Gender variations in social media usage and academic performance among the students of University of Sharjah

The research aimed to contribute to investigate the impact of social networking media on academic performance, health and social interactions in Oman. It is a causal study as it studied the impact of social media usage on academics, social interactions and health. The study area was University of Technology and Applied sciences, Nizwa. The period of study was from February 2023 to May 2023. The total population of students studying in University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Nizwa is 5692 A sample of 242 students were selected for the study from four departments. Samples were designed from students in each department by using proportionate stratified sampling. Primary data was collected online using Google form, with the help of a structured questionnaire in English and Arabic. The findings of the study revealed that the correlation between social media usage and health issues is 0.174. There is a significant relationship between social media usage and its impact on health. Social media usage contributes only 3% to health issues on the students. The correlation between social media usage and social interactions and behaviour is 0.264. 7% of the variation in social behaviour can be predicted due to usage of social media. It is proved that there is a significant relationship between social media usage and its impact on social interactions and behavior of students. The correlation between social media usage and academic performance is 0.271. Social media usage contributes only 7% to academic performance of the students. It is proved that there is a significant relationship between social media usage and its impact on academic performance of students, their health and behaviour. There is no significant relationship between gender, department, level of study and grade with the usage of social media.

Introduction: Social media plays a vital role in students' lives, providing connectivity and access to information while posing distraction risks. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate social media usage patterns and their impact on academic performance among medical students in Lahore. Place and Duration of study: This study took place in public sector medical colleges of Lahore in 6 months from April to September 2024. Material & Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted among 150 medical students of different medical colleges including KEMU, AMC, FJMU, AIMC, SIMS & SKZMDC selected through convenience sampling in Lahore. Data collected through the questionnaire included demographics, social media usage patterns, and academic performance indicators. The impact of social media usage on academic performance was determined by applying Chi-square with statistical significance determined at a p-value of less than 0.05. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 27. Results: Regarding social media use specifically for academic purposes, YouTube was the most popular platform, used by 119 participants (79.3%) followed by WhatsApp by 54 participants (36%). Average screen time of over 4 hours per day was reported by 78.7%, with maximum before going to bed (96%) and over the weekend (77.3%), main uses were entertainment in 86.7% and academics in 54.7%. Only one variable spending more than 04 academically directed hours on social media led to better examination performance in the male gender (p value<0.05). Conclusion: The male gender spending more than 04 hours on social media for educational purposes had a positive impact on academic performance

Social media are websites and applications enabling users to create or share content and communicate. The widespread use of social media among university students and easy access during class and study time raises concern about its impact on academic performance. This study aims to determine the impact of social media usage, addiction, and exposure on students' academic performance. An online cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling among undergraduate medical students in Medina, KSA during the academic year 2021/2022. We used the chi-square and fisher's exact tests to determine the impact of social media usage on academic performance. 842 medical students participated in our study. 57.1% were females, 24.8% were in the 5th academic year, and 56.5% had a Grade Point Average (GPA) in the range of 4.5 to 5. Moreover, 26.1% of the students use social networking sites for 3-4 hours, and males are more addicted to social media than females. Our results showed that students with excellent GPAs (GPA ≥ 4.5) are less likely to be addicted to social media networks (54.8%), and they perceive that using social media is not helping to improve their grades compared to other students. Also, showed that those who are addicted to social media benefit from the use of social media to improve their grades. There is no significant difference between genders in social media usage as if it helps them improve their grades. Moreover, no difference between the academic years in addiction and usage of social media. This study has revealed that students with higher levels were less addicted to social media, and those who are addicted benefit from using social media to improve their grades. We call for using social media as a supporting tool for academic performance and achievement among university students.

PurposeIn the recent times social media is considered as the most popular tool of communication among the students in India. Based on the assumption that the usage of social media is going to reinforce the academic performance among the medical students, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effect of student engagement on the use of SM and AP of medical students of India.Design/methodology/approachThe students were selected from the top three public-funded medical colleges of India. Almost 250 medical students took part in the survey. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used for the collection of the data. Structural equation modelling was used for the analysis of the final data.FindingsThe results of the study show that student engagement is a multi-dimensional construct. It was found that the behavioural and emotional engagement did not mediate the relationship between usage of social media and academic performance, whereas, the cognitive engagement did mediate the relationship. The outcome of the study depicts that the usage of the social media has a potential impact on the learning environment and enhances the cognitive engagement among the medical students and eventually their academic performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the effectiveness of social media in higher education learning among medical students. Furthermore, the study also looks at the mediating effect of Student engagement between usage of social media and academic performance. This will be helpful for the educator to know how social media can be useful for conducive learning.Originality/valueThe usage of the social media is claimed to enhance learning among the students but there is hardly any empirical evidence of the same. Therefore, the present paper looks at the combined effect of two distinct sets of literature, i.e., the influence of usage of social media on student engagement, and student engagement and academic performance. Linking the two studies the present paper looks at the usage of the social media, student engagement and academic performance among the medical students of India.

