ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Learning Innovations
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1532416
Navigating the Digital Shift: A Cross-Sectional Study on Social Media Usage, Academic Performance, and Family Dynamics Among University Students in Palestine During COVID-19 Quarantine
Provisionally accepted
Salahaldeen Deeb*
Mohammad Harbi Alfrookh¹
Anas Khaled Zurayqi¹Yasmina Farouq Dweik¹Mohammed Rami Dabash¹- Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine
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This study explores the profound impact of COVID-19 quarantine on social media usage among university students in the West Bank, revealing a dramatic surge in engagement driven by the shift to remote learning and the need for digital socialization. With motivations for entertainment (52%) and social communication (28%) dominating, students reported increased social media use, which coincided with heightened study hours, reflecting its dual role as both a tool for academic adaptation and a potential distraction. Quarantine conditions also fostered stronger family relationships, with students spending more time with their families, yet satisfaction with academic performance and daily achievements remained low, highlighting the challenges of balancing increased digital engagement with productivity. This research underscores the complex interplay between social media, academic performance, and social dynamics during an unprecedented period of global disruption, offering valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and mental health professionals aiming to optimize social media's role in academic and personal development.
Keywords: social media use, university students, academic performance, Family dynamics, COVID-19
Received: 21 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Deeb, Alfrookh¹, Zurayqi¹, Dweik¹ and Dabash¹. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Salahaldeen Deeb, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine
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