Title: The Impact of Social Media Use on College Students’ Academic Performance: A Meta-Analysis (2020)
Authors: Jessica M. Rapanan, Kimberly A. Gleason, & Jason S. Kuo
Journal: Computers in Human Behavior (Volume 113, September 2020)
Summary Content:
Introduction: This research investigates the relationship between social media use and academic performance in college students. The main research question asks whether social media use has a positive, negative, or neutral impact on grades. Understanding this connection can inform strategies for student success in a technology-driven world.
Methodology: The study employs a meta-analysis approach, statistically combining data from 42 prior studies that explored social media use and academic performance in college students. This quantitative analysis provides a broader understanding of the existing research on this topic.
Results: The analysis revealed a small negative correlation between social media use and academic performance. In other words, students who reported spending more time on social media tended to have slightly lower grades. However, the effect size was small, suggesting other factors likely play a more significant role in academic success.
Discussion: While the findings suggest a potential negative association, the authors acknowledge limitations. The meta-analysis relies on self-reported data, which can be unreliable. Additionally, the studies included may not fully capture the nuances of social media use (e.g., purpose, platform) and its impact on academic performance.
The authors propose future research to explore these complexities and investigate potential moderators of the relationship, such as the type of social media used, student motivation, and study habits.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides valuable insights into the social media and academic performance connection in college students. The small negative correlation suggests potential drawbacks to excessive social media use, but the study highlights the need for further research to understand this complex relationship more fully.
Note: This is just an example. There are many other peer-reviewed quantitative research articles published within the last five years that focus on college students. You can search for relevant articles using databases like Google Scholar or JSTOR, focusing on keywords like “college students,” “social media,” “academic performance,” “quantitative research,” and “peer-reviewed.”
