SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION, LEARNING STRATEGIES AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG MATRICULATION STUDENTS

Abstract

This study explores the influence of social media addiction on students' academic performance and whether learning strategies can minimize its adverse effects. The study focuses on matriculation students aged 14-16 years (M=1.92, SD=.73). Data were collected from 200 participants using two reliable tools: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). To analyze the data, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, hierarchical regression, moderation analysis via PROCESS Macro, and independent samples t-tests were used. The study results point out an interesting relationship between learning strategy use and the amount of time devoted to social media: a surprising small positive link of social media addiction to academic performance, where students who spend more time with social media score a little better. However, it also negatively affected important learning strategies such as rehearsal, elaboration, and organization. Girls were found to perform better academically than boys, although there were no major differences between boys and girls in social media usage or learning strategies. The regression analysis revealed that age, family background, and social media addiction were key factors affecting academic performance. Among these, family background had the strongest negative impact. Learning strategies, though not directly improving academic performance much, played a very important role in reducing the harmful effects of social media addiction. Overall, the findings highlight the need to teach effective learning strategies to help students manage their social media use and perform better academically. Strategies such as better organization, rehearsal, and elaboration can help students overcome the challenges posed by excessive social media use and achieve academic success.

Keywords:

Social Media Addiction, Learning Strategies, Academic Performance, Matriculation Students