Facebook has become enormously popular throughout the world. Within six years,
Facebook has experienced dramatic growth. It has reached more than a billion users and is
still growing rapidly (Kiss, 2014). (TRANSITION) As with previous major technological
developments, there is now discussion about how websites like Facebook can be used in
learning and teaching because their growing ubiquity is already making both positive and
negative impacts on the education sector.
(OPPOSING POINT OF VIEW) One major concern about the use of Facebook is its
perceived negative impact on academic performance. Kirchner (2010) surveyed 102
undergraduate and 117 graduate students in the United States and found that those students
who used Facebook had a lower Grade PointAverage (GPA) and spent less time studying
than students who did not use Facebook. Junco (2012) also found that 1,839 undergraduate
students in the United States who engaged in Facebook activity had a lower GPA than those
who did not. (THESIS STATEMENT) However, if Facebook is used appropriately as a
learning tool, it potentially offers interesting innovations for learning and teaching