Abstract

The wide range of social media use among adolescents has heightened concerns about the potential impact of social media on adolescents' psychological well-being and academic achievements of adolescents. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the usage of social media and academic performance of high school students in Tangshan, Hebei Province, China, and investigate the mediating effects of self-esteem and fear of missing out (FOMO). Drawing upon Social Comparison Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the study proposes that psychological mechanisms may explain the influence of social media engagement on academic outcomes of students. A quantitative cross-sectional correlational design was used. Data were obtained from 210 senior high school students of three different grade levels through validated self-report measures of social media use, self-esteem, and FOMO. Students' official examination scores obtained from school records were used as objective indicators of academic performance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrap mediation analysis were performed with AMOS software to analyze the direct and indirect links among the variables. The results showed that there was a negative correlation between social media usage and academic performance (r = - 0.815, p < .01) and self-esteem (r = - 0.539, p < .01), and a strong positive relationship between social media usage and FOMO (r = 0.858, p < .01). Self-esteem was positively related to academic performance (r = 0.568, p < .01) but FOMO was negatively related to academic performance (r = -0.776, p < .01). Structural equation modeling suggested significant partial parallel mediated effects. Social media usage had an indirect effect on academic performance through self-esteem (indirect effect = -0.100, p = .009) and FOMO (indirect effect = -0.255, p < .001) such that the FOMO pathway provided a better mediating effect. The combined indirect effects accounted for 43.56% of the total effect, and an important direct negative impact of social media usage on academic performance was also present. These findings suggest that the effect of social media on academic performance is not exclusively due to time displacement and distraction, but also involves psychological mechanisms relating to adolescents’ self-evaluations and social anxieties. Educational interventions should therefore aim at both behavioral regulation in social media use and the psychological well-being of students to support both healthier digital engagement and enhanced academic outcomes.