The relationship between social media based teaching and academic performance during COVID-19

Purpose The closure of educational institutions in the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the global teaching and learning landscape. Face-to-face classroom activity has been shifted to online classroom activity. This study aims to investigate the effect of social media-based education on students’ academic performance during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes the perceptions of 302 university-going students of Bangladesh using structural equation modeling. Findings Results show that Facebook features, perceived usefulness and personal tutorial have a positive and significant relationship with the use of social media (USM). Furthermore, the USM has a positive and significant relationship with the academic performance of the university-going students of Bangladesh during the pandemic. Research limitations/implications This research has considered the social media usage of university students during the pandemic for academic purposes. This study has not considered income group, technical literacy and device availability of the students. Therefore, the findings may not be generalized to all classes of society. Practical implications This study validates that the USM can ensure good academic performance by engaging students through collaboration and attention. Originality/value Diffusion of knowledge and interactive face-to-face learning procedures have faced a massive loss because of this COVID-19 pandemic. Easiness in the mode of teaching technique can be a precondition for its acceptance among the students. As the impact of social media on academic performance in this pandemic context has remained unexplained, this study is designed to focus on this emerging issue.