THE INTERNET: THE HUGE LIBRARY AND AN UNSAFE PLACE
A study about the effects of Internet usage on
students’ academic performances
INTRODUCTION:
The use of technology is changing the way things are done, including the work in tertiary
institutions where the teaching and learning process required a great deal of improvement.
Knowing fully that internet is an essential tool for facilitating academic activities in tertiary
institutions in Nigeria, for a number of years now, the managers of these tertiary institutions of
learning has invested heavily in establishing internet services in their schools. The services
provided by internet have had a major impact in the university context, in organization and in
teaching and learning methods. The Internet has made computers across the globe
interconnected.
Internet is a collection of millions of computers around the world that are connected between each
other, the Internet is a medium that does not have the limitation of information on each user, many
people are highly dependent on the Internet, because the Internet has many advantages that can
simplify a lot of work, the internet is helpful for effectiveness and efficiency. The shape of the
effectiveness and efficiency of a given Internet such as Internet has many services for its users so much
to give ease and pamper users. With the presence of the internet which is the development of
information and communication technologies. Online activity on social media such as Facebook in
Indonesia has reached 42.5 million, the fourth highest in the world, about 18% of the population of
Indonesia has had the most popular social media accounts in this world. The number of Twitter users
in Indonesia amounted to 5.7 million, the third largest in the world. The number of mobile phone
users in Indonesia has reached 266 million numbers, exceeding the population of Indonesia itself
Indonesian population as a whole reached 245 million people, including one of the countries with the
largest population in the world. The number of Internet users reached 55 million people. Number of
Internet users in Indonesia dominate Asia amounted to 22.4%, after Japan Technological
developments are increasingly modern and sophisticated this is not the only benefit users but also have
an impact that is not good for users, especially among students [1]. Is perceived very well that the
development of Internet technology has changed the pattern of community interaction, both
business interaction, the interaction of economic, social interaction, and cultural interaction. Internet
has contributed so much to society, company, industry, education and government, communication,
publications, as well as a means to obtain the information needed by
everyone, especially among students who are essentially still in the process of self, is still full of flavor
curious, and unstable. With this fact it is possible to abuse the use of the internet
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
Students of Juan C. Angara Memorial High School employ the Internet in educational matters
such as writing papers, searches for answers to questions and communicating with
classmates on homework. However, time spent in activities where “surfing the net”
occurs could substitute away from time allocated to reading, studying and completing
homework. This may hurt academic performance in the short term. So, the study
assessed the effectiveness of the use of internet services and its effects on students’
academic performances.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
The following research questions were formulated to guide this study:
1. What is the frequency of internet use among the students?
2. How useful is the internet to students in their daily academic activities?
3. Which is the most used internet service?
4. Do the internet services influence students’ academic performance?
5. What are the problems faced by students in using internet services?
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE:
1. TYPOLOGY OF INTERNET USE
The internet is a global linking of devices that allow information transfer. The internet was
established in the early 1960’s by the U.S department of defense for military purposes. It is a fact that
the internet is one of the greatest advancement in the world of information technology as it has become
a useful instrument that has fostered the process of making the world a global village. The Internet
provides an environment in which millions of people participate and engage in the creation and
exchange of information. It allows for the exchange of information and for interaction among individuals
in real time, making transport and distance no longer a problem.
There are approximately 3.2 billion people on earth who has access to the internet, about 56.1% of
the world's population. Internet use has become very popular in many areas as well as in education in
recent years. Accordingly, Internet access in schools in the Philippines has increased to about 10,000.
Students in the Philippines spend approximately 4 hours and 12 minutes online a day, 80 percent of that
time, on social networking sites.
2. NEGATIVE OUTCOMES
There is a plethora of research on the outcomes of Internet use. However, most of them tend to
focus on negative outcomes such as problematic or counterproductive use of the Internet such as cyber
slacking, cyber gambling, cybersex, and cyber pornography (Mulls et al., 2001). Beyond
counterproductive use, there are numerous studies regarding problematic Internet use. The term
technological addiction has been used to describe nonchemical or behavioral addiction that involves
human-machine interaction (Widyanto and Griffiths, 2006). Internet addiction has also been referred to
an individual’s inability to control his or her use of the Internet that eventually causes significant
difficulties in the areas of mental health, interpersonal relationships, school, and/or employment
(Young, 1998). It has also been defined as a psychological dependence characterized by an increasing
investment of resources in Internet-related activities, unpleasant feelings when offline, an increasing
tolerance to the effects of being online, and denial of the problematic behavior (Kandell, 1998).
However, there has been much debate among psychologists on the use of the term “addiction” when
referring to Internet use. Some researchers argue that Internet addiction does not have a physiological
component (Shapira et al., 2003), whereas others have pointed out the similarity in the activation of
reward pathways between Internet use and substance and behavioral addictions (Schmitz, 2005). The
debate becomes even more complex because behavioral addictions do not involve the physiological
ingestion of a substance that chemically alters the body. Due to the controversy surrounding the term
‘‘addiction,’’ it was excluded from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
and replaced with the terms ‘‘dependence’’ and ‘‘Impulse Control Disorder.’’ Thus, researches have
preferred to use the term ‘problematic Internet use’ referring to excessive use or addictive tendencies
toward the Internet (Czincz and Hechanova, 2009).
Heavy users were more likely than non-heavy Internet users to be depressed, physically ill, lonely,
and introverted. According to a journal of Education and Sociology done in Pakistan, Muhammad
Musaud Asdaque, December, 2010. The use of the internet is one of the major factors affecting the
academic performance and social life of students. The number of hours spent on internet will affect the
grades of students depending on if the internet is used for study purpose or social purposes. Many
studies have been conducted regarding the type of information the end-users seek and obtain on the
Internet and in which circumstances they prefer electronic sources to paper sources (Tenopir et
al.2003).
Students who multi-task between social networking sites and homework are likely to have 20% lower
grades than a student who does not have a social networking site in visual range (Lenhart, A, 2009,
April). Some, involvement on the Internet begins to have serious, negative consequences. When such
consequences are minimized or ignored while Internet use increases, Internet dependence is occurring.
The internet can act as a major distraction to students if not properly managed.
3. POSTIVE OUTCOMES OF INTERNET USE
Although there is much literature on the negative impact of Internet use - there are also positive
outcomes of Internet use. La Rose and Eastin (2004) confirmed Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
(Bandura, 1986) that suggests six basic types of incentives for human behavior: novel sensory, social,
status, monetary, enjoyable activity, and self-reactive incentives. When applied to the Internet, activity
outcomes include feeling entertained, cheering oneself up, playing a game one likes, hearing one’s
favorite music. Monetary outcomes include finding bargains on the Internet, saving time shopping,
getting free information and getting products for free. Self-reactive outcomes include relieving
boredom, passing the time, feeling lonely, forgetting problems, and feeling relaxed. Quantitative studies
have found that students have been using the internet to support their research and learning. By the use
of the internet, it's had a positive impact on their academic performances, namely by doing homeworks,
writing research papers and also provide a better learning experience.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:
The main objective of this study is to find out the use of internet service and its effects on student’s
performances. Specifically, the aims of the study are to:
1. Examine the effect of internet use on the academic performance of the students.
2. Investigate the problems that are faced by the students in using the internet.
3. Investigate the frequency of internet use among students.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.manilatimes.net/10000-schools-to-have-internet-access/397101/
https://www.msn.com/en-ph/kids/other/filipinos-spend-most-time-on-internet-social-media-
%E2%80%94study/ar-BBSZI5y?li=AAb2fpp
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-20-