Soc Psychol Educ (2015) 18:503516

DOI 10.1007/s11218-015-9297-7

Relationships between time-management skills,

Facebook interpersonal skills and academic
achievement among junior high school students
Hsien-Chang Tsai Shih-Hsiung Liu

Received: 6 August 2014 / Accepted: 3 February 2015 / Published online: 30 June 2015
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Abstract Effective time-management skills and interpersonal interactions with

familiar friends for learning matters on Facebook are desired characteristics for
adolescents attempting to improve their academic achievements. This study identifies the relationships between time-management skills and Facebook interpersonal
skills with the academic achievement of adolescents, and further investigates the
predictors of academic achievement. In total, 1052 valid questionnaires were
obtained from Taiwanese junior high school students. Data were analyzed using
Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Analytical results
reveal that Facebook-based interpersonal skills are negatively correlated with academic achievement, implying that Facebook-based interpersonal skills for social
rather than for academic purposes in daily life are deterrent forces for academic
achievement. Additionally, this correlation between interpersonal skills and academic achievement was moderated by time-management skills. Above results
demonstrate that adolescents who converse less with friends for social purposes on
Facebook may contribute to their academic performance, owing to their effective
time-management skills. Based on a comparison with the results of the literature, we
conclude that use of Facebook can increase the quality of interpersonal interactions
for learning among adolescents, ultimately improving their academic achievement.
Keywords Academic achievement
Adolescents
Facebook

Interpersonal skills
Time-management skills

H.-C. Tsai
Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City, Taiwan
e-mail: bihft@cc.ncue.edu.tw
S.-H. Liu (&)
Center for Teacher Education, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Road,
Changhua City, Taiwan
e-mail: shsiung@cc.ncue.edu.tw

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1 Introduction
The Internet allows individuals to interact with each other globally through many
social networking sites (SNSs). Many researchers have investigated how the
Internet affects social skills via SNSs (Bouillion Diaz et al. 2010). As interactive
platforms, SNSs allow Internet users to communicate and share information.
Additionally, individuals develop their online interpersonal skills by using SNSs
(Utz 2009). Related studies have indicated that roughly 75 % of teenagers in the
United States have used at least one social networking site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter,
and MySpace) (Lenhart et al. 2010). As one of the most convenient SNSs for
teenagers, Facebook often strengthens their relationships (Mesch and Talmud 2006;
Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 2008; Subrahmanyam et al. 2008; Valkenburg and
Peter 2007). According to Facebook statistics, 14 million users in Taiwan were
active users on a monthly basis, with those numbers exceeding 10 million daily
(Checkfacebook 2013). Moreover, 62.0 % of Taiwans population use Facebook
(Miniwatts Marketing Group 2013), which ranks first in Asia and third worldwide.
Additionally, according to the Child Welfare League (2013), junior high school
students in Taiwan frequently surf the Internet, accounting for 72.9 % of the time
spent on leisure activities. Thus, approximately half of all Taiwanese adolescents
have used Facebook. Facebook use by Taiwanese adolescents has received
considerable attention and been a focus of many Taiwanese researchers (Hsu and
Yu 2007; Liu et al. 2013; Tsai and Liu 2013; Yang and Tung 2007).
Taiwanese parents generally expect their children to excel at school and achieve
high scores on university entrance examinations. Many high school students highly
prioritize performing well on university entrance examinations. Accordingly, in
addition to its importance when evaluating learning effectiveness, academic
achievement also influences how students view themselves. More than essential to
success, high academic performance also represents survival since academic
performance determines the life trajectory of university or employment prospects
(Liao et al. 2011). However, many Taiwanese adolescents enjoy accessing the
Internet after school, subsequently reducing their study time (Paul et al. 2012).
Restated, excessive Internet access can lower academic achievement (Junco and
Cotton 2012).
In contrast to surfing the Internet, Facebook use allows adolescents to frequently
interact with friends and classmates, as well as expand their social network.
Consequently, adolescents can make new online friends and maintain close
relationships with their intimate friends. Additionally, despite its social function,
Facebook is occasionally used for educational purposes (Madge et al. 2009).
According to Jong et al. (2014), 81 % of 387 university students in Taiwan had
discussed course-related problems with their peers on Facebook. That study also
ranked peer discussion of educational matters as fourth among seven possible
motives, following relationship maintenance, pass time, and entertainment.
We can infer that adolescents likely share their learning experiences when using
Facebook to contact friends. Witkow and Fuligni (2010) indicated that the academic
achievement and motivation of adolescents are positively correlated with their level
of communication with intimate friends. In this case, Facebook likely motivates

