 45% of students said they spent 6-8 hours a day checking social networking sites. I lived in a fraternity house in college and nobody would spend that amount of time using social media.
This survey brought a lot of light on a subject that I had not thought to be a problem for college students. Having said this, I was blown away from the survey result stating "45% admitted they spent 6-8 hours a day checking social media." If these people are truly spending this much time with social media, it is hard to argue that it is not affecting their grades and productivity.
The results of this study don't surprise me at all, considering that when I look around the classrooms during class at least 90% of the students are on either their phone or computer, and I'm sure most of them are using social media. It's rare to see someone today that doesn't have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop with them at all times. I work in a restaurant and everyday I see families sit down at a table and the first thing the parents will do is get out an iPad so thier kids can watch Dora the Explorer or play Temple Run or just anything to keep them occupied during the meal. While this is going on the parents usually have all of their attention on the iPhone where they're on Facebook or Twitter. While the statistics of this study didn't really surprise me, I didn't expect that many students to spend 6-8 hours a day on social media, that's just way too much for me. However, I'm not surprised because it's not just college students, it's everyone. I would be very interested to see a study that compares the amount of time that college students spend on social media compared to adults with a degree and a full time job or even high school students.
The results of this study don't surprise me at all, considering that when I look around the classrooms during class at least 90% of the students are on either their phone or computer, and I'm sure most of them are using social media. It's rare to see someone today that doesn't have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop with them at all times. I work in a restaurant and everyday I see families sit down at a table and the first thing the parents will do is get out an iPad so thier kids can watch Dora the Explorer or play Temple Run or just anything to keep them occupied during the meal. While this is going on the parents usually have all of their attention on the iPhone where they're on Facebook or Twitter. While the statistics of this study didn't really surprise me, I didn't expect that many students to spend 6-8 hours a day on social media, that's just way too much for me. However, I'm not surprised because it's not just college students, it's everyone. I would be very interested to see a study that compares the amount of time that college students spend on social media compared to adults with a degree and a full time job or even high school students.
As soon as I seen the title I was intrigued. I have to admit that I used to be one of the students being surveyed, checking my MySpace (when it was popular) and Facebook constantly, 6 hours sounds about right. After years of being on the social media sites I noticed a few things about myself and what I wasn't accomplishing. I felt like I was wasting time checking or viewing my Facebook page and was tired of reading the updates of people saying meaningless things like what they ate for lunch or what mood their in. I have to admit that I received a lot of backlash when I posted my last post on Facebook from "my friends list" but I don't regret my decision at all. I mean I did have withdrawals, like what do I do with my time now? It was a little awkward not constantly picking up my phone and remember that I don't have a Facebook page anymore. I can say also that I have run into a lot of people asking to look me up on Facebook and me telling them I don't have one. The looks and comments are like "WHAT"!!!!
That being said, reading the results of the students and the conclusion from the results wasn't shocking to me. All social media sites, I feel, really do distract students from their studies especially if they are using them while studying. I also want to add that even though some may not think that being on there isn't a distraction because they get on there in intervals through out the day, it adds up. 6-8 hours is a really long time, that's a full working shift for some, so that is something to consider while reading this for me.
I am proud to say I am in the bottom 12% of that group using less than 2 hours a day. I would also be a part of the group that works full time, putting in around 30 hours a week while being a full time student. That being said, it blows my mind that anyone has 6-8 hours a day to spend on social media cites, let alone such a high percentage of students. When I saw the name of the college that did the study my first thoughts were that since it was coming from such an academic school that the results would reflect that, showing very low amounts of time spent on social networking yet my predictions were completely wrong. I do know people who spend such high amounts of time on the internet like that, and they are almost all unemployed. For this reason I do not even have a facebook because I know how addicted people get to it. With this much time spent on these cites I see a growing potential for advertisements though. Firms with target demographics in the high school to college range should be spending more time spreading their name virtually.
