The Correlations Between Social Media Addiction, Social Interaction, and Academic Performance Among Undergraduate Students
Keywords:
social media addiction, social interaction, academic performance, undergraduate studentAbstract
Nowadays, the use of social media has become an integral part of daily life, to the extent that it has led to social media addiction, particularly among undergraduate students. Social media addiction among undergraduate students affects their social interactions with those around them and their academic performance. This descriptive correlational research aimed to investigate the correlations between social media addiction, social interaction, and academic performance among undergraduate students of a university. The participants consisted of 395 undergraduate students, with data collection performed between October and November 2024. The instruments used in this study included: 1) The Social-Media Addiction Screening Scale (S-MASS) and 2) The Social Interaction Questionnaire (SIQ). The instruments had content validity index (CVI) values of 1 and .99, respectively, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .89 and .84, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficients.
The results of the study revealed that: undergraduate students exhibited an overall level of social media addiction categorized as moderate-risk; social interaction was at a moderate level; and the students' academic performance was at a moderate level. Additionally, social media addiction was negatively correlated with social interaction at a high level (r= -0.642, p < .001). However, there was no correlation between social media addiction and academic performance. Thus, social media addiction among undergraduate students may affect their real-world social interactions with others, but it does not negatively impact their academic performance. Therefore, education strategies should focus on incorporating more in-class activities that encourage students to interact with others, while also promoting the use of online platforms for information searches and assignment submission, thereby maximizing the benefits of online media in learning.
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