This study examined academic motivation and social media engagement of secondary school students in Katsina local government. The study was guided by three objectives which includes examining the patterns of social media engagement among secondary schools Students, their level of academic motivation and the relationship between social media engagement and academic motivation of students in Katsina LGA, Katsina State. The study adopts Research Advisors Table (2006) to determine the sample size of 365 from the target population of all SS III students at 9,925. The data for the study was gathered using developed questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS statistical techniques such as standard deviation, mean (x), and criteria (x). Overall findings from the study indicates that students demonstrated a high level of awareness of major social media platforms, especially YouTube (x? = 2.97), TikTok (x? = 2.88), Telegram (x? = 2.72), and Instagram (x? = 2.67). The overall weighted mean of 2.62 indicates that students are generally aware of most platforms, although platforms like LinkedIn and Nairaland had low awareness levels, reflecting their limited relevance to the student demographic. Furthermore, usage patterns show that WhatsApp and TikTok are the most frequently used platforms on a daily basis, while others like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are used moderately. Platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, Nairaland, and LinkedIn recorded low to negligible usage. Lastly, students from the findings showed a positive inclination toward academic motivation through social media. The intrinsic motivation dimension (weighted mean = 2.72) highlighted students’ enjoyment of learning, curiosity, and pride in academic accomplishment. Similarly, the extrinsic motivation dimension (weighted mean = 2.62) revealed that goals like making parents proud, earning future job prospects, and gaining recognition drive academic effort. The study recommends educating stakeholders to implement digital literacy programs among others.