Chapter I

Exploring the Impact of Internet Addiction on Academic

Performance

I. Background of the Study:

This study provides an account of the phenomenon of internet addiction

from the perspective of academic achievement. In other words, this study

aimed to explore the relation between academic performance of

Tambongon Integrated School students in different subject areas. The

technological advent of the Internet has invaded every aspect of student

life on all Junior and Senior High School throughout the nation and

throughout the world. While the use of the Internet in the academic arena

has empowered students to sharpen and refine their skills and

communication capabilities in their pursuit of successful strategies of

success, it has also opened a Pandora’s Door of danger and addiction.

Simply stated, it is construed as an Internet Addiction (IA) characterized

by an excessive use of student time and resources on online activities.

This study uses a survey method of capturing data from a wide variety of

college students to determine the various guises of Internet addiction, and

the potential consequences of unfettered access. We then focus on the

potential consequences arising from the various stages of addiction, and

culminate in determining the effect, if any, that this recurrent addiction has
 on the academic success of the individual student, with the GPA (Grade

Point Average) as the final measure of success or failure.

II. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework:

The goal of this research is to examine the degree to which the students

are addicted to Internet usage and the impact of Internet addiction (IA) on

their academic success. While most young people today are consistently

exploring all phases of Internet connections, there is a plethora of debate

as to what constitutes leisurely use of the Internet and where the border

lies between such use and a non-transient addiction. Therefore, our first

goal is to determine a concise measurement for IA that will distinguish

levels and usage patterns that will stipulate when one should be

considered addicted and when not. As a result, we developed a

comprehensive set of questions to measure this degree of IA. While there

is an abundance of studies about IA, most of them stem from a general

definition of addiction. We consider it to be a special addiction type and

would like to measure its impact on academic success. In most studies

that we examined, the authors reported a negative impact of addictions on

academic success. Misapplied Internet usage resulting in academic

performance decrements in subsequent grade tabulations were forecast

and followed in a major study in the early years of student Internet pursuit.

Studies also indicated that addictions take copious amounts of time, thus

suggesting that subjects are not able to dedicate enough effort to

academic studies, personal relationships, or any other significant parts of

their lives. In this study, we specifically examine if this is true in the sphere

of Internet Addiction. The second goal of the study is to determine how IA

impacts academic success. Finally, throughout the study we differentiated

between the time spent on the Internet for academic purposes and leisure.

For that purpose, the results were measured for both academic and non-

academic use of the Internet. Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is a serious

problem that modern society is facing at an increasing rate since the turn

of the century. The term addiction has a long history and is defined as

“compulsive, uncontrollable dependence on a substance, habit, or practice

to such a degree that cessation causes severe emotional, mental, or

physiological reactions”. Internet addiction also conveys the use of the

Internet to the extent that it impacts the quality of work, study, and social

life. However, the definitions vary in research studies and there is no

unified understanding of the term or a unified method of screening IAD. It

became recognized in psychology as an addiction only in the mid-90s.

With the dramatic increase in Internet use at the turn of the century, the

number of people addicted to these activities increased from nearly none

two decades ago to 61% of the population in the most recent years. A

variety of Internet activities can lead to addiction: online gaming, gambling,

social sites, pornographic exploitation, media, etc. Internet addiction can

cause both mental issues, such as lack of social engagement and

decreased productivity, and physical health issues, such as back/neck

 muscular problems, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and problems with quality

of sleep. Some studies even suggest that Internet Addiction can be

physically damaging to the brains of adolescents and young adults. The

students represent a class of individuals in a dangerous pursuit, that is, a

group that is significantly impacted by Internet addiction syndrome, and

the situation becomes more and more perilous with the development of

the social media and the mobile technology that enhances it. In this study

we identified how many college students are poised on different stages of

Internet addiction and to what degree Internet addiction impacts their

academic success.

