From Brown U: Female College Students' Media Use and Academic Outcomes

Emerg Adulthood. 2013 Sep 1;1(3):219-232.

Female College Students' Media Use and Academic Outcomes: Results from a Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Walsh JL1, Fielder RL2, Carey KB3, Carey MP4.

Author information

• 1Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI ; Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI.
• 2Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI ; Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI ; Center for Health and Behavior, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.
• 3Program in Public Health and Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI.
• 4Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI ; Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI ; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Program in Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI.

Abstract

This longitudinal study describes women's media use during their first year of college and examines associations between media use and academic outcomes. Female students (N = 483, Mage = 18.1 years) reported on their use of 11 media forms and their grade point average, academic behaviors, academic confidence, and problems affecting schoolwork. Allowing for multi-tasking, women reported nearly 12 hours of media use per day; use of texting, music, the Internet, and social networking was heaviest. In general, media use was negatively associated with academic outcomes after controlling for prior academics and demographics. Exceptions were newspaper reading and music listening, which were positively associated with academic outcomes. There were significant indirect effects of magazine reading and social networking on GPA via academic behaviors, confidence, and problems. Results show that female college students are heavy users of new media, and that some forms of media use may adversely impact academic performance.