Distracted: Academic Performance Differences between Teen Users and Non-Users of MySpace and other Communication Technology

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