Social media is undeniably more accessible and more appreciated today. It is undoubtedly one of the most crucial instruments for student communication. Mental health status can also meaningfully influence the students at the higher levels of the educational institutions. This study aims to evaluate the social media usage of university students and its impact on academic performance and mental health. To examine under confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) several scale measurements were confirmed by justifying the validity and reliability of several necessary indices and structural equation model. The mediation analysis was also estimated to evaluate the students' Social media addiction (employed Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale) under maximum likelihood estimation with 2000 bootstrapping and 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. This study shows that the usage of social media significantly improves academic performance on psychological well-being, with a Comparative Fit Index of 0.921 and an RMSEA of 0.06 indicating a good fit of the CFA model. Finally, we exhibit a strong statistically significant positive impact of social media usage on academic success, and as supporting the hypothesis, the study observed a positive mediating role of mental health between social media addiction and academic performance. The present research investigations produced unique results, that is, online social media enhances mental health and mediates the link between social media addiction and academic performance in Bangladeshi students. This finding also add to the empirical database on social media usage and have significant theoretical and practical ramifications.

PurposeThis study aims to determine the impact of social media usage on university student’s academic performance in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative research method was used for the study. With the aid of a simple random sampling technique, quantitative data were obtained from 373 out of 400 respondents representing 93 per cent of volunteered participants. Data collected was analysed using structural equation modelling to establish the relationship among social media information, social media entertainment, social media innovation, social media knowledge generation and student performance.FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that social media information, social media innovation and social media entertainment all had a significant positive influence on social media knowledge generation, which has wide learning and knowledge management implications. Also, the study indicated that information computer technology knowledge moderates the relationship between social media and student performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample taken was mainly cross-sectional in nature rendering the inference of causal relationships between the variables impossible. Future researchers should adopt a longitudinal research design to examine causality. Finally, the study was limited to only university students in Accra, Ghana. Future research can extend to a bigger student population and to other West African and African countries.Practical implicationsThis paper will serve as a profitable source of information for managers and researchers who may embark on future research on social media and academic performance. The findings that social media information, innovation and entertainment can likewise enhance social media knowledge generation can help managers and university teachers to use the vehicle of innovation and entertainment to communicate knowledge.Social implicationsThe findings of this study will help policymakers in education and other industries that engage the youth to realise the important factors that can make them get the best in the social media space.Originality/valueSocial media usage in academic performance is increasingly prevalent. However, little is known about how social media knowledge generation mediates between social media usage and academic performance and, furthermore, whether the information computer technology knowledge level of students moderates the relationship between social media knowledge generation and academic performance of university students in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Ghana. Theoretically, the findings of this study provide clear research evidence to guide various investigations that can be done on the relationships of the variables under social media usage, knowledge generation and university student performance, which advances the diffusion of new knowledge.

Purpose Restrictions imposed on freedom of movement and interaction with others due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had the effect of causing many people, especially students, to become addicted to social media. This study aims to investigate the effect of social media addiction on the academic performance of Sri Lankan government university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach A convenience sampling technique was used to conduct a quantitative cross-sectional survey. The survey involved 570 respondents from nine state universities in Sri Lanka. The raw data from the completed questionnaires were coded and processed using SPSS for descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Findings The findings of this study indicated that the overall time spent on social networking increased dramatically during COVID-19. Based on the results, this study found that there was no association between the time spent on social media and the academic performance of students before COVID-19 came on the scene. However, a significant association was found between the time spent on social media and students’ performance during the pandemic. The authors concluded that overblown social media use, leading to addiction, significantly negatively affects academic performance. Originality/value This study helps to understand the impact of social media use on the academic performance of students during COVID-19. Restrictions imposed by COVID-19 have changed the typical lifestyle of the students. Therefore, social media usage should be reassessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the study will comprise these new insights, and they may well show how to adapt social media to contribute to academic work in meaningful ways.

