Relationship between College Students’ Engagement and Social Software Use

Abstract

Social software is widely used in college students, while overuse will affect their academic performance and interpersonal communication. This study explored the relationship between undergraduates' use of social software and their academic performance. It was found that the frequency of using social software had a negative predictive effect on academic performance, while the degree of engagement had a positive predictive effect on academic performance. In the use of social software, posting updates, chatting and private messages, following group announcements and share (logs, photos, videos), micro- business agent had a positive predictive effect on academic engagement. Game playing had a negative predictive effect on academic performance. This study is helpful for undergraduates to manage social software usage and thus to upgrade their academic performance.