The Double-Edged Digital Platform: Impact of Social Media on the Academic Performance of Media Students in Karachi

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of social media usage on the academic performance of media students in Karachi, with particular focus on three dependent variables: creative intelligence, worldview development, and technological efficiency. As social media has become a constitutive feature of contemporary student life functioning simultaneously as an entertainment platform, professional portfolio space, and educational resource its effects on academic outcomes remain contested and context-dependent. Grounded in Uses and Gratifications Theory (Lazarsfeld & Stanton, 1944) and Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977), this research employed a quantitative design, gathering primary data from 300 undergraduate and postgraduate media students across public and private universities in Karachi through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. Data were analysed using Chi-Square statistical tests in SPSS. Results revealed statistically significant associations between social media usage and all three dependent variables: creative intelligence, worldview development, and technological efficiency. More active social media users demonstrated higher levels of creative thinking, broader global perspectives, and greater confidence in digital tools. However, the study simultaneously documented significant negative consequences including distraction from coursework (reported by 52% of respondents), time-management failures (58.7%), missed academic deadlines (53%), and mental fatigue following heavy use (58.3%). The findings argue that social media is a fundamentally ambivalent academic tool whose effects are contingent upon intentionality, self-regulation, and digital literacy rather than upon usage volume per se. The paper concludes with evidence-based recommendations for educators, institutions, and students seeking to optimise social media's academic potential while mitigating its well-documented harms.