TikTok as a Micro-Learning Tool for Academic Adaptation among First-Year Students

Abstract

This study aims to explore first-year students’ experiences of using TikTok to support academic adaptation and to understand the digital literacy challenges that arise from its use. This study employed a qualitative research design with an interpretive phenomenological approach to understand students’ experiences and meanings associated with using TikTok for academic activities. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with five first-year students and analyzed interpretively to identify emerging patterns of experience and meaning. The findings show that TikTok is utilized as a Micro-Learning resource that helps students obtain brief explanations of academic technical skills, review course materials, and access alternative explanations beyond the classroom. TikTok is also perceived as a cognitive bridge in Arabic language learning, particularly for students with limited prior knowledge. However, students’ experiences indicate that TikTok use is ambivalent. The platform provides rapid and practical access to academic information but also exposes students to the risks of unverified information and algorithmic distractions that may divert them from their academic purposes and contribute to assignment delays. To address these challenges, students verify information by comparing TikTok content with journals, books, and official sources, while also practicing self-regulation to control their use of the platform. These findings indicate that the use of TikTok for academic adaptation depends not only on content accessibility but also on students’ ability to evaluate information and regulate their use of digital media. Thus, TikTok is more appropriately positioned as a supplementary Micro-Learning medium that should be used critically and purposefully within the digital learning ecosystem of higher education.