Communication in the Digital Age: Social Media’s Influence on Academic Performance among South East-Asia Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52152/RCR.V13.8Keywords:
Social Media, Southeast Asia, Student Learning, Academic Performance, Digital CommunicationAbstract
Social media's pervasive usage has raised questions concerning the ways it can affect students' academic achievement, particularly among university students. The review's objective is to determine how students' use of social media affects their academic achievement. In the current digital era, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, and WhatsApp have become essential resources that affect education and other areas of society. In academic achievement, these platforms provide new approaches to communication, collaborative activities, and learning materials. Traditional classroom settings frequently struggle with issues including low student participation and passive learning environments. Social media provides students with a dynamic and captivating educational experience by promoting active interaction and enabling collaborative learning. Social media's effect on students' academic achievement is examined systematically. The review highlights important trends and decisions about how social media might improve students' learning experiences by consulting pertinent academic sources. A total of 26 articles that addressed the educational usage of social media in Southeast Asia students were chosen based on certain inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results demonstrate how social media can increase academic achievement by encouraging self-directed learning, group learning, and communication skills. Additionally, when social media was included in their learning processes, students demonstrated increased motivation and engagement. The review implies that using social media to its full potential can be a successful method to raise students' academic performance in Southeast Asia.
References
Abdullahi, O. A., Bahari, M., Miskon, S., & Abu Yazid, M. H. (2024). Social media addiction and academic performance: A bibliometric analysis approach. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(1).
Abidin, C. (2021). From “networked publics” to “refracted publics”: A companion framework for researching “below the radar” studies. Social Media+ Society, 7(1), 2056305120984458.
Ahmad, E. A. (2024). Revolutionizing learning: leveraging social media platforms for empowering open educational resources. International Journal of e-Learning and Higher Education (IJELHE), 19(1), 83-106.
Alam, A., & Mohanty, A. (2022, December). Predicting students’ performance employing educational data mining techniques, machine learning, and learning analytics. In International Conference on Communication, Networks and Computing (pp. 166-177). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Alamri, M. M., Almaiah, M. A., & Al-Rahmi, W. M. (2020). Social media applications affecting Students’ academic performance: A model developed for sustainability in higher education. Sustainability, 12(16), 6471.
Amjad, S., Younas, M., Anwar, M., Shaheen, Q., Shiraz, M., & Gani, A. (2022). Data mining techniques to analyze the impact of social media on academic performance of high school students. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, 2022(1), 9299115.
Apdillah, D., Salam, A., Tania, I., & Lubis, L. K. A. (2022). Optimizing communication ethics in the digital age. Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Business (JHSSB), 1(3), 19-26.
Barton, B. A., Adams, K. S., Browne, B. L., & Arrastia-Chisholm, M. C. (2021). The effects of social media usage on attention, motivation, and academic performance. Active Learning in Higher Education, 22(1), 11-22.
Bedua, A. B. S. V., Bengan, C. V. P., Ea, E. P., Goleng, D. J. G., Posanso, R. G. D., Pueblo, C. T., & Abusama, H. P. (2021). Social media on the students’ academic performance. Indonesian Journal of Educational Research and Technology, 1(2), 41-44.
Boer, M., Stevens, G. W., Finkenauer, C., de Looze, M. E., & van den Eijnden, R. J. (2021). Social media use intensity, social media use problems, and mental health among adolescents: Investigating directionality and mediating processes. Computers in Human Behavior, 116, 106645.
Briandana, R., Doktoralina, C. M., Hassan, S. A., & Hasan, W. N. W. (2020). Da’wah communication and social media: The interpretation of millennials in Southeast Asia. International Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 8(1), 216-226.
Chen, Z., Zeng, J., Liao, J., & Guo, C. (2025). The association between academic stress and problematic internet use among adolescents: A three-level meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1-21.
Cladis, A. E. (2020). A shifting paradigm: An evaluation of the pervasive effects of digital technologies on language expression, creativity, critical thinking, political discourse, and interactive processes of human communications. E-Learning and Digital Media, 17(5), 341-364.
