Comments for Fox News Says Facebook Will Ruin Your Grades

Fox News Says Facebook Will Ruin Your Grades

2009-04-14T01:30:00Z

Ohio State University doctoral student and researcher Aryn Karpinski announced a study today indicating that students who use Facebook also have lower GPA scores and study less. The study got picked up by traditional news media sites like UPI and Fox News. A lot of the media reports (including Fox News') opportunistically called Facebook the culprit, which we believe the study doesn't seem to prove conclusively at all.

]]> According to the study, of the 219 students surveyed, the 148 who use Facebook are scoring on average a full grade point lower than their non-Facebook peers. Facebook-using participants also admit to a much lower average number of weekly study hours, 1 to 5 hours a week compared to 11 to 15 for the higher-scoring bunch. The study is quick to admit that there is no direct causal link between Facebook use and lower grades, and it did go on to state that 79% of the students who used Facebook claimed it did not impact their grades.

The news coverage of this study seem to make the assumption that generally, Facebook was at least partially (or even in the case of Yahoo! News, completely) responsible for the students' scores being lower. But it seems to me that there are too many outside factors that aren't being accounted for to make a causal link with Facebook in this case. First, the student themselves denied Facebook use was causing their bad study habits and lower test scores. It makes just as much sense to say those students are looking for distractions from their studies, and socializing is certainly a popular student pastime, whether it be in person or on Facebook.

It was noted that undergraduate students and students who participated in extra-curricular activities were both more likely to use Facebook and have a lower GPA. If there is a connection with Facebook use, I think it would be more reasonable to say that these students would be distracted by online socialization whether Facebook existed or not. This is also a theory that was put forth by Aryn in the report:

"It may be that if it wasn't for Facebook, some students would still find other ways to avoid studying, and would still get lower grades. But perhaps the lower GPAs could actually be because students are spending too much time socializing online."

As long as everyone is guessing what the data in this report really means, you might want to read up on the term continuous partial attention, the state in which you multitask, but are motivated by a desire not to miss anything. More studies have proven that people who multitask (think texting on a phone while driving) already end up doing each of the tasks worse, and if you include the willingness to be continuously distracted by online goings-on, it could definitely mean that critical scholastic skills such as rote memory and concentration are noticeably affected.

Comment from Alex on 2009-04-13

2009-04-14T02:00:40Z

Correlation doesn't imply causation, but then again maybe Fox spent too much time on Facebook instead of learning that :)

Comment from matthewvb on 2009-04-13

2009-04-14T03:15:35Z

With all due respect to my fellow academics at Ohio State, I have to question the ability to draw conclusions based off a sample of ~200 students at one institution, especially with half being graduate students (who usually are a small percentage of Facebook users).

Not to link-bait, but I presented research in 2006, Uncovering the Social Impacts of Facebook on a College Campus (http://hdl.handle.net/2097/181), which identified what is now becoming a trend of lower GPAs for those who spent more time on Facebook. However, I also found there are several positive outcomes from Facebook usage which I think are often forgotten but should be stressed.

One of the most interesting pieces of information gathered is, "Students of color and students who identify as non-heterosexual engage use Facebook as a tool to make social connections they could not make in person." This is a key area which universities can reach out to students and help engage and build a connection to populations which may feel distant or un-connected from their campus communities.

It is clear that there is more research to be done in this field. I look forward to reading more about the Ohio State findings and applaud all who continue to research the impacts social networks are having on students across the country.

Comment from Phil Glockner on 2009-04-13

2009-04-14T03:29:23Z

Thanks for the great follow-up comment, Matthew! I'll definitely have to check out your research (I'll re-post the link here: http://hdl.handle.net/2097/181 )

Comment from Falafulu Fisi on 2009-04-13

2009-04-14T03:42:49Z

Students should engage in various internet discussion groups that are related to their education rather than wasting their time in Facebook or other social networking sites, which don't contribute much to academic knowledge. The only thing users get from Facebook are gossips, such as what Britney Spears had been upto in the last 2 weeks or so. This is not academic knowledge at all. It is useless.

There are various online discussion groups for various subjects such as MathForum for mathematics for instance that are more constructive to learners to join rather than hanging around the time-wasting Facebook which doesn't educate its users something useful except wasting their time. These various online discussion groups, is almost realtime, where member can post a question about a topic (say Maths) and the community will almost answer the question/s immediately.

I coach mathematics and science to children of relatives (primary level as well as secondary level) twice a week in the evening and I have recommended to them to join certain online discussion groups because it would help them in their learning. These kids excel in math, since they do actively participate in these online discussion forums.

Comment from Kevin on 2009-04-13

2009-04-14T03:45:32Z

I just saw a report on the Discovery channel that says the time we have to learn the most is during the wrong part of the day...it's in the afternoon when we are fully awake and aware to achieve high academics. It's not really even the afternoon but after 10:00 am that we start to make the best of our learning capabilities...Fox news is Bias in anything they cover. Even making us believe that this Teaparty coverage is our presidents fault but actually our past president Bush's fault for the tax increase to come in the next few days. Most of the people protesting have no idea that this is true and yet Fox news will cover them and make no point in telling the truth..just like this facebook report..BIAS

Comment from Emmadw on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T07:58:32Z

While I agree with Falafulu that discussion boards can be useful for learning - in my experience discussion boards are often as active in the "off topic" areas as the "on topic" ones.
However, I think that University students may be a little different in their use of Facebook to the picture he presents. When discussing its use, a group of students I work with (in this case First year Computing/ Computer Science Students - in the UK) said that though they do use it to discuss their social life etc,. they also use it to discuss their studies, arrange study meetings, clarify lecture points etc. Much, I suspect, as were I to eavesdrop in the cafeteria; they'd be talking about which bar they're going to go to, as well as what point X was trying to make in his lecture about Y.

