Implications of Social Media Addiction on Academic Performance among Generation Z Student-athletes during COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

With the rapid advancement of internet technology, the increasing prevalence of smartphone ownership at a young age, the uncertainty surrounding the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effect of social media addiction on academic performance among students, social media use will continue to be a major point of contention. However, student-athletes are a distinct group of students who should not be overlooked due to their concurrent commitments to studying, training, and competing. As such, this study sought to investigate the effect of social media addiction on academic performance among Generation Z student-athletes during Malaysia's COVID-19 lockdown. The research design used in this study was a quantitative cross-sectional survey. This study surveyed 91 respondents and utilized the Social Media Addiction Questionnaire (SMAQ) and Grade Point Average (GPA). The findings indicated that Facebook was the preferred social media platform over Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, and that more than half of the participants were social media addicts. The researchers concluded that social media addiction had a significant impact on academic performance, accounting for 57.6 percent of the variance. These findings imply that excessive social media use, leading to addiction, has a significant negative effect on academic performance. Solutions are desperately needed, such as turning off notifications, silencing the phone, engaging in home workouts, reconnecting with family, or taking up new hobbies.