Background: With the popularization of digital media, nursing students are facing high myopia prevalence and heavy academic pressure. Social media has become an indispensable tool for learning and communication, but its relationship to green learning remains unclear. Green learning emphasizes low-carbon, healthy, sustainable and human-centered learning behavior, which is of great significance for protecting eyesight and improving learning quality. This study aims to explore the correlation between social media use and green learning among nursing students with myopia, and to analyze the mediating role of learning self-efficacy. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 582 nursing students with myopia from 3 colleges in Zhejiang Province. We measured the intensity and purpose of social media use, green learning behavior, and learning self-efficacy by standardized scales. Data analysis used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and Bootstrap mediation effect analysis. Results: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 582 nursing students with myopia from 3 colleges in Zhejiang Province. The total score of social media use among myopic nursing students was (3.38 ± 0.71), and green learning was (3.57 ± 0.74). Social media use was positively correlated with green learning (r = 0.43, P < 0.001) and learning self-efficacy (r = 0.39, P < 0.001). Learning self-efficacy was positively correlated with green learning (r = 0.65, P < 0.001). Self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between social media use and green learning, with a mediating effect of 0.19, accounting for 32.8% of the total effect. Conclusion: This crosssectional study of 582 myopic nursing students in Zhejiang Province shows that appropriate social media use significantly positively predicts green learning and enhances learning self-efficacy. Learning self-efficacy plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between social media use and green learning, accounting for 32.8% of the total effect.
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