This is a very interesting study. Beings that it was conducted over 2 years ago, I wonder how much the statistics have changed. Students, both undergraduate and graduate, see social interaction as part of the college experience. Social media facilitates a lot of this interaction. I have seen first-hand that you want to be connected with the students in your program. Students use social media to set up study groups, find common interests, and eventually connect professionally. Personally, I would classify myself in the 12% that use social media for less than 2 hours per day. I see it as a necessity but not a priority in my studies.
Social media is the ultiomate Jekyll and Hyde use of technology. On the one hand, its very possible (and perhaps prevalent in some populations) to become addicted to the stuff and let it take up massive amounts of your time while accomplishing nothing worthwhile. On the other hand, it is a cheap and very effective tool for companies to connect to customers and potential employees alike. At every job fair I've attended, the vast majority of employers mentioned some kind of a social media presence. College students need to learn how to balance this mix of social media for pleasure and social media for more professional pursuits.
The sample size was small, but almost a quarter of the respondents admitted to spending 8 hours a day (!!!) on social media. I can't imagine doing that from a sheer quantitative standpoint. If you get out of class at 3 pm, that means you are doing nothing but social media activities until 11 pm. This is beyond the fact that most students are on social media sites during some of their less engaging classes, which seems like a large waste of money, barring some other way that they can master the material and pass these courses.
I witnessed the proliferation of Facebook during my undergrad years, but it never altered my social behavior. There was also a time when Facebook didn't feature photo albums and videos. I'm sure the students surveyed for this study could not imagine justifying around a quarter of their day to checking a website as bland as that.
I agree with the majority of the class. I also am not surprised with the results. I believe that the younger generations spend a lot of time on social media and playing games on their phones. It is no fault to them in my opinion because it is their age group that these type of sites strongly aim their marketing strategies towards. Also my generation and the ones preceding did not have the technology we have today. Where the world was available to you at the touch of a button.
I also agree that the sample size was too small to get a completely accurate analysis. With that said I do not believe the outcome would be all that different!
I fall into the 12% that spends less than 2 hours a day on social media. It's too easy for me to procrastinate just surfing online news. I know that if I spent 6-8 hours like the majority on social media, my grades would seriously suffer.
However, I think this study had to small of a sample size and too high of an error rate to draw any generalization that a high usage rate detrimentally impacts students' grades.
I definitely feel that technology is a HUGE part in today's society. It's also a huge part of any twenty-something, college student's life whether they want it to be or not. I love technology and I think it's extremely useful; however, it is a distraction to me on a regular basis. I guess that's a choice I can make, whether I want to use that as an excuse for procrastination or not, but it is also difficult to avoid. In addition to that, I find it very frustrating that our laptops, the internet, and other types of technology are required for so much of our college education. I should probably get over it because that's just how life is in today's society; however, I am a very old-fashioned learner. I learn best when I have pen/pencil, paper, and an actual book in my hand. I agree with this article/story, in the sense that technology/social media is a HUGE and vital part in completing college successfully. I'm not sure if I would be able to without it. I also agree that social media encourages and promotes procrastinations. Like I said previously, I know it's a choice you make (to procrastinate) but it is a very compulsive act, and almost instinctive at this point, to get on the internet and immediately check Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. I actually also agree that it may promote the sharing of opinions about important and creative ideas. It can really open your eyes to other's perspectives and opinions about certain issues that you may never have thought of before.
This article didn’t really surprise me at all. College students have been consumed by social media and are almost at its mercy. I did find it interesting that a large percentage of students spend up to 8 hours a day checking social media sites. I can’t see that as a positive influence in any way. I do agree with Leri, in that the benefits of interactive technology outweigh the risks and that when it’s used in a POSITIVE way, it can be a great tool. It’s when social media sites are used in a negative way that it hinders production. Students must learn some control and consider some time management if they do not want their grades to suffer. This might be something too much, though, to ask of an undergraduate population.
