Westminster international University in Tashkent

Lecturer`s name: Khikmatullo Urazbaev

Report

Topic: Social media

Title: The impact of social media on academic performance

Word count: 1552

Executive summary

Universities are witnessing rapid growth in social media use among their students. The current

research defines the major motives behind the usage of social networking sites and analyzes the potential

impact of this surge on students` academic performance. The study was carried out by surveying students of

WIUT by dint of online questionnaire to observe their perception of social media. The survey revealed that

social media usage does not have direct impact on academic life of students, however, poor time

management skills and health issues caused by constant use of social media distract students from their

education. It was concluded that lecturers are recommended to conduct some assignments in those platforms

to accustom undergraduates to use social networks for learning objectives.

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Table of content
1. Introduction...................................................................................................................3

2. Literature review...........................................................................................................3

2.1 Reasons of social media use amidst undergraduate students.....................................4

2.2 The impact of social media on academic performance..............................................4

2.2.1 Positive effects.....................................................................................................4

2.2.2 Negative effects....................................................................................................4

3. Methods.........................................................................................................................5

3.1 Research tool..............................................................................................................5

3.2 Participants.................................................................................................................5

3.3 Ethical issues..............................................................................................................5

4. Results...........................................................................................................................5

5. Discussion.....................................................................................................................6

5.1. Reasons of social media use amidst undergraduate students....................................7

5.2 The impact of social media on academic performance..............................................7

5.2.1 Positive effects.....................................................................................................7

5.2.2Negative effects.....................................................................................................7

6. Conclusion.....................................................................................................................8

7. Limitations....................................................................................................................8

8. Recommendations.........................................................................................................8

9. Reference list.................................................................................................................9

10. Appendices..............................................................................................................10

10.1 Appendix A............................................................................................................10

10.2 Appendix B.............................................................................................................13

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1. Introduction

These days, undergraduates of all levels are engaged in the utilization of social media platforms. This

trend might enable students to self-study and could offer alternatives to classroom-based education

ambience, however, it may also include some negative consequences on their academic performance.

With an aim to identify the effects that the use of social networking services encompasses regarding

the academic record of undergraduates, I have designed the following research question:

What are some of the effects the constant use of social media has on the academic performance of

undergraduate students?

As for the organizational structure, the report has three main parts. The first one presents background

information and the review of the literature revealing secondary data regarding this issue. Then comes the

methodology part which describes the techniques deployed to gather primary data for the research and the

results part which provides the data collected employing those tools. The last part consists of the discussion

part where the primary data collected is compared to the key literature, which enabled us to develop

pertinent conclusion and make recommendations for further researches.

2. Literature review

Significant amount of studies has been conducted aimed to discern all the effects that the usage

of social networking services could have. Subsequently, scholars came up with the important motives of

the constant usage of social media platforms for students, and were able to propose some apposite

theories concerning the impact of these platforms on academic work.

2.1 Reasons of social media use amidst undergraduate students

As Lahirty (2019) claimed that majority of undergraduate students use social networking sites

for academic purposes. However, Oye (2012) and Helou (2019, p247-254) argued that undergraduates

utilize social networks more for socializing than for academic purposes.

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2.2 The impact of social media on academic performance

According to Kubey and some other researchers (2017), addiction to social media and academic

performance are interdependent.

2.2.1 Positive effects

“Online social networks could possibly be viewed as a helpful educational technology.” (Paul et

al., 2012, p2117–2127) The same was mentioned by Lahirty (2019). He claimed that since social media

platforms offer new opportunities for self-education and provides alternatives to conventional library

and classroom-based education, students have improved their academic performance. Moreover, Oye

(2012) reported that the vast majority of undergraduates ascertain that social platforms positively affect

their studies.

2.2.2 Negative effects

Karpinski (2013, p1182-1192) stated that the negative impact of the social media on the students`

academic performance is much greater than the advantages of the utilization of these platforms. Mensah

and Nizam, (2016) agreed that students devote more time to social media rather than their studies which

leads to lower GPAs as compared to nonusers.

Besides this, it was observed that constant use of social networking services among students had

negative effects on their health such as burning eyes, sleep deprivation and headache which distracted

them from their studies. (Maqableh et al., 2015, p159–171) Furthermore, Mensah and Nizam, (2016)

also highlighted in their study that poor time management and health issues that might be caused by

constant social media use, could adversely affect studies since students engrossed with social

networking platforms end up skipping their meals and could become malnourished.