The use of social media in the modern world is necessary to stay equipped with the fast-paced changes of the 21st century. The integration of social media platforms into the life of medical students and their effect on their academic performance has not been studied enough. This study examines the duration of time spent on social media, the type of content medical students is exposed to, the online engagement in study groups, and the influence of the interaction between students and their professors via social media on students' academic performance. A cross-sectional study that used structured self-administered online questionnaire to assess the use of social media by a random sample of 429 medical students in Jordan. The data was analyzed using descriptive and multivariate analysis by SPSS 28. Over 61.3% of participants used social media for 3 h or more per day. Instagram (48.7%) followed by Facebook (19.3%) and YouTube (11.9%) were the most utilized platforms. Entertainment content was the most pursued on social media (83.0%) followed by educational purposes (72.5%), sports (29.1%), and politics-related activities (17.9%). Approximately 64.6% of the students indicated that using social media is distracting, decreases their ability to focus (65.3%) and delays their daily tasks (61.8%). GPA was significantly associated with more time spent on social media (OR: 0.476; 95%CI: 0.278-0.813; p = 0.022). The negative impact of social networking on academic performance was significantly associated with GPA (OR: 2.292; 95%CI: 1.244-4.224; p = 0.007). This study provided evidence about the pattern and effect of using social media on the academic performance of medical students in Jordan. It delivered context-sensitive data for decision-making to enhance the positive use of social media by medical students. It also highlighted the importance of using appropriate online educational platforms to engage the medical students in relevant learning activities.

This descriptive and exploratory research intended to understand the faculty members' perspective regarding the influence of social media on university students' overall academic achievements. The study's main goal was to investigate the impact of social media usage on academic achievements of university students. The primary research question was, "What is the faculty's perception of the impact of social media on the academic performance of university students?" The secondary research question was, "What are the various purposes for which university students use social media?" Ninety faculty members of public and private sector universities in Sindh province participated in this research. Survey questionnaire was used as major data collection tool. This questionnaire has twenty statements regarding social media usage and two open ended questions related to problems and remedial measures associated with use of social media. Collected data was analyzed using demographic statistics, descriptive statistics, and central tendency statistics. Frequency counts and word clouds were used to analyze open-ended questions. From the analysis of data, it was found that use of social networking sites have positive as well negative impacts on the academic performance, study habits and social interactions of the students. The study recommends that since internet and social media are inevitable, responsible internet usage needs to be inculcated at a very early age through specialized curriculum embedded with unwritten curriculum of the educational institutes. It is also recommended that a policy framework to be developed by the state for restricting social networking sites and other online sites during certain time for the students. To conclude, the findings of this research provide insights into the correlation between social media usage and academic performance among university students. It is also recommended that this correlation may be further studied on a large scale.

BackgroundSocial media has become an integral part in the life of every individual in the 21st century. Social media addiction in the younger age group is a major problem. The objective of this study was to find a correlation between academic performance and social media use. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted in a medical school over a period of 3 months (Nov 2018–Jan 2019), where 400 medical undergraduates who use social media participated in the study. Data collected from the questionnaire included the academic performance in terms of university examination marks, the duration of social media use per day and the social media addiction score. Data correlation was done using the Pearson’s correlation factor. Results41.5% of students used social media for upto 3 h per day. Whatsapp (98.25%) and Youtube (91.75%) were the most commonly used social media applications. 73.5% used social media to read health-related news, 71.5% used it to complete assignments and more than 50% used it for seminar preparation, test preparation and research-related purposes. Academic performance of female students was better than male students. There was a significantly higher use of social media among academically low-performing medical students compared with high-performing medical students. There was a weak negative correlation between academic performance and social media usage and a strong positive correlation between social media usage and the social media addiction score. ConclusionsSocial media has a negative impact on the academic performance of 21st-century undergraduate medical students.

PurposeThe use of social media is prevalent and having the largest number of members than any other online platform available on the internet. Members of all age groups use social media websites according to their needs. This study aims to investigate the impact of social media usage on the academic performance of college students in Kashmir.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was formulated and a survey was carried out to collect data from the undergraduate students of different government colleges in Kashmir. The questionnaires were distributed randomly among both, male and female of the first, second and third year students of different undergraduate programs.FindingsThe findings show a majority of the students use social media networking sites to fulfill their educational needs. YouTube is the most largely used social media network among undergraduate students. A majority of the students feel that social media networks are easy to use and they have been using these sites for the past three years. The use of social media greatly helps the students to share knowledge and information with others, to improve their academic grades and to improve their reading and writing skills. A majority of the students spend an hour in using social media networks. Students use their laptops, mobile phones and personal computers to access social media websites.Social implicationsThis study will help to highlight the important role of social media networks in the pedagogical activities of students.Originality/valueThis study affirms that students do use social media networking sites for academic purposes, which is a good factor to improve their academic skills and grades. Teachers must encourage their students to make the best use of social media networking sites for recreational and academic purposes.

This is an exploratory study to assess the impact of social media usage on academic performance on student nurses in selected hospital in New Delhi. The purpose of this research was to find out the impact of social media on nursing students’ education. An exploratory survey approach and non-experimental design is used, which was conducted on 166 student nurses studying at Apollo School of Nursing of New Delhi, and subjects were selected by total enumerative sampling technique. Findings reveal that 23(13.8%) student nurses have the social media usage score 70%. Out of 166 students 74 student nurses sometime use social media while travelling, out of 166 student nurses never use social media in washroom, 82 student nurses sometimes use social media during exam time. 58 student nurses don’t think that social media is the only means of entertainment, 84 student nurses always follow latest news and events from social networking sites, 60 student nurses sometimes believes that social networking sites has changed their lifestyles. No one of the student nurses cored 70% in their academics. 2tab for df 3 is 7.82 at p≤0.05. the mean score of academic performance was found non-significant (0.5435). Hence, it can be deciding that the social media usages have no impact on academic performance of student nurses.

