Sharing Student Projects

Throughout the last decade, social media has become an everyday accessible platform, especially for higher education students. Popular platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are frequently accessed for both social interaction, information source and entertainment, but their impact on academic outcomes remains a debated subject. Whilst some evidence suggests that social media can provide fast-paced valuable learning and collaboration opportunities, critics argue that excessive or passive social media use can undermine academic focus by encouraging distraction or avoidance behaviours. This dissertation set out to explore the relationship between social media use and academic motivation in university students, with a particular focus on how different personality traits may moderate these effects. Specifically, the traits of conscientiousness and neuroticism, taken from the Five-Factor Model of personality, were examined due to their strong associations with self-regulation, stress reactivity and goal-directed behaviour. The target population and participant group for this study consisted of undergraduate or postgraduate students aged 18-24 at the University of Manchester. A total of Ninety-Four people completed the online survey, however, after data cleaning and removal of incomplete studies, a final dataset was compromised of Fifty-four students. A cross sectional, quantitative design was used, with participants completing an online questionnaire hosted on Qualtrics, an online survey host. The measures included the Big Five Inventory–2 Short Form (conscientiousness and neuroticism subscales), an adapted version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale and the Academic Motivation Scale. Ethical approval was obtained prior to research being undertaken, in line with the British Psychological Society’s Code of Human Research Ethics and participants provided implied consent by voluntarily submitting the survey, no reward was given for survey completion. Following this, data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statics, Descriptive statistics were first calculated, followed by Pearson’s correlations to examine associations between the main variables. Multiple regression and moderation analyses (through Hayes’ PROCESS macro) were then conducted to test predictive relationships and explore wether personality traits moderated the effect of social media use on academic motivation. The findings offered partial support for the hypotheses proposed at the beginning of the study. Opposing expectations, social media use itself was not found to be a significant predictor of academic motivation. However, personality traits displayed as strong decisive factors. Conscientiousness was positively associated with academic motivation, indicating that higher organised and disciplined individuals tend to sustain higher levels of motivation, regardless of their social media use. Contrasting this, neuroticism was negatively associated with academic motivation, reflecting the tendency for emotionally unstable individuals to experience greater stress and distraction in academic contexts. Importantly, neuroticism was found to influence the relationship between social media use and academic motivation. Students high in neuroticism who also reported higher social media use showed the lowest levels of academic motivation, highlighting the combined vulnerability posed by these factors. In contrast, conscientiousness did not significantly moderate the relationship, suggesting while students high in these traits may remain more motivated in general, this trait did not buffer against the influence of social media. Overall, the study highlights that personality differences, particularly neuroticism, play a more substantial role in shaping students’ academic motivation than the frequency of social media use alone. This suggests that interventions focusing solely on reducing screen time may overlook the psychological factors that drive academic engagement. Instead, a more nuanced understanding of individual dispositions is needed. The findings contribute to the growing body of literature on digital behaviour and student motivation, providing new insights into how social media interacts with personality traits to shape academic outcomes in higher education.

The findings of this study carry useful implications for students, educators and higher education institutions. Since social media use itself did not emerge as a direct predictor of academic motivation, blanket strategies aimed at limiting online activity may not be sufficient to enhance students’ academic drive. Instead, the results emphasise the decisive role of personality differences, particularly conscientiousness and neuroticism, in shaping how students engage with social media and sustain motivation. For students, the study highlights the importance of self-awareness in recognising how personal traits influence digital behaviours. Those high in neuroticism may be particularly vulnerable to maladaptive online engagement, such as passive scrolling or avoidance during times of stress, which in turn undermines their academic motivation. Alternatively, students high in conscientiousness may sustain motivation regardless of their online engagement. Awareness of these differences could empower students to adopt healthier coping strategies, such as mindfulness, stress management, or organised study practices, rather than relying on social media as an avoidance mechanism. For educators and universities, the findings point towards the value of tailoring student support services to account for personality-based vulnerabilities. Interventions designed to strengthen emotional regulation and resilience may be particularly beneficial for neurotic students, who face greater risks of academic disengagement in digital environments. Likewise, embedding study skills programmes that foster self-regulation and persistence may enhance motivation across the broader student population. Universities could also incorporate digital literacy training, enabling students to distinguish between active, purposeful online engagement and passive, potentially harmful behaviours. At a broader level, the results contribute to ongoing discussions about digital wellbeing in higher education. Policymakers and institutional leaders must recognise that personality interacts with technology in complex ways, meaning that ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches are unlikely to be effective. Instead, interventions that acknowledge individual differences are more likely to foster equitable support for diverse student populations. In summary, this research underscores the need for individuals to move beyond simplistic narratives of social media as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for students. By recognising the role of personality traits such as neuroticism and conscientiousness, institutions can design more effective interventions that support motivation, resilience and digital wellbeing in higher education.