III. Statement of the Hypothesis:

Given that no research has been done in Tambongon Integrated School to

investigate the prevalence of IA among Tambongon Integrated School

students and its effects on scholastic performance, this study primarily

aims to find out the prevalence of IA among Tambongon Integrated

School students and its possible effects on scholastic performance. This

research also attempts, as a secondary objective, to find out the possible

associations between IA and gender, Internet access duration, homework

duration, home Internet access, father’s educational level, mother’s

educational level, parental control, perceptions of the Internet, and other

variables. Besides attempting to find out the IA prevalence rates, the

following hypotheses are going to be tested:

Q1: What is IA prevalence among Tambongon Integrated School

students?

H1: There is statistically significant differences between IA group means in

terms of school grades.

H2: There is a negative relationship between IA and hours spent on

homework.

H3: There is a statistically significant difference between males and

females in terms of IA scores.

H4: There is an association between father’s educational level and IA

score.

H5: There is an association between mother’s educational level and IA

score.

H6: There is an association between time spent online and IA score.

H7: There is a positive association between home Internet access and IA

score.

H8: There is an association between parental control and IA score.

H9: There is an association between negative perception of the Internet

and IA score.
 H10: There is an association between receiving Internet training and IA

score.

H11: Students who believe the Internet can affect or delay conducting

their homework have lower IA.

IV. Significance of the Study:

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Internet

addiction and academic performance among Tambongon Integrated

School students at the graduate and undergraduate level. Because the

Internet has become the most widely accepted channel for information

exchange and networking, a danger exists that it could lead to

pathological usage or Internet addiction. In the rapidly expanding universe

of social media, many themes of Internet addiction are played out in the

everyday life experience of the typical high school student, with the

prevailing emphasis on the cause, effects, restraints and consequences of

their actions. Due to the recent surge of social media into our lives, the

responses in the research area are still in their infancy, and are yet to be

completely defined. This research study will attempt to expand and

delineate the relevant issues pertaining to student encounters of a new

kind, one that merges their lifestyle into a nascent technological

breakthrough. Of critical importance is the theory that high students tend

to develop a dependence on the Internet that exceeds other segments of

society. We will use the approach that we are aware of the problems, have
examined the implications on them and want to test their effect on the final

academic performance standard. Marshall McLuhan contended that a

medium or technology forces society and the individual to adapt to it,

rather than the individual adapting the technology to the current world.

Each technological development fundamentally changes the way the

world works. Certainly, the development of the Internet and World Wide

Web paved the way for the social media explosion in communications and

interpersonal behavior. Use of the Internet on college and university

campuses parallels the strong advances of the society at large. While the

primary focus of the Internet was initially faculty research, it has migrated

to the student community, reached the stage of overwhelming acceptance,

and is now poised to become a psychological addiction. Many prominent

research findings have shown that the academic problems caused by

Internet addiction include missing classes, being late for classes,

increased risk of being placed on academic probation, and a general

decline in study habits. Research on age factors found that high students

between the ages of 10 to 19 were the most susceptible to addiction. A

numbers of investigators have suggested that addiction to the Internet

among high students is dramatically comparable to addiction to drugs,

alcohol, violence, obesity, lack of sleep, and nutrition deficiencies.

Obviously, there is healthy Internet usage, as well as unhealthy usage.

But addiction, also known as online addiction or Internet Addiction

Disorder (IAD), comes in many guises, all exhibiting serious

consequences. For the purposes of this study, however, we will focus on

the relationship between Internet addiction and academic performance,

tilting toward the abstract effects and consequences from matriculation to

earned GPA (Grade Point Average) attenuation. It is important to note

clearly that we are not comparing the use of the computer, per se, to

academic achievement, but rather the Internet utilization capabilities of the

computer to academic achievement. It is also important to note a clear

distinction of direction in that we are examining the total use by students of

the Internet, and not just a specific component of social media (such as

Facebook) when positioning our research process. Previous research

studies on the impact of obsessive technology usage on academic

achievement are not cleanly correlated with each other. Many studies

have produced differing results, perhaps because there is no clear point at

which one becomes addicted to the Internet, and how and when that point

might be determined. Positive and negative effects of technology on

academic achievement certainly have been documented. Lei and Zhao

(2005) researched the specifics of access, acknowledging that quantity is

not as important as quality when it comes to technology use and student

achievement. Specifically, when the quality of technology use, particularly

when obsessive, is not closely monitored and ensured, such computer use

may do more harm than good to student achievement in academic

spheres. A number of researchers have found that there is a strong

correlation between Internet use and academic performance. Especially

 noted, high school students have reported that not being able to control

their Internet usage has impacted their academic work negatively. Kolek

and Saunders (2008) found no correlation between Facebook usage and

GPA in a sample of students from a public Northeast research university.

