New Media and Mass Communication www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3267 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3275 (Online) Vol.95, 2021 15 The Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance of Students at Universities in Amhara Regional State Geta Walelign 1 Aytenew Adamu 2 Misalie Solomon 1 1. Department of Psychology, Debre Tabor University 2. Department of Sociology, Debre Tabor University Abstract: Even if social media usage has become a common trend among university students in Ethiopia, only scant information is available about the pattern of usage and its relationship with the academic performance in this segment of the population. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess impact of social media on academic performance of students at Universities in Amhara Regional State. For the purpose of the present investigation a descriptive cross-sectional design with quantitative data collection method was used. Multistage sampling technique was also used to select the study participants by stratified into academic unit and year of study. Data were collected by structured questionnaire. Descriptive and Inferential statistics like percentage, mean, t test, and Analysis of variance (Anova) were calculated. The study discovered that the use of social media had affected academic performance of students negatively. The findings show that there is a correlation between the students’ academic performance and their usage of social networks. Keywords: social media, academic performance, university student DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/95-02 Publication date: January 31 st 2021 Introduction Man is a social animal. He needs to interact and live-in society. Personality of human being is directly or indirectly reflected from his/her society. For becoming an active member of this larger unit, one needs to have efficient communication skills from all points and edges. Communication has developed since ages as civilization and development goes hand in hand. In 21st century the communication is faster, better and efficient the credit goes largely to technology (Mesfin et al., 2017). Internet has profoundly changed the world of communication hence the introduction of social networking sites (SNSs). The evolution of the internet has led to its usage as the best medium of communication whereby two-third (2/3) of the internet world ‘s population visit social networking sites (SNSs) thus serving as communication and connection tools. These networking sites are referred to as social media (Kolan & Dzandza, 2018). Social media exploded as a category of online discourse which enables people to create contents, share them, bookmark them and network at a prodigious rate. This has breached the gab that existed in communication where people had to rely solely on traditional methods such as letters and phone calls as a mode of getting in touch with friends and relatives. Students are a specific group of high percentage social media users. Recently, the use social media amongst students is so prevalent because of the rise of the portable devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops that are easy to access using Wi-Fi connectivity. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Flickr, are being used in learning for the purpose of convenient communication with other students and potentially with others outside the class such as students of the same topic and subject experts (Raymond & Afua, 2016). As we know, nothing interesting is ever completely one-sided, so it is for social media as it comes with both positive and negative effects. The advent of social media has impacted significantly on how students learn and the mode instructors teach. In today higher education settings, social media has influence instructors, students, and others to cooperate with each other on the tasks of knowledge construction in learning and teaching environments. There is also a correlation between social media usage and academic performance of students in universities. Social networking site has helped many students to acquire knowledge from one another over internet without necessarily have to meet physically. On the other hand, social networking sites have caused many problems. For instance, many students have lost their interest in their studies as they spend most of the time on these sites (Kolan & Dzandza, 2018). According to the US Digital Year report, individuals’ overall time spent online was among four different online contents including portals, social networking, web-based email’s market, and entertainment category (TV and music content, video sites and entertainment news); the second largest share of time spent was on SNS with 14.4% of time spent. University students made up the major proportion of the online networking community. In addition, given the popularity of SNSs, many professors are beginning to use SNSs for enhancing communication with and among students in their classes, class discussions, and teamwork on projects to improve learning outcomes. However, many recent researches pointed out that students’ addiction on SNSs can negatively affect student academic performance (Maqableh, 2015).