AI and Social Media Use, Cheating in Exams, and their Relation with ADHD Symptoms in University Students

Abstract

To know how cheating behavior is correlated with ADHD symptoms, AI and social media use, enrollment motivation, and cognitive failures. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to measure AI and social media use, cheating in exams, ADHD symptoms, and the enrollment type of university students by implementing self-report questionnaires to measure natural occurring of these variables. A convenient and snowball sampling of 110 university students aged from 19 to 28 years (M = 22.30, SD = 1.73) were given the self-report questionnaires. Consequently, findings revealed that statistically, there was no significant difference in academic dishonesty among students enrolled by personal choice and those enrolled due to chance (external pressure). Neither social media addiction, daily social media use, nor daily AI tool usage showed a significant relationship with academic cheating. Similarly, the relationship among academic dishonesty and cognitive failures was positive but not statistically significant. However, a slight positive correlation was found between social media addiction and ADHD symptoms (ρ = .425, p < .001), showing that students with higher levels of problematic social media use tended to report greater ADHD symptom severity. These findings provide valuable empirical evidence for psychologists, educators and policymakers aiming to foster academic honesty and integrity in educational institutions and highlight the need for universities to promote responsible and ethical technology use, strengthen academic integrity policies, and provide mental health interventions that address problematic digital behavior and attentional difficulties among students.