Cristobal-Fransi, E., Ramón-Cardona, J., Daries, N., & Serra-Cantallops, A. (2021). Museums in the digital age: An analysis of online communication and the use of e-commerce. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH), 14(4), 1-21.
Dei, D. G. J., Anane-Donkor, L., & Okyere, F. (2022). Social media for information dissemination among students. International Journal of Information Science and Management (IJISM), 20(3), 123-139.
Fackler, S., Malmberg, L. E., & Sammons, P. (2021). An international perspective on teacher self-efficacy: Personal, structural and environmental factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 99, 103255.
Goet, J. (2022). Impact of social media on academic performance of students. KIC International Journal of Social Science and Management, 1(1), 35-42.
Goriss-Hunter, A., Sellings, P., & Echter, A. (2022). Information communication technology in schools: Students exercise ‘digital agency’to engage with learning. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 27(3), 785-800.
Hosen, M., Ogbeibu, S., Giridharan, B., Cham, T. H., Lim, W. M., & Paul, J. (2021). Individual motivation and social media influence on student knowledge sharing and learning performance: Evidence from an emerging economy. Computers & Education, 172, 104262.
Höttecke, D., & Allchin, D. (2020). Reconceptualizing nature‐of‐science education in the age of social media. Science Education, 104(4), 641-666.
Iqbal, J., Qureshi, N., Ashraf, M. A., Rasool, S. F., & Asghar, M. Z. (2021). The effect of emotional intelligence and academic social networking sites on academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 905-920.
Jarman, H.K., Marques, M.D., McLean, S.A., Slater, A., & Paxton, S.J. (2021). Social media, body satisfaction and well-being among adolescents: A mediation model of appearance-ideal internalization and comparison. Body Image, 36, 139-148.
Kalam, A., Goi, C. L., & Tiong, Y. Y. (2023). Student motivations for social media use and their effects on academic performance-A meditational approach in emerging market. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 20(3), 313-334.
Keržič, D., Alex, J.K., Pamela Balbontín Alvarado, R., Bezerra, D.D.S., Cheraghi, M., Dobrowolska, B., . . . & Aristovnik, A. (2021). Academic student satisfaction and perceived performance in the e-learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence across ten countries. PLos One, 16(10), e0258807.
Khan, M. N., Ashraf, M. A., Seinen, D., Khan, K. U., & Laar, R. A. (2021). Social media for knowledge acquisition and dissemination: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on collaborative learning driven social media adoption. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 648253.
Khimich, Y. (2023). Formation of information culture of higher education students in the digital age. Library Science. Record Studies. Informology, 1(19), 86-95.
Kolhar, M., Kazi, R. N. A., & Alameen, A. (2021). Effect of social media use on learning, social interactions, and sleep duration among university students. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 28(4), 2216-2222.
Kumar, V., & Nanda, P. (2020). Social media as a tool in higher education: A pedagogical perspective. In Handbook of research on diverse teaching strategies for the technology-rich classroom (pp. 239-253). IGI Global.
Lee, S.Y., 2020. Stealing thunder as a crisis communication strategy in the digital age. Business Horizons, 63(6), pp.801-810.
Levin, I., & Mamlok, D. (2021). Culture and society in the digital age. Information, 12(2), 68.
Liu, X., & Zhang, D. (2025). Learning critically and confidently: A correlation study of the new media literacy and English learning self-efficacy of junior high school students. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 7(1), 88-104.
Mahdiuon, R., Salimi, G., & Raeisy, L. (2020). Effect of social media on academic engagement and performance: Perspective of graduate students. Education and Information Technologies, 25(4), 2427-2446.
Maqableh, M., Jaradat, M., & Azzam, A. A. (2021). Exploring the determinants of students’ academic performance at university level: The mediating role of internet usage continuance intention. Education and Information Technologies, 26, 4003-4025.
Masood, A., Luqman, A., Feng, Y., & Ali, A. (2020). Adverse consequences of excessive social networking site use on academic performance: Explaining underlying mechanism from stress perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 113, 106476.