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1 Introduction
The Internet allows individuals to interact with each other globally through many
social networking sites (SNSs). Many researchers have investigated how the
Internet affects social skills via SNSs (Bouillion Diaz et al. 2010). As interactive
platforms, SNSs allow Internet users to communicate and share information.
Additionally, individuals develop their online interpersonal skills by using SNSs
(Utz 2009). Related studies have indicated that roughly 75 % of teenagers in the
United States have used at least one social networking site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter,
and MySpace) (Lenhart et al. 2010). As one of the most convenient SNSs for
teenagers, Facebook often strengthens their relationships (Mesch and Talmud 2006;
Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 2008; Subrahmanyam et al. 2008; Valkenburg and
Peter 2007). According to Facebook statistics, 14 million users in Taiwan were
active users on a monthly basis, with those numbers exceeding 10 million daily
(Checkfacebook 2013). Moreover, 62.0 % of Taiwans population use Facebook
(Miniwatts Marketing Group 2013), which ranks first in Asia and third worldwide.
Additionally, according to the Child Welfare League (2013), junior high school
students in Taiwan frequently surf the Internet, accounting for 72.9 % of the time
spent on leisure activities. Thus, approximately half of all Taiwanese adolescents
have used Facebook. Facebook use by Taiwanese adolescents has received
considerable attention and been a focus of many Taiwanese researchers (Hsu and
Yu 2007; Liu et al. 2013; Tsai and Liu 2013; Yang and Tung 2007).
Taiwanese parents generally expect their children to excel at school and achieve
high scores on university entrance examinations. Many high school students highly
prioritize performing well on university entrance examinations. Accordingly, in
addition to its importance when evaluating learning effectiveness, academic
achievement also influences how students view themselves. More than essential to
success, high academic performance also represents survival since academic
performance determines the life trajectory of university or employment prospects
(Liao et al. 2011). However, many Taiwanese adolescents enjoy accessing the
Internet after school, subsequently reducing their study time (Paul et al. 2012).
Restated, excessive Internet access can lower academic achievement (Junco and
Cotton 2012).
In contrast to surfing the Internet, Facebook use allows adolescents to frequently
interact with friends and classmates, as well as expand their social network.
Consequently, adolescents can make new online friends and maintain close
relationships with their intimate friends. Additionally, despite its social function,
Facebook is occasionally used for educational purposes (Madge et al. 2009).
According to Jong et al. (2014), 81 % of 387 university students in Taiwan had
discussed course-related problems with their peers on Facebook. That study also
ranked peer discussion of educational matters as fourth among seven possible
motives, following relationship maintenance, pass time, and entertainment.
We can infer that adolescents likely share their learning experiences when using
Facebook to contact friends. Witkow and Fuligni (2010) indicated that the academic
achievement and motivation of adolescents are positively correlated with their level
of communication with intimate friends. In this case, Facebook likely motivates

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505

adolescents to contact friends for learning matters (e.g., engaging in a wide range of
teamwork and course-related activities), ultimately benefitting their academic
performance.
Ideally, adolescents with effective time-management skills and close interpersonal interactions for learning purposes on Facebook can improve their academic
performance. However, few studies have considered the role of time-management
skills and Facebook-based interpersonal skills in using Facebook to improve
academic performance through contact with familiar friends.
This study investigates how time-management skills and Facebook-based
interpersonal skills are related to the academic performance of junior high school
students. The predictors of academic achievement for these students in Taiwan are
also examined. Importantly, this study determines whether Facebook is linked to
academic achievement, subsequently providing a valuable reference for educators
when devising effective strategies to enhance the learning capabilities of
adolescents in Taiwan.

