The Influence of Social Media Use on Academic Performance: Exploring the Role of Cognitive Load, Self-Regulation, and Motivation Among Student

This study explores the relationship between social media usage and academic performance among university students in Punjab, Pakistan, with a focus on cognitive load, self-regulation, and motivation as mediating factors. A quantitative research design has been used, with the sample size of 300 students who study in different universities via the technique of random sampling. Online platform self-report questionnaires have been filled, and all the analyses have been done using SPSS. In the result, it is clear that the cognitive load and usage of social media are significantly and highly positively correlated. An increase in social media usage coupled with a higher amount of cognitive load. Multiple regression analysis shows that self-regulation is a moderator to the negative impact of social media on students' academic performance; that is, students with higher levels of self-regulation had lower degrees of negative impacts. Additionally, t-test analysis showed that students with lower usage of social media had higher motivation scores than those students with higher usage, and this difference was statistically significant at p < 0.001. These findings underline the intricate relationship that exists between social media and academic outcomes, emphasizing the role of self-regulation in reducing potential negative effects. This study gives educators and policymakers an important lead in terms of devising strategies to help students regulate social media use while improving academic outcomes.