Similarly, an exploratory survey study reported a negative relationship

between heavy Internet usage and academic achievement as measured

by self-reported GPA and hours spent studying each week. On the

contrary, a more recent study by Kirschner and Karpinski (2010)

concludes that there is a significant negative relationship between heavy

Internet use and academic performance. Facebook users reported lower

mean GPA’s and spending fewer hours per week studying on average

than Facebook non-users. It should be taken into consideration, the

authors report, that the fact that the heavy Internet usage is often a part of

the normal study routine of many students, which could be an indication

for the results of the study. In other words, when concurrent processes are

intertwined with each other, the effect may be amplified or attenuated.

V. Scope and Limitations of the Study:

This study contributes in several ways to the research literature of Internet

addiction. First, there is little research available which can establish a

relationship between academic success and level of Internet addiction in

students. This study adds to the body of knowledge by exploring this

important relationship. Second, there are little empirical evidences to

 establish relationship between time spent of the Internet for academic and

non-academic reasons and its impact of academic success. Several

studies can stem from this work exploring other dimensions of Internet

addiction of level of satisfaction in relationships formed online. Third, this

research provides an insight into today’s undergraduate students and their

affinity towards usage of the Internet for academic and non-academic

purposes. School administrators can draw lessons from this study

reevaluating the strategies necessary to engage students more fully in

academic pursuits. Employers can draw lessons from this study in terms

of usage of the Internet in the work place and correlated productivity

incursions. There are certain limitations to this study. One important

drawback is that we have examined just one community of students in this

study. The unique representation of this particular community in this study

might not make the results generalizable across other communities. Also,

GPA has been considered as the sole indicator of level of academic

success for students. These numbers are reported by students and do not

represent the actual GPA of the students. Finally, respondents may have

misreported behavioral or demographic information, as we used self-

reported rather than direct measures of Facebook use and other variables.

VI. Definition of Terms:

a. Internet Addiction - Internet addiction is characterized by excessive

or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviors regarding

computer use and internet access.

b. Students - A person who is studying at school or university.

c. Internet Addiction Disorder – also known as problematic internet use

or pathological internet use, is generally defined as problematic,

compulsive use of the internet, that results in significant impairment in

an individual's function in various life domains over a prolonged period

of time.

d. Survey-based Internet – refer to surveys that sample respondents via

the Internet, gather data from respondents via the Internet, or both.

Using the Internet to conduct survey research provides a great many

opportunities and a great many challenges to researchers.

e. Academic Success – the accomplishment of the learning process;

gaining subject knowledge; and developing employability skills.

f. GPA Criteria – GPA stands for Grade Point Average. ... GPA

assumes a grading scale of A, B, C, D, F. Each grade is assigned a

number of grade points. An A grade receives 4 points, a B=3, a C=2, a

D=1, and an F=0. The process is the same whether you are working

on secondary or college grades.

 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

Related Literature

Internet Use

The use of internet grants its users great awareness of the importance of

the world around them. The internet is a platform for several types of

information. It used by students including secondary students (Akin-

Adaeamola, 2014). Internet usage will continue to grow as long as its

users are not denied easy access (Olatokun, 2008). Recent statistics

indicate that the internet gives people the option to access information

sites as well as other sites such as social media sites, internet games, and

cyber-sex (Siraj et al. 2015). A study by Ellore et al. (2014) on the

influence of internet usage on academic performance and face to face

communication revealed that as a result of the availability of internet, most

students have had access to internet on their cellphones. This helps

students to broaden their academic knowledge (Siraj, et al., 2015). The

use of computer and access to online resources according to Akende and

Bamise (2017) are comparatively important to students. Yesilyurt et al.