3. Methods

The following section provides description of techniques implemented to gather primary data,

introduces participants of the study, and describes ethical issues considered during the process of data

collection.

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3.1 Research tool

As the current research comprises of primary and secondary sources of information, the former

one was based on the quantitative research method, whereas, the latter one was accessed through

academic and reliable sites. To investigate the people, structured questionnaire form designed in

“Google Documents” was employed. One of the main reasons behind my choice of research tool was

the fact that this google form enabled me to easily distribute the survey Besides this, it ensured

anonymity for all the research participants. As a result, by dint of distribution of the questionnaire to

divers groups via Telegram platform, I had 53 survey participants.

3.2 Participants

The participants of the study comprised of the students of all ages from various levels of

Westminster International University in Tashkent. Moreover, in order to have a holistic approach and

cover several segments of population, people of different genders, ethnicity and social status were

observed

3.3 Ethical issues

Regarding the ethical part of the survey, the purpose of the research was carefully explained to the

respondents and they were ensured that answers will not have any impact on them irrespective of the

findings. Besides this, the questionnaire developed did not involve any sensitive questions and the

participants were promised that their personal details and answers will be kept strongly confidential.

4. Results

This section reveals the findings of the observations.

It was identified that the majority of students perceive social media as a tool that enables them to

keep in touch with people. However, they also responded that academic purposes might be the reasons

to spend time in social networks. Only a few students answered that they do not use social sites for

academic work at all. (see Appendix B, figure 1)

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In the survey, it became evident that most of the students find social media quite useful and about

half of the respondents rated its usefulness as 4 out of 5, 25% answered that it is incredibly helpful,

while others estimated its value as 3. (see Appendix B, figure 2)

Those using social media for academic purposes answered that they utilize these platforms mainly

for sharing information and experience with others (73.6%), searching for credible information (56.6%)

and for discussing academic issues with tutors (45.3%). Furthermore, approximately 60% of

respondents mentioned that they have specifically designed social networking platform for learning

objectives. (see Appendix B, figure 3)

Regarding time allocated to social networks, more than half of the students (52.8%) chose 4-6

hours per day, 15 students answered that they spend 1-3 hours per day and the remaining part of the

respondents chose less than 1 hour (5 students) and 7+ hours (5 students) respectively. Moreover, three

quarter of students agreed that they had better to spend this time on their education. (see Appendix B,

figure 4)

About 40% of respondents answered that there was time when they have temporarily abstained

from social networking and half of that number accepted that their productivity concerning their studies

rose during that period. (see Appendix B, figure 5)

According to survey, students are aware of the adverse effects of social media on their health

such as tiredness, eye pain, headache, and back pain. Most of them (31 out of 53) acknowledge the fact

that social media usage has negatively affected their health.

5. Discussion

The section analyzes and interprets the findings as well as compares the primary data collected

with the current state of knowledge presented in literature review.

5.1. Reasons of social media use amidst undergraduate students

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In order to observe the main reasons of social media use amidst students they were asked about

their perception of social networking and whether they use it for educational purposes or not. The

findings comply with those of Oye (2012) and Helou (2019, p247-254) that students use social media

mostly for socializing. However, respondents also mentioned that sometimes academic purposes also

drive them to utilize social media platforms which support the statement of Lahirty (2019).

5.2 The impact of social media on academic performance

5.2.1 Positive effects

Likewise, Paul (2012, p2117–2127) and Oye (2012) reported in their papers, the answers indicate

that vast majority of students consider social networking services quite helpful. Lahirty (2019) stated

that self-education self-study opportunities as well as alternatives to classroom-based education were the

factors that motivated students to use social media. However, it was discovered that students find the

opportunity to share information and experience with others more attractive in terms harnessing social

media for educational objectives.

5.2.2 Negative effects

With an aim to identify whether social networks distract students from their studies respondents

were asked about whether they have ever temporarily abstained from social networking and their

productivity during that period. The survey indicated that as Mensah and Nizam, (2016) mentioned in

their studies, students devote more time to social media even though they acknowledge the fact that their

academic performance improves when they spend less time to social media.

Concerning health issues, Maqableh (2015, p159–171) claimed that the constant use of social

media might lead to burning eyes, sleep deprivation and headache which is quite similar to our findings.

Most of the students reported that social media use caused tiredness, eye pain, headache, and back pain.

