In the recent years, the use of social media has grown significantly with high school, college and university students forming the bulk of users. On average, college and university students spend at least 2-4 hours in day checking popular social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Youtube and Twitter. This has negatively affected students’ perfomance, a scenario which could be attributed to multitasking when in class, studying or doing homework. For instance, students who use Facebook while studying have lower grades than their counterparts who do not use social media. Student’s retention reduces as well due to distraction when studying.
Researchers have also found out that the use of social media when doing homework creates a tendency to procrastinate. It becomes difficult for the students to plan their time when browsing through their favorite sites. Consequently, the students become less productive as they continue to use the sites for prolonged periods. The use of online sites also impacts negatively on the development of offline relationships. Psychologists believe that sustained use of social sites hinders development of meaningful relationships with parents and siblings. Lastly, students using social media are also exposed to pornography.
On the basis of literature read, the research project will test the hypothesis that if students use social media, then, their grades will be negatively affected. The research project will also test the hypothesis that if students use social media, then, their ability to plan for their time will also be negatively influenced. Lastly, the research will test the hypothesis that if a student uses social media often, then, their social skills will not be fully developed.
Reference
Wang, Qingya; Chen, Wei; and Liang, Yu, "The Effects of Social Media on College
Students" (2011). MBA Student Scholarship. Paper 5.
http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/mba_student/5