2 Literature review
2.1 Time-management skills and academic achievement
Students should spend a sufficient amount of time and attention on their learning
and homework to improve their academic performance. According to Chickering
and Gamson (1987), the amount of time that students spend on a learning task is
vital to superior achievement. Conversely, students who spend time on technologymediated entertainment (e.g., surfing the Internet or playing computer games)
reduce their time spent studying. Lei and Zhao (2005) investigated the relationship
between technology use and academic achievement among 237 high school students
in the United States. Their results suggest that too much time on the Internet often
causes poor concentration, fatigue, and lack of engagement in academic learning,
ultimately diminishing their academic performance. Vanden Boogart (2006) also
suggested that students who spent a significant amount of time on Facebook perform
poorly in school. In a survey of 340 business students, Paul et al. (2012) found that
the amount of time that students spent on online social networks lowered their
academic performance. However, the academic achievement of adolescents was not
directly impacted by Facebook use, but rather indirectly by such factors as the
amount of time spent on Facebook and on completing homework (Pasek et al. 2009;
Kolek and Saunders 2008; Hunley et al. 2005). According to Kirschner and
Karpinski (2010), Facebook users reported having a lower academic achievement
and spending fewer hours per week studying than nonusers. Similarly, in a survey of
3866 college students in the United States, Junco (2012) found that students who
spent considerable time on Facebook have less time to study, inhibiting their
academic performance. Hence, Facebook use may not lower academic achievement
if students could allocate sufficient time to do their homework and use Facebook
simultaneously.

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Although many studies assert that Facebook use and academic performance are
related for university students (Junco 2012; Paul et al. 2012), adolescents have
seldom been considered. Time-management skills are vital for adolescents,
especially for Taiwanese students. To perform well academically, most Taiwanese
junior high school students in cities or urban areas often attend after school
supplementary programs, commonly known as cram schools. Moreover, according
to Liu et al. (2013), more than half of all Taiwanese teenagers use Facebook for
social contacts. Poor academic achievement possibly results from an uneven
distribution of time after school, time spent at cram school, on homework, sleeping,
and using Facebook for social contacts and for entertainment. Students with
adequate time management skills can improve their grades (Dale 1993).
Lay and Schouwenburg (1993) noted that time management is associated with
behavior and activity. Thus, time management is a goal-setting and selfmanagement skill. Macan (1994) found that the principles of time-management
skills include setting goals and priorities. Additionally, Gerhardt (2007) characterized self-management as consisting of self-assessment, goal setting, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation. In sum, good time-management skills allow individuals to
plan, monitor, and evaluate themselves, and then to complete their tasks effectively
and efficiently.
Furthermore, individuals can focus on required activities based on their timemanagement skills. For Facebook, time-management skills are vital for scheduling
time on Facebook as well as that for other regular tasks in daily life. Students should
be encouraged to allocate Facebook time on a schedule, similar to other learning
activities. As mentioned earlier, good time-management skills are positively
correlated with academic performance. Adolescents who establish a schedule to
monitor and evaluate Facebook use can allocate sufficient time for academic
learning and likely improve their academic achievement.
2.2 Facebook-based interpersonal skills and academic achievement
Interpersonal skills are used in daily life to interact with others, individually and in
groups. Schools must provide adolescents with ample opportunities to collaborate
with others to develop their social networks and interpersonal skills (Bower et al.
2012). In addition to school experiences, Subrahmanyam et al. (2008) found that
adolescents use SNSs such as Facebook to connect with friends. Facebook
friendships mainly support relationships formed offline (Buote et al. 2009; Pempek
et al. 2009). For adolescents, social behavior and interpersonal skills are often
manifested online on sites like Facebook (Brown 2006).
The interpersonal skills of adolescents are also associated with their academic
achievement. Hoffmann et al. (2004) asserted that adolescents with good
interpersonal skills are likely to have many optimal outcomes during their
developmental period (e.g., many friendships, dating success, and high academic
achievement). DiPrete and Jennings (2012) demonstrated that social and behavioral
skills with peers profoundly impact academic outcomes for early adolescents. While
exploring interpersonal relationships, Jou (2009) examined whether the academic
performance of 2310 Taiwanese adolescents varied with their interpersonal