5 Conclusion

Considering all the above mentioned factors, it can be concluded that the investigation was carried

out to find out most of the possible effects that the constant utilization of social networks might

encompass. The research revealed that although the constant use of social networking services might

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cause some health issues, it does not have direct influence on the academic performance of students. The

findings illustrate that poor time management, the nature of social media use and health issues adversely

affect the performance not the social networking sites.

6 Limitations

The current research was partially successful and is not accurate enough because of some limitations.

The study was limited to the one region and only one educational institution was chosen to be investigated.

Furthermore, the study sample consisted of only 53 participants which is not enough to profoundly research

the topic.

7 Recommendations

As soon as the data was analyzed and interpreted, some pertinent and solid recommendations could be

done. Students are advised to use social media platforms judiciously to ensure that they do not become

detrimental to their studies. Besides this, lecturers can channel discussions and assignments on those

platforms that will assist students in indicating the habit of using social networks for their academics.

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8 Reference list

Helou, A.M. (2019). THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON STUDENTS’

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN MALAYSIA. International Journal of Electronic Commerce
Studies, 5 (2), 247–254. Available from
https://www.academia.edu/1067973/THE_INFLUENCE_OF_SOCIAL_NETWORKING_SITES_O
N_STUDENTSACADEMIC_PERFORMANCE_IN_MALAYSIA. [Accessed 9 June 2020].

Karpinski, A.C. et al. (2013). An exploration of social networking site use, multitasking, and
academic performance among United States and European university students. Computers in Human
Behavior, 29 (3), 1182–1192. Available from [Accessed 9 June 2020].

Kubey, R.W., Lavin, M.J. and Barrows, J.R. (2017). Internet Use and Collegiate Academic
Performance Decrements: Early Findings. SemanticScholar. Available from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Internet-Use-and-Collegiate-Academic-Performance-Kubey-
Lavin/3d78ff6768464a80ff7b9350bb7c5d43dd4aa996 [Accessed 9 June 2020].

Lahiry, S. et al. (2019). Impact of social media on academic performance and interpersonal
relation: A cross-sectional study among students at a tertiary medical center in East India. Journal of
Education and Health Promotion, 8 (73), . Available from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6512220/. [Accessed 9 June 2020].

Maqableh, M. et al. (2015). The Impact of Social Media Networks Websites Usage on Students’
Academic Performance. Communications and Network, 07 (04), 159–171. Available from
[Accessed 9 June 2020].

Mensah, S. and Nizam, I. (2016). International Journal of Education, Learning and Training THE
IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE-A CASE OF
MALAYSIA TERTIARY INSTITUTION. International Journal of Education, Learning and
Training, 1 (1), . Available from https://www.ftms.edu.my/journals/pdf/IJELT/Nov2016/14-21
[Accessed 9 June 2020].

N.D.Oye, A.M. Helou and N.Z.A. Rahim (2012). MODEL OF PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE USING SOCIAL NETWORKING. undefined. Available from
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/MODEL-OF-PERCEIVED-INFLUENCE-OF-
ACADEMIC-USING-David-Helou/0a0ae3ff19d26f3e9d4e05531fedb7f9e6647723 [Accessed 9
June 2020].

Paul, J.A., Baker, H.M. and Cochran, J.D. (2012). Effect of online social networking on student
academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 28 (6), 2117–2127. Available from
[Accessed 9 June 2020].

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9 Appendices

10.1 Appendix A
Questionnaire

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Westminster international University in Tashkent

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10.2 Appendix B
Figure 1

Do you use social media for academic

purposes?
3

50

Yes No

Figure 2
Do you think social media platforms
are useful? If yes, to what extent?
No 26
9%

13
10

Yes
91% 3
1

Yes No 1 2 3 4 5

Figure 3

discussing academic issues with tutors 45.30%

searching for credible information 56.60%

sharing information and experience with others 73.60%

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Figure 4

How many hours per day do you spend Do you think that you have bet -
on social media? ter to use time spent on social
media on your education?
9%
9%
No
25%

28%

53% Yes
75%
Less than 1 hour 1-3 hours 4-6 hours 7 hours

Yes No

Figure 5

Have you ever temporarily abstained If yes, did your productivity

from social networking? concerning your studies rise
during that time?

Yes
42%
No
45%

Yes
No 55%
58%

Yes No Yes No

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