Effects of Screen Time and Social Media Usage on Academic Performance Among College Students: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijonse.5292Keywords:
Screen time, Social media use, Academic performance, Learning outcomes, Health outcomesAbstract
Social media and screen time are common parts of many students' lives. The research conducted analyzed the impacts of screen time and social media use on collegiate academic performances and outcomes. The research was gathered using a systematic review process that included inclusion and exclusion criteria to find college age students within the United States. Ten articles were included within the final inclusion criteria. From these studies, four noted that screen time, if in moderation and used appropriately, had no negative impacts on academic performance. Six studies that looked at social media use noted negative outcomes, as it was associated with poorer grades. All studies noted that self-control was an important aspect needed for academic performance. The results and conclusions from these studies point to educating students on the proper use of screens and social media. Further research analyzing the impacts of screen time for things such as homework, research, and stress management could be implemented. Additionally, looking at the impact of screen time in a longitudinal study would be beneficial for obtaining accurate data on the impacts of screen time.
References
Adelantado-Renau, M., Moliner-Urdiales, D., Cavero-Redondo, I., Beltran-Valls, M. R., Martínez-Vizcaíno, V., & Álvarez-Bueno, C. (2019). Association between screen media use and academic performance among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(11), 1058–1067. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3176
Amiruzzaman, S., & Amiruzzaman, M. (2022). Use of Twitter among college students for academics: A mixed-methods approach. Social Sciences, 11(9), Article 404. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11090404
Barber, S. E., Kelly, B., Collings, P. J., Nagy, L., Bywater, T., & Wright, J. (2017). Prevalence, trajectories, and determinants of television viewing time in an ethnically diverse sample of young children from the UK. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14, Article 88.
Deyo, A., Wallace, J., & Kidwell, K. M. (2023). Screen time and mental health in college students: Time in nature as a protective factor. Journal of American College Health, 72(8), 3025–3032. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2151843
Domingues-Montanari, S. (2017). Clinical and psychological effects of excessive screen time on children. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 53(4), 333–338. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.13462
Grant, J. E., Lust, K., & Chamberlain, S. R. (2019). Problematic smartphone use associated with greater alcohol consumption, mental health issues, poorer academic performance, and impulsivity. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8(2), 335–342. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.8.2019.32
Hebert, E., Henry, B., Duplan, C., Naquin, M., & Wood, R. (2020). Relationships between academic success and health and illness in college students. American Journal of Health Studies, 35(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2020.99
Huey, M., & Giguere, D. (2023). The impact of smartphone use on course comprehension and psychological well-being in the college classroom. Innovative Higher Education, 48(3), 527–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-022-09638-1
Kim, S. M., Huh, H. J., Cho, H., Kwon, M., Choi, J. H., Ahn, H. J., Lee, S. W., Kim, Y. J., & Kim, D. J. (2014). The effect of depression, impulsivity, and resilience on smartphone addiction in university students. Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, 53(4), 214–220. https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2014.53.4.214
Ning, W., & Inan, F. A. (2023). Impact of social media addiction on college students’ academic performance: An interdisciplinary perspective. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 56(5), 616–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2023.2196456
Ofori, S., Choongo, J., Kekop, M., Shah, G., Rochani, H., & Telfair, J. (2021). Social media usage and transitioning into online classes during COVID-19: A survey of undergraduate students in Georgia, United States. International Journal of Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology, 17(4), 67–80.
Owusu-Acheaw, M., & Larson, A. G. (2015). Use of social media and its impact on academic performance of tertiary institution students: A study of students of Koforidua Polytechnic, Ghana. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(6), 94–102.
Patel, M., Patel, S. K., Suresh, S., Vishwakarma, K., & Singh, S. (2022). Relationship between screen time and academic performance in adolescents. Caspian Journal of Pediatrics, 8(2), 739–747.
Simon, J. R., & Randall, J. G. (2022). Predictors and consequences of typical and “addictive” LMS use. Education and Information Technologies, 27(7), 9791–9819. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11028-1
Wammes, J. D., Ralph, B. C. W., Mills, C., Bosch, N., Duncan, T. L., & Smilek, D. (2019). Disengagement during lectures: Media multitasking and mind wandering in university classrooms. Computers & Education, 132, 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.12.007
Zavala, J. H., Trenz, R. C., Tzanis, D., Malette, C., & Monsalve, N. A. (2023). The impact of social media use for news on academic performance in underrepresented undergraduate college students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 26(8), 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2022.0303
Zhang, J., Peng, C., & Chen, C. (2024). Mental health and academic performance of college students: Knowledge in the field of mental health, self-control, and learning in college. Acta Psychologica, 248, Article 104351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104351
Zimmer, J. C. (2022). Problematic social network use: Its antecedents and impact upon classroom performance. Computers & Education, 177, Article 104368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104368
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal on Studies in Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Articles may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Authors alone are responsible for the contents of their articles. The journal owns the copyright of the articles. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of the research material.
The author(s) of a manuscript agree that if the manuscript is accepted for publication in the International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE), the published article will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license. This license allows others to freely copy, distribute, and display the copyrighted work, and derivative works based upon it, under certain specified conditions.
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to include any images or artwork for which they do not hold copyright in their articles, or to adapt any such images or artwork for inclusion in their articles. The copyright holder must be made explicitly aware that the image(s) or artwork will be made freely available online as part of the article under a Creative Commons “Attribution 4.0 International” license.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
