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TOP STORIES
TuesdayFebruary92010



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Is Facebook more than a distraction?
4/16/2009 12:24 PM
By: Jennifer Borget

A recent study suggests students' time spent on Facebook correlates to lower grade point averages.  
If you look through a student computer lab on a college campus, chances are you will see a handful of students on Facebook, and while some students know when to give it a rest, others aren't sure when to stop.

That's what St. Edward's University senior Sherrie Stringer explained.

"After like 10 or 20 minutes I think, 'OK, let's do something else," she said. "But I have friends who are addicted to it."

More Information
Web Extras
More Information

Study finds link between Facebook use, lower grades in college, OSU Research News

What Facebook Users Share: Lower Grades, TIME - April 14, 2009.

Study on Facebook and Grades Becomes Learning Experience for Researcher, TechNewsWorld - April 14, 2009.

Can Facebook Make You Flunk? Not Likely, PCWorld - April 14, 2009.

That so called "addiction" is what made researchers at Ohio State University conduct a study, and they found a correlation between Facebook users and lower grade point averages.

Others, like University of Texas School of Information Dean Andrew Dillon, believe Facebook isn't necessarily the problem.

"People who don't study a lot are easily distracted and are open to experiences outside of studying, and if it wasn't Facebook, it would have been TV, sports, music, going out with friends. There's any number of reasons not to study," he said.

Having easy access to the Internet gives easy access to distractions.

 WATCH THE VIDEO
More Information
Students on Facebook

News 8’s Jennifer Borget explains why not everyone agrees with a recent study.



"If you're sitting down to homework and you don't want to do it, it's so easy to avoid doing it, and by the time you get around to doing it, you've wasted so much time," Stringer said.

Stringer and St. Edward's University Chair of Psychology Russ Frohardt argue that after a long day of classes, work and activities, it's nice to take a break.

"It's challenging, and I can see where if you use what little bit of the free time you have on Facebook, it can chop into your time for studying," Frohardt said.

University of Texas School of Information Dean Andrew Dillon says Facebook isn't necessarily the problem in lower grade point averages.  
Stringer added, "It's so hard sometimes to be like, 'I'm going to do school and I'm not going to do anything else,' because it takes so much of your social life away. That's why it's hard for a lot of people to get those priorities straight."



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