Social networking sites (SNS) arguably represent one of the most consequential technological developments in recent history. As SNS use has burgeoned in recent years, increasing academic research has acknowledged the importance of SNS in students' lives. The emerging field of SNS scholarship investigates an important issue in the academic domain, namely, the effects of SNS use on academic performance. The body of work that has sought to understand this relationship has resulted in findings and explanations that are far from conclusive, however; and the varied and inconsistent findings leave the question without definitive answers requiring further work. Critically, previous research has focused mainly, if not exclusively, on cross-sectional data, and has widely overlooked longitudinal investigations. The often-implicit assumption in prior research is that SNS use affects performance. To critique this dominant perspective requires longitudinal research. The current research furthers the body of knowledge on the topic by conducting a longitudinal study; thus, overcoming a vital shortcoming in extant research and helping provide a way to better understand the temporal association between SNS use and academic performance. The longitudinal findings suggest that there is no statistically significant relationship between SNS use and academic performance over time.