Mehrvarz, M., Heidari, E., Farrokhnia, M., & Noroozi, O. (2021). The mediating role of digital informal learning in the relationship between students' digital competence and their academic performance. Computers & Education, 167, 104184.
Ning, W., & Inan, F. A. (2024). Impact of social media addiction on college students’ academic performance: An interdisciplinary perspective. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 56(5), 616-631.
Nti, I. K., Akyeramfo-Sam, S., Bediako-Kyeremeh, B., & Agyemang, S. (2022). Prediction of social media effects on students’ academic performance using Machine Learning Algorithms (MLAs). Journal of Computers in Education, 9(2), 195-223.
Nurudeen, M., Abdul-Samad, S., Owusu-Oware, E., Koi-Akrofi, G. Y., & Tanye, H. A. (2023). Measuring the effect of social media on student academic performance using a social media influence factor model. Education and Information Technologies, 28(1), 1165-1188.
Ostic, D., Qalati, S. A., Barbosa, B., Shah, S. M. M., Galvan Vela, E., Herzallah, A. M., & Liu, F. (2021). Effects of social media use on psychological well-being: a mediated model. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 678766.
Purnama, Y., & Asdlori, A. (2023). The role of social media in students’ social perception and interaction: Implications for learning and education. Technology and Society Perspectives (TACIT), 1(2), 45-55.
Rahman, S., & Mithun, M. N. A. S. (2021). Effect of social media use on academic performance among university students in Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 20(3), 1-12.
Raza, S. A., Qazi, W., Umer, B., & Khan, K. A. (2020). Influence of social networking sites on life satisfaction among university students: A mediating role of social benefit and social overload. Health Education, 120(2), 141-164.
Sakhieva, R. G., Meshkova, I. N., Gimaliev, V. G., Melnik, M. V., Shindryaeva, N. N., & Zhdanov, S. P. (2024). Exploring the relationship between social media use and academic performance. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 14(1), e202408.
Sinaga, R. A., Febrianti, K. V., & Candra, D. (2023). The benefits and drawbacks of adopting mobile learning as perceived by junior high school teachers in Taiwan. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(10), 6356-6365.
Sungkur, R. K., Sebastien, O., & Singh, U. G. (2020). Social media as a catalyst for distant collaborative learning: Trends and concerns for small island states. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 11(4), 1454-1469.
Theophilou, E., Hernández‐Leo, D., & Gómez, V. (2024). Gender‐based learning and behavioural differences in an educational social media platform. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40(6), 2544-2557.
Uherková, E. K. M. (2023). Navigating the digital age: Exploring effective teaching and learning approaches for university students. Marketing Identity, 184.
Ulkhaq, M. M., Oggioni, G., & Riccardi, R. (2024). Two-stage super-efficiency model for measuring efficiency of education in South-East Asia. Decisions in Economics and Finance, 47(2), 513-543.
Vartanova, E., & Gladkova, A. (2020). Old and new discourses in emerging states: Communication challenges of the digital age. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 15(2), 119-125.
Yağcı, M. (2022). Educational data mining: Prediction of students' academic performance using machine learning algorithms. Smart Learning Environments, 9(1), 11.
Zainal, Z., & Rahmat, N. H. (2020). Social media and its influence on vocabulary and language learning: A case study. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(11).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The philosophy of the journal is to be open and to make all articles accessible. It is our belief that open access is a must in the future of science.
Authors who publish with RCR accept a slightly modified Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
You, as author, retain the copyrights for your paper, but the Review of Communication Research is granted exclusivity for publication of the article. The agreement allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and publication in this journal. We do not want third parties to make a commercial use of the article, unless we agree it with authors.
The journal will run an open review process as well as a traditional peer review process.
When the manuscript is accepted for publication, it will get a doi number and get available online to facilitate early citation.
The journal will post the published article to many public repositories for further diffusion and permanence.
You, as author, are permitted and encouraged to post your work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on your website), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
If you have any doubts, please, contact the editor: editor@rcommunication.org
Many thanks for submitting your work to this journal.
