Female College Students’ Media Use and Academic Outcomes: Results From a Longitudinal Cohort Study

This longitudinal study describes women’s media use during their first year of college and examines associations between media use and academic outcomes. Female students (N = 483, M age = 18.1 years) reported on their use of 11 media forms and their grade point average (GPA), academic behaviors, academic confidence, and problems affecting schoolwork. Allowing for multitasking, women reported nearly 12 hr of media use per day; use of texting, music, the Internet, and social networking was heaviest. In general, media use was negatively associated with academic outcomes after controlling for prior academics and demographics. Exceptions were newspaper reading and music listening, which were positively associated with academic outcomes. There were significant indirect effects of magazine reading and social networking on GPA via academic behaviors, confidence, and problems. Results show that female college students are heavy users of new media, and that some forms of media use may adversely impact academic performance.