(2014) showed that access to a home computer and internet connection

contributes to students’ academic performance as well as self-learning

skills. Considering access and usage of the internet by secondary school

students in Nigeria, Olatokun (2008) indicated that most students believed

the internet to be far better and convenient than their school libraries. The

study pointed out that students see the internet as a source for general

knowledge, and it really helps them improve their reading habits leading to

an improvement in their academic performance. Siraj et al. (2015) affirmed

that students perceived the internet as a supplement for learning and thus

contributes to higher academic feat. Ogedebe (2012) agreed that majority

of students obtain relevant information such as academic materials from

the internet. This suggests 6 that students use the internet to enhance

their study. Sahin et al. (2010) examined the use of internet resources by

university students during their course projects study. They argued that

the use of trustworthy internet resources is of vital importance for

academic study, especially in higher class courses which require an

academic review of literature. Internet use for educational purpose is

found by Kim (2011) to be the habit of adolescent academic achievement.

A similar study conducted by Ruth and Adedotun (2015) posited that the
source and access to information can influence the academic performance

of secondary school students. Notwithstanding the importance attached to

internet use and academic performance, Olatokun (2008) in Nigeria

maintains that secondary school students use the internet for leisure

rather than educational purposes. According to Olatokum (2008) the

students used the internet primarily for communication, entertainment and

leisure (reading and sending e-mails, online chatting, instant messaging,

playing games and downloading music videos, and reading newspapers).

Similarly, Sahin et al. (2010) noted that while university students

frequently use email and forum/chat-line in their daily life, they do not use

them in their studies. Ngoumandjoka (2012) found that the internet is not

mostly used for academic purpose rather for recreational activities. A

similar work by Singh et al. (2013), brings to fore that students are more

into the use of the internet but in reality they are using it mainly for non-

academic purposes like mailing, gaming and social networking. This led to

losses in their study schedules. This brings to the fore the controversy

among empirical studies on the influence of internet use on the academic

performance of students. The activities done by secondary school

students on the internet have been scaled by Akin Adaeamola (2014). The

study revealed that the topmost activity done by secondary school

students is chatting, followed by downloading, watching videos online,

surfing the web, using the internet to study for school work, looking for

other websites such as sports websites, reading news online, games

websites and lastly online shopping. Statistically 40% of students spend

most of their time chatting on social media daily while 14.4% of students

use the internet for academic purpose daily (Akin-Adaeamola, 2014). This

agrees with the findings of Bragdon and Dowler (2016) that there is a

particular interest given that college administrators, faculty, parents,

colleges’ students and others support the advantage of using technology

in higher education, but the reality is that this technology is often being

used for non-academic purposes. Students’ demographic variables are

believed to have an influence on internet use and hence academic

performance. Demographic analysis revealed that males had higher

frequency of internet use in general than females (Akende and Bamise,

2017). Subsequent comparative analysis revealed that male college

students spend more time on the internet compared to female college

students (Ellore et al., 2014). Rabiu et al. (2016) identified the mobile

phone as one of the gadgets used in accessing the internet which impacts

on academic performance. They found that phone usage significantly

influences academic performance among male and female senior high

school students. A case study on Labone Secondary Schools in Ghana

shows that approximately girls use the internet once a week whilst boys

use the internet once a day on average or several times daily (Akin-

Adaramola, 2014). In contrast, Mami and Hatami-Zad (2014) found no

significant difference between boys and girls with regards to internet

addiction. On the part of Aitokhuehi et al. (2014), female computer

literates tend to perform better than 8 male computer literate students. Kim

(2011) examines the effect of internet use on academic achievement and

behavioral adjustment among South Korean adolescents and found girls

more likely to use the internet to watch online educational classes and

blog more frequently and longer than boys. The study reported that boys

mostly use the internet for playing games. A correlation analysis on

students’ socio-economic background, access to internet and performance

found no significant relationship between student’s socio-economic

background and access to internet (Adegoke, 2013). The study found that

students from low economic background surf the net through their friends’

phone, their friends pay for them at cybercafés and at times they could

afford to pay at the cybercafé for themselves. According to Osunade

(2003), students are capable of paying for internet access. Adegoke’s

(2013) study revealed that socioeconomic background contributes

significantly to student’s achievement while internet use has no significant

contribution to student’s achievement. Rather, when the two socio-

economic background and internet use were combined, they had a

significant contribution to students’ achievement. Kim (2011) added that

parent-child relationship (closeness and conflict) were found to be vital to

youth adjustment, and plays a significant role in the association between

adolescent internet use and academic and behavioral outcome.

