In-class multitasking and academic performance

The omnipresence of student-owned information and communication technologies (ICTs) in today’s college classrooms presents educational opportunities but can also create learning problems. Specifically, multitasking with these technologies can interfere with the learning process. Indeed, research in cognitive science shows that there are clear performance decrements when trying to attend to two tasks at the same time. This study examines the frequency with which students multitask during class using a large sample (N = 1,839) and examines the relationship between multitasking and academic performance as measured by actual overall semester grade point average (GPA). Students reported frequently text messaging during class but reported multitasking with other ICTs to a lesser extent. Furthermore, only social technologies (Facebook and text messaging) were negatively related to GPA.     

Internal and external influences on social networking site usage in Thailand

The purpose of the study is to investigate internal and external factors influencing the use of social networking sites (SNSs) in Thailand. Overall (N = 451) participated in this study. Survey research was employed to examine the interrelationships and differences among a set of variables. The results showed that both internal and external factors affecting the use of SNSs and SNS motivation. External factors, particularly media and significant others were more influential than internal factors to predicting time spent on SNSs. People who were influenced by media and significant others would be more likely to spend more time using SNSs and Facebook. SNS motivation led to different SNS use. In particular, those who were motivated to use SNS for relaxation would spend more time using Facebook. In addition, the findings indicated that females would spend more time using YouTube, Twitter, and Hi5 than males. Moreover, females tended more to use SNSs to maintain their friendship than did males.     

No A 4 U: The relationship between multitasking and academic performance

The proliferation and ease of access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as Facebook, text messaging, and instant messaging has resulted in ICT users being presented with more real-time streaming data than ever before. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in individuals increasingly engaging in multitasking as an information management strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine how college students multitask with ICTs and to determine the impacts of this multitasking on their college grade point average (GPA). Using web survey data from a large sample of college students at one university (N = 1839), we found that students reported spending a large amount of time using ICTs on a daily basis. Students reported frequently searching for content not related to courses, using Facebook, emailing, talking on their cell phones, and texting while doing schoolwork. Hierarchical (blocked) linear regression analyses revealed that using Facebook and texting while doing schoolwork were negatively associated with overall college GPA. Engaging in Facebook use or texting while trying to complete schoolwork may tax students' capacity for cognitive processing and preclude deeper learning. Our research indicates that the type and purpose of ICT use matters in terms of the educational impacts of multitasking.     

Students’ self-presentation on Facebook: An examination of personality and self-construal factors

The present research seeks to extend existing theory on self-disclosure to the online arena in higher educational institutions and contribute to the knowledge base and understanding about the use of a popular social networking site (SNS), Facebook, by college students. We conducted a non-experimental study to investigate how university students (N = 463) use Facebook, and examined the roles that personality and culture play in disclosure of information in online SNS-based environments. Results showed that individuals do disclose differently online vs. in-person, and that both culture and personality matter. Specifically, it was found that collectivistic individuals low on extraversion and interacting in an online environment disclosed the least honest and the most audience-relevant information, as compared to others. Exploratory analyses also indicate that students use sites such as Facebook primarily to maintain existing personal relationships and selectively used privacy settings to control their self-presentation on SNSs. The findings of this study offer insight into understanding college students’ self-disclosure on SNS, add to the literature on personality and self-disclosure, and shape future directions for research and practice on online self-presentation.     

Exploring romantic relationships on social networking sites using the self-expansion model

Several hypotheses were derived from the self-expansion model (Aron & Aron, 1986) concerning romantic relationships and social networking sites (SNSs). A sample of 276 participants responded to questions about their relationship history and SNS uses and a subset of those (N = 149) responded to additional questions about a current romantic partner. Results suggest that past self-expansion leaves a residue shown by more interests. This finding was moderated by overall Facebook use. Particular Facebook behaviors such as tagging one’s partner in status updates, appearing together in photographs, and listing similar interests on profiles are indicative of self-expansion processes typically found in romantic relationships.     