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relationship patterns, indicating that students who maintained good relations with
both parents and friends performed the best academically. Conversely, Palmen et al.
(2011) suggested that academic achievement is positively related to their quality of
interaction with friends. Thus, good interpersonal skills may improve the academic
performance of adolescents through positive social interactions.
The above studies addressed interpersonal skills in daily life, not computermediated interpersonal skills, like those used on Facebook. Facebook interpersonal
skills are online social skills people use to communicate and interact with their
Facebook friends. Moreover, related studies have indicated that Facebook provides
students with an alternative means of developing their social skills (Ellison et al.
2007; Pempek et al. 2009), immersing themselves in interest-driven communities
and activities (Ito et al. 2009), displaying creative work and receiving feedback
from their members in their network (Greenhow and Robelia 2009) as well as
communicating with experts on course-related topics (Darling and Foster 2012).
However, whether Facebook interpersonal skills are associated with academic
achievement has seldom been examined. According to Ahn (2011), whether
interactions of adolescents on Facebook are related to academic performance has
not been addressed.
Information exchanges can raise academic performance. Caprara et al. (2000)
indicated that prosocial behaviors (including cooperating, helping, sharing, and
consoling) in early childhood can accurately predict academic achievement and peer
relations in adolescence 5 years later. Additionally, Facebook interpersonal skills
can contribute to face-to-face prosocial behaviors (Wright and Li 2011). Moreover,
interpersonal skills and learning performance involve group collaboration and
academic planning (Nuchwana 2012). We can thus infer that adolescents can
acquire resources and learning support via their interpersonal skills on Facebook.
Furthermore, most Facebook friends know each other offline (Hew 2011), making it
feasible for adolescents to seek academic assistance from their online friends. Good
interpersonal skills on Facebook may expose students to many learning opportunities, ultimately raising their academic performance.
As mentioned earlier, whether the Facebook interpersonal skills of adolescents
are associated with academic achievement remains unclear. However, adolescents
who often use Facebook at night lack sufficient rest, subsequently diminishing their
academic performance during the daytime (Bijari et al. 2013; Lei and Zhao 2005).
In addition to spending considerable time in studying for high school entrance
examinations, many adolescents in Taiwan spend a lot of time on Facebook.
Sansgiry et al. (2004) suggested that interpersonal skills and time-management
skills drive academic achievement. Restated, simultaneously exploring Facebook
use and academic achievement by adolescents may reveal time-management skills
and Facebook interpersonal skills as two predictive factors. Therefore, this study
addresses two research questions:
1.

What are the correlations between time-management skills and academic

achievement, and Facebook-based interpersonal skills and academic achievement in adolescent Facebook users in Taiwan?

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2.

H.-C. Tsai, S.-H. Liu

Can time-management skills and Facebook-based interpersonal skills jointly

predict the academic achievement for adolescent Facebook users in Taiwan?

3 Methodology
A survey was performed to collect data on time-management skills, Facebook
interpersonal skills, and the academic achievement of Taiwanese adolescents from
February to March 2013.
3.1 Participants
Study subjects were selected using stratified random cluster sampling. Based on
statistical data of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China, Taiwan
(2012), Taiwan had approximately 844,000 junior high school students, ranging
from 13 to 15 years old. According to Cohen et al. (2007), over 1000 subjects as a
sample size for descriptive statistics is adequate at the 0.95 confidence level and
3 % confidence intervals. Totally, 1365 adolescents, representing 27 junior high
schools sampled from the 20 administrative districts of Taiwan were invited to fill
out the questionnaire. Each school received 30120 questionnaires, based on the
number of classes in that school. Of all of the questionnaires, 1052 questionnaires
were valid. The final sample consisted of 391 Grade 7, 328 Grade 8, and 333 Grade
9 students. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was then performed to
determine whether time-management skills, Facebook interpersonal skills, and
academic achievement differed in students grades. Analytical results indicated
insignificant differences in students grades (time-management skills, F = 0.483,
p [ .05; Facebook interpersonal skills, F = 0.501, p [ .05; academic achievement,
F = 1.981, p [ .05), thereby eliminating the potential effect of the students grades
on the three factors.
3.2 Instruments
Study instruments consisted of a scale for time-management skills and a scale for
interpersonal skills. In addition to the number of students in a class, subjects were
instructed to record their individual class rank based on their academic transcripts of
the last academic semester. The data were then transformed into a percentile rank in
a class to express the students academic achievement. Because of normal class
grouping, the percentile rank of students in their class can represent their academic
level.
This study also developed a time-management skills scale, based on the
following studies. Macan (1994) developed a time management behavior scale,
which determined the extent to which individuals adopted various time management
behaviors in their work situations and perceived themselves as having control over
their time. Trueman and Hartley (1996) also constructed a time-management scale,
involving daily plan and confidence in long-term planning for time management

