Student class standing, Facebook use, and academic performance

• This study examined Facebook multitasking in a large sample split by class rank.
• Seniors spent less time on Facebook than students at other class ranks.
• Seniors spent less time multitasking with Facebook than other class ranks.
• Facebook time was negatively predictive of GPA for freshmen but not for others.
• Facebook multitasking was negatively predictive of GPA for others but not for seniors.

Although some research has shown a negative relation between Facebook use and academic performance, more recent research suggests that this relation is likely mitigated by multitasking. This study examined the time students at different class ranks spent on Facebook, the time they spent multitasking with Facebook, as well as the activities they engaged in on the site (N = 1649). The results showed that seniors spent significantly less time on Facebook and spent significantly less time multitasking with Facebook than students at other class ranks. Time spent on Facebook was significantly negatively predictive of GPA for freshmen but not for other students. Multitasking with Facebook was significantly negatively predictive of GPA for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors but not for seniors. The results are discussed in relation to freshmen transition tasks and ideas for future research are provided.