Relationship between Social Media Addiction Levels and Academic Procrastination among Undergraduate Students in Malaysia: Grit as the Mediator

Abstract

The current study examines grit as a mediator in the relationship between social media addiction and academic procrastination. Social media platforms were used to recruit 88 young adult undergraduates aged 18-26. This study was a non-experimental, correlational mediation design. Participants were asked to complete the Social Media Addiction Scale – Student Form, Academic Procrastination Scale – Short Form, and Short Grit Scale questionnaires. It was hypothesized that grit would be a statistical mediator for the effects of social media addiction on academic procrastination. The hypothesis was supported as results showed a full mediation. The current study suggests that social media addiction predicts lower level of grit and thus higher tendency of academic procrastination. It is advised that institutions encourage undergraduates to cultivate grit in order to break the vicious cycle of social media addiction and academic procrastination.