College students from lower socio-economic backgrounds tend to spend lesser time on Facebook when compared to students from wealthier backgrounds says a new study conducted by Purdue University Libraries.

Associate Professor, Reynol Junco conducted the survey to understand how a student's gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are linked to time spent on the social networking site. To arrive at the conclusion, Junco approached around 2,359 college students aged 22 on an average. The students were asked how much time they spent on Facebook and what they did during the time.

Based on the activity, Junco found that students from all backgrounds spent an average of 101 minutes a day on the site. Students whose parents had lower levels of education were less likely to indulge in seven of the 14 core social activities on Facebook, including tagging photos, messaging privately, chatting on the site and creating or RSVPing to events.

"[I]t can be concluded that those from lower SES [socio-economic status] are less likely to use Facebook for exactly the types of activities for which Facebook was created -- communicating, connecting, and sharing with others," said Junco. "Failure to connect in these ways could deprive students of the benefits of participation on such sites, such as increased social capital, improved social integration, opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, and improving the technological and communication skills valued in today's workplace."

While previous studies argued that increased Facebook usage can affect a student's academic performance, Junco claims that social sites helps build stronger relationships among students.

Junco further states that students from SES backgrounds, who didn't engage in the above listed activities didn't develop better inter-peer relationships.

"Take for example, those students who are from lower SES and how they use Facebook -- they are less likely to use it for communication and connection. Since Facebook is one of the primary communication sources for most college students, these students are at a disadvantage when attempting to build a social support system to help them integrate in their college environment," said Junco.

Earlier studies that focused on the relationship between social networking sites and college-going students have revealed that interacting on Facebook with peers help students stay motivated at college and better their GPAs.

"Using Facebook for communication and connection with fellow students helps strengthen social bonds, which leads to a greater sense of commitment to the institution and to increased motivation to perform better academically," Junco said.

According to the lead author, the findings could also help estimate a student's academic performance and social life.

"One of the things we know from the retention literature is that students have to feel a sense of connection to the institution within their first three to six weeks, and if they don't feel a sense of connection to the institution ... then they're at risk of not coming back. The activities they engage in on Facebook -- information seeking, sharing videos, sharing pictures, tagging things -- are a way they also interact with other people."