Too much face and not enough books: The relationship between multiple indices of Facebook use and academic performance

Because of the social media platform’s widespread adoption by college students, there is a great deal of interest in how Facebook use is related to academic performance. A small number of prior studies have examined the relationship between Facebook use and college grade point average (GPA); however, these studies have been limited by their measures, sampling designs and failure to include prior academic ability as a control variable. For instance, previous studies used non-continuous measures of time spent on Facebook and self-reported GPA. This paper fills a gap in the literature by using a large sample (N = 1839) of college students to examine the relationship among multiple measures of frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and time spent preparing for class and actual overall GPA. Hierarchical (blocked) linear regression analyses revealed that time spent on Facebook was strongly and significantly negatively related to overall GPA, while only weakly related to time spent preparing for class. Furthermore, using Facebook for collecting and sharing information was positively predictive of the outcome variables while using Facebook for socializing was negatively predictive.     

Cultural differences in social networking site use: A comparative study of China and the United States

This research compared social networking site (SNS) use in a collectivistic culture, China, and an individualistic culture, the United States (US). Over 400 college student participants from a Southwestern University in Chongqing, China, and 490 college participants from a Midwestern University in the US completed a survey about their use of SNSs – time spent, importance and motives for use. They then rated themselves on a variety of personal characteristics, namely the Big Five Personality factors, Loneliness, Shyness and Life Satisfaction. Results revealed cultural differences in SNS use. US participants spent more time in SNS, considered them to be more important and had more friends in SNSs than did Chinese participants. Self-ratings of personal characteristics also differed in the two cultures as did the personal characteristics that predicted SNS use. In general, personal characteristics were less effective in predicting SNS use in China than in the US. Findings suggest that in collectivistic cultures the importance of the family, friends and one’s groups may be partly responsible for Chinese participants’ lesser use of SNSs, whereas in individualistic cultures the importance of self and having more but less close and enduring friendships may be partly responsible for US participants’ greater use of SNSs. Personal characteristics predicted SNS use in both cultures but were stronger predictors in an individualistic culture than in a collectivistic, consistent with the emphasis on self in the former and on family, friends and one’s groups in the latter. Future research is needed to identify whether cultural values always take precedence over personal characteristics and motives in determining behavior in the virtual world.     

Facebook as a toolkit: A uses and gratification approach to unbundling feature use

Research on social network sites (SNSs) typically employ measures that treat SNS use as homogenous although the user-base, user practices, and feature sets of these tools are increasingly diverse. Using a uses and gratifications approach, we address this problem by reconceptualizing SNSs as collections of features. Survey data collected from undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university (n = 267) revealed that users’ motivations for using Facebook predict their use of different features, such as status updates and Wall posts, but features that share similar capabilities do not necessarily share underlying motivations for use. When these results are contrasted against models employing a more unidimensional measure of Facebook use, we find differences between motivations for both general Facebook use and use of specific features of the site. This suggests that unidimensional measures of SNS use obfuscate motivations for using specific features. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings and this approach are discussed.     

Do students need teacher’s initiation in online collaborative learning?

As more and more people use computers to complete their work and solve problems in the workplace, computing education is emphasized for students of all levels and disciplines in Taiwan. However, the computing education in Taiwan can hardly be recognized as effective and satisfactory. Many inappropriate examples that lack context are used in teaching and textbooks that may result in employees with low competence and insufficient ability for collaborative working. Students who grow up in this learning context usually lack the ability to seek information and solve problems by themselves. In this regard, the author redesigned a course and adopted online collaborative learning with initiation to establish the essential knowledge for students’ collaboration in the initial stage of a course. This study conducted an experiment that included 169 undergraduates from three class sections – the first two from an academic university (Case 1, n = 68; Case 2, n = 68) and the last one from a university of science and technology (Case 3, n = 33) – taught by the same teacher under the same course name and the same course website. The results show that students who received online collaborative learning with initiation had higher grades than those without. The author further discusses the implications for teachers, schools, and scholars who plan to provide online courses for their students, particularly computing courses.     

Facebook or Renren? A comparative study of social networking site use and social capital among Chinese international students in the United States

Social networking sites (SNSs) are important tools for college students to maintain and develop social capital. Yet, few studies on the social implications of using SNSs have focused on international students and their use of different social media platforms for social capital. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the implications of using host country and home country SNSs for social capital among Chinese international students in the United States. A survey of Chinese international students at a large public university (N = 210) reveals that both Facebook and Renren use are positively associated with bridging social capital but not with bonding social capital. Facebook use has a stronger relationship with bridging social capital than does Renren use. Yet, only Renren use has a significant and positive relationship with maintaining home country social capital. These results have practical implications for international students to develop different types of social capital through different social media platforms.     

