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A literature review of the effects of social

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Melese Astatke , Cathy Weng & Sufen Chen

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INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1875002

REVIEW ARTICLE

A literature review of the effects of social networking sites on

secondary school students’ academic achievement
a a a,b
Melese Astatke , Cathy Weng and Sufen Chen
a
Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology,
Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; bOptentia Research Focus Area, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South
Africa

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Due to COVID- 19 pandemic, schools all over the world have gone from Received 3 July 2020
full face-to-face to online lessons. This paper analyzed the influences of Accepted 27 November 2020
social networking sites (SNS) on secondary school students’ academic
KEYWORDS
achievement. The original studies were extracted from the Web of Academic achievement;
Science database, and the review of the 27 selected journal articles adolescent; secondary
revealed that the use of SNS is both positively and negatively related to school; social networking
secondary school students’ academic achievement. However, it was sites; social media; review
found that few studies have reported the positive impacts of SNS use
on students’ academic achievement. On the contrary, several studies
have shown that excessive usage of SNS, inappropriate SNS use, and
usage of SNS for other recreational activities instead of educational
purposes harmed students’ academic achievement. Factors that
mediate (such as internet addiction, intention to cyberbully, and
sexually explicit material use) and moderate (such as gender, sleep
time, learning environment, time management skill and school day and
non-school day behaviors) the SNS-academic achievement link are
discussed. These findings have important implications for parents,
teachers, educationalists, and counselors who should be aware of the
potential for inappropriate and excessive use of SNS by students, and
who should develop intervention mechanisms to address the problem.

Introduction
The rapid growth of communication technologies has allowed users to interact easily with groups of
people from anywhere in the world via their computer or cell phone. Socio-technological networks
are not only an important part of the entertainment industry, but are also being increasingly used for
educational purposes (Siemens et al., 2015). There are a significant number of studies that provide
empirical evidence regarding the influences of using social networking sites (SNS) on students’ aca-
demic achievement, with some declaring that there are positive effects. According to Hrastinski
(2008), students have the opportunity to use social networking (SN) platforms and to engage in
social interaction on chat and discussion boards, in addition to online tutorials, online lectures,
and downloading of educational content. Using SNS might help create SN and improve social
engagement. Since social engagement is an important support for learning, SNS have a positive
impact on academic achievement. SNS also facilitate constructivism for learning, whereby students
and teachers collaborate on understanding a particular subject rather than an approach that focuses
on personal contributions (Stevens, 2009). Thus, students can have a chance to become equal

CONTACT Cathy Weng cathyhaien@hotmail.com

© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 M. ASTATKE ET AL.

partners with their peers, teachers, and educators in the process of exchanging information to
improve their academic achievement.
Contrary to the above study reports, some research has found the adoption of SNS to be proble-
matic and negatively linked to academic achievement (Masood et al., 2020; Wu & Cheng, 2019).
The use of SNS reduces study time and the length of time students spend preparing for classes,
which can negatively impact their Grade Point Average (GPA) (Junco, 2012). The use of SNS risks
loss of attention and diverting students’ attention from finishing the course (Hurt et al., 2012), as
well as non-educational and inappropriate acts such as pointless talking and haphazard searching
(Kuppuswamy & Narayan, 2010). The explanation for this may be that it can be difficult for students
who devote more time to SN to reconcile its use with their academic preparation. Furthermore, as
reported by Kuppuswamy and Narayan (2010), SNS are capturing students’ complete attention
and focus, and diverting them from their studies. Although they may seem helpful for information
development and sharing, SNS may also become an outlet for cyberbullying and abuse. This means
that attitude and conduct rules related to those applied in the classroom should be used in setting
criteria for social media (SM) use. Moreover, Arnold and Paulus (2010) reported that although SM are
used for instructional activities, students integrate the technologies into their daily life in ways that
might differ from the aspirations of the teacher. Based on the above argument, researchers may
argue that students’ academic achievement can be badly influenced by improper use of SNS.
The present study focused on secondary school students. When students transit from primary
to secondary school, they experience a new learning environment and growing course loading,
while at the same time starting to use SNS and their own cell phones. In line with this, study
findings have shown that secondary school students use SNS frequently for entertainment and
educational purposes (Tenzin et al., 2019; Tezci & İçen, 2017). This widespread use of SM might
take an academic toll as students spend time texting, having conversations on mobile phones,
and posting status updates on SNS. Furthermore, Trusov et al. (2009) suggested that explicit
SNS are particularly dangerous for adolescents; SNs have become ubiquitous and well-recognized.
Such unsettled transition could be attributed to disruptions of SNS, both with peers and with tea-
chers, resulting in negative academic achievement. To manage students’ SNS use and direct them
to use SNS efficiently, and also to develop successful strategies to counter the negative effects, it is
crucial to investigate the effects and mechanisms of how SNS affect students’ academic achieve-
ment. Hence, this review analyzes the impacts of SNS on secondary school students’ academic
achievement.

