Depletion Sensitivity Partially Mediated the Relationship between Social Media Addiction and Academic Productivity

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this paper is to evaluate whether the use of social media by college students is linked with diminished academic productivity, and if so, why? Background: In prior research, social media use was inversely related to academic productivity. We replicated that effect and tested whether depletion sensitivity, delay discounting, and delay of gratification mediated the relationship. Methodology: College students (n=315) participated in an online survey, which included two measures of social media use, measures of three potential mediators (depletion sensitivity, delay discounting, and delay of gratification), and four measures of academic productivity. Contribution: This study aimed to produce a more comprehensive understanding of the inverse relationship between social media use and academic productivity by testing potential mechanisms by which habitual social media is linked with diminished academic productivity. Findings: In a series of multivariate multiple regression analyses, overall social media consumption significantly predicted overall academic productivity, mostly because social media addiction was inversely related to self-reported productivity scores, and this was a large effect (partial η2=.134). Depletion sensitivity and, to a smaller degree, academic delay of gratification partially mediated that effect. Recommendations for Practitioners: If replicated and confirmed with experiments, these findings could guide practitioners to focus on depletion sensitivity to reduce the adverse impact of social media use on academic performance. Recommendation for Researchers: These findings suggest that researchers should study the effects of potential mediating variables to understand the relationship between social media use and academic performance. Impact on Society: If replicated, our results can guide students, advisors, and instructors about the adverse impact of addictive social media use and about the role that depletion sensitivity plays in this process. These findings can be applied to mitigate the harmful impact of habitual social media use on collegiate academic performance. Future Research: Because depletion sensitivity only partially mediated this relationship, future studies might test other possible mediators, including the time available for academic work, procrastination, psychological distress, and sustained attention. Future research should also establish cause-and-effect relationships among these variables.