Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Evidence from University Students on Usage, Benefits, and Barriers

With the rapid expansion of social media platforms, short-video applications such as TikTok have become deeply embedded in the daily lives of university students due to their highly engaging and algorithm-driven content. This growing reliance has raised increasing concerns about the potential psychological and behavioural effects of excessive TikTok use on students’ mental health and overall well-being. This research paper investigates how the use of TikTok (TT) can affect the mental health of students at the University. A sample of 60 undergraduate and postgraduate students took part in the study using a descriptive analytical strategy consisting of three dimensions through an electronic questionnaire, where the usage level and addiction indicators, psychological problems related to TT usage, and suggested solutions to reduce its adverse impact were considered. The results indicate that the students spend a lot of time on the platform daily, admitting that it is hard to stop using it, they become anxious when they cannot use the application, and they tend to use TT to forget about adverse effects. Findings also reveal that there are significant psychological issues, such as heightened anxiety, a lack of socialisation, disturbed sleep and loss of concentration. The Pearson correlation analysis indicates the significant positive association between excessive use of TT and psychological distress. The paper suggests awareness campaigns, digital-wellbeing policies and counselling services to reduce digital addiction among the university students.