THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SHAPING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ GRAMMAR IN ACADEMIC WRITING

This study investigates how social media content influences the grammar use of university students in their formal academic writing, with a focus on discourse patterns in Karachi, Pakistan. As mobile-first communication increasingly dominates students’ daily interactions, particularly through platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram, concerns have emerged regarding the unintended transfer of informal linguistic features into academic contexts. Using a discourse analysis framework, this study compared students’ informal social media texts with their formal writing assignments to identify recurring patterns of grammatical influence. Findings reveal that approximately 40% of the participants exhibited noticeable transfer of informal grammar such as lowercase pronouns, contractions, abbreviations, emojis, and Roman Urdu expressions into their academic writing. These features were especially prevalent among students who regularly drafted or collaborated on assignments via mobile platforms. Despite this, nearly one-third of the students demonstrated clear register awareness, deliberately compartmentalizing their informal and formal writing styles. The study highlights key sociolinguistic factors unique to the Karachi context, including multilingualism, mobile device reliance, and peer-group drafting, that amplify the transfer of social media writing norms into academic tasks. While the influence of social media on grammar is not inherently detrimental, the findings suggest a growing need for educational strategies that promote register awareness and formal language proficiency. This research contributes to current scholarship on digital literacy and language education by providing localized evidence of the evolving relationship between informal digital communication and academic writing. It also offers practical insights for curriculum designers and instructors seeking to address these challenges through targeted pedagogical interventions. Keywords: social media, grammar, academic writing, discourse analysis, university students, Karachi, register awareness, mobile literacy, WhatsApp, informal language.