Journal of Media and Communication Studies Vol. 3(4), pp. 144-150, April 2011 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/jmcs ISSN 2141 – 2545 ©2011 Academic Journals
Full Length Research Paper
The influence of facebook usage on the academic performance and the quality of life of college students Faycal Kabre* and Ulysses J. Brown Savannah State University, 10611 Abercorn Street Apt 79, Savannah, GA 31419, United State. Accepted 4 April, 2011
This research study examines the impact of facebook usage on the academic performance and the quality of life of college students. With the advent of the internet, more denizens are spending time on social networks as a way to expand both their personal and business relationships. We used structural equation modeling to evaluate the hypotheses. Findings indicate that the dispositional factors may influence the endogenous variables in our model. We discuss the limitations of the study, the implications, and future research directions. Key words: Facebook, college students, academic performance, quality of life, social network. INTRODUCTION Facebook as well as twitter or myspace can be fun, with everyone from teenagers to grandparents trolling for friends. For many, these tools still represent more of a diversion than a legitimate business tool. However, social networks are making significant in roads into the business practices of corporations. Created in 2004 by Harvard Sophomore student, Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook was first targeted to Harvard students and then expanded to high school and college students. Today, with more than 500 million active users worldwide, facebook is arguably one of the most popular social networks. The focus of this study is to determine the level of impact facebook has on the quality of life of college students and their academic performance. Previous studies have evaluated the impact of self-efficacy, stress, and other variables on the performance of college students. In this study, we used the perception of
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected]. edu. Tel: 912-441-2663.
facebook and number of hours spent on this medium as predictors of quality of life and academic performance of college students. Background of the study Perception of facebook With the advance technology in communication, social networks such as facebook and myspace are perhaps considered one of the most important tools used to keep in touch or share information with peers. Students have an irresistible need to connect with their peers because of the development of these 24/7 accessible technologies (Fodeman and Monroe, 2009). Therefore, the usage of Facebook can become a habit that may affect the academic performance of students as well as their quality of life. According to Fodeman and Monroe (2009), the usage of Facebook usage has raised the level of anxiety among students such that they are apprehensive about being without their cell phones for a few hours. In light of these findings, we advance the following hypothesis:
Kabre and Brown
H1: The number of hours spent on Facebook will influence both academic performance and quality of life. Self-efficacy and smoking behavior Considered to be the central construct in social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s perceived ability to accomplish some desired tasks regardless of knowledge or skills (Bandura, 1982). The relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance among college students is well documented in the literature. According to Bandura (1978), a person with a high level of self-efficacy tends to overcome challenges while the one with low levels of self-efficacy may quit when confronted with difficulties. Bandura (1997) found that how a person deals with their body’s responses to situations may tend to impact their ability to cope with specific tasks (Bandura, 1997). Yeo and Neal (2006) found that the relationship between general selfefficacy and performance was mediated by task-specific self-efficacy. Some scholars have found that the behavior of parents have an influence on their children. For instance, college students may smoke because one of their parents smokes (Glawischnig et al., 2009). Wechsler et al. (1998) reported a considerable increase in smoking behavior by college students between 1993 and 1997. They also revealed that over one-quarter of the student smokers started this behavior after entering college. In view of the previous discussion, we offer the following hypotheses: H2: Self-efficacy will influence performance and quality of life.
both
academic
H3: Smoking behavior will influence both academic performance and quality of life. Drinking behavior In a national study of student drug and alcohol use patterns, Presley et al. (1995) found that about half of all respondents reported drinking to the point of becoming ill, 40% admitted doing something they later regretted, 30% missed class because of excessive drinking, and over one-quarter reported drinking so much they could not remember what happened to them. Thus, drinking behavior can be expected to influence both quality of life and academic performance in our model. Therefore, the following hypotheses will be evaluated: H4: Drinking performance.
behavior
will
influence
academic
H5: Drinking behavior will influence quality of life.
