Recent Publications
The omnipresence of algorithmic social media platforms presents a profound cognitive challenge in technical undergraduate education. This empirical study investigates the relationship between daily engagement with Facebook and TikTok and the academic performance of Information Technology (IT) undergraduates within the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology at NIIBS Campus. Employing a quantitative, descriptive-correlational research design, empirical data were gathered from a sample cohort of 62 active BSc IT undergraduates via a structured digital survey. The investigated platforms embody distinct architectural paradigms: Facebook represents a conventional networked social graph, whereas TikTok operates as an algorithmic, short-form video feed characterized by hyper-personalized, variable-interval dopamine reinforcement schedules. Descriptive analysis revealed that undergraduates dedicate a combined daily average of 2.62 hours to these platforms (Facebook mean = 2.26 hours, SD = 0.95; TikTok mean = 0.36 hours, SD = 0.58), substantially exceeding their average daily self-study duration of 1.93 hours (SD = 0.84). Furthermore, 83.9% of respondents admitted to concurrent multitasking between social media and academic study blocks. Bivariate Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated a statistically significant, moderate negative correlation between total daily social media hours and self-study hours (r = -0.3286), empirically corroborating the time displacement hypothesis. Conversely, the direct linear correlation between total screen time and first semester end exam scores was weak and non-significant (r = -0.0996), indicating that screen time alone does not linearly dictate academic failure. However, subjective distraction perceptions correlated intensely with perceived academic deterioration (r = +0.7387). Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that daily self-study hours represented the strongest positive predictor of exam scores (B = +1.7070, p = 0.247), whereas social media screen time functioned as a negative predictor (B = -0.2322, p = 0.781); the full empirical model accounted for 7.2% of the variance in exam outcomes (R² = 0.072). Crucially, given the modest sample size (N = 62), these findings represent exploratory evidence and highlight the imperative for larger, multi-institutional cohort studies using objective device telemetry. Practical recommendations emphasize digital self-regulation and institutional focus interventions.