Literature review
Brass et al. (1998) described that social networking is an aspect of the conventional social media
network used by people to create social connections. SNS include a variety of online platforms,
including forums, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, instant messaging, video conferencing, semantic
websites, and virtual worlds (Latif et al., 2019). Social networking groups are seen as groups of
target users of various sizes that connect to the Internet on a regular and coordinated basis via a
convenient area or method for achieving the private and common ambitions of their members (Dho-
lakia et al., 2004).
Existing literature reviews have approached the usage of SNS in learning and teaching from
various angles. Greenhow and Askari (2017) conducted a systematic review of 24 empirical
studies published between 2004 and 2014 to analyze how teachers and students at the K-12 level
interpret and use SNS platforms, and what effect they have on students’ learning and on teachers’
pedagogy. They considered studies that determined the effectiveness of technology in terms of
enhancing student learning, examined approaches for implementation, tracked social influence,
and commented on specific uses for influencing the course of the field. The authors found that
among the studies, the research on common uses was the most prevalent form of study undertaken.
Moreover, Zachos et al. (2018) reviewed 77 studies published from 2010 to 2018 focusing on the
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 3

usage of SN in higher education, and the potential influence SNS have on students’ cognitive behav-
ior and personality. They indicated that teachers have not yet been strongly integrated into their
practices towards faster use of SNS.
The above-mentioned literature reviews have contributed to our understanding of the trends in
the field of SNS as they relate to teaching and learning. However, students’ academic achievement
received very little attention in these reviews. If SNS are to achieve their full potential as instructional
platforms both in and outside the classroom, there is a need to understand their effect on students’
academic achievement. In other words, a further review of the literature is desirable to shed light on
the influences of SNS usage on students’ academic achievement. Also, the prior literature reviews
conducted in this area primarily focused on higher education. Particularly, there is a scarcity of litera-
ture reviews on secondary school students’ SNS usage and its effect on their academic achievement.
This study, therefore, analyzed the effects of SNS usage on secondary school students’ academic out-
comes. Hence this review addresses the question: What kinds of effect does the usage of SNS have
on secondary school students’ academic achievement? and how?

Method
This literature review was carried out based on Moher et al.’s (2015) suggested preferred reporting
items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA). Figure 1 shows the PRISMA method used to
collect and analyze data.

Search
The researchers searched for papers related to the effects of SNS on secondary school students’ aca-
demic achievement, published in the Web of Science database (WoS). This work searched for the his-
torical and authoritative source, the Web of Science (WoS) because it is the only database covering all
scientific sources (Aghaei Chadegani et al., 2013). Due to the short life span of this stream of research,

Figure 1. WoS database searching steps.

4 M. ASTATKE ET AL.

the researchers did not define or limit the time of the search. The combination of words and phrases
used to search for articles in the Web of Science database included the keywords ((“social network-
ing*” OR “SNS” OR “social media” OR “Facebook” OR “Google plus” OR “Linked in” OR “Skype” OR
“Twitter” OR “YouTube”) AND (“academic achievement” OR “academic performance” OR “academic
outcomes” OR “GPA” OR “Grade Point Average” OR “Grades”) AND (“secondary school” OR “high
school” OR “adolescent*”)) to search for titles and abstracts.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria were English language journal publications focused on SNS and secondary school
students’ academic achievement. Other types of documents, such as unpublished studies, confer-
ence abstracts/posters, literature reviews, editorials, letters, and conceptual papers were excluded.
Furthermore, articles that emphasized the general use of SNS for other functions, rather than focus-
ing on students’ academic achievement and studies that did not adopt any SNS were excluded.
Besides, studies which focused on higher education (college or university) and primary school
were excluded. Eventually, 27 journal articles were retained.

Data distribution
After content-coding and analyzing the 27 articles, the researchers categorized them based on their
publication year. In Figure 2, it can be seen that the papers were published from 2012 to April 2020,
showing a gradual increment. It can be inferred that research regarding the influences of SNS on
secondary school students’ academic outcomes was rare before 2012.

Descriptive information
The findings of the descriptive statistics are clarifying in terms of research design, author country
sample size, and SNS platforms adopted. Of the 27 papers reviewed, the majority (n = 25)
adopted a quantitative design, and only two adopted qualitative and mixed designs, respectively.
Studies were implemented in the United States (n = 6), Canada (n = 2), China (n = 2), Israel (n = 2),
Spain (n = 2), Turkey (n = 2), and one study in each of the following countries: Australia, Belgium,
Greece, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom (in alphabetical order). The studies’ sample sizes varied from 104 to 40,389, showing a
wide distribution. In terms of SN platforms adopted, general SNS, with a total of 62.96% were domi-
nant in the studies reviewed, followed by Facebook, with a total of 29.63%. It was noted that other

Figure 2. Published papers on the effects of SNS on secondary school students’ academic achievement up to 2020.
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 5

SNS platforms, such as YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, and Instagram have also received attention in
recent years (see Figure 3).

