Influence Of Social Media On Academic Perfomance Of Undergraduate Students

The aim of this research was to examine undergraduate students' perceptions of social media usage and its impact on their academic performance at MPC Autonomous College. The study was guided by three objectives, two research questions, and one hypothesis. A descriptive survey research design was employed, focusing on the 811 full-time undergraduate students at MPC Autonomous College in Baripada. Using simple random sampling, a sample of 140 students was selected. Data was collected through a five-point rating scale questionnaire titled "Influence of social media on academic performance of undergraduate students." distributed online via WhatsApp. Descriptive statistics, including frequency counts and percentages, were used to analyse the research questions, while a parametric t-test was employed to test the hypothesis. The findings indicated that a significant number of students frequently use social media, which has a detrimental effect on their academic performance. However, the study also found that students primarily use social media for educational purposes rather than for entertainment. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in social media usage between students in the science and arts streams. The researcher recommends promoting educational use of social media, expanding social networking sites for academic purposes, and encouraging teachers and parents to monitor students' social media usage to maintain a balance between social media engagement and academic responsibilities, thus preventing negative impacts on academic performance.