Abstract
Introduction: Procrastination is a widespread global phenomenon among university students that interferes with academic performance and daily activities. Procrastination may be exacerbated by technologies such as social networks. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the use of virtual social networks and the academic procrastination of medical students.
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 220 medical students were studied in an easy and accessible way. Data was collected using a 3-part online questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire was related to demographic characteristics, the second part was the academic procrastination questionnaire and the third part was the questionnaire about the use of virtual networks whose validity and reliability were confirmed in previous studies. Descriptive and analytical statistics and SPSS software were used to analyze the collected data.
Results: All students used social networks. The most and least used social networks were Telegram and Facebook, respectively. The highest and lowest average duration of using social networks were Instagram (58.31 ± 42.19 minutes per day) and Twitter (7.59 ± 9.73 minutes per day), respectively. Basic science students used WhatsApp and Instagram social networks significantly less than students of other courses (P=0.004 and P<0.001). The average score of the research community from the academic procrastination questionnaire was 69.65 ± 22.41. The average score obtained from the virtual space usage questionnaire was 56.30 ± 21.48. There was a significant moderate positive correlation between the two variables of academic procrastination and the use of virtual space (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Virtual social networks were related to students' academic procrastination, and procrastinating students spent more time using mobile phones, especially Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram social networks.
)