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behaviors. Additionally, Gerhardt (2007) identified four aspects of self-management, i.e. self-assessment, goal setting, self-monitoring, and self-regulation for time
management skills. The scale of this study had 19 items. Two sample items were
When a project schedule is delayed, I will reduce the amount of time that I spend
on Facebook and I will make sure that my schoolwork is completed before using
Facebook. All item responses were on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 5 for
strongly agree to 1 for strongly disagree. The initial items were revised by
three experts and were piloted by 190 junior high students; the items were validated
based on the results of item analysis and factor analysis. The Cronbach alpha
coefficient for the time-management skills scale was 0.94.
The 20 items on the scale for Facebook interpersonal skills were developed by
modifying the Social Skill Rating System (SSRS) of the American Guidance
Service, which had seven interpersonal skills (Gresham and Elliott 1990). The
interpersonal skills tend to refer to specific conversation behaviors with online
friends. For example, When my friends are sad or upset, I will comfort and
encourage them in person or via Facebook by sending a message and I will seek
to help Facebook friends when they are confronting problems. All item responses
were on a five-point Likert scale. The initial items were revised by three experts and
were validated as mentioned above. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the
Facebook interpersonal skills scale was 0.91.
Additionally, the Cronbach alpha coefficient of the total scale was 0.92. Restated,
the questionnaire was appropriate for data collection in this study.
3.3 Data analysis
Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression
analysis. First, Pearson correlation analysis was applied to identify relationships
between time-management skills and Facebook interpersonal skills, respectively,
and academic achievement. Multiple regression analysis was then performed to
investigate whether time-management skills and Facebook interpersonal skills can
predict academic achievement.

4 Results
Table 1 lists the descriptive statistics of the time-management skills and Facebook
interpersonal skills of Taiwanese junior high school students that are above average
academically.
Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the three factors
Variable

Mean

Items

SD

95 % Confidence interval
Lower (LL)

Upper (UL)

Time-management skills

3.57

19

0.755

3.538

3.616

Interpersonal skills

3.39

20

0.709

3.397

3.475

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Table 2 shows the relationships between time-management skills and academic

achievement and Facebook interpersonal skills and academic achievement.
Analytical results indicate that time-management skills were positively related to
academic achievement (p \ 0.05). However, Facebook interpersonal skills were
negatively correlated with academic achievement (p \ 0.05). This finding suggests
that students who managed their time efficiently performed better academically than
those who managed their time inefficiently. Additionally, students who exhibited
more Facebook-based interpersonal skills might perform worse academically.
Moreover, multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate how timemanagement skills and interpersonal skills predict academic achievement. First,
collinearity analysis was performed to avoid the contradiction among the coefficients
in multiple regression analysis. Analytical results indicate that, in the regression
model, the tolerance value was 0.968, i.e. exceeding 0.10; the variance inflation
factor was 1.033, \10; the condition index (CI) was \30; and the eigenvalue was
[0.01. These values imply that the multi-collinearity problem did not occur for
independent variables. Multiple regression analysis was then performed to investigate whether the two independent variables (i.e. time-management skills and
Facebook interpersonal skills) can predict the dependent variable (i.e. academic
achievement). The regression result was listed in the Model A of Table 3.
However, the interaction of time-management skills and Facebook interpersonal
skills might influence a situation in which the two variables jointly predict academic
performance. Additionally, regression analysis with an interaction term was
conducted to examine whether the two independent variables interacted with each
other. Model B of Table 3 summarizes the statistical results.
Analytical results for Models A and B indicate that F value was significant
(p \ 0.001), implying that the two independent variables (i.e. time-management
skills and Facebook interpersonal skills) significantly contributed to explaining the
Table 2 Pearson correlation among the three variables
Time management skills
interpersonal skills

