College Women Use Social Media 12 Hours Per Day, Texting Linked with Poor Academic Performance

It's no wonder that young people are constantly walking around with their cell phones glued to their face or fingers, and whether it's texting or talking or even updating a Facebook status on your android or iPhone, too much time spent on these social media tools can take a toll on your academia, according to research from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine.

A new study shows that freshmen women spend nearly half their day (12 hours) engaged in some form of media use, which includes texting, music, the Internet and social networking. Researchers also found that media use in general was associated with lower grade point averages (GPAs) and other negative academic outcomes. Yet, two exceptions, including newspaper reading and listening to music, have been linked to a positive performance in academia.

"Most research on media use and academics has focused on adolescents, rather than new college students, or has only examined a few forms of media. So we were curious about the impact of a wider range of media, including activities like social networking and texting that have only become popular in recent years," said lead author Jennifer L. Walsh, Ph.D., of The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, according to a press release. "We also wanted to know how media use related to later school performance, since there aren't many longitudinal studies looking at media use and academics."

Researchers surveyed 483 first-year college women at a northeast university at the beginning of their freshman year, asking students about their use of 11 forms of media-i.e., television, movies, music, surfing the Internet, social networking, talking on a cell phone, texting, magazines, newspapers, non-school-related books and video games. They were asked their typical usage on weekday and weekend days during the previous week, as well. In January and June, participants reported their GPAs for the fall and spring semester, and they also completed surveys about academic confidence, behaviors and problems.

The study found that cell phones, social networking, movie/television viewing and magazine reading were most negatively associated with later academic outcomes when accounting for fall academic performances.

"We found women who spend more time using some forms of media report fewer academic behaviors, such as completing homework and attending class, lower academic confidence and more problems affecting their school work, like lack of sleep and substance use," said Walsh, adding that the study was one of the first to explore mechanisms of media effects on academic outcomes.

Researchers also believe the findings demonstrate the central role of social media in the lives of college students, and that most social media may be used off campus. 

The findings are reported online by the journal Emerging Adulthood.