Social Media Use and Academic Performance Among University Students: A Systematic Literature Review and Evidence Gap Analysis for Uganda

This systematic literature review, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, examined 30 studies, including 24 peer-reviewed articles and six dissertations from Makerere University, sourced from Consensus, CORE, PubMed, and an institutional repository. The findings indicated that university students who engaged heavily in addictive, entertainment-focused social media usage tended to have lower academic performance. Conversely, using social media for academic purposes and maintaining psychological well-being were linked to improved outcomes. However, the evidence is predominantly cross-sectional and largely depends on self-reported data. Notably, there is a lack of peer-reviewed research on this relationship within Ugandan universities, highlighting the need for longitudinal studies with objective measurements conducted in Uganda.