0.179*

academic achievement

0.341*

Interpersonal skills

-0.078*

* p \ .05

Table 3 Regression model that predicts academic achievement

Model
Model A

Variables
Time management skills (T)
Interpersonal skills (I)

Model B

Time management skills (T)

Interpersonal skills (I)
(T)*(I)

*** p \ .001

123

R2

0.117

69.488***

0.123

48.999***

0.338

11.479

.000

-0.138

-4.690

.000

0.069

0.665

.506

-0.407

-3.899

.000

0.420

2.683

.007

Relationships between time-management skills

511

academic achievement of students. Notably, the number of subjects in the study

easily affected R2 in the regression model. Restated, a decreasing number of study
subjects increased the likelihood that explanatory power would be overestimated. In
this study, the number of subjects was large ([1000), such that R2 (not adjusted R2)
adequately estimates the true population value. The proportion of variance
explained by the regression model was reflected by R2 values of 11.7 % for Model
A and 12.3 % for Model B. By comparison, the regression Model B can account for
the study findings, revealing that the two independent variables jointly predict
academic achievement, based on the value of F (48.999, p \ .001). However,
according to the regression analysis in Model B, Facebook interpersonal skills
significantly predicted academic achievement separately, while time-management
skills did not. The interaction term was significant (p \ .05), indicating that timemanagement skills moderated the relationship between Facebook interpersonal
skills and academic achievement.
The b coefficients are standardized weights that express the relative importance
of the independent variables. According to the b coefficients acquired with the
multiple regression model B, Facebook interpersonal skills accounted for academic
achievement the most. Notably, the b coefficient for Facebook interpersonal skills is
negative (b = -0.407), implying that the variable adversely impacted academic
achievement. Moreover, the above inference of the regression analysis results
should be considered when clarifying the interaction effects between timemanagement skills and Facebook-based interpersonal skills. Thus, the above
findings suggest that as Facebook-based interpersonal skills decline, academic
achievement increases when incorporating time-management skills. Restated, for
adolescents with few Facebook-based interpersonal skills, those Facebook users
with proficient time-management skills might have an elevated academic
performance.

5 Discussion
This study demonstrates that Facebook interpersonal skills adversely impact academic
achievement. The result contradicts the findings of previous studies (Palmen et al.
2011; Sansgiry et al. 2004; Wentzel 1993), which suggested that students with good
interpersonal skills in daily life perform well academically. Theoretically, except for
prosocial behavior, Facebook interpersonal skills benefit students who are seeking to
acquire learning resources and support, subsequently enhancing their learning
performance via interaction with Facebook friends. Nevertheless, in this study,
Facebook interpersonal skills and academic achievement were negatively related to
each other, likely due to the fact that students did not interact with each other for
learning purposes, but only for social interaction when using Facebook.
Alhabash et al. (2012) explored the motivations for Facebook use in Taiwan,
suggesting that the highest rated motivation is to maintain social connections. Leung
(2013) also indicated that online users of social media strive to meet their social
needs and needs for affection. According to a study on Facebook use of university
students, only 10 % of the students used Facebook to discuss academic work with

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other students on a daily basis; even fewer (1 %) used it to contact university staff,
while 23 % of the students used it daily for social interaction (Madge et al. 2009).
However, Madge et al. indicated that as students became increasingly engaged in
university life, some students increasingly used Facebook to contact other students
when organizing academic meetings. Only Taiwanese junior high school students
ranging from 13 to 15 years old are allowed to apply for a Facebook account.
Students can contact their Facebook friends for social rather than for academic
purposes, owing to their curiosity and unique features of this social medium.
Therefore, using Facebook to contact friends consumes more time for social
interactions rather than for academic purposes. According to Bijari et al. (2013),
students who used Facebook excessively at night experienced daytime fatigue and
performed poorly in school. Therefore, the finding that Facebook interpersonal
skills and academic achievement are negatively related is plausible.
Although Taiwanese adolescents may spend less time on Facebook for
academic tasks than for social activities, adequate time management is still of
priority concern. Time management involves settings goals and allocating
adequate time for activities. Related studies (Astin 1984; Chickering and Gamson
1987; Lei and Zhao 2005; Paul et al. 2012; Junco 2012) have demonstrated that
students who spend too much time on the Internet perform poorer in school
academically than those who manage their time efficiently when using the
Internet. Thus, academic achievement of students may improve if they could make
a schedule or plan for both homework and Facebook use. As mentioned earlier,
roughly 80 % of Taiwan university students have discussed course-related
problems with their peers on Facebook (Jong et al. 2014). University students
have more Facebook experiences than adolescents do. Additionally, Caprara et al.
(2000) suggested that adolescents prosocial behaviors can accurately predict their
academic achievement after 5 years. The academic achievement of Taiwanese
adolescents likely improves if they can increase the number of their contacts
related to learning on Facebook when they are familiar with effective interpersonal
skills and exercise effective time management.

