The effects of online social networks on the quantitative academic performance of secondary high school girls' students in Tehran

Background and Objectives: One of the important indicators in measuring the quality of education is the academic performance of students, which is important from a scientific and practical point of view. Extensive studies have been conducted worldwide on how social networks affect the quantitative academic performance of their students. Many studies on the denial of social media have concluded that these networks have a negative impact on the younger generation and students. These researchers believe that virtual social networks have an effect on students' annual grade point average, drop in academic grades, writing style and spelling, decrease in English language standards, etc., and have measured these variables separately with the use of social networks among students. At the same time, others believe that the emergence of social media has a positive trend on students' performance and their achievement of high grades. These studies have also found that these students spend most of their time doing their homework and research in this way. Therefore, in the review of previous studies, both approaches are discussed separately. The main purpose of this study is to be aware of the impact of virtual social networks on the quantitative academic performance of female high school students. Sub-objectives are to examine the extent of students 'dependence on virtual social networks and awareness of the impact of using virtual social networks on students' quantitative academic performance. Methods: In this research, a survey method has been used and the sample population includes 855 female students of high schools in Tehran. The data gathering instrument is Jeffrey Single's Social Media Dependency Questionnaire, including academic quantitative performance, social networks addiction, educational use, and grammar, writing, reading, and course questions. In this study, descriptive tests (percentage, mean, and analytical tests (chi-square, Pearson correlation coefficient and t-test) were used. Findings: The findings show that there is no relationship between the students' last year GPA and their academic quantitative performance and their use of the online social network; but there is a relationship between their GPAs and their scientific information exchange (test questions) and with their use of online social networks. The findings show that there is no relationship between last year's students' grade point average and their poor academic performance using a virtual social network. There is only a relationship between their grade point average and the exchange of scientific information (exam questions) through social networks. There is also a link between social media use and poor academic performance, social media addiction, learning and receiving questions and course questions. However, the effect of social networks on the quantitative performance of students is moderate and its effect on other educational activities of students is low. Conclusion: Online social networks can be used as an appropriate way of interaction between students, as well as between teachers and students to convey scientific content, share questions and problem-solving skills, and help each other understand the correct path to problem solving. Although in this study, the use of virtual social networks does not have a negative effect on students' quantitative academic performance, but it should be noted that membership in these networks as a group and as a channel if it creates dependency and students spend a lot of time in their school hours. Can affect the quantitative academic performance of students. ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS ©2020 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. =====================================================================================