The results of the article didn’t surprise me but I can’t say that it totally relates to my experience. I’m on a majority of the sites in the study but I spend at the most an hour a day checking social media. I can see how spending six or more hours on social media would be a distraction and grades could possibly suffer. The only objection I have to the study is that it’s pin pointing social media as the culprit. The research was really a study of procrastination and how much time students spend doing things other than studying. If a student spent more than six hours procrastinating doing any activity it would hinder their grades. Before social media I would get distracted with tv or surfing the web on my dial up internet connection. An interesting follow up study would be to compare procrastination habits with and without social media.
Being that our generation has grown up with social media, and I have been a part of it myself, the results of this study are not very surprising. Too many people have too much free time. if you don't have a plan for your day, or goals in general, it is easy to lose a ton of time staying caught up in the never-ending feed of news, gossip, and random (often pointless) quotes or phrases that people post. I use social media, but I don't let it become a part of my life. Its cool to see what people are up to sometimes, maybe whats going on in the world around you, but its not something I want to invest 6-8 hours in like 45% of those surveyed… that is ridiculous. To those people I say this: find a different hobby. Do something productive. Invest time in bettering YOURSELF rather than staying caught up in what everyone else is doing. Although I have some negative opinions I do believe social media has several benefits (otherwise I would kind of be a hypocrite for using them).
The sample size of this study is way too small to draw any alarming conclusions, but is it really surprising to find out that college students are distracted? Really? Whether you are a full-time student, or a multi-tasker working full time and going to school at night, there are always going to be distractions. If you choose wisely, hopefully you can get all of the work done and still have some time to be entertained. If social media is your vice, enjoy it in moderation.
While I don't agree that increased use of social media increases the likelihood of a student to "drink and drug", I do agree that it contributes to procrastination. However, sometimes social media is just used as an excuse. A procrastinating student is bound to put off work and turning to Facebook might just be a way to fill their time. I find it to be a weak argument to say that social media causes procrastination in students - while it's a possibility, it's unlikely that a student who consistently procrastinates can really blame it on social media.
In my own experience, I also don't find that social media teaches students how to be good communicators. Sure, you can type uber messages to your friends, but when you're in a face-to-face conversation with them, can you keep eye contact, speak clearly, etc.? Overall, I think finding social media to blame for classroom failures and communication successes is due to more deeply-seeded issues other than just logging on to Facebook.
Procrastination hits the nail on the head. In hallways, lunch rooms, and classroom I see students with computers open, logged on to Facebook, even while the Prof. is giving lectures! If these students can’t seem to stay away from it for a class period, I cannot imagine how much time they spend logged on when outside the class. I have not had the pleasure of a FB account yet, or any other social media, so I have not seen all the excitement yet. Everyone I know has one and has encouraged me to get one too, all for different reasons; you’ll find lost friends, we can share pictures, easier to stay in touch, etc. I prefer a simple phone call or an email and evidently saving myself hours a day I didn’t know I would be losing.
I, as well as many, have definitely fallen victim to overuse of social media. While I have never recorded how much time out of a day I spend checking these accounts on my phone or computer, I can guess that at times it has been longer than I'd like to admit. I was surprised to read that some spend 6-8 hours on social media in a day, but since they can do this while doing other things..cumulatively, it is possible. I would think more individuals use it in bursts via smart-phones rather than longer periods on the computer but both do happen. I agree with this article that social media has given me academic support and assistance at times, however I do think it has served more often as a distraction and a form of procrastination for me. As our generation has become accustomed to this level of multitasking, it can be detrimental and keep us from being fully present.
I would have to suggest taking the results of this study with a very large grain of salt. The study only surveyed 48 people and the report does not detail the survey methodology. It would be my guess that they handed this survey to their peers during one of their marketing classes, hardly a "random sample". I would believe that a marketing student would be more inclined to spend large amounts of time on social media. I can only assume, but I would postulate that many students engaged in engineering, math, and sciences would bring this average down considerably.
I would want to see the results of a larger survey administered across a range of academic disciplines before drawing conclusions from the data, especially that the average college kid spends more than 4 or 6 hours every day on social media.
Who are these people that spend 6-8 hours a day checking social media sites like its their full time job. I work full time and go to school full time, and as Sweet Brown always says: "Ain't nobody got time for that!" :)
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