Connection and communication via social networking applications are now one of the most important features in college students' lives. Text and graphical messaging and generating, sharing, and viewing visual messages may affect students' academic life, especially their academic performance. In this regard, reports about the effect of social networking on academic performance have been inconsistent and also explanations for the possible causes of the negative effects of social networks have been incomplete. The current study focuses on this gap and investigates the role of social networking on the academic performance of students regarding the mediating role of study approaches by using descriptive-correlational research method and analyzing the data of 380 college students through the regression and mediation analysis. Findings revealed that social networking negatively affects academic performance. Moreover, we found that strategic study approach could not mediate the negative effect of social networking on academic performance. These findings were discussed and recommendations were presented for further research.