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The impact of engagement with social networking sites (SNSs) on cognitive skills

Authors:

Tracy Packiam Alloway,

Ross Geoffrey AllowayAuthors Info & Claims

Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 28, Issue 5

Pages 1748 - 1754

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.04.015

Published: 01 September 2012 Publication History

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of social networking sites (SNSs) engagement on cognitive and social skills. We investigated the use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in a group of young adults and tested their working memory, attentional skills, and reported levels of social connectedness. Results showed that certain activities in Facebook (such as checking friends' status updates) and YouTube (telling a friend to watch a video) predicted working memory test performance. The findings also indicated that Active and Passive SNS users had qualitatively different profiles of attentional control. The Active SNS users were more accurate and had fewer misses of the target stimuli in the first block of trials. They also did not discriminate their attentional resources exclusively to the target stimuli and were less likely to ignore distractor stimuli. Their engagement with SNS appeared to be exploratory and they assigned similar weight to incoming streams of information. With respect to social connectedness, participants' self-reports were significantly related to Facebook use, but not Twitter or YouTube use, possibly as the result of greater opportunity to share personal content in the former SNS.

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cover image Computers in Human Behavior

Computers in Human Behavior Volume 28, Issue 5

September, 2012

463 pages

ISSN:0747-5632

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © Elsevier Ltd © 2012.

Publisher

Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.

Netherlands

Publication History

Published: 01 September 2012

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Cited By

Lee HKim ABae SLee U(2024)S-ADL: Exploring Smartphone-based Activities of Daily Living to Detect Blood Alcohol Concentration in a Controlled EnvironmentProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642832(1-25)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642832
Gadgil GPrybutok GPrybutok V(2023)Mediation of transgender impression management between transgender privacy paradox and Trans Facebook PersonaComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2023.107700143:COnline publication date: 1-Jun-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107700
Al-Rahmi WZeki A(2017)A model of using social media for collaborative learning to enhance learners performance on learningJournal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences10.1016/j.jksuci.2016.09.00229:4(526-535)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.jksuci.2016.09.002
Jeong YKim Y(2017)Privacy concerns on social networking sitesComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.04269:C(302-310)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2017
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.042
Haylett C(2016)Use of Social Media for Teaching Online Courses and Enhancing Business Communication Skills at the University LevelInternational Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design10.4018/IJOPCD.20161001056:4(71-85)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2016
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Chen WFan CLiu QZhou ZXie X(2016)Passive social network site use and subjective well-beingComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.03864:C(507-514)Online publication date: 1-Nov-2016
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Abu-Shanab EAl-Tarawneh H(2015)The Influence of Social Networks on High School Students' PerformanceInternational Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies10.4018/IJWLTT.201504010410:2(49-59)Online publication date: 1-Apr-2015
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Naumann J(2015)A model of online reading engagementComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.05153:C(263-277)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2015
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Lee EKim Y(2014)How social is Twitter use? Affiliative tendency and communication competence as predictorsComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.03439:C(296-305)Online publication date: 1-Sep-2014
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