Abstract

In the past two decades, researchers and educators have always tried to explore the effects of social media on academic engagement and performance in higher education settings. The present study examines the effect of the adoption of Telegram on academic engagement and performance of graduate students in two Iranian universities. The structural equation model was used to examine the hypothesis. The sample consisted of 409 respondents who were students at universities in southern and northwestern Iran. The results showed that the adoption of Telegram among students is a positive and significant predictor of its educational use. There was a positive and significant relationship between educational use of Telegram and student engagement. Educational use of Telegram affected academic performance in a mediating role of student engagement. Student engagement in the process of education and learning has been significantly related to their academic performance. Implications of the study and the findings were also discussed.