The Impact of Digital Screen Time and Social Media Marketing Exposure on Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

With the growing presence of digital technologies and social networking sites, the learning context for students has been dramatically changed, which offers opportunities and challenges to learning outcomes. The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of cognitive load and moderating role of self-regulated learning in the relation between non-academic social media usage and social media marketing exposure with academic performance among university students. The study is rooted in the theory of Social Cognitive Theory, Technology Acceptance perspectives and Self-Regulated Learning Theory and proposes an integrated framework which explains the influence of digitally induced distraction on scholastic achievement. The research design adopted was quantitative and survey method was used in collecting data from 321 university students who were asked to fill a structured questionnaire. To assess the hypothesized relationships and mediation and moderation effects, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used which was implemented by SPSS AMOS. The results indicate that using non-academic social media and exposure to social media marketing has a significant impact on cognitive load, and therefore on academic achievement. The mediation analysis results showed a partial mediation of the relationship between digital engagement and academic outcomes. Moreover, there was a significant moderating effect of SRL, such that students with high SRL skills were more successful in reducing the negative impact of excessive digital exposure. Measurement and structural models had good reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and overall model fit indices. The findings from this study lend to the growing body of literature regarding digital distraction and academic performance by emphasizing that how and when technology is used, not necessarily screen time, and is an important variable in academic success. The results have implications for educators, policy makers and educational institutions that would like to encourage balanced digital engagement and effective self-regulation strategies for students in increasingly technologized learning environments.