Actual friends matter: An internet skills perspective on teens' informal academic collaboration on Facebook

• We examine high school students' use of Facebook for academic collaboration.
• Facebook-enabled class collaboration is associated with higher grades.
• Information-seeking Internet skills predict Facebook class-related collaboration.
• “Actual” Facebook friends predict Facebook class-related collaboration.
• Facebook friends' instrumental support predicts collaboration on Facebook.

Social media platforms such as Facebook enable adolescents to collaborate on academic activities, but this kind of participation may require a set of higher-order Internet skills. This study explores the factors that predict informal academic collaboration on Facebook, such as seeking help, discussing schoolwork, and finding class-related resources. Based on survey data collected from high school students (N = 690), we found that academic performance, perceived support from ‘actual’ Facebook friends, higher order Internet skills (especially information seeking skills), and instrumental support from Facebook friends predicted academic collaboration on Facebook. In light of these findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.