While Facebook is primarily used as a means to communicate with friends, it may serve as a distractor from study. Laptops and tablets with Internet access are almost ubiquitous among primary, secondary and tertiary students in New Zealand. Research on the effects of Facebook use on students’ academic achievement appears inconclusive and there was no New Zealand based research to date. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Facebook use, self-discipline and parenting styles on academic achievement through an online study. High school (n = 106) and university students (n = 211) and their parents were recruited from a variety of locations around New Zealand. Facebook use only affected academic achievement for high school students and the strength of the relationship between Facebook use and academic outcomes was weak. Furthermore, the regression model found that overall Facebook use did not predict academic achievement. It is argued that Facebook use does not directly affect academic grades of students as it is an amalgamation of behaviours and/or the expression of traits (e.g., low self-discipline) that lead to non-task related activities. Self-discipline and parenting style, on the other hand, were the strongest predictors of academic achievement. High school and university students who were more able to manage distractions and procrastinating activities had higher grade point average (GPA) scores and overall pass rates. Students with authoritative parents were more likely to achieve high academic grades. In contrast, students whose parents had a permissive parenting style were at high risk of low academic achievement. Teaching students to delay an immediate reward in order to achieve a long-term goal is an important skill that needs to be socialised early in life as it is a pathway to better academic outcomes. While the study does not support the idea that Facebook has a direct effect on academic outcomes, further studies on other social networking sites are needed for replication.

College enrollment rates have increased drastically through the years. Yet, retention rates have remained stagnant, particularly from the first to the second year. Some have attributed early departure to poor college adjustment. Bridging together theoretical perspectives and models rooted in retention research and social media research, this study tested a predictive model of college adjustment. An online survey was completed by 611 (22.8% male, 77.2% female) undergraduates. A path analysis revealed that well-adjusted students had strong kinship support, self-esteem and academic self-efficacy, were highly involved both academically and socially, and experienced lower levels of loneliness and academic stress. Shyness was found to forestall successful overall college adjustment by diminishing students' social involvement, which in turn increased perceived loneliness and contributed to poor self-esteem. On the other hand, active coping style was found to facilitate overall college adjustment by increasing academic involvement, which subsequently enhanced academic self-efficacy and self-esteem. The findings also indicate that academic Facebook use promotes greater overall college adjustment by enhancing students' social involvement. Furthermore, moderation analyses showed that the use of Facebook for interpersonal purposes increases social and academic involvement, particularly among less shy and high self-esteemed students. Interpretation of these results and practical implications are discussed. / Psychology

I den här uppsatsen undersöks vad som motiverar studenter vid Uppsala universitet att använda och stanna kvar på det sociala nätverket Facebook. Med hjälp av intervjuer samlas data in om hur målgruppen använder tjänsten, vad som motiverar dem, och vad de tycker om sitt eget användande. Intervjusvaren analyseras utifrån ett enkelt ramverk som baserats på The Hook Model och Fogg Behavior Model, vilka beskriver hur vaneanvändande kan skapas. Vi kommer fram till att det finns starka tendenser till vaneanvändande av Facebook hos målgruppen, och att detta är något de är missnöjda med. Vidare har målgruppens användande förändrats över tid, och vanorna som nu motiverar användandet verkar ha bildats då tjänsten uppskattades mer och användandet var mer aktivt. Vanan att använda Facebook förstärks nu inte längre, men lever kvar i högsta grad. Målgruppen vill även sluta använda Facebook, men lyckas inte göra detta. Vi kommer fram till att detta troligen beror på att en alltför stor social investering har gjorts i tjänsten, och att vanan som bildats är svår att bryta. / In this paper the motivation for using the social media platform Facebook is studied among students at Uppsala University. Interviews are used to collect data about how the demographic is using the platform, what motivates them and what they think about their own user behavior. The data is analysed with a framework based on The Hook Model and Fogg Behavior Model, that describes how platforms can be designed to create habitual use. We find that there are strong tendencies towards habitual use of Facebook among the demographic, and that this is something they are displeased with. The demographic Facebook use has changed over time, and the habits that now acts as motivation was formed when their appreciation for the platform was greater and they used it more actively. The habit to use Facebook is no longer enforced but is still present. The demographic wants to stop using Facebook, but are not able to do so. We conclude that this most likely is caused by a significant social investment in the platform, and that the habitual use is hard to end.

This study examines the relationship between online self-disclosure, grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, Facebook use and frequency of status updates in existing self-report measures among 381 college students. Positive correlations were found between: vulnerable narcissism and Facebook status updates, and Facebook use and online self-disclosure. Following the equalization of the two different narcissism scales, college students scored higher on grandiose narcissism as opposed to vulnerable narcissism, the opposite to what was hypothesized. No correlations were found between: grandiose narcissism and Facebook status updates; grandiose narcissism and self-disclosure; and vulnerable narcissism and self-disclosure. Additionally, college women did not score higher in self-disclosure than men on Facebook. Through additional testing a correlation between vulnerable narcissism and Facebook use was also found. Results were negatively affected by the established grandiose narcissism scale failing reliability testing, thus, in the future, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) should be used. High religiosity is also known to positively correlate to positive mental health, therefore, in the future using less religiously orientated college students might yield different narcissism level results.

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