Background: Social media has become entrenched within adolescents’ culture and is an integral part of their lives. Concerns have been raised regarding social media use and the impact on adolescents’ development, including school-related factors. The study explored why social media is important to adolescents and how it impacts factors associated with successful learning such as friendships, study, sleep and physical activity.
Methods: Four focus groups (n = 40) and 10, one-on-one interviews were conducted with Year 9 students from two independent and two government schools in Australia. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: A number of themes emerged as to why social media is important to adolescents, including; fostering friendships, happiness, information-seeking and boredom reduction. Social media was perceived as a means to connect with school peers, a distraction from homework/study, an interference with sleep, yet it had little impact on physical activity levels.Â
Conclusions: Results highlight that social media can benefit adolescents by providing the means to source information, develop and maintain friendships, experience happiness and be entertained. However, in order to adopt social media practices that promote successful learning, adolescents should be mindful of the potential social media has to distract from study or to impair sleep.