Academic self-discipline as a mediating variable in the relationship between social media addiction and academic achievement: mixed methodology

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of academic self-discipline in the effect of university students’ social media addictions on academic achievement. The study sample consisted of 520 university students with a daily social media usage time of four hours or more, selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected from 36 cities in Turkey. Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Academic Self-discipline Scale, Personal Information Form, and Semi-structured Interview Form were used as data collection tools. The relationships between variables were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis using Process Macro (model 4). In the regression analysis, mediation was tested with the Bootstrap technique. According to the analysis results, social media addiction predicts academic achievement. In addition, academic self-discipline has a partial mediating role in the relationship between social media addiction and academic achievement. As a result of the content analysis of the interviews, three themes were reached: “The Reasons for Social Media Addiction, The Effect of Social Media Addiction on Academic Achievement, and The Role of Academic Self-discipline in the Effect of Social Media Addiction on Academic Achievement.” The qualitative results obtained supported the quantitative results. Based on all these, suggestions were made based on increasing academic self-discipline to prevent social media addiction from affecting academic achievement.