Furthermore, controlled use of the internet can have positive influence on

students’ academic performance. Research has shown that the use of the
internet has positive impact depending on the type and how it is being

used (Torres-Diaz et al., 2016). In exploring the influence of internet usage

on academic performance, Ellore et al. (2014) discovered that most

university students have control over the use of internet. Kakkar (2014)

opined that internet usage can be beneficial 9 to students in their

academic set-ups and may not cause potential harm to their mental health

if used in moderation. As the internet has become an integral part of

today’s life, Singh et al. (2013) observed that it should be used as a tool

for communication and acquiring of knowledge rather than habit forming

addiction. Colleges and universities are therefore urged to educate

students about the possible negative impacts of high rate of recreational

internet use on academic success (Bragdon and Dowler, 2016).

Time Spent on the internet

It has been recently reported that adolescents today spend a significant

amount of their time on the internet for multiple purposes (Olatokun, 2008;

Krischne and Karpinski, 2009; Ogedebe, 2012; Singh et al., 2013;

Bragdon and Dowler, 2016). Evidence abound that excessive internet use

has been associated with problems of maintaining daily routines, school

performance, and family relationships (Rickert, 2001). A study conducted

by Bragdon and Dowler (2016) on college students’ technology use and

academic performance indicated that upperclassmen spent significantly

more time using technology for academic and work related purposes,

whereas underclassmen spent more time using cell phones, online

chatting and social networking. According to Olatokun (2008), a large

proportion of secondary school students in Nigeria had been involved to

some extent in using the internet in their everyday lives for about four to

five years now. Ogedebe (2012) observed that Nigeria tertiary students

prefer browsing the internet overnight to that of the day. Research shows

that most students spent an average of 2570. (42.8 hours) per week

engaging in some form of technology (Bragdon and Dowler, 2016).

Krischne and Karpinski (2009) carried out a study on Facebook and

academic performance. Facebook users and non-users reported

comparable average daily internet use and the highest category endorsed

was between 1 and 2 hours pay day. However, Facebook users were

recording lower GPA and spending fewer hours per week studying on

average than non-users. According to Singh et al. (2013), because of non-

focused approach (mailing, gaming and social networking) as well as

diversity of knowledge on the internet on particular topics, students tend to

waste time on the internet. Similar activities (Chatting, e-mail and

browsing websites) have been identified by Samual (2010) in an attempt

to evaluate internet usage among secondary school students in public

schools in Lagos State. Evidence from Denizli on the effects of

technological devices on student’s academic success suggested that most

students have been late in submitting their assignments because they

spend more time on social media instead of doing their homework

(Yesilyurt et al., 2014). However, Singh et al. (2013) found that students
with focused approach go deep in subject and primarily use internet for

academic purpose. These students do not waste time because of proper

management of time, focus of search areas and reducing the social

networking sites to minimum. Despite great concerns over excessive

internet use, Siraj et al. (2015) concluded that high internet usage brings

better academic results as students get the opportunity to enter the

information world.

Impact of Internet

Ngoumandjoka (2012) categorized internet users into heavy and light

users. In his view, academic work is the main reason students use the

internet on campus. Students who were classified as heavy users were

found to use the internet more for recreational purpose than the light

internet users. His study further argued that the more the internet is used

for academic work the more it is perceived to exert a positive influence on

academic grades. A number of authors (e.g Torres-Diaz et al., 2016)

equally agreed that internet usage has a positive impact on academic

performance. They opined that students who tend to use the internet more

on educational materials are less likely to fail their examinations.

