Facebook Bad For The Brain?

Students Who Use Social Networking Site Spend Less Time On Schoolwork, Study Finds

(CBS)  Do your kids spend too much time "poking" their friends, posting photos and updating their status on Facebook? A new study suggests that students who use the popular networking site spend less time studying, reports CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg.

With about 200 million users worldwide, "Facebook is definitely embedded into the mainstream of American life now," said John Abel from Wired.com.

It's hard to find anyone not on Facebook, including Sieberg.

But while Facebook got its start on college campuses, some think all that social networking could be bad for the brain.

According to an Ohio State University study released this week, Facebook users had GPAs a full grade lower than non-users. Facebook users also studied on average one to five hours a week, compared to 11 to 15 hours for non-users.

The students CBS News spoke with reported mixed results when asked if there grades suffered as a result of Facebook.

"No, I mean schoolwork comes first," Danny McCabe told Sieberg. But for Margaret Solis, social networking "definitely" affected her grades.

But "Net Generation" guru Don Tapscott is skeptical about the study's findings.

"There isn't a shred of evidence that Facebook is bad for young people. On the contrary, it's a wonderful thing that, with balance, helps them grow, helps their mental abilities develop and it should be encouraged," said Tapscott, the author of "Grown Up Digital."

Of course, maybe another study will look at the effects of other "classic" college distractions - like drinking.

[JesseBorde]

I think this is partly (just partly) a scapegoat. I mean, the people that HAVE facebook in school/college use it to socialize and find parties and enjoy entertainment. The people WITHOUT this utility I think are less social, and less extracurricularly active. I think that facebook is only PART of the problem, because the people that have facebook party, socialize, and surf the net more than the people without.
I think this is going to become a non-issue, similar to the videogame debate, where owning a gaming console limited social activity and scholarly activities; those isssues have diwndled out of the public eye, and the Facebook scandle will do the same...

[vm7488-2009]

"A new study suggests that students who use the popular networking site spend less time studying"

-- Duh?! How long did it took for you to figure that one out?! I bet the author was busy updating their status that's why they posted this article just now! (Just kidding).

Social Networking sites are just as terrible as Alchohol, Drugs, gangsters, and Video games!

[remarkor]

I don't think it was a question of whether spending time on a social networking site means less time studying. That is obvious. The question is to what level are the students affected and how much time are they wasting on these sites. That's where the study comes in. You wouldn't expect somebody to make a claim without data would you?
Posted by displeased at 11:31 AM : Apr 15, 2009

C'mon people, the obvious flaw in this silly study is that it proves nothing. Maybe bad students spend time on facebook. It doesnt mean facebook creates bad students. If they had a study with 20 kids where 10 began using facebook and there was a significant drop compared to the other 10 then maybe they would have something to report. Even the title of this article Facebook Bad for the Brain is completely misleading since the study suggests kids are replacing study time for facebook, not that they are getting dumber from it. I think reading CBS News is getting bad for the brain. I know mine now hurts.

[debinok1]

This is the direct result of very poor parental responsibility. Instead of driving across town to see if these kids are where they said they would be, mom or dad just hands them a cell phone so they can call. Instead of letting them out in the back yard to play, parents over structure their time, it is easier than watching them. When they grow up they have not had enough parent time and too much time with other adults, like teachers, the dance instructor, the karate instructor, the ball coach. And parents expect them to understand limits and responsibility, when no one ever taught them.

[rickwar98]

That's where the study comes in. You wouldn't expect somebody to make a claim without data would you?
Posted by displeased at 11:31 AM : Apr 15, 2009

They do it all the time----------

[azure13]

Don't know about it being bad for the brain, but I feel sad for people who need the internet for socializing. Get out of the house people...

[displeased]

Facebook Bad For The Brain?
Students Who Use Social Networking Site Spend Less Time On Schoolwork, Study Finds

Well Duh!
Posted by rickwar98

I don't think it was a question of whether spending time on a social networking site means less time studying. That is obvious. The question is to what level are the students affected and how much time are they wasting on these sites. That's where the study comes in. You wouldn't expect somebody to make a claim without data would you?

