A study performed at the University of Leicester has revealed that students use social media differently with respect to academic gain.

Researchers found that social media use varied when students were using it specifically for academic purposes like sharing course information with peers or tracking down academic information. Fiona Wright conducted the study and told Science Daily, "In order to know how to effectively teach using social media one needs to understand the student's motivation to use it. Such paradigms, if proven correct, help educators to approach this problem, increasing student engagement with tasks...."