Construction of an instrument to measure student information and communication technology skills,experience and attitudes to e-learning

Over the past 20 years self-report measures of healthcare students’ information and communication technology skills have been developed with limited validation. Furthermore, measures of student experience of e-learning emerged but were not repeatedly used with diverse populations. A psychometric approach with five phases was used to develop and test a new self-report measure of skills and experience with information and communication technology and attitudes to computers in education. Phase 1: Literature review and identification of key items. Phase 2: Development and refinement of items with expert panel (n = 16) and students (n = 3) to establish face and content validity. Phase 3: Pilot testing of draft instrument with graduate pre-registration nursing students (n = 60) to assess administration procedures and acceptability of the instrument. Phase 4: Test–retest with further sample of graduate pre-registration nursing students (n = 70) tested stability and internal consistency. Phase 5: Main study with pre-registration nursing students (n = 458), further testing of internal consistency. The instrument proved to have moderate test–retest stability and the sub-scales had acceptable internal consistency. When used with a larger, more diverse population the psychometric properties were more variable. Further work is needed to refine the instrument with specific reference to possible cultural and linguistic response patterns and technological advances.     

Improving literacy and metacognition with electronic portfolios: Teaching and learning with ePEARL

Can an electronic portfolio that is both a multimedia container for student work and a tool to support key learning processes have a positive impact on the literacy practices and self-regulated learning skills of students? This article presents the findings of a yearlong study conducted in three Canadian provinces during the 2007–2008 school year initially involving 32 teachers and 388 students. Due to varying levels of implementation our final data set included 14 teachers and 296 students. Using a non-equivalent pre-test/post-test design, we found that grade 4–6 students who were in classrooms where the teacher provided regular and appropriate use of the electronic portfolio tool ePEARL (i.e., medium–high implementation condition, n = 7 classrooms and 121 students), compared to control students (n = 7 classrooms and 175 students) who did not use ePEARL, showed significant improvements (p < .05) in their writing skills on a standardized literacy measure (i.e., the constructed response subtest of the Canadian Achievement Test-4th ed.) and certain metacognitive skills measured via student self-report. The results of this study indicate that teaching with ePEARL has positive impacts on students’ literacy and self-regulated learning skills when the tool is used regularly and integrated into classroom instruction.     

The relationships among the Big Five Personality factors,self-esteem,narcissism, and sensation-seeking to Chinese University students’ uses of social networking sites (SNSs)

It has been suggested that personality factors are related to an individuals’ use of social networking sites (SNSs). The present research explores the relationships between the Big Five Personality factors, narcissism, self-esteem, and sensation seeking and individuals’ use of specific features of SNS. Self-reports were collected from 265 SNS users from a university in China. Regression analyses revealed that personality factors play an important role in how SNS are used. Specifically, extraverts are more likely to use the communicative function of SNS including status update, comment, and adding more friends. Neurotic are more likely to use the feature of status update as a way of self-expression. Agreeable individuals tend to make more comments on others’ profiles. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to comment on others’ profiles. Users scoring high on openness and sensation seeking are more likely to play online games on SNS. Narcissistic users are more likely to upload their attractive photos on SNS and tend to use update status more frequently for self-presentation. Gender also played an important role in predicting types of SNS use. Males reported more SNS friends and were more likely to play online games than were females, who were more likely to upload self-photos and update their status.     

The contribution of social network sites to exposure to political difference: The relationships among SNSs, online political messaging, and exposure to cross-cutting perspectives

The increasing popularity of social network sites (SNSs) has raised questions about the role of social network media in the democratic process. This study explores how use of SNSs influences individuals’ exposure to political difference. The findings show a positive and significant relationship between SNSs and exposure to challenging viewpoints, supporting the idea that SNSs contribute to individuals’ exposure to cross-cutting political points of view. Partisanship was not found to interact with SNS use, suggesting that SNSs contribute to expanding exposure to dissimilar political views across individuals’ partisanship. Online political messaging also has a direct effect on exposure to dissimilar viewpoints, and it mediates the association between SNSs and exposure to cross-cutting political views.     