Coding and analysis

In-depth reading and analysis of each of the 27 articles retained after the screening was carried out.
The content of the papers was coded for data concerning the research design, participant profile,
data sources, methods, analysis, mediator or moderator variables, and major findings/outcomes
(see Appendix). The major objective of this review was to analyze the influences of SNS on secondary
school students’ academic achievement. Particular attention was paid to the ways in which SNS affect
secondary school students’ academic achievement. The data coded for how SNS affect students’ aca-
demic achievement were organized by the findings, mediating, moderating, and additional variables.
Descriptive analyses were performed to identify the descriptive information for each study.

Findings
Measurement of SNS and academic achievement
There was a considerable amount of irregularity in how researchers evaluated the usage of SNS, such
as frequency of SM use (SM week daily and SM weekend) (e.g. Dubuc et al., 2020); the total hours per
day students typically spent using SM (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Instagram) either posting
or browsing (e.g. Qahri-Saremi & Turel, 2016); the number of hours each week spent on SNS for
texting and chatting activities (e.g. Tang & Patrick, 2018); time spent on SN (e.g. Tsitsika et al.,
2014); time spent on YouTube (e.g. Bergdahl et al., 2020); and use of the Internet for SN (e.g.
Tenzin et al., 2019). Across the studies, a self-reported scale of time spent and frequency of SNS
usage was the most widely used measurement technique for SNS use. Using self-reported SNS
usage seems reasonable and practical despite the problems collecting user data on actual use. Quan-
tifying SNS usage using a scale of SNS and/or time spent on SNS is, however, essentially insufficient in
that these metrics do not take into consideration how users adopt SNS (i.e. the behaviors they take
part in). A few studies have adopted different measurement methods from self-reports. For example,
Rosen et al. (2013) incorporated participants’ observations into their study and examined the
respondents’ different SNS platform usage and their activities. Another study used pre-test and

Figure 3. Classification of adopted SN platforms by study year.

6 M. ASTATKE ET AL.

post-test items for log-in frequencies, log-in times, and intensity of sharing on SNS (Çimen & Yılmaz,
2017).
Academic achievement was evaluated mainly by self-reported GPA (e.g. Qahri-Saremi & Turel,
2016; Rosen et al., 2013), the academic score obtained from school records (Arora et al., 2018), stan-
dardized measures of an IQ test (e.g. Alloway et al., 2013), and subject-specific academic achieve-
ment scores (such as English, Mathematics, Chinese, Geography, and science) (e.g. Lee, 2014;
Leung & Lee, 2012; Reychav et al., 2018). Overwhelmingly, the reviewed studies objected to the
usage of perceived academic achievement and/or self-reported GPA as compared to real GPA col-
lected from the student records or registrar. This undoubtedly relates to the challenge of collecting
real GPA data, accompanied by the ease that metrics such as perceived achievement and self-
reported GPAs offer in data collection. Studies employing such representations, therefore, experi-
ence drawbacks integral to such usage. In certain cases, the contradicting results in the published
works can illustrate the variations in how the constructs are measured.

Measurement of SNS–academic achievement link

In this study, many of the reviewed studies measured the direct link of SNS-academic achievement
without the influence of other mediating and/or moderating variables. In this regard, the influences
of either moderators and/or mediators on the SNS-academic achievement association is an issue that
the studies have scarcely considered. However, few studies have indicated looking at possible influ-
ences on this relation from contextual factors and other variables, such as: cyberbullying (Alotaibi,
2019); gender (Arora et al., 2018; Dubuc et al., 2020); sleep time (Arora et al., 2018); learning environ-
ment (Çimen & Yılmaz, 2017); learning characteristics and group assessment (Reychav et al., 2018);
internet addiction (Tenzin et al., 2019); time management skill (Tsai & Liu, 2015); and school day and
non-school day behavior (Yan et al., 2017). Researchers such as Sampasa-Kanyinga et al. (2019)
included control variables, like gender, age, ethnicity, subjective economic status, and substance
use. The effects of these demographic and personality characteristic factors have been considered
in very few studies. Another study included a control variable, such as father’s and mother’s edu-
cation (Šević et al., 2020). There might be other pertinent variables in this context which merit
consideration.

