Active on Social Media, Passive in Organizations? Exploring the Role of Communication in Student Engagement

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relationship between social media activity, communication skills, and student engagement in organizational activities. Many students are active on social media but show low participation in formal campus organizations, raising questions about the role of communication in bridging online and offline engagement. Using a quantitative research approach, data were collected from 100 university students through a Likert-scale questionnaire measuring three variables: social media usage (X1), communication ability (X2), and organizational engagement (Y). The data were analyzed using multiple regression with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results reveal that communication ability has a significant positive effect on student engagement, while social media activity alone does not significantly influence organizational participation. However, when tested simultaneously, both variables jointly have a significant impact, suggesting that social media can serve as a supportive medium for engagement when combined with effective communication skills. The coefficient of determination (R²) shows that 28.6% of student engagement variation can be explained by these two variables, while the rest is influenced by other factors not examined in this study. These findings indicate that communication plays a mediating role in transforming online social interactions into real-world participation, emphasizing the need for universities to enhance students’ interpersonal and communicative competence to strengthen their involvement in campus organizations.