Slashdot Mirror
Facebook Users Get Lower Grades In College
Hugh Pickens writes "According to a survey of college students Facebook users have lower overall grades than non-users. The study by Aryn Karpinski, an education researcher at Ohio State University, found that Facebook user GPAs are in the 3.0 to 3.5 range on average, compared to 3.5 to 4.0 for non-users and that Facebook users also studied anywhere from one to five hours per week, compared to non-users who studied 11 to 15 or more hours per week. Karpinski emphasized that correlation does not equal causation and that the grades association could be caused by something else. 'I'm just saying that there's some kind of relationship there, and there's many third variables that need to be studied.' One hypothesis is that students who spend more time enjoying themselves rather than studying might tend to latch onto the nearest distraction, such as Facebook or that students who use the social networking site might also spend more time on other non-studying activities such as sports or music. '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 for herself, Karpinski said she doesn't have a Facebook account, although the co-author of the study does. 'For me, I think Facebook is a huge distraction.'"
OK, the article provides no details on sample size or how the survey was conducted, so I call BS. How were the samples chosen and how many people and from only one university, c'mon! If some survey was done outside the remedial center versus in the advanced studies lab then I expect discrepancies. I really hate to see statistics used to claim correlations that may not be there because someone "did a study".
Could it be that the same quiet kids in high school that kept to themselves, studied and did well in school, are the same kids that are less likely to get into anything with the word social in it? I think its just more likely that facebook attracts the social people who spend less time worrying about schooling, and shows no interest to the people who are brainy loners.
The musings of just another geek and his junk.
This is why the average millionares GPA was only a 2.92.
An inventor is a man who asks 'Why?' of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.
A-Duh! C'mon, like, really? Wait, what what the article about?...
(my Facebook user id is 3 digits)