The Impact of Social Media Use Motives on Students’ GPA: The Mediating Role of Daily Time Usage

The impact of social media use on student academic achievement is complex and varies across studies, likely due to diverse usage motives and mediating factors. This study investigates the mediating role of daily time usage on the relationship between social media use motives and GPA among 301 Vietnamese university students, guided by the uses and gratifications theory. Following a rigorous validation process, we confirmed the applicability of the Social Networking Usage questionnaire within the Vietnamese context. Our findings revealed a complex relationship between social networking motives and GPA. While entertainment motives demonstrated a directly positive influence on GPA, information-seeking motives showed no significant relationship, either directly or indirectly. Critically, our results suggest that daily time spent on social networking acts as a key mediator in the interplay between academic and socialization motives and GPA. Specifically, we observed opposing effects: while academic motives indirectly benefitted GPA, socialization motives negatively impacted GPA. However, these opposing effects were channeled through daily time usage, suggesting that increasing time spent on social networking, regardless of the initial motive, ultimately detracts from academic performance. Our findings suggest that students need to be mindful of how their SNS usage motives influence their time allocation and, consequently, their academic performance. Universities may employ time management training and encourage academic uses of SNSs while advising students to limit non-academic SNS use, particularly during study periods, to minimize distractions and maximize learning time.