145
General stress and exercise behavior Stress in college students’ life is a topic largely discussed by many scholars. In fact, college students encountered many problems and situations which may be unique to them. Among those problems, we have the continuous evaluation such as weekly assignments and tests. The pressure to earn good grades and to earn a degree is very high and is part of the sources of stress for college students (Hirsch and Ellis, 1996). Besides the academic stress, college students also encountered general or social stress such as relationships with family and friends, eating and sleeping habits, and loneliness (Wright, 1967). All these different types of stresses may affect college students’ quality of life as well as their academic performance. Exercise behavior has always been part of college students’ life. Whether it is for enjoyment, positive health, stress management, or weight management, exercise behavior exists in college students’ life. H6: General stress will influence academic performance and quality of life. H7: Gender difference will exist across exercise behavior and academic performance scores. RESEARCH METHODS Participants and procedures The study was conducted at a historically black university in the southern part of the United States. The authors distributed 209 surveys and received 209 complete instruments for a response rate of 100%. Research participants were from the different colleges across the campus to include the College of Business Administration, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and the College of Science and Technology. The survey packet was administered to participants during regular class times to various classes. It took approximately 15 min for research participants to complete the survey packet in each class. The survey packet contained a consent form, six measures, and a background information form which was used to assess participants’ drinking behavior, exercise behavior, smoking behavior, number of hours per week spent on Facebook, and to capture demographic data. Most participants (88%) were African American. In addition, 57.9% of the respondents were female and 82.8% were between the ages of 18 to 23 years. The sample consisted of 35.9% who were freshmen, 13.4% were sophomores, 20.1% were juniors, and 30.6% were seniors. In our sample, only 44.5% of the participants were from the College of Business and the rest were from the College of Science and Technology and the College of Liberal Arts and the Social Sciences. Full-time students constituted the majority of the sample (94.3%). Measurement of variables The following instruments were used to develop and test the hypothesized model shown in Figure 1. Unless otherwise indicated, a 5-point Likert response scale that ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used to assess the constructs.
146
J. Media Commun. Stud.
Hours per week spent on facebook Perceptions of facebook
Self-efficacy Academic performance General stress
Drinking behavior
Exercise behavior Quality of life Mother’s health behavior
Father’s health behavior
Smoking behavior
Figure 1. Hypothesized model.
Perceptions of facebook (Appendix 1)
General stress
Since there were no existing scales that measure Perception of facebook, a 7-item scale that closely follows the attitude and daily perception of Facebook was developed by the authors. A sample item in this survey is “I enjoy using Facebook.” High scores indicate a higher usage and perception of Facebook. The Cronbach alpha was 0.81
We used the 9-item instrument developed by Dzokoto et al. (2007) to assess general stress. High scores indicate higher levels of stress. The alpha was 0.74.
General self-efficacy We used the eight-item measure developed by Chen et al. (2001) to assess self-efficacy. High scores indicate higher levels of selfefficacy. The reliability estimate was 0.94.
Parents’ health behavior This instrument is a 4-item scale that we developed to assess mother and father’s health behavior. The items were “My mother drinks alcoholic beverages,” “My mother smokes,” “My father drinks alcoholic beverages,” and “My father smokes.” High scores indicate unhealthy behavior of the parents. The Cronbach alpha was 0.58.
Quality of life A 13-item survey was administered to the participants to measure their quality of life (Bobko et al., 1991). Because we reverse-coded all items, high scores indicate higher levels of quality of life. An example item is “I feel constantly under strain.” The Cronbach alpha was 0.93. In addition, we used four continuous variables and one dichotomous variable to capture self-reported behavior of research participants. These variables are listed as follows: Overall grade point average: This is a continuous variable where participants were asked to write their overall grade point average. It was used to assess academic performance. Drinking behavior: On the background information form, students were asked to write the specific number of drinks they consume per
Kabre and Brown
147
Table 1. Means, standard deviations (S.d) and zero-order correlations.
Variable
Mean
S. d
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Academic performance Quality of life Perception of facebook Self-efficacy Mother’s health behavior Father’s health behavior General stress Drinking behavior Smoking behavior Exercise behavior Hours on Facebook
2.84 69.06 27.06 35.77 3.45 4.34 17.27 1.74 1.19 2.44 2.05
0.45 19.00 6.19 5.18 2.05 2.65 4.86 2.11 .39 1.93 2.69
1.00 .167* .038 .193** -.116 -.043 -.164* .065 -.159* .079 .086
1.00 .011 .244** -.108 -.059 -.666** -.174* -.085 .118 -.099
1.00 .226** -.044 .005 .065 .069 .021 .198** .454**
1.00 -.210** -.071 -.262** -.050 -.102 .202** -.004
1.00 .298** .254** .175* .110 -.013 -.011
1.00 .108 .180** .170* .028 -.036
1.00 .200** .097 -.085 .133
1.00 .212** -087 .326**
1.00 -.007 -.074
1.00 -.026
*p
