Inquiry Question: How does continuous engagement with social media platforms, without regular breaks, influence the mental health and academic performance of high school students?
Research Step 2: In what ways does social media use correlate with academic performance metrics like grades, attendance, and focus?
According to a 2019 study on the connection between a social media addiction and academic performance, students who were attached to social media performed noticeably worse than their peers. (1) Science Daily performed a study that investigated the effects of excessive social media use on academic performance. (1) Based on the study, students who frequently use Instagram while studying typically do worse than those who avoid social media during study sessions. (1) In addition, students who use social media frequently, receive lower grades than those who don’t use it regularly. (1) In a 2021 study conducted by Science Daily, researchers analyzed the impact of social media on college students and discovered that, out of 300 students, 97% used social media, but just 1% did so for academic reasons. (1) Moreover, 57% of them suffer from an addiction. (1)
Social media could be a major source of distraction, which may reduce focus and general productivity and cause procrastination during time spent studying. (2) Notifications from social media and the continuous need to check for updates can interfere with homework completion and cause sleep deprivation, which will ultimately damage attention and academic performance. (2) Students could lose sight of time if they get too caught up online, whether that be posting on different platforms, or talking with strangers. (3) This negatively affects their mental health as an excessive use of social media can lead to many different issues, including anxiety and depression. (3) Many students turn to social media when they encounter a task assigned that is very difficult, procrastinating the workload and escaping their “reality” with the endless world provided online.
Beyond academic achievement, social media can also impact school attendance. (4) Daily attendance may be affected by the frequent use of social media, as students find themselves scrolling through different platforms late at night. (4) Various studies have shown that blue-light affects sleep cycles by reducing the production of melatonin, which is the main sleep hormone. (4) As a result of this poor sleep quality, many individuals may find themselves arriving to their first class late. (4) This is not a major issue to most people, although some teachers might find that arriving late disrupts the class, and is bluntly disrespectful to the advisor. (4)
Overall, many students find themselves turning to social media when they have free time as it allows people to express their opinions and beliefs, which some find entertaining to view. (5) In this day and age, it is difficult to live without these popular platforms as quite a few individuals stay connected with friends through the internet. (5) Over the past few years, there has been a gradual shift with schooling from completing assignments solely on paper, to using digital devices. (5) With this shift, students may find it a bit more difficult to adjust their learning over the course of the internet. (5) All of these factors can lead to a disrupt in focus, and declining grades. (5) Students can try to set a goal of only using social media once done schoolwork, to try and avoid procrastination. (5)
I hope you picked up a few key points in this Blog Post! Looking forward to my next Blog Post to dissect this subject matter even further!
— Vanessa Vukovic
Resources:
(1) MPP, S. (2023a, September 15). How does social media use affect academic performance? – my private professor. My Private Professor – Inspire. Empower. Achieve. Lead. https://myprivateprofessor.com/social-media-academic-performance/
(2) Connolly, C. (2024, April 18). The impact of social media on student well-being and academic performance. Medium. https://medium.com/@ciaranpconnolly/the-impact-of-social-media-on-student-well-being-and-academic-performance-f7941a468992
(3) Dylan. (2024, November 14). How does social media affect school performance?. VujaDay Creative Digital Agency. https://vujadaydigital.com/how-does-social-media-affect-school-performance/
(4) ScienceDaily. (2018, February 19). Is social media to blame for poor grades?. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180219103217.htm
(5) Allen, S. (2019, September 20). Social media’s growing impact on our lives. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/members/content/social-media-research