The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement
Educators and others are interested in the effects of social media on college students, with a specific focus on the most popular social media website Facebook. Two previous studies have examined the relationship between Facebook use and student engagement, a construct related to positive college outcomes. However, these studies were limited by their evaluation of Facebook usage and how they measured engagement. This paper fills a gap in the literature by using a large sample (N 2368) of college students to examine the relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Student engagement was measured in three ways: a 19 item scale based on the National Survey of Student Engagement, time spent preparing for class, and time spent in co curricular activities. Results indicate that Facebook use was significantly negatively predictive of engagement scale score and positively predictive of time spent in co curricular activities. Additionally, some Facebook activities were positively predictive of the dependent variables, while others were negatively predictive.
Comput. Educ.