Electronic Media and Your GPA

Wade C. Jacobsen and Renata Forste conducted research with the title: “Aacademic and Social Outcomes of Electronic Media Use among University Students.” This study looked into correlations between electronic media use and GPA, and electronic media use and face-to-face social interaction. What the study found was as they hypothesized, that SNS exposure, cell-phone communication, video and online gaming, and TV and movie viewing all have a negative correlation to GPA. The reported use of electronic media was done while “multitasking” which means using such media when also engaged in school-related activities. The study found that multitasking occurs frequently among students, with 62% of participants admitting to using some form of electronic media while involved in academic activities. The results show that “for every hour of electronic media exposure reported by students on average, GPA was reduced between 0.05 and 0.07 points.” This is a significant statistic. As a college student, I know that we as a whole use electronic media very frequently. According to this study, the time we spend on SNS’s, cell phones and other media is contributing toward a lesser GPA. This should affect the use of such technologies in that university students should try to reduce the amount of time spent on Facebook, text messaging, etc. when working on academic activities. Professors also play a role in the use of these technologies. Some professors do not allow students to misuse cell phones, laptops, etc. in class, but there are many that allow students to make that decision themselves. Based on the findings of this study, it is likely that if a professor does not allow improper use of electronic media in class (i.e., using your laptop to check Facebook), his or her class GPA will be slightly higher than the class of a professor who does allow such activity. Another aspect of this study focused on the social outcomes of electronic media use. Jacobsen and Forste found that “for every hour increase on average in SNS exposure or cell-phone communication, average face-to-face social interaction increased about 10 to 15 minutes.” Results also found that offline social interaction has a negative correlation with GPA. The study revealed that for every hour of offline social interaction, your GPA decreases by 0.02 on average. So, according to the study, the more time spent on electronic media increases offline social interaction, which then has a negative impact on your GPA. The social and academic outcomes of using electronic media are significantly negative based on the results shown in this research. It is important for university students to keep this in mind when involved in academic or social activities. The use of such technologies should be reduced because of the negative impact they can have on a GPA. Although socializing and entertainment through electronic media are both important, the amount of time spent on such activities hurts academic progress which is arguably more important. So, to all you college students, watch how much time you spend on Facebook, for it may end up hurting you.

Jacobsen, W. C., & Forste, R. (2011). The wired generation: academic and social outcomes

                 of electronic media use among university students. CyberPsychology, Behavior, and

                Social Networking, 15(5), 275-280. doi: http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.ohio-
                state.edu/ehost /pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0d591be6-78fa-48a2-9ea1-
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