How does Academic Performance Increase Virtual Popularity? A Case of Facebook Usage among Indian College Students

Oct 15, 2026

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The debate on Facebook’s positive and negative effects on youth academic performance remains mixed in the literature, and prior work has largely considered Facebook as a driver rather than examining the reverse link. This study investigates how study and academic achievement affect Facebook usage among Indian college students through two offline surveys. Study 1 (250 undergraduates) shows that past academic performance significantly predicts Facebook friendship. Study 2 (317 undergraduates) finds similar effects on friendship, but not on other usage indicators such as time spent and attitudes, indicating academic achievement shapes virtual popularity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Facebook and Youth

Facebook and Academics

How does Academic Performance Increase Virtual Popularity? A Case of Facebook Usage among Indian College Students Saurabh Maheshwari Sikkim University, Gangtok, India ORCID: 0000-0001-5948-6541 Tuheena Mukherjee Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi, India ORCID: 0000-0001-8639-735X Received: 18 Mar 2020 Accepted: 27 Jul 2020 Abstract The debate on the positive and negative impact of Facebook on youth particularly on their academic performance has become prevalent in academic discourses. The previous studies show mixed findings of the effect of Facebook on academic performance as well as on other education-related variables. Thoughthe role of Facebook in academics is well explored, however, the impact of academics on Facebook usage has not been examined. The present study examines the reverse possibility i.e. effect of study and academic performance on Facebook usage. Two offline survey studies were conducted on Indian college students. Study one was conducted on 250 undergraduate students (mean age = 20. 15; 101 female participants) which shows a significant positive impact of past academic performance on Facebook friendship. Study two was conducted on 317 undergraduate students (mean age = 19.95; 259 females) with two additional indicators of Facebook usage i.e. time spent on Facebook and attitude toward Facebook use. Results of study two also show a positive impact of academic performance on Facebook friendship, however, no such impact is found for other indicators of Facebook use. Overall research shows academic achievement positively influences the virtual popularity of individuals, especially for college students. Keywords: Facebook, virtual popularity, academic performance, Facebook friendship INTRODUCTION Today, if we look around us, the population in one way or the other has become successful in connecting with the people scattered all around the globe. This fact cannot be denied that the emergence of social networking sites not only has placed itself on the highest of the communicating hierarchy but, in many ways, has grasped the accessibility to an individual’s privacy, identity, and the way of life. The present generation sees both the youth and the elderly population engaged in social media at large whilst the youth population, in particular, encompasses the eminent strata. Both the positive (e.g. Brandtzæg, 2012; Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007; Kim & Lee, 2011; Stefanone, Kwon, & Lackaff, 2012) and negative impacts (e.g. Christofides, Muise, & Desmarais, 2009; Rauch, Strobel, Bella, Odachowski, & Bloom, 2014) of Facebook use are shown on various aspect of youths’ lives. A glaring issue related to the usage of Facebook by students is concerning their academic performances. Previous studies have indicated both positive and negative impacts of Facebook on academic performance (e.g., Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Liu, Kirschner, & Karpinski, 2017; Marker, Gnambs, & Appel, 2018; Pasek & Hargittai, 2009) as well as on the other hand, the inclusion of the academic-related activities (Celik, Yurt,& Sahin, 2015; Grosseck, Bran, & Tiru, 2011; Junco, 2012; Peeters, 2019) . A study by Michikyan, Subrahmanyam, and Dennis (2015), however, has indicated the possibility of a reverse relation, that is, the role of academic performance with the usage of Facebook. The present study uses Michikyan, Subrahmanyam, and Dennis’s (2015) work as the framework to explore the role of academic performance on the virtual popularity of the students on Facebook. Facebook and academics. The research by Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) showed the negative impacts of Facebook usage on the GPA of students. Though it was a correlational study based on a survey done over college students, regardless of that, researchers were able to demonstrate the direction of the relationship. Research by Paul, Baker, and Cochran (2012) that included Facebook, along with other online social networking sites like Myspace, Twitte

FAQs

What gap does this study address about Facebook and academic performance?

It examines the reverse possibility—how academic study and performance influence Facebook usage—rather than focusing only on Facebook’s effects on academics.

What did the first survey (250 undergraduate students) find?

Past academic performance had a significant positive impact on Facebook friendship.

What did the second survey (317 undergraduate students) find about different Facebook usage indicators?

Academic performance positively influenced Facebook friendship, but no similar impact was found for other indicators such as time spent on Facebook or attitude toward Facebook use.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