Problem Statement: Social media use may be detrimental to sleep quality, self-esteem, and mental health and may affect academic performance in medical students. However, the effects of problematic social media use on sleep quality and academic performance in medical students are unknown. Approach: A total of 170 medical students in a Saudi Arabian medical school were studied. The relationships between social media use volume (duration of use per day) and addiction (measured using the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale) of seven platforms and (i) quality of sleep measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and (ii) academic performance according to the grade point average were examined. Caffeine intake was considered as a potential confounder, and data were analyzed using uni- and multi-variable logistic regression. Results: Poor quality sleep (72.9% and 63.5% during the week or at the weekend, respectively) and social media addiction (27.1% addicted to three or more platforms) were common. Individuals with high-volume WhatsApp (odds ratio [OR] 1.59 [1.20–2.10], P = 0.001) and Snapchat (OR 1.41 [1.10–1.81], P = 0.007) use were more likely to have very poor sleep quality at the weekend, the latter persisting in multivariable analysis. Students who were addicted to Snapchat (OR 2.53 [1.03–6.22], P = 0.044) or who were addicted to three or more social media platforms (OR 2.93 [1.19–7.23], P = 0.019) had an even greater risk of very poor weekend sleep quality. Social media addiction was not associated with academic performance. Conclusions/Recommendations: Educational programs on sleep and social media hygiene and changes to class start times to prevent weekend sleep debt should be considered.

PurposeWithin a connectivist learning model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of social media for educational purposes in India, a hitherto unexplored area of research. The basic research thrust is on students’ experiences when social media is incorporated into higher education. This research tries to gather evidence on the effectiveness of this role and its potential future role as a facilitator and enhancer of learning in the Indian system.Design/methodology/approachThe current research draws on the perspectives of the students regarding the adoption of social media for educational purposes. The data collection was done in two separate stages. Stratified random sampling was applied and a structured questionnaire was sent via e-mail. Usable responses were received from 568 respondents. The second stage consisted of an exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews and reflections of 250 students from the original sample.FindingsFour clear themes emerged from the responses collected via the structured questionnaire and particularly from the in-depth interviews. These include: widespread usage of social media, definite usage in business education, strengths of social media in business education and the flip side of learning with social media. One thing is certain: social media will continue to play an important role in the Indian education sector. A number of colleges and universities in India are including social media in their pedagogy, but the challenge lies in effectively aligning it with curriculum.Practical implicationsDespite the widespread use of online social media for communication and entertainment, the use in the educational sphere seems to be less. This year-long study tries to gather evidence on all these issues. No doubt social media’s contribution in the classroom depicts a rising interest in technology as a tool to assist learning but it also reinforces a paradigm shift in the way students learn.Social implicationsWith nearly a billion people on mobile phones, the online system certainly has vast potential to create the right kind of learning. As this study has shown at a micro-level, technology-led reach and easy access is bringing about a socio-economic difference in the lives of Indian learners. While this study certainly supports digital learning in India it points out that higher educational institutions are yet to exploit its full advantage for better student engagement.Originality/valueOne key characteristic of this generation is that they are very education oriented. Due to the relative freshness of the approach in India and fairly restricted use in the Indian higher education system, empirical studies are limited and the impact of social media on student engagement in the higher education system in India is not known.

This quantitative research study, involving 200 university students, investigates the impact of social media usage on academic performance and various aspects of students' lives. Social media's increasing popularity for interpersonal communication globally is acknowledged, particularly within the educational context where students engage and share knowledge. The study explores factors such as the daily and nightly time spent on social networking sites, reasons for social media use, bedtime habits, and the disruptive influence of social media on educational and learning activities. Findings reveal that social media usage significantly impacts students' academic success, with potential benefits and drawbacks. The study focuses on uneducated rural Pakistanis, with 200 participants, including 100 males and 100 females, representing various academic disciplines. Notably, non-users of social media tend to sleep more than users, and the study highlights a correlation between social media usage and compromised family and personal time. The research underscores the negative effects of social media on education, citing issues such as daydreaming, procrastination, and reduced study time. The study also reveals a strong correlation between academics, family, and social media usage, supported by regression analysis. Interestingly, despite potential drawbacks, Pearson's Correlation indicates that social media can improve academic performance by facilitating networking and information exchange. Overall, the study sheds light on the complex relationship between social media usage, academic success, and various aspects of students' lives.