Likes, Reels & Failing Deals: The Hidden Cost of Social Media on University Performance

Social media has taken root in the everyday experiences of students at the university but its effect on academic performance remains up for debate throughout many low-resource pre-urban settings within the Global South. This qualitative study extends the understanding of social media use and its relationship with academic performance through a narrative exploration of university students in Narowal.  In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 university students from disciplines such as the humanities, science and commerce to capture the patterns and themes present in how students use social media and academic performance. Thematic analyses were performed to summarize key themes based on individual and group experiences, where students indicated a strong dependency on social media, particularly WhatsApp and YouTube, for accessing resources to support their studies namely past papers, notes and peers (although these resources are limited in access through formal institutional channels). Furthermore, problematic patterns of use were discovered, including using media multitasking while studying, looking at their social media late at night, leading to inability to sleep, and looking at their social media during class, all strongly diminishing their ability to concentrate and perform academically in a productive way.  In addition to problematic patterns of use negatively affecting students academically, peer pressure to always be connected because of fears of missing out, negative peer response to disconnection and family expectations of immediate responses created an even greater difficulty in staying focused while studying. Being a first-generation student creates significant guilt; through academic disciplines, where students enrolled in theory-based courses experienced greater problems than applied courses and finally, institutions have no policies in place regarding use of mobile phones during class or providing students with digital literacy training. A number of students used different strategies for negotiating their use of their devices (temporal compartmentalization, selective muting, and physical device separation); however, these individual strategies were often undermined by social and institutional factors. Students suggested a variety of solutions, behavioural activity social contracts and institutional support to assist themselves with self-regulation. The findings from the study indicate that there is no single answer to the question of how social media affects students' use of technology for academic purposes; rather, social media's effect is influenced by patterns of use, social context, academic discipline, and the institution's infrastructure. In light of these challenges, institutions in resource-limited regions should provide structured training in digital literacy and environmental supports to alleviate the full burden of self-regulation from students.