To investigate how bullying victimization affects academic performance and the mediating effects of social anxiety and short video addiction among adolescents, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 2055 secondary school students in China. A Structural Equation Model was employed to analyze the data. The results showed that bullying victimization, social anxiety, short video addiction, and academic performance correlated significantly with each other. Bullying victimization directly influenced academic performance, and indirectly affected academic performance through the independent mediator of short video addiction, and the chain mediation of social anxiety and short video addiction. This study provides a novel perspective on understanding the underlying mechanisms through which bullying victimization impacts academic performance, emphasizing the importance of addressing the adverse effects of bullying among adolescents.