One of the topics of A2 Media Psychology concerns the question of whether computers have positive or negative effects on behaviour. In our new A2 spreads we have provided evidence that shows the use of Facebook may have both effects. One study of students found increased stress in Facebook users (Charles et al., 2011) whereas another study found that Facebook users had increased self-esteem (Gonzales et al., 2011) . You can read the details of these studies.

It seems that Facebook research is a hot topic. One 2009 study found that American student users of Facebook had lower grade averages than non-Facebook users. However another study published this year has found that not all Facebook activities are associated with poor academic performance. This study aimed to use improved methodology, for example previous studies had not controlled for prior academic ability whereas the new study did. This new study found that  time spent on status updates and using Facebook chat was linked to lower grade averages. Checking to see what friends were up to and sharing links was associated with higher grades.