Transformative moderation: Self-control redefines the relationship between social media usage perception and academic...

Social media is increasingly integrated into adolescents' daily lives, yet its relationship with academic burnout remains poorly understood, particularly among high-achieving students. Existing research has largely overlooked perceptual dimensions of social media engagement and complex mediating and moderating mechanisms.

This study examined the relationships between social media usage perception, learning engagement, social support, self-control, and academic burnout among high-achieving adolescents, integrating the technology acceptance model, conservation of resources theory, and self-regulation perspectives.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1000 first-year high school students (52.3% male; M age = 15.2 years) from academically selective institutions. Structural equation modelling with latent variable interactions was employed to test direct effects, serial mediation, and moderated mediation hypotheses.

Social media usage perception significantly predicted academic burnout, with social support serving as a significant mediator. The hypothesized serial mediation through learning engagement was not supported. A counterintuitive positive relationship emerged between learning engagement and burnout. Self-control transformed the relationship between social media usage perception and learning engagement from significantly negative at low regulatory levels to significantly positive at high levels.

Findings suggest that cognitive appraisals of social media, rather than usage frequency alone, drive academic burnout. The engagement-burnout paradox highlights risks of excessive academic investment among high-achieving adolescents. Self-control emerged as a transformative moderator, enabling students with high regulatory capacity to leverage positive social media perceptions for academic benefit.

Outcomes of social media engagement depend on psychological resources and individual regulatory capacities rather than technological exposure alone. Interventions targeting media literacy, social support, and self-regulatory skills may most effectively mitigate academic burnout in high-achieving adolescent populations.