Abstract
BACKGROUND: The use of social media in the modern world is necessary to stay equipped with the fast-paced changes of the 21st century. The integration of social media platforms into the life of medical students and their effect on their academic performance has not been studied enough. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the duration of time spent on social media, the type of content medical students is exposed to, the online engagement in study groups, and the influence of the interaction between students and their professors via social media on students' academic performance. METHODS: A cross-sectional study that used structured self-administered online questionnaire to assess the use of social media by a random sample of 429 medical students in Jordan. The data was analyzed using descriptive and multivariate analysis by SPSS 28. RESULTS: Over 61.3% of participants used social media for 3 h or more per day. Instagram (48.7%) followed by Facebook (19.3%) and YouTube (11.9%) were the most utilized platforms. Entertainment content was the most pursued on social media (83.0%) followed by educational purposes (72.5%), sports (29.1%), and politics-related activities (17.9%). Approximately 64.6% of the students indicated that using social media is distracting, decreases their ability to focus (65.3%) and delays their daily tasks (61.8%). GPA was significantly associated with more time spent on social media (OR: 0.476; 95%CI: 0.278-0.813; p = 0.022). The negative impact of social networking on academic performance was significantly associated with GPA (OR: 2.292; 95%CI: 1.244-4.224; p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence about the pattern and effect of using social media on the academic performance of medical students in Jordan. It delivered context-sensitive data for decision-making to enhance the positive use of social media by medical students. It also highlighted the importance of using appropriate online educational platforms to engage the medical students in relevant learning activities.