Social Media as a Catalyst for Academic Success in Developing Countries

Social media plays a crucial role for students in developing countries to access academic resources, updated content, and educational opportunities such as scholarships. However, in countries where digital skills are often less developed, existing research has focused either on the characteristics of the social media itself or on personal traits like loneliness or self-presentation, overlooking the role of trust in the social media acceptance process. This ongoing study investigates the perceived effect of social media use on academic performance. This research proposes a research model that extends the UTAUT2 model by integrating trust. The study plans to apply a mixed-method design to test the proposed model. Results are expected to explain how trust strengthens the impact of social media on academic performance and life satisfaction, supporting its long-term value in education in developing countries.