In recent years, social networking sites (SNSs) have experienced a surge in popularity, particularly among college students. These online platforms offer diverse functionalities that facilitate connections with friends and family, information sharing, and resource exchange. This study aimed to determine the effects of SNSs needs and academic stressors on the academic motivation of college students in one private schools in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Philippines during the second semester of the academic year 2022-2023. Using a simple random sampling procedure, 511 first, second, and third-year college students participated and responded to the adapted Likert-type instruments assessing the study variables. The result showed that most college students used Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and YouTube daily. It was also revealed that both SNSs and academic stressors positively affect extrinsic motivation. However, only SNSs have a positive impact on intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, academic stressors positively affect amotivation. Hence, educators and school administrators should consider incorporating SNSs to enhance motivation and engagement among college students. Specifically, educators can leverage the features of SNSs to promote collaboration, communication, and information sharing among students. Additionally, educators may consider designing academic activities encouraging students to use SNSs to explore and apply course content.