6 Implications and limitations

Although capable of contributing to the social behaviors of students, Facebook can
also harm academic performance. Prohibiting adolescents from using SNSs makes it
impossible for them to develop necessary online social skills. Moreover, since
adolescents at the age of 13 years are allowed to apply for a Facebook account, their
curiosity with Facebook may consume a significant amount of time on social
interaction rather than for academic purposes. We thus recommend that teachers and
parents train adolescents to schedule time for Facebook use and encourage them to
interact with academic issues, which is similar to other forms of verbal
communications such as life information exchange for social purposes. The ability
of adolescents with proficient time-management skills to develop effective
interpersonal skills and subsequently allow them to make contact with Facebook

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friends for learning purposes allows us to infer that Facebook can facilitate the
development of social behaviors and academic achievement for students.
Results of this study can be generalized to other regions and countries, such as
Hong Kong (Facebook subscribers, 56.4 % of population) and Singapore (Facebook
subscribers, 54.5 % of population) in contrast to Taiwan (Facebook subscribers,
57.0 % of population) (Miniwatts Marketing Group 2013), where adolescents are
highly interested in using Facebook to contact friends and are often asked to
perform well academically.
Despite its contributions, this study has certain limitations. The socioeconomic
status (SES) of adolescents is generally related to academic performance. However,
this study focuses only on the potential factors (i.e. time-management skills and
interpersonal skills) with respect to the effects on Facebook use of adolescents based
on the literature review. Our finding that time-management skills and Facebook
interpersonal skills can jointly predict adolescents academic achievement may have
differed if the study subjects were overly centered on high SES family or low SES
family in final valid questionnaires. Moreover, based on Taiwans Personal
Information Protection Act, this study cannot obtain real students academic
achievement scores. Instead, this study relied on self-reports of adolescents for
academic standing in the class. The effects of time-management skills and
interpersonal skills for academic achievement differ because respondents may not
accurately report their academic standing.

7 Conclusions
This study identified the relationships between time-management skills and
academic achievement and Facebook interpersonal skills and academic achievement. Predictors of academic achievement were identified as well. The Facebook
interpersonal skills significantly and negatively predicted academic achievement.
This correlation between Facebook interpersonal skills and academic achievement
was moderated by time-management skills. By assuming that Facebook interpersonal skills are social and behavioral skills used to communicate and interact with
others, we conclude that adolescents who have less conversational skills with
friends for social purposes on Facebook can elevate their academic performance by
incorporating time-management skills effectively.
Results of this study contribute to the literature by demonstrating that Facebookbased interpersonal skills for social rather than for academic purposes in daily life
are deterrent forces for academic achievement. Furthermore, adolescents can
increase the quality of interpersonal interactions for learning purposes to improve
their academic achievement when using Facebook. Future research should address
this issue, in which adolescents are encouraged to contact classmates for academic
purposes by Facebook after school in order to evaluate adolescents academic
achievement.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the National Science Council, Taiwan for
financially supporting this research under Contract No. NSC 101-2410-H-018-030.

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Hsien-Chang Tsai received the Ph.D. in Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Changhua
University of Education, Taiwan. He is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology, National
Changhua University of Education, Taiwan. His research and teaching focus on Biostatistics,
Computational Biology, Educational and Psychological Measurement and Evaluation, Science Education,
Animal Histology, and Embryology, etc.
Shih-Hsiung Liu is a Professor in the Center for Teacher Education at National Changhua University of
Education, Taiwan. His research interests include technology integration into K-12 education, higher
education, and teacher education. His work focuses especially on pre-service and in-service teacher
professional development.

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