Impact of Social Media Addiction on Academic Performance of Students of Selected Tertiary Institutions in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract: This paper looked at the connection between social media use and academic performance among the students in the selected tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria. In particular, it explored the impact of time spent using social media on study behaviors, how tolerance towards social media can affect assignment and tasks completion, and how compulsive social media use affects academic engagement. The research design was descriptive survey and 394 students were purposely chosen in universities, poly-techniques and colleges of education. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data, which were analyzed with the help of mean scores, standard deviations, and correlation coefficient of Pearson in order to evaluate the hypothesized relationships. The results showed that there is a strong positive correlation between time on social media and study behaviors (r =.995, p <.01) meaning that more time spent on social media is associated with impaired studying behavior. On the same note, social media tolerance was found to have a strong positive correlation with assignment and task completion (r =.992, p <.01), which indicates that, high tolerance can have a negative influence on timely and quality submission of academic assignments. Moreover, academic engagement was largely linked to compulsive social media use (r = .995, p < .01), and it indicates that uncontrollable and excessive internet use lowers the active involvement and attention to the learning process. The research finds that the use of social media especially in excessive or compulsive usage impacts negatively on academic behaviors and activity among tertiary students. It proposes the usage of structured digital literacy interventions, time management interventions, and awareness interventions to alleviate these adverse academic outcomes. Keywords: Social media usage, Study habits, Assignment completion, Compulsive use, Academic engagement, Social media tolerance. Title: IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS OF SELECTED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA Author: LILIAN NKECHI ESIAGU, PAUL CHINEDU AGU, CASSIA ANWAR International Journal of Novel Research in Interdisciplinary Studies ISSN 2394-9716 Vol. 13, Issue 1, January 2026 - February 2026 Page No: 9-14 Novelty Journals Website: www.noveltyjournals.com Published Date: 09-February-2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18550986 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.noveltyjournals.com/upload/paper/IMPACT%20OF%20SOCIAL%20MEDIA%20ADDICTION-09022026-1.pdf