[watch09]

Being 57 yoa, we didn't have computers, gaming systems, cable tv, cell phones etc growing up. We amused ourselves with outdoor activities and probably could have played outside forever had it not been for "parents" regulating our study time and play time. I don't think that solution was a bad idea and seemed to work for us. I will however say that facebook is a pleasant distraction from stresses if used moderately and for what it is designed to be used for. That is a tool for light social networking, being able to see pictures of family/friends and useful reasonable behavior. Parents be aware of what kids post and say and guide them along

[geminispyder-2009]

"According to an Ohio State University study released this week, Facebook users had GPAs a full grade lower than non-users."

This will probably be recieved back in Ann Arbor as: OSU wastes money anyalyzing lazy students.

[EPCO1]

.....did we really need a study to tell us this? I just graduated from college, and I can tell you yes, every minute my friends and I spent on facebook was a minute we weren't studying. But is it really facebook's fault? Of course not! If we didn't disctract ourselves with facebook, there are a million other things out there we would have wasted time on instead. But thank you OSU for that fascinating tidbit of common sense. :)

[inketolstoy]

Facebook is a good barometer to weigh whether people have actual lives or not.

Social networking sites are a waste. "

Kind of like this site. Man do I feel stupid. I need to get a life.

[CnUHerMeNow]

A recent study done with anyone with a brain revealed today that in today's economy, people who complete and publish small, insignificant studies on meaningless topics will not only waste large amounts of money and time but they are pointless.

[rickwar98]

Facebook Bad For The Brain?
Students Who Use Social Networking Site Spend Less Time On Schoolwork, Study Finds

Well Duh!

It's not just kids wasting time adults? are wasting tons of time also.

What is even more amazing is we needed a "study" to let us know this?

"There isn't a shred of evidence that Facebook is bad for young people. On the contrary, it's a wonderful thing that, with balance, helps them grow, helps their mental abilities develop and it should be encouraged," said Tapscott, the author of "Grown Up Digital."

Pure unadluterated BS.

[terribayless]

Perhaps the people that don't use it have better grades because that are too busy studying to use it in the first place. Those are the ones that just choose not to use it.
Most of the others (not all - I am sure) have more time because they choose not to study so hard.

[max529]

Apparently, reporting about Facebook is bad for the brain, too.

<<The students CBS News spoke with reported mixed results when asked if there grades suffered as a result of Facebook.>>

Spellcheck strikes again!

[realityzone]

Facebook is a good barometer to weigh whether people have actual lives or not.

Social networking sites are a waste.

[progressISgood]

Facebook like most things can be used for good and bad things.

It would be fairer for this article to say that Facebook can be used for things that rot the brain, but there are many great uses that encourage scholastics.

I myself enjoy an ongoing game of Scrabble with my father who lives over 1000 miles away, that would not be possible without Facebook. You cannot make an argument that Scrabble diminishes aptitude or rots the brain.

Also, there are many other games, quizzes, etc. on Facebook that can be used to help educate people.

Recently there have been many studies showing that video games now have great benefits for those that play them. We all know how people felt about them for years and years.

The main point is that young people today are brighter, more worldly and more astute then their parents before them. The reasons for this are simple, new forms of media and progress.
Just because some parents are afraid of a computer or a cell phone and do not know how to use them, does not mean that these things are bad. And like most things in this world these things can be abused or misused. Just don't discount the positives and progress that new technology brings.

Remember
progressISgood

[remarkor]

This just in. After spending $2 Mil a bunch of eggheads concluded that too much TV is bad for children.

[sharoninboulder]

My 16 year old daughter says Facebook actually helps her with her schoolwork. All her friends are in the same classes and they get assignments from each other easily through Facebook. Facebook can be another distraction, just like TV or texting endlessly. I constantly emphasize the importance of doing well in school to my daughter and at this point, she finally get it. There have always been things she would rather be doing and it's a challenge to get kids to see the longer-term benefits of working hard in school.

[davcampb]

Research 101: a correlation (i.e., "Students Who Use Social Networking Site Spend Less Time On Schoolwork, Study Finds") does not mean cause/effect. To conclude from this article or this study that students spend less time on schoolwork BECAUSE they use Facebook is wrong.