The use of social media in education, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms, continues to generate discussion among educators and researchers. Although many institutions have integrated social media into teaching for communication, collaboration, and access to learning materials, its actual influence on students’ academic performance remains uncertain. Most previous studies have examined social media in education more broadly, with limited attention to how EFL learners specifically use these platforms to support their language learning. To address this research gap, this study investigates social media as a developing educational tool among EFL students, focusing on their perceptions, preferred platforms, patterns of use, time management, and account ownership, in order to understand its role in their academic development. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, using an online questionnaire to gather quantitative data and identify key trends, alongside semi-structured interviews to provide deeper insights into students’ experiences. The findings reveal that although students recognize the educational value of social media, they mainly use it for entertainment. They rely on different platforms for different purposes, with Google, YouTube, and WhatsApp emerging as the most frequently used for academic activities. Additionally, the results indicate that distance learning is still developing and faces several challenges, leading students to favor a blended learning model that combines traditional classroom instruction with online resources for a more balanced learning experience.