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Facebook users are more likely to perform poorly in exams, according to new research into the academic impact of the social networking website.
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Facebook users may feel socially successful in cyberspace but they are more likely to perform poorly in exams, according to new research into the academic impact of the social networking website.
The majority of students who use Facebook every day are underachieving by as much as an entire grade compared with those who shun the site.
About 83% of British 16 to 24-year-olds are thought to use social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, to keep in touch with friends and organize their social lives.
“Our study shows people who spend more time on Facebook spend less time studying,” said Aryn Karpinski, a researcher in the education department at Ohio State University. “Every generation has its distractions, but I think Facebook is a unique phenomenon.”
Karpinski and a colleague questioned 219 US undergraduates and graduates about their study practices and general internet use, as well as their specific use of Facebook.
They found that 65% of Facebook users accessed their account daily, usually checking it several times to see if they had received new messages. The amount of time spent on Facebook at each log-in varied from just a few minutes to more than an hour.
The Ohio report shows that students who used Facebook had a “significantly” lower grade point average - the marking system used in US universities - than those who did not use the site.
“It is the equivalent of the difference between getting an A and a B,” said Karpinski, who will present her findings this week to the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
Some UK students have already spotted the potential danger. Daisy Jones, 21, an undergraduate in her final year at Loughborough University, realized the time she was spending on Facebook was threatening her grades - prompting her to deactivate her account.
“I was in the library trying to write a 2,000-word essay when I realized my Facebook habit had got out of hand,” she said.
“I couldn’t resist going online, then someone’s photo catches your eye. Before you know it, a couple of minutes has turned into a couple of hours and you haven’t written a thing.”
Jones is among the few to have recognized the risks. According to Karpinski’s research, 79% of Facebook-using students believed the time they spent on the site had no impact on their work.
Facebook said: “There is also academic research that shows the benefits of services like Facebook. It’s in the hands of students, in consultation with their parents, to decide how to spend their time.”
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(Agencies)
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一項針對社交網站對學業影響的最新調查顯示，Facebook的使用者也許在網絡社交中頗為成功，但他們在考試中往往表現很差。
與從不使用該網站的學生相比，每天使用Facebook的大多數學生成績要低一個等級。
據稱，16歲至24歲的英國人中約有83%通過Facebook，Myspace和Bebo等社交網站與朋友保持聯系并組織社交活動。
俄亥俄州立大學教育系研究員阿林·卡爾平斯基說：“我們的研究表明，在Facebook網站上消磨時間越長的人，用于學習的時間越少。每代人都會碰到令人分心的東西，但我認為‘Facebook’是個獨特現象。”
卡爾平斯基和同事對美國219名本科生和研究生的學業、網絡使用習慣以及使用Facebook的情況進行了調查。
研究人員發現，65%的Facebook使用者每天登錄個人主頁，經常多次刷新頁面，唯恐漏掉一條新留言，每次登錄后逗留的時間短則幾分鐘，長則一個多小時。
俄亥俄州立大學的研究報告表明，按照美國大學的評分方法，與從不使用該網站的學生相比，使用Facebook的學生平均分“低得多”。
卡爾平斯基說：“這種差別相當于成績為A和B的區別。”她將于本周在美國教育研究會年度會議上發表該研究成果。
英國一些學生已經意識到了這一潛在危害。拉夫堡大學的本科畢業生、21歲的戴西·瓊斯意識到，在Facebook上消磨時間正威脅到她的成績，這促使她注銷了個人賬戶。
她說：“我在圖書館里寫一篇兩千字的論文時，突然意識到自己已經迷上Facebook無法自拔。我忍不住登錄網站，接著被某人的照片吸引。在你發覺之前，已經過去了幾小時，而不是幾分鐘，而你的論文還沒動筆。”
瓊斯僅僅是意識到這些危害的少數學生之一。根據卡爾平斯基的研究，使用 Facebook的學生中有79%確信他們在網站上消磨時間不會影響學業。
Facebook方面稱：“也有科學研究證實使用Facebook這類社交服務有益。主動權掌握在學生手里，他們可以和家長商討，決定如何分配時間。”
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英政府擬監控社交網站用戶信息
喜歡玩“社交網站”嗎
（實習生許雅寧，英語點津編輯）
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