Social Media Multitasking and Cognitive Load: How Digital Habits Affect Students’ Learning Focus

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of social media multitasking on students’ learning focus through the framework of Cognitive Load Theory. A quantitative explanatory survey method was employed to analyze how digital habits shape students’ cognitive attention, particularly when they engage in simultaneous use of multiple social media platforms during study activities. The population consisted of undergraduate students from Universitas Indraprasta PGRI (Unindra), and a purposive sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents who actively participated in both online and offline classes. Data were collected using Likert-scale questionnaires measuring the intensity of social media multitasking and levels of learning concentration. Descriptive findings indicate that students exhibit relatively high levels of digital multitasking (M = 3.85), while their learning focus tends to be low (M = 2.71). A simple linear regression analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between social media multitasking and learning concentration (β = –0.432, p < 0.05). These results suggest that frequent switching between academic tasks and social media activities increases extraneous cognitive load, thereby diminishing attention and reducing the efficiency of information processing. The study underscores the importance of strengthening digital literacy and self-regulation strategies to help students manage social media use and sustain optimal focus during learning activities