On my way into work this morning, Kim Komando had a radio spot that talked about this study. It basically says that the more one uses Facebook, the lower their grades. Her conclusion seemed to be that, if you are a parent, this report should cause you to want to check what your kids are doing on Facebook, but not necessarily restrict their time there. Hmmm… That does not make sense to me. The more I am around Facebook and Twitter, the more I like my blogs–the ones that I read, and even the one that I write. In some ways, I think Facebook is even more mind-numbing than television. With television, the communication only travels one direction. On Facebook, the ability to be heard provides sufficient feedback to keep people hooked in. And don’t get me started on the narcissism of the whole thing.
Point taken
🙂
That is not to suggest I am not guilty of some of these same kinds of behavior on our blog!! 🙂
If I had to make an offhanded estimate, I’d say about 30% of the Civil Engineering lab computers are logged on to Facebook at any given time…
WOW!!! Imagine what it might be like in one of the liberal arts departments.
Karen
Way too funny! Although I do wonder where everyone seems to get the time – not only for facebook but also blogs!! I find less and less time each day! I enjoy but…….more to be done than there is time for!
Does Facebook cause lower grades or do the majority of the users come from the lower grade spectrum?
GREAT question, Lyle. The study said that the people who did Facebook wanted to get good grades at the same level as those who did not use Facebook, but THAT is the salient question. Is it causality or correlation!?!! You are a natural-born scientist. I think it is probably a combination, but that is just an opinion!
Trisha
Ohhhh I was WAITING For this one! I knew you would read about that study :)!! I haven’t noticed a downturn in my own grades. However, I can say that many people go through class w/ laptops open and Facebook running! Kids need to take notes the old fashioned way 🙂
Catherine
Heh heh heh, all this commentary makes me think of the saying: guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Could there be a similar correlation with facebook, etc? I think so!
Catherine, I think your comment was definitely the winning comment of them all! I am in complete agreement!