Does the association of social media use with problematic internet behaviours predict undergraduate students’ academic procrastination?

Abstract

Researchers are of the view that students’ attachment to social media may lead to negative consequences such as postponement of their academic work. Yet how social media use is associated with academic procrastination of students is still underexplored. This study ascertained the pathways through which social media use predicted academic procrastination of undergraduate students. The sample size comprised 500 first year students of the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Path analysis was employed to test the fit of the hypothetical model and show the direction of relationships between the exogenous and endogenous variables. Results showed that the hypothesized model fits the sample data satisfactorily, and Internet addiction predicted academic procrastination more than any other variable. Social media use had no significant direct effects on academic procrastination but indirectly significantly predicted academic procrastination through internet addiction. This implies that social media use may not lead to academic procrastination until it becomes problematic.