Investigating the Relationship between Personal Factors and Students’ Perception Regarding Social Media’s Usage Impact on Academic Performance

In many developing countries, such as India, access to technology through computers, laptops, and mobile devices has rapidly increased. The exponential growth in smart phone usage has led to 5.24 billion active users of social media worldwide. Social media has become an essential part of everyone’s life irrespective of age, gender, and occupation. For students, it allows them to stay engaged for extended periods and exposes them to innovative methods of learning that go beyond the limitations of traditional classrooms. Social media platforms have also opened avenues for continued communication between teachers and students beyond regular college hours. However, an important question arises: Can this unrestricted interaction between teachers and students or among students themselves, on social networks truly contribute to improved student academic performance for all or there is difference in such contribution based on personal factors of students? The objective of the present study is to find out the relationship between personal factors of students and their perception about social media’s usage impact on their academic performance. A sample of 235 students was chosen for data collection from the various public and private colleges in Punjab. The present study concludes that among the various personal variables, gender and time spent on social media significantly influence overall satisfaction with social media as a preferred learning tool. Therefore, there is a need for a well-structured system within higher educational institutions to positively reshape students’ attitudes, particularly among male students, toward the productive use of social media for improving academic performance.