Association of demographics,motives and intensity of using Social Networking Sites with the formation of bonding and bridging social capital in Pakistan

The objectives of this confirmatory study were to investigate the association of socio-economic demographics (age, education of respondent, gender, monthly family income, parentage education), motives (communication and information, self-actualization and outward looking) of using Social Networking Sites (SNSs) and attitudinal and behavior variable (intensity of using SNS, self-esteem, gratification with university life, duration of use, and number of ties) with the formation of bonding and bridging social capital. Total 461 students, aged 18–35 years filled the questionnaire, from randomly selected departments of University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Regression analysis was used to assess the association among variables. The study indicated that Facebook is the most popular SNS among university students in Pakistan. Intensity of using SNS, duration of using SNSs, and motives of using SNSs were found to be positively associated with formation of bonding and bridging social capital. Self-esteem and gratifications with university life were found to be significant predictors in formation of bonding social capital only. The demographics variables (education, parentage education, monthly family income) had no influence on formation of both bonding and bridging social capital.     

A tale of two sites: Twitter vs. Facebook and the personality predictors of social media usage

Social networking sites (SNS) are quickly becoming one of the most popular tools for social interaction and information exchange. Previous research has shown a relationship between users’ personality and SNS use. Using a general population sample (N = 300), this study furthers such investigations by examining the personality correlates (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness-to-Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Sociability and Need-for-Cognition) of social and informational use of the two largest SNS: Facebook and Twitter. Age and Gender were also examined. Results showed that personality was related to online socialising and information seeking/exchange, though not as influential as some previous research has suggested. In addition, a preference for Facebook or Twitter was associated with differences in personality. The results reveal differential relationships between personality and Facebook and Twitter usage.     

Predicting adolescents’ use of social networking sites from an extended theory of planned behaviour perspective

The popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among adolescents has grown exponentially, with little accompanying research to understand the influences on adolescent engagement with this technology. The current study tested the validity of an extended theory of planned behaviour model (TPB), incorporating the additions of group norm and self-esteem influences, to predict frequent SNS use. Adolescents (N = 160) completed measures assessing the standard TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and intention, as well as group norm and self-esteem. One week later, participants reported their SNS use during the previous week. Support was found for the standard TPB variables of attitude and PBC, as well as group norm, in predicting intentions to use SNS frequently, with intention, in turn, predicting behaviour. These findings provide an understanding of the factors influencing frequent engagement in what is emerging as a primary tool for adolescent socialisation.     

The reciprocal effects of social network site use and the disposition for self-disclosure: A longitudinal study

Since the advent of social network sites (SNSs), scholars have critically discussed the psychological and societal implication of online self-disclosure. Does Facebook change our willingness to disclose personal information? The present study proposes that the use of SNSs and the psychological disposition for self-disclosure interact reciprocally: Individuals with a stronger disposition show a higher tendency to use SNSs (selection effect). At the same time, frequent SNS use increases the wish to self-disclose online, because self-disclosing behaviors are reinforced through social capital within the SNS environment (socialization effect). In a longitudinal panel study, 488 users of SNSs were surveyed twice in a 6 months interval. Data were analyzed using structure equation modeling. The proposed reciprocal effects of SNS activities and self-disclosure were supported by the data: The disposition for online self-disclosure had a positive longitudinal effect on SNS use which in turn positively influenced the disposition for online self-disclosure. Both effects were moderated by the amount of social capital users received as a consequence of their SNS use.     

Obstacles to social networking website use among older adults

Social networking websites (SNSs) have become popular among younger adults, but internet-using older adults have not adopted this communication medium nearly as quickly ( and ). This study seeks to understand what factors encourage or discourage older adults from using SNS, like Facebook, to help understand what may be done to ensure both generations have communication media over which they enjoy and feel comfortable communicating. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM;  and ) as a framework, 124 internet-using older adults aged 60–90, completed attitudinal measures of perceived usefulness of SNS, perceived ease of use of websites, social pressures to use SNS, and trust in SNS, as well as behavioral measures of current internet use, SNS use, and intention to use SNS in the future. Regression analyses revealed significant predictors of SNS include perceived usefulness, trust in SNS, and frequency of internet use. Unexpectedly, factors of ease of use and social pressures were not significant predictors. Implications for the TAM and for individuals with an interest in getting older adults to use SNS are discussed.