Less gifted students who spend more than the average amount of time on Facebook and other social media sites suffer academically, a new study has found. 

High-achieving students, however, are unaffected by spending long periods on Facebook. 

The study, led by Dr James Wakefield at the University of Technology Sydney, was based on assessments of over 500 students in the first year of an accounting course at university. 

"Our research shows time spent on social networking platforms puts lower academic achievers at higher risk of failing their course," Dr Wakefield said.

Photo credit: File

The average amount of time the students spent on Facebook was two hours. 

"We found that if they used Facebook for three hours a day – not substantially higher than the average of just under two hours – the difference was around six marks in a 60 mark exam or 10%,” Dr Wakefield added.

"Lower achieving students may already be grappling with self-regulation and focus, so it seems time spent on Facebook provides a further distraction from studies.”

The research was published in the journal Computers & Education. 

Though based on STEM students studying at university, the authors believe it is likely to also be relevant to younger learners.  

"Unlike other research on social networking use, we were able to tease out the differing impact on above average students compared to below average students," Dr Wakefield said.

"It appears that for students with lower academic achievement, the use of social networking sites replaces study time, whereas high achieving students are able to juggle both.”

Offering advice to distracted students, he added: "Try to get into a mode where you can study without looking at your phone or logging on to social networking sites.”