Academic procrastination using social media: A cross‐sectional study with middle school students on the buffering and moderator roles of self‐control and gender

Abstract

Temporary school lockdowns and physical distancing practices due to the Covid‐19 pandemic have led to the risk of problematic social media use (PSU) in students who need to socialize. The effect of PSU on students' academic commitment and the mechanisms that moderate this effect spark interest in researchers. For this reason, the present study sought answers to the following two research questions: (a) Whether PSU positively predicts academic procrastination (AP), (b) Whether this relation is moderated by self‐control and gender. Employing the additive multiple moderation model, the study was carried out with 370 Turkish middle school students (female: 65.1%, Mage: 12.82). The findings indicate that PSU positively affects AP. The positive effect of PSU on AP is higher in boys than in girls. Self‐control acts as a buffering moderator in the positive effect of PSU on AP. As students' self‐control levels increase, the positive effect of PSU on AP weakens. Self‐control plays a greater role as a buffering moderator in girls than in boys. Regarding the context of middle school students' PSU and AP, the results extend the literature, which states that boys tend to act more impulsively. Also, this study adds new empirical evidence to the literature regarding the importance of high levels of self‐control in minimizing the negative effects of PSU, which has become more common among middle school students after the Covid‐19 pandemic, on AP.

Academic Procrastination in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review

“…Alternative behaviors to studying, such as mobile phone use or internet browsing, have also been of interest to researchers, with nine publications dedicated to exploring the relationship between academic procrastination and these types of behaviors, e.g., [ 14 , 16 , 80 , 81 ].…”

“…However, researchers became interested in studying the behavior of children and adolescents during the prolonged periods of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research in relation to procrastination focused primarily on the significant increase in the use of electronic devices and social media, as well as the procrastination of academic activities that were mandatory online during that period, e.g., [ 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

ASSESSING THE ROLE OF TEACHERS & PARENTS IN DEVELOPING STRATEGIES AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA MISUSE AMONG STUDENTS

“…These findings are consistent with the Talaue et al (2018), same inference as this study who had the opinion that students who often use Facebook as well as other social media outlets perform badly in class, which is evidenced by their poor performance. Üztemur and Dinç (2023) concluded that students who used social media excessively, had to face academic procrastination. The use of social media makes them addicted, and as a result, they become lazy.…”

Social media addiction mediates the relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction and academic procrastination

“…The increase in the time spent on social media and addictive behaviors may lead to procrastination in academic tasks as well as in other daily tasks (Andreassen et al, 2017; Kuss & Griffiths, 2011). Specifically, a study conducted during COVID‐19 found that problematic social media use positively affects academic procrastination (Üztemur & Dinç, 2023). Based on these findings from previous studies and the COVID‐19 pandemic context, it is reasonable to believe that BPNS may indirectly affect students' academic procrastination through social media addiction.…”

“…We recommend collecting more homogeneous data concerning gender in future academic procrastination and social media addiction studies and including the gender variable in research hypotheses. Indeed, a recent study has revealed that the relationship between problematic social media use and academic procrastination is moderated by gender (Üztemur & Dinç, 2023). The study is cross‐sectional, and research findings do not provide causal information.…”