The positive influence of SNS on academic achievement

The review findings indicated that inconsistent data points on the relationship between SNS usage
and academic achievement resulted from the available evidence (see Appendix). In this regard, some
reviewed studies reported the positive effect of SNS (Bardakcı, 2019; Çimen & Yılmaz, 2017; Gazibara
et al., 2020; Kasperski & Blau, 2020; Leung & Lee, 2012; Reychav et al., 2018; Tomé-Fernández et al.,
2020). According to the findings of Bardakcı (2019), the usage of YouTube had a positive association
with students’ academic outcomes. Bardakcı suggested that it may be due to students’ perception
of using YouTube as a convenient platform for academic functions. Consistent with this, Gazibara
et al. (2020) reported that the use of YouTube could help adolescents improve their GPA. Similarly,
Alloway et al. (2013) noted that the length of engagement with SNS had a positive influence on stu-
dents’ academic outcomes. Their finding shows that students who use Facebook frequently scored
better on tests of working memory, spelling, and verbal skill than low-level Facebook users. The
authors explained that this may be the effect of training, leading to mutual cognitive influence.
According to Kasperski and Blau’s (2020) study, interactions on SM strengthened associations,
improved the classroom atmosphere, and increased active participation in the learning process,
which could lead to better academic performance. Besides, Reychav et al. (2018) found that
highly linked learners are more likely to be sources of knowledge, which leads to better academic
outcomes, especially when students are evaluated independently. Students who are accountable
for their achievement tend to communicate with those most likely to help them in order to find
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 7

out the information required. Perhaps because of contact with experienced others, or because they
had to rely on their assessment guided by peer-gathered information, they achieved higher aca-
demic results (Reychav et al., 2018). Likewise, students who scored better grades were more likely
to be involved in class-related FB teamwork, and FB class-related academic collaboration was signifi-
cantly predicted by the actual number of FB friends (Khan et al., 2014).

The negative influence of SNS on academic achievement

Contrary to positive outcomes, several studies revealed an adverse relationship between SNS and
academic outcome (Alotaibi, 2019; Arora et al., 2018; Bergdahl et al., 2020; Lee, 2014; Molla-
Esparza et al., 2020; Pedersen et al., 2018; Qahri-Saremi & Turel, 2016; Rosen et al., 2013; Sampasa-
Kanyinga et al., 2019; Šević et al., 2020; Tenzin et al., 2019; Tsai & Liu, 2015; Tsitsika et al., 2014;
Van Den Eijnden et al., 2018; Yan et al., 2017). These studies reported that excessive usage of SNS,
inappropriate use of SNS, using them for purposes other than education, and the influences of
mediator and/or moderator variables harmed students’ academic achievement.

Excessive SNS usage

Some of the reviewed studies reported that heavy usage of SNS harmed students’ academic achieve-
ment. Adolescents who were frequently involved in SNS scored significantly lower in academic
achievement compared to those who used SNS moderately (Tsitsika et al., 2014). Similarly, Lee
(2014) found that frequent usage of Facebook activities harmed students’ mathematics grades. It
has been mentioned that teachers and parents should follow up on the amount of time teens
spend on Facebook activities. Also, according to the findings of Leung and Lee’s (2012) study,
dimensions of internet addiction were negatively correlated to the overall grades, with the signs
of adverse life effects and obsession with the Internet being significant predictors of prejudiced aca-
demic success. The authors suggested that due to the excessive use of SN, adolescents skipped social
activities, and missed class. They also indicated that this practice harms their academic achievement,
which has an important message to parents and teachers to inform adolescents to moitor their
online activities. The excessive time spent using SNS was more troublesome for the academic out-
comes of male adolescents (Šević et al., 2020). Furthermore, Sampasa-Kanyinga et al. (2019) acknowl-
edged the need for tailor-made educational intervention programs to encourage adolescents,
especially secondary school teens, to restrict their usage of SM to 2 h per day. Therefore, heavy
SM use can displace conventional learning practices, including doing homework, studying, or
reading that might result in poor academic outcomes.

Inappropriate use of SNS and using them for purposes other than education
Some review studies have indicated that inappropriate use of SNS and using them for purposes
other than education harmed students’ academic outcomes. For example, as Leung and Lee’s
(2012) findings showed, excessive usage of SNS for recreational purposes was greatly associated
with prejudiced academic achievement, mainly for those using synchronous interactive applications
such as discussion rooms. Tenzin et al. (2019) interviewed respondent students and confirmed that
there were instances of delays in sending school assignments, and low performance due to inap-
propriate usage of the Internet. Their respondents mentioned that the students’ urge to use the
Internet caused boredom. They also reported the Internet as one of their coping strategies for
boredom. Similarly, Bergdahl et al. (2020) reported a significant adverse link between students’
grades and frequent use of YouTube for purposes other than education. Likewise, Facebook-
based inter-personal skills and academic achievement were adversely interrelated, perhaps
because students did not communicate with each other for learning functions, but only for societal
interaction while using Facebook (Tsai & Liu, 2015). Also, time-management skills moderated the
association between interpersonal skills and the academic outcome. Adolescents who more often
used SM were 2.12 times more willing to sext. Besides, those who repeated a grade were 1.70
8 M. ASTATKE ET AL.

times more likely than those who had never repeated a grade to sext (Molla-Esparza et al., 2020).
Moreover, Pedersen et al. (2018) documented a negative relationship between grades and SM
use. The authors mentioned that when students participate in different political activities through
SM, they waste their study time, which results in poor grades.

