those who spent 2-4 hours on social media held the greatest majority students(18%) who had high GPAs. Those who spent 4-6 hours had the second largest percentage (16%) while the 1-2 and 6+ hour groups each significantly represented less(<8% and 4% respectively). This may be due to the 2-4 hour group being able to manage both their social and academic lives such that SNS are a good stress reliever but are not distracting to their work.

hours spent on SNS vs. GPA

Based off their SNSAT score which measures the extent to which a student is addicted to SNS, those with a score between 52 and 77 had significantly higher GPA(3.0) scores compared to their passive or addicted peers(2.72 and 2.6). This may be due to ability to have an active personality overall not just online. They use SNS to their advantage and understanding how to utilize it while also managing their time. A moderate use of SNS therefore may benefit academic performance but only in the correct doses.

New York University

the point to which SNS will hurt or help academic performance depends on the level of usage and how/what the SNS are used/used for. There does however seem to be a sweetspot for the hours spent on social media and the affect on academic performance. In other words, one should use SNS to a moderate degree but not too much or too little that it starts to affect their academics.

SNS affects on academic performance

Al-Yafi, K., El-Masri, M. The effects of using social network sites on academic performance: the case of Qatar. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. 31(3), 446-462.

The effects of using social network sites on academic performance: the case of Qatar

Based off their SNSAT score which measures the extent to which a student is addicted to SNS, those with a score of <51 had no significant improvement in GPA scores(2.72) in comparison to their addicted user peers(2.6). Moderate users had the highest GPA. This may be due to an apathetic personality which is reflected both in their usage and academic motivation.

passive users' GPA vs. moderate and addicted users

moderate users' GPA vs passive and addicted users

Based off their SNSAT score which measures the extent to which a student is addicted to SNS, those with a score of >78 had significantly lower GPA scores compared to their passive or moderate level users. This may be because of the amount of time dedicated to using these sites instead of focusing on school work and thus less time devoted to studying and improving their grades.

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