Influence of social media utilization and parent adolescent communication on academic- achievement of secondary school students in south Ethiopia

This research investigated how the use of social media and the nature of parent–adolescent communication affect students’ academic performance at Hodo Public Secondary School. The key questions guiding the study were: (1) Do social media usage and parent–adolescent communication predict academic outcomes? (2) To what degree do students engage in social media use and communication with parents? and (3) Are there gender differences in social media utilization? A cross-sectional design was employed, applying both stratified and simple random sampling techniques. From a total of 487 students, 253 participants were selected, including a 10% contingency, along with nine teachers chosen for interviews. Primary and secondary data were gathered and analyzed. Quantitative data were treated using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and percentage) and inferential tests (linear regression, one-sample t-test, and independent t-test) in SPSS Version 20. Qualitative data were coded, categorized, and organized into concepts based on notes and audio recordings. The findings demonstrated that both social media use and parent–adolescent communication significantly predicted academic achievement (p = .034, F(2,216) = .101). The study also found significant differences in the extent of social media usage (M = 1.90, SD = 2.63; t(219) = 1.498, p = .046) and parent–adolescent communication (M = 2.57, SD = 3.50; t(219) = 1.736, p = .012). However, no meaningful difference was observed between male (M = 65.97, SD = 3.950, n = 152) and female students (M = 65.97, SD = 3.950; t(67) = 1.576, p = .049) in terms of social media usage at the .05 significance level. Overall, the results suggest that both social media engagement and parent–adolescent communication exert a significant influence on secondary school students’ academic performance. Therefore, parents, teachers, school counselors, and policymakers should collaborate to create awareness programs that encourage responsible social media use and enhance students’ educational outcomes.