Comment from Morgan on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T09:45:40Z

Just a quick aside @Kevin-- we aren't protesting any tax increase, as nothing has happened there yet. We are protesting an irresponsible budget with deficits that dwarf anything Bush or even FDR ever thought of. Here are the White House and CBO estimates to clarify:

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/521/obamadebt.jpg

As for Fox, they are not alone in the correlation/causation confusion, it is dumb and frustrating. It's a lot like the old marijuana-as-gateway-drug ridiculousness. Of course someone that is willing to try pot is more willing to try harder stuff-- it by no means proves causation.

Anyway, Fox has no monopoly on bad logic from statistics, but it's inexcusable whoever does it.

Comment from john on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T10:27:54Z

Phil (and other kids),

I know it's fashionable to put Fox in the crosshairs - and believe me, the do some goofy stuff - - but your headline falls flat when most internet readers found this story on USAToday, Time, and other news sites. This isn't a Fox story. They're not out to get you, Phil.

Comment from matthewvb on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T14:13:47Z

@john: I've followed up on the other news sites and they're all saying about the same thing. It seems USA Today and Time do a little more than just re-report what Ohio State released, but MSNBC took the same story put out by LiveScience.

I think at the end of the day, we need more research on the topic and need to do a better job of educating the news agencies on what social media is and what type of impact it is having on society. Kevin Guidry said it best as "We put this in the 'bad' category of media coverage."

Comment from Thinker on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T14:46:24Z

In other news, Fox "News" causes one's IQ to drop by about 30% after prolonged reading/watching.

Comment from Henway on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T16:05:42Z

This is the same FOX News that said Mr. Rogers made children feel entitled too much, and led to the current economic situation.. gimme a break. These guys lost all my respect after that stupid article

Comment from Pattty on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T17:32:04Z

I guess I'll start to spend less time in facebook and more time reading books lol

Comment from Gurner on 2009-04-14

2009-04-14T19:07:55Z

and this'll be the same Fox owned by Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp, that also own Sky, ITV etc, and 'MySpace'? and every media outlet that pushes 'Facebook gives you cancer/has paados/murders, immigrants take all jobs/account for a 3rd of all crime etc'

Comment from Scott Wild on 2009-04-15

2009-04-15T13:34:49Z

I have a couple of thoughts, for what it's worth.

If kids are spending HOURS per day on Facebook or other social networking sites, my questions is NOT to the kids, but rather the parents. Why? Isn't this a simple matter of engaging your kids in a little conversation? Take an interest in them and they will depend less on Facebook.

I think Facebook is a great way for people to stay connected and to communicate easier. I'm still a firm believer that the best form of communication is done face to face. However, with my friends around the United States, that's just not feasible.

My second thought is regarding the adoption of learning into the social networking environments. I would say that a kid that has learned to effectively use and application to communicate with thousands (if not millions) of people with a few keystrokes is not lacking in intelligence. In fact, isn't this what we try to teach communication students in college? Don't you think that you might connect and engage this generation more if you actually adopted some of the tools they valued into their learning environment?

Like I said...just a couple of thoughts....for what it's worth.

Comment from Mac on 2009-04-15

2009-04-16T00:49:51Z

Come on folks we're talking Fox News here. Watching their Tea Bag thingy this afternoon shows how unreliable their information is.

Comment from Andrew on 2009-04-25

2009-04-25T08:42:22Z

Does anyone still listen to this news channel??? But I guess there are brain dead people all over the planet who do not like to use their own brain and would like fox to pre-chew their food for thought for them. But what they do not realize is that Fox likes to add their spices or rather take out the spice of truth before giving them the dead carcass of news to eat.

Comment from Free Freebies on 2009-06-02

2009-06-03T06:32:41Z

great article

Comment from Office Cleaners Edinburgh on 2009-09-21

2009-09-21T08:10:36Z

"It may be that if it wasn't for Facebook, some students would still find other ways to avoid studying, and would still get lower grades. But perhaps the lower GPAs could actually be because students are spending too much time socializing online."

That would actually make sense. In fact, online socialising is as disastrous for students as it is for office workers or whoever has access to a computer and the Internet. Not only that, it can even be damaging to families. People are now so much focused on socialising online that they forget how it is to socialise in real life. The habit becomes an addiction and this can lead to real problems in real life. All in the name of online socialising.

Comment from WebDesignPrint on 2009-09-24

2009-09-24T18:37:07Z

Any disruption may affect your grades or... like ReadWriteWeb is affecting my work ;) On the other hand I learn a lot from this site, so why would not Facebook fans learn something as well? Still, there is probably more to learn here than on Facebook.

Comment from Builders Glasgow on 2009-09-25

2009-09-25T11:52:46Z

The report was published in 2006. I wonder if there is any more up-to-date surveyed on a more representative group of people? Is it now worse or maybe the opposite?