Influences of mediator and/or moderator variables

A few review studies demonstrated the negative influences of SNS on the academic outcome due to
the influences of mediator and moderator factors (see Figure 4).

Mediator variables. One study explained the mediating function of cyberbullying in the link
between the usage of SM and academic achievement (Alotaibi, 2019). The usage of SM had a
direct impact on cyberbullying intentions, and cyberbullying had a direct negative impact on aca-
demic achievement. Internet addiction was found to have significant mediating power in the link
between SM usage and academic achievement (Tenzin et al., 2019). Since SNS are available on
mobile devices, many participants noted their usage as part of everyday life. Furthermore, according
to Šević et al.’s (2020) study, the SNS use- academic achievement link was mediated by sexually
explicit materials (SEM). In their study, the use of SNS was positively correlated with SEM, and
there was also an adverse correlation between the use of SEM and early adolescent boys’ academic
performance.

Moderator variables. One study showed that gender was found to moderate the relationship
between SNS and academic achievement (Arora et al., 2018). Arora et al.’s findings showed that
girls who engaged in SN had substantially lower English achievement. On the other hand, boys
who participated in SNS before bedtime had substantially decreased achievement in English, but
not in other subjects. Another study indicated that the learning environment moderates the associ-
ation of SNS and academic outcome. The positive impact of SN settings where teacher supervision is
low is seen to result in comparatively lower student academic performance compared to SN settings
where teacher management is provided and activities are assessed (Çimen & Yılmaz, 2017). This
informs us that the effects of SNS on academic outcome depends on the learning environment,
in which teachers’ scaffolding is necessary for students’ effective use of SNS for better academic

Figure 4. Summary of the influences of the moderator and mediator variables on the SNS usage-academic achievement link.
Note: “+” positive effect; “−” negative effect; “±” mixed effect.
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 9

achievement. Besides, another research finding showed that sleep time affected adolescents’ aca-
demic achievement, although not significantly (Arora et al., 2018). The use of SNS before bedtime
was found to reduce academic achievement; however, the adverse effect of proximate bedtime
usage of SNS on academic achievement was small. Tsai and Liu (2015) claimed that due to their suc-
cessful time-management skills, chatting less with friends on Facebook for social purposes may con-
tribute to adolescents’ academic achievement. This shows that time management skill can moderate
the link between adolescents’ SNS use and their academic outcome. Furthermore, school day and
non-school day behaviors were found to moderate the relationship between SNS and students’ aca-
demic performance. For example, Yan et al. (2017) reported that more than 4 h spent on SNS on both
school and non-school days was adversely related with academic performance.

Discussion
This review analyzed the impacts of SNS use on secondary school students’ academic achievement.
The researchers found that the reviewed studies showed a remarkably different result. Previous
researchers have not yet reached a consensus in this workstream, and that might be a result of
the complex nature of this phenomenon and a variety of characteristics of the studies, such as vari-
able measurement, moderator, and/or mediator variables. Wohn and LaRose (2014) noted that any
firm conclusions about SNS usage and academic achievement are difficult to draw from the litera-
ture. In the present review, some reviewed studies reported a positive link between SNS and aca-
demic achievement. Adolescents who are able to search for, browse and view various data
resources through SNS, and those who are aware of the sense in which the data were produced per-
formed better in their academic performance (Leung & Lee, 2012). Likewise, Alloway et al. (2013)
reported a positive association between using Facebook for a long time and academic test scores
of verbal skills, working memory, and spelling. Students behaving as bridges between those on
the network attained better academic results (Reychav et al., 2018). Similar to other previous
research findings (e.g. Hrastinski, 2008; Stevens, 2009), this study’s findings imply that SNS can be
valuable for enhancing the academic achievement of students, if planned and adapted to the par-
ticular educational needs of each student. Similarly, other previous studies reported a positive
impact of SNS on students’ academic achievement. For example, Al-dheleai et al. (2020) indicated
that SNS are a useful tool to help students’ sense of social presence, which leads to improved learn-
ing and academic achievement. The resources of the SNS, enabled by their social existence, accom-
modate social presence and social learning interaction at levels that help create a sense of closeness
among students, thereby improving their academic performance (Al-dheleai et al., 2020; AL-Rahmi
et al., 2017; Baisley-Nodine et al., 2018).
On the contrary, the researchers found that several studies have identified the adverse impacts of
SNS use on academic achievement. Concerning this, the researchers examined the ways in which
these negative relationships emerged and how SNS influenced academic achievement. The
studies reported that inappropriate and excessive usage of SNS harmed students’ academic achieve-
ment. This result supports the findings of other previous studies (e.g. Kubey et al., 2001; Masood
et al., 2020; Tamal et al., 2019). Excessive use of SNS creates cognitive distractions among students,
impacting their academic achievement (Masood et al., 2020). Likewise, Tamal et al.’s (2019) study
report indicated that there was an adverse association between students spending time on SM
and their educational outcomes. Kubey et al. reported that excessive Internet usage for entertain-
ment was strongly linked to prejudiced academic outcomes, especially for those using synchronous
interactive technologies such as chat rooms. Also, using SNS for purposes other than education was
found to harm students’ academic outcomes. The results of this study also support Rodríguez-Hoyos
et al.’s (2015) study finding that students prefer using SNS for recreational and/or social purposes in
general. Few studies have demonstrated the adverse influences of SNS on academic outcomes due
to the influences of other mediator and moderator variables (such as gender, sleep time, learning
environment, internet addiction, time management skill, etc.). One important implication which
10 M. ASTATKE ET AL.

