Social Media and Academic Performance: Does Facebook Activity Relate to Good Grades

Abstract

We analyze how Facebook use and students’ social network positions within it relate to their academic performance. We use a unique data set obtained from a survey of students’ perceptions, actual Facebook connections to measure social network positions, and objective grades provided by the university registrar to measure academic performance. We find that Facebook activities during class relate negatively to academic performance, that students located in densely connected subnetworks earn better grades, and that in contrast to female students, male students benefit from a general use of Facebook, particularly if they are highly connected.

Keywords: Academic Performance, Facebook, Social Media, Social Network Analysis

JEL Classification: D83, D85, M3, M30, M31