Examining the Relationships between Gender-Specific Social Network Sites (SNSs) Addiction Patterns and Student Academic Performance

Abstract

Given the widespread usage of social media and the saturation of social network sites (SNSs), many students and instructors have integrated technology into both social and educational life to enhance their learning experiences. Yet, non-educational use of social media brings drawbacks and also causes undesirable situations. Especially for young people, multi-tasking, like using SNS during their class sessions, creates cognitive disabilities as well as low academic performance. In this study, we have examined the relationships between SNS addiction patterns (SNS intensity and network size) and academic achievement (grade point average, or GPA) of 711 college students in Turkey. We have also sought to assess whether there is a correlation between gender and SNS addiction patterns. A questionnaire has been used for data collection. Our findings clearly show that the majority of our participants have used a smartphone for more than 5 years, with Instagram the app whose reputation supersedes that of other SNSs. Surprisingly, we found no significant relationship between academic success and SNS addiction patterns, though the study confirms a gender-discrepancy with regard to SNS addiction patterns. Females spend more time on SNS than males, whereas males have more online friends than do females. The reason for this disparity may derive from their different uses of SNS. Thus, further studies may concentrate on different aspects of this issue with more factual and objective data to reveal the real impact of SNS on our lives. Conclusions, suggestions, and research limitations have also been discussed.