emerged from these findings is that parents, teachers, and educationalists should be more sensitive
to and remain aware of the potential for inappropriate and excessive use of SNS by students. Also,
counselors need to develop effective school-based preventative measures, education, and interven-
tion programs to address problem-stricken students’ use of SNS for a better academic outcome.

Conclusion, limitations, and future directions

This review intended to address the question of what kind of effect does the usage of SNS have on
secondary school students’ academic achievement? and how? The findings showed mixed results
regarding the influences of SNS use on academic achievement. However, it was found that few
studies have reported the positive impacts of SNS use on students’ academic achievement.
Several studies found that excessive usage of SNS, inappropriate use of SNS and usage of SNS
for recreational activities other than those for educational purposes harmed students’ academic
achievement. Although there are studies that explored moderating and mediating variables
which can contribute to the proposed link, there are still several under-investigated moderators
and mediators which may clarify the path of this link. Also, if one starts from the premise that
SNS have a detrimental influence on academic achievement, the consequences can be interpreted
in certain respects by taking into account the multiple positive benefits given to students to
improve their academic achievement. Through this review, the researchers believe that this
study’s findings contribute to the existing literature by addressing the gaps and emphasizing
the significance of the phenomenon of the academic achievement influence of SNS use on second-
ary school students.
Some limitations exist in this study. Firstly, many of the reviewed studies have typically focused on
a cross-sectional design that, although helpful, allowed only static descriptions of associations.
Second, most studies did not mention the number of SNS memberships the students had or the dur-
ation of their involvement. Third, our limited selection criterion of using only journal papers restricts
the representativeness of the study results. Other publications might need to focus on expanding
the study tent to gain a wider view of this issue. Therefore, the researchers advise readers to be
aware of a vital point linked to the present work that stresses the representative, rather than com-
prehensive, essence of the undertaking, before condensing any difficult perspectives from the
review.
The researchers see some opportunities for future work in this review which are being addressed
now. From the aforementioned discussion, suggestions for future studies are as follows:

(1) Although the adverse stance in the available evidence of this analysis relates in several respects
to the wider research investigating the correlation between wide-ranging usage of SNS and aca-
demic achievement (e.g. Wu & Cheng, 2019), more rigorous reports are warranted in the light of
the mixed data. Maxwell et al. (2015) noted that the literature would always require several repli-
cation studies to address apparent inconsistencies.
(2) Potential explorations should adopt longitudinal designs, often ignored in the research, to better
understand the basic correlation of the two variables and if any, the causal influences of SNS
overtime usage.
(3) The researchers understand that various SNS have distinctive aspects and are used in different
ways. Hence, future studies should explore the connection between SNS and academic achieve-
ment for specific platforms.
(4) Some studies measured only the direct link between the use of SNS and students’ academic
achievement. The researchers propose that further work can explore whether an examination
of mediator and/or moderator variables may help to better explain the mechanisms influencing
this link.
(5) The current review focuses solely on empirical studies and thus results from the dearth of cor-
responding perspectives on the contexts and qualifications that qualitative reports offer are
 INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 11

lacking. Hence, future review initiatives could benefit from numerous eyes and viewpoints to
validate this research rigor.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors
Melese Astatke is currently a PhD candidate at the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan
University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. He has Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. His current themes of
research include Educational psychology, social media & information sharing, and digital learning strategies. Email:
meleseblen2563124@gmail.com
Cathy Weng is currently an associate professor of the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National
Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Her current themes of research include social media & infor-
mation sharing, interactive storybooks and learning, digital reading & storytelling and digital language learning. Dr.
Weng has published in Online Information Review, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Journal of Educational Comput-
ing Research, Computers & Education, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, Turkish Online Journal of Edu-
cational Technology, British Journal of Educational Technology, Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology,
among others.
Sufen Chen is distinguished professor in the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education at National Taiwan
University of Science and Technology (NTUST), Taiwan, and extraordinary professor in the Optentia Research Focus
Area at North-West University, South Africa. She received her BS and MS in physics from National Taiwan University
and PhD in science education from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research interests are in the area of science
education, technology-enhanced learning, metacognition, achievement emotions, and social media. Dr. Chen has pub-
lished in Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Computers & Education, Science Education, Physical Review Physics Edu-
cation Research, New Media & Society, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Information Management,
and Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, among others. Email: sufchen@mail.ntust.edu.tw

ORCID
Melese Astatke http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6422-9803
Cathy Weng http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8095-8494
Sufen Chen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8453-0225

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 14

Appendix: Variables of the selected papers

Moderator,
Measures of SNS and academic Methods and mediator, and
No. Study Participant profile achievement Data sources analysis additional variables Major findings/outcomes
1 Gazibara et al. 702 high school students, SNS measure: Frequency of YouTube Questionnaire Multinomial • Students who had lower-grade point
M. ASTATKE ET AL.

