Technology use and academic performance

As technology use continues its steady growth among college students, both within and outside of the classroom, its effect on academic performance becomes an increasingly important question to address. Cognitive theory and multitasking research strongly support a negative effect while other studies have found little to no effect. Using a large sample of students, this study attempted to address these opposing results and help find clarity. We explored the relationship of the frequency of students' use of technologies and their academic performance as measured by GPA, SAT scores, study hours, and predicted course grade. In order to help understand our findings, we also examined the role of gender and employment status in this relationship. Our hypotheses were partially supported, with frequency of technology use negatively related to academic performance. We discuss our findings and limitations of the research. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.