Distracted: Academic Performance Differences Between Teen Users and Non-Users of MySpace and Other Communication Technology

years, research fi ndings have been less conclusive about the benefi ts of this technology on school performance [3]. The Internet can provide a wealth of educational resources for students and can be benefi cial towards increasing academic performance; however, noneducational sites may do just the opposite. Specifi cally, many non-educational type sites may actually serve to distract young people from their school obligations. Social networking sites (SNS) such as MySpace, have become an almost overnight phenomenon and are attracting young people by the millions, primarily to talk with friends or to make new friends. Given their popularity, many teens report spending vast amounts of time on their SNS, which is resulting in lower academic grades [4]. In addition, cell phones and instant messaging on the computer are also two popular communication tools for young people and may also be distracting young people and infl uencing their academic performance. Given the newness of social networking sites, there is very limited scholarly research that has examined their connection to academic performance. Furthermore, little research has examined the infl uence of other technologies (such as cell phones and IM) on academic grades. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to look at teens’ use of social networking sites, cell phones and instant messaging to determine if there are differences in academic performance between users and non-users of these communication devices. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES Although there are many different social networking sites available online (Xanga, Facebook, Friendstar, MySpace, etc), MySpace is considered the most popular SNS among users of all ages but especially among ABSTRACT This study examined the differences in academic performance between teen users and non-users of various communication technologies. Participants included 517 high school students who completed a self-report survey. The results revealed that approximately 3⁄4 of the teens had a MySpace account and a cell phone and more than 1⁄2 had an IM account. Results also showed that those who had a MySpace account, cell phone and IM had signifi cantly lower grades than those who did not. Results also revealed that teens who used their MySpace, cell phone and IM while doing their homework reported having lower grades than those who did not use the technology while doing their homework. In addition, those who put off doing their homework to spend time on MySpace also reported lower grades than those who did not put off doing their homework to spend time with MySpace. Finally, results showed that 28% text messaged during class from always to frequently, and 5% reported text messaging during an exam from always to frequently.