(2020) aged 15–19 years use regression average used YouTube as an online
Academic achievement measure: platform of choice.
Grade point average-self reported • SNS could help adolescents improve
health education.
2 Tomé- 624 individuals Aged SNS measure: Communication and Questionnaire Descriptive • SNs have a significant and favorable
Fernández between 8 and 17 years social interaction on SNS statistics ANOVA impact on learning performance.
et al. (2020)
Academic achievement measure: self-
reported learning performance
3 Kasperski and 10 high-school students, Measure: The contribution of SNs to Semi-structured Qualitative • Interactions on SM strengthened
Blau (2020) aged 15–18, in central learning processes interviews research relationships, improved the classroom
Israel. paradigm atmosphere, and increased active
participation in the learning process.
4 Bergdahl et al. 410 upper secondary school SNS measure: Time used on SM Survey Bivariate • Significant relationships between times
(2020) students Time used on YouTube questionnaire correlation spent on SM and low grades.
Academic achievement measure: One-way ANOVA
Grade-self reported Post hoc test
5 Dubuc et al. 187 grade 7–9th students SNS measure: SM usage frequency Questionnaire Pearson’s partial Moderator: Gender • Both negative and positive links
(2020) Mage 12–14 years (SM week daily and SM weekend) correlations between SM usage and academic
outcome
Academic achievement measure: Hierarchical
Grades in science, mathematics, regression
language (French) and the overall analysis
average of each student, in
percentage
6 Šević et al. 355 Croatian male SNS measure: Length of hours using Survey Path analysis Control variables: • A negative relationship between SNS
(2020) adolescents SNS questionnaire Father’s and and average grade
Academic achievement measure: Self- mother’s
reported average final grade education
Mediator: Sexually
explicit materials
(SEM)
7 Wakefield and 505 high school students SNS measure: Time spent in total on Questionnaire Descriptive • Greater use of Facebook puts students at
Frawley Facebook statistics risk of lower academic achievement.
(2020)
 Academic achievement measure: Final
examination performance
8 Molla-Esparza 647 adolescents (52.20% Frequency of use of SM Survey Descriptive • A negative relationship between Grades
et al. (2020) male and 47.80% female) Academic achievement measure: Self- questionnaire statistics χ2 test and SM
Mage=15 in the Valencia- reported grades
south of the Spanish SNS measure: SM activities, such as
Province sexting experiences
9 Alotaibi 395 9th to 12th grade SNS measure: SM activity (i.e. the Survey Multiple linear Mediator: • SMU had a direct effect on cyberbullying
(2019) students in Saudi actions that they involve in) questionnaire regressions Behavioral intentions and thus on academic
Academic achievement measure: intention achievement.
Academic performance _self-report Cyberbullying
10 Bardakcı 335 high school students SNS measure: Using YouTube for Survey SEM • Positive relationship between usage of
(2019) Mage = 16.21yrs educational purpose questionnaire YouTube and academic performance.
Academic achievement measure:
Academic performance_self-report
11 Sampasa- 7–12th grade 10,076 middle SNS measure: Number of hours per a Survey Multiple linear Control variables: • SMU of more than 2 h a day adversely
Kanyinga and high school students day students usually spend on SM questionnaire regression Age correlated with academic achievement.
et al. (2019) (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Gender
Instagram) either posting or Ethnicity
browsing.
Academic achievement measure: Self- Subjective
reported academic performance economic status
Substance use
12 Tenzin et al. 721 adolescents SNS measure: Use of internet for SN Self Quan-qual Mediator: Internet • Use of internet for SN negatively
(2019) Academic achievement measure: Self- -administered sequential mixed addiction affected academic performance
reported academic performance questionnaire method
Interview
13 Reychav et al. 401 junior high school SNS measure: SN characteristics (out- Experiments SN analysis Learning • Students behaving as bridges between
(2018) students degree, in- degree, betweenness characteristics those on the network attained better
centrality, clustering coefficient academic results.
closeness centrality)
Academic achievement measure: Group assessment
Average geography grades
14 Van Den 538 adolescents (12–15 SNS measure: Frequency of SM use Online survey Descriptive • Symptoms of maladaptive use of SM
Eijnden years) Academic achievement measure: statistics χ2 test predicted a decline in GPA
et al. (2018) Average grade of six courses
15 Pedersen Adolescents (n=8627) in SNS measure: SM activities, such as Survey Logistic regression • A negative link between SM and grade
et al. (2018) Oslo expressing Political activity through
SM
Academic achievement measure: SNS
INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