Therefore, the disadvantages of lack of access to internet surpass the

advantages. Also people who perform interactive activities with peers and

teachers or when they make a balance use of internet tools for their

course work tend to have greater academic performance (Torres-Diaz et

al., 2016). In Nigeria, the impact of computer literacy on students’

performance in secondary school has been explored by Aitokhuehi et al.

(2014). They found that computer literate students performed better than

noncomputer literate students. Similar results have been obtained by

Samual (2010) when he evaluated the impact of internet usage among

secondary school students in Nigeria. His study found internet usage to be

low among public schools in Lagos compared to their counterparts in the

developed world. Internet has become a daily commodity in most people’s

lives. However, the addictive-like features of the internet make any

individual who excessively use it a potential victim of its negative effects.

Some of its negative effects include impaired sleeping patterns, social

relationships break-ups, job losses, mental and physical health as well as

poor academic performance (Ngoumandjoka, 2012). Psychological issues

ranging from mood swings to altered behavior, withdrawn attitude and

loneliness have been reported by Singh et al. (2013) to be the main effect

of using the internet mainly for social networking and mailing. This is

because they remain in some sort of virtual world of the net. Turel and

Toraman (2015) found in their study that as academic performance of

students deemed successfully increases, their internet addiction average

decrease. This implies that, internet addiction has an effect on the

academic performance of students. Aitokhuehi et al. (2014) also noted

that computer literate students who are not addicted to the use of

computer facilities perform better than those who are addicted to its

usage. Kakkar (2015) established a significant effect of internet addiction

on students’ performance and mental health. Categorically, he revealed

that students who were in the server and profound group of internet

addiction were found to have detrimental effect on their academic

performance and metal health rather than the students who use the

internet moderately. Similarly results have been obtained by Austin et al.

(2011) in their study that categorized internet users into light, moderate

and intense users respectively. They discovered that students that use the

internet at school and at home (moderate use) produce higher grades

than those that do not use the internet. Also students that only use the

internet at school (light users) obtained lower grades compared to those

that did not use the internet. Despite great concerns over excessive

internet use, Siraj et al. (2015) concluded that high internet usage brings

better academic results as students get the opportunity to enter the

information world. It is reported that addiction to internet is a good

protector for student’s social skills and academic achievement (Mami and

Hatami-Zad, 2014). A relationship between internet addiction and

academic performance showed that the average internet addiction level of

male students, vocational school students and verbal field students were

determined to be higher than more academically sacksful students (Turel

and Toraman, 2015). This supports the idea that control use of internet

can have positive influence on student’s academic performance

(TorresDiaz et al., 2016; Ellore et al., 2014; Kakkar, 2014). Moreover, it is

necessary that students are taught how to use computer facilities to

search for valid information relating to their academic work (Mami and

Hatami-Zad, 2014; Aitokhuehi et al., 2014). As a result, it is necessary that

government and stakeholders make available computer sets with internet

facilities to all secondary schools for students and teachers to use in the

teaching and learning process to enhance academic performance

(Aitokhuehi et al., 2014).

Challenges in Accessing the Internet

Olatokun (2008) noted that the greatest obstacles to the full exploitation of

the internet are inadequate access, inherent risks and problems such as

pornography, scams among others. Though evidence showed that

students have interest in internet resources than other sources, they have

been challenged (Sahin et al., 2010). Therefore, it is necessary that

internet access is made available at all hours and instructors or lectures

should refer students to educational websites for more relevant

information (Osunnade, 2003). It has been found that internet access is

low among senior high school students. Apart from access, it is

disheartening to note that some students cannot even operate a computer

despite the number of years spent in secondary school (Samual, 2010).

According to Ruth and Adedotun (2015), information sources that are

mostly available to Nigerian students are their teachers and lesson notes

while library and internet facilities are the least available to them.

Meanwhile, the internet can be used for knowledge acquisition by serving

as an alternative to outdated books (Osunade, 2003). However, access to

a computer and internet connection contributes to students’ academic

performance (Yesilyurt et al. 2014). There is a significant difference in the

academic performance of students with internet access and those without

internet access. Taking into account the positive and negative impacts of

the internet, Yesilyurt et al. (2014) opined that the positive influence

outweighs the negative impacts.