Impact of Facebook Addiction on Students Academic Performance

Facebook was created to provide a networking medium for people especially students to interact with others [1]. But in today’s scenario facebook is regarded as the primacy social-networking site [2]. It was reported that approximately 94% of undergraduate students were active facebook users spending countless hours on daily basis [3]. According to a recent report it was stated that approximately ten billion minutes per day was devoted to facebook by users [4]. And the average minute per user per day escalated by 57% [5]. Here the underlying concern is the prolonged time being spent on Facebook with negative impacts on students’ academic accomplishments [6]. According to a study it was reported that students that devotes bigger number of hours on facebook tends to score low GPAs with poor overall performance [7]. Another study revealed that substantial facebook use is common among students with less demanding scholastic accomplishments [8]. The main aim of this survey was to determine the impact of facebook addiction on undergraduates’ academic performance.

100 randomly selected undergraduate students at BUITEMS were examined. Keeping in mind all those participants has an active facebook account. Bergen scale was used for the assessment of facebook addiction with a score >80 as facebook addict [9]. Demographic data, academic scoring i.e. GPA and time spent on Facebook was also obtained from each participant. Microsoft excel was used for analysis of the raw data.

Graph 1: Gender distribution.

52% were females and 48% were males out of a total of 100 selected participants as depicted in Graph 1.

Graph 2 represents the distribution of facebook addiction factors.

Graph 2: Prevalence of facebook addiction factors.

Graph 3: Frequency of Facebook account access Graph 4 reveals the current GPA of the selected participants.

Frequency of Facebook account access every day is given in Graph 3; (Graph 4).

Graph 4: GPA of the students.

Incidence of facebook addiction is given in Graph 5

Graph 5: Level of facebook addiction.

Our study revealed a strong relationship between facebook addiction and students GPA. As depicted in Graph 2 & 4 that facebook usage is seen in students having lower GPA’s. Since spending too much time fason facebook results in poor academic performance as depicted in Graph 3 [10]. Too much hours utilized on facebook causes disturbance in normal everyday routine and eventually leads to poor performance [11,12]. Obtained results also indicated that high prevalence of facebook addiction was seen in students that tend to be more social and consider facebook as an integral aspect of their life [13]. According to a study it was reported that the highest ratio of facebook users belongs to the adolescent and young undergraduates that uses facebook for gaming, emailing, instant messaging etc [14]. Besides these social network sites such as facebook, it provides an interactive platform for people for displaying their public/private profiles and using them for socializing with their peers [15]. However the far stretching acceptance of facebook has raised an emerging concern among people regarding its damaging implications on the lives of undergraduates [16]. With over 800 million facebook users, 350 million people can easily access facebook through their cell phones [17]. With the advent of technology, access to these sites is not a problem [18]. Creating online profiles for friends and peers is very popular among undergraduates for the portrayal of their fascinating life and is common among both the genders as indicated in Graph 5; [19]. With escalating number of individuals utilizing facebook for uploading private pictures, videos etc it could be exploited [20]. It was reported that preeminent use of Facebook develops addiction which was seen prominent in overenthusiastic undergraduates that tries to portray their personalities as tempting as they can [21]. Along with their desire for diversity, new encounters and inquisitiveness of the mind [22,23]. The provision of fresh ideas about connecting to people and opportunities for additional experiences may be why students spend long hours on Facebook [24]. However this might cause a diversion from their path to complete their academic goals set out for them leading to a downfall. Therefore it is important to recognize the excessive usage of facebook as addiction and steps should be taken to minimize or regulate its use among students so their studies are not affected.

Though facebook is an interactive platform for the students to share their life with their friends and peers but its excessive use has implications, not only on their academics but also on their personal life.

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