The research study under investigation is aimed at determining the correlation between the patterns of social media use and the academic productivity of the university students, with the mediation role of the digital distractions in the academic results and self-regulatory behavior. The research design used was the quantitative cross-sectional research design, which involved a structured questionnaire that was administered to 250 undergraduate students. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data in SPSS v.26. The results show that excessive social media use and student productivity have a significant negative correlation (r = -0.61, p < 0.01). Spending more than three hours a day on the screen was associated with a significant drop in the rate of assignments and GPA. The mechanisms of distraction that were found to be main include notification frequency and passive scrolling. The study is narrowed down to a single institutional setting and uses self-reporting data. Results might not be applicable to all demographic groups. In practice, the study provides practical solutions to digital wellness programs in universities. These findings can be utilized by Universities and educators to implement structured digital detox programs and technology use policies, as well as training in time management. Uncontrolled use of the social media poses a threat to academic equity as it selectively impacts on students with lower self-regulation ability. The current research provides a context-related empirical investigation of distraction management strategies among higher education students, which fills the gap between social media studies in general and discipline-specific productivity performance.
Publication Date: 2026-06-21