measure: Academic achievement

(Continued)
15
Continued.
16

Moderator,
Measures of SNS and academic Methods and mediator, and
No. Study Participant profile achievement Data sources analysis additional variables Major findings/outcomes
measure: Mathematics and English
grades
16 Tang and 8th and 10th grade 40,389 SNS measure: Number of hours per Survey Logistic regression • Inconsistent association between
Patrick students week on SNS (like Facebook, questionnaire interactive SM (such as texting, talking
(2018) Twitter, Instagram) for texting and on the phone, and video chatting) and
chatting activities academic outcomes.
M. ASTATKE ET AL.

Academic achievement measure: • No association between the SNS visit

Average school grades and the academic outcome.
17 Arora et al. 853 adolescents SNS measure: Time spent on SN Questionnaire Mediation analysis Moderator: Gender • Negative association between Science
(2018) Academic achievement measure: Sleep time and English scores.Using electronic
Academic records for English, devices prior to bedtime reduced
mathematics and science from the academic achievement.
school record
18 Çimen and 104 tenth grade students in Log-in times Pre-and post-test pre- and post- Moderator: • Positive relationship between using SN
Yılmaz İstanbul (61 male and 43 Intensity of sharings items experimental Learning and student achievement
(2017) female) Academic achievement measure: measurements environment
Academic achievement test scores
SNS measure: Log-in frequencies
19 Yan et al. 2625 high school students SNS measure: Number of hours a day Questionnaires Linear and logistic School day • An adverse relationship between SNS
(2017) using SNS regression behavior and and students’ grades
Academic achievement measure: analyses χ2 non-school day
Scores on the last cumulative behavior
examination in students’ grade-
self-reports
20 Qahri-Saremi 6885 American adolescents SNS measure: Number of hours visiting Survey Latent Profile • A negative association between SMU
and Turel SM Analysis and adolescents’ GPA
(2016) Academic achievement measure: GPA- ANCOVA
self reported SEM
21 Tsai and Liu 1365 adolescents SNS measure: A scale of Students’ FB Questionnaire Pearson Moderator: Time • A negative relationship between
(2015) interpersonal skill correlation management skill students’ Facebook -based interpersonal
Academic achievement measure: Self- Multiple skill and academic achievement
reported academic transcript regression
records
22 Tsitsika et al. 10,930 adolescents SNS measure: Time devotes on SNS Online survey Descriptive • Excessive SNS use significantly
(2014) (M=5211, F=5719)from Academic achievement measure: statistics χ2 test correlated with lower academic
six countries Mage=15.8 Academic performance scale- self performance
yrs. reported
23 Khan et al. 690 high school students in Total and actual FB friends Pen and paper Pearson • FB visit frequency and Actual FB friends
(2014) Suburban Midwestern Academic achievement measure: survey correlation had a positive relationship with course
state Course grades Grades
SNS measure: FB visit frequency • A negative relationship between FB visit
 frequency actual FB friends and course
Grades
24 Lee (2014) 314 middle and high school SNS measure: Amount of time spent Survey Descriptive • A significant negative relationship
students on Facebook and the frequency of questionnaire statistics χ2 test between Facebook activity and math

View publication stats

checking Facebook grades
Academic achievement measure: Self-
reported English and mathematics
grade
25 Alloway et al. 104 high school students SNS measure: Length of particular SM Questionnaire IQ Descriptive • A positive relationship between using
(2013) (51.5% female) Mage 15 usage (Facebook, Twitter, and tests statistics Facebook for a long time and academic
yr. and 9 months YouTube) Stepwise tests scores of verbal skill, working
Academic achievement measure: regression memory, and spelling.
Standardized measures of spelling • No significant effect of passive or active
and arithmetic test YouTube usage on cognitive test scores.
26 Rosen et al. 263 middle school, high SNS measure: use of various SNS Questionnaire Multivariate • A negative relationship between
(2013) school and university technologies and time spent on Observation repeated Facebook use and GPA
students in Southern SNS measures
California Academic achievement measure: self- ANCOVA
reported GPA
27 Leung and 718 children and SNS measure: critically judging Survey Descriptive • Adolescents who can locate, browse,
Lee (2012) adolescents (44.4% males whether information on websites is questionnaire statistics and access different information
and 55.6% females) authentic and accurate. Correlation resources and who are knowledgeable
Mage=14.46 Academic achievement measure: Self- Regression about the context under which the
report on scores on the most recent information was created performed
examination in Chinese, English, better in overall grades.
and mathematics
Acronyms
SNS =Social networking sites
SM =Social media
SMU=Social Media Use
SN = Social networking
FB=Facebook
GPA: Grade Point Average
INTERACTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
17