Cracking the Code: Understanding the Mediating Role of Study Habits in the Relationship between Social Media Usage and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Students persist in assigning significant importance to the use of social media, and this pattern is anticipated to endure. Most students devote much of their time to social media and prioritize these platforms over their academic obligations. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the current issues that social media is causing about students' academic performance. The objective of this research was to investigate how study habits influence the relationship between academic performance and social media usage patterns of undergraduate students. By using simple random sampling techniques, 400 undergraduate students were selected from different colleges in Odisha. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to examine the second –order confirmatory factor analysis and to test the mediating role of study habits in the relationship between social media usage and academic achievement of college students .The tools for data collection include the Study Habit Inventory developed by M. Mukhopadhyay and D.N. Sansanwal and the Social Media Usage Scale standardized by the researcher. The Academic Achievement Scores of the students were collected from the college record which consists of the average SGPA (Semester Grade Point Average) of previous semesters. The data were analyzed using SPSS-AMOS-23. The research findings revealed that social media usage has a negative influence on Study Habits, whereas it has a positive and significant impact on academic performance of undergraduate students. Further the research results demonstrate that study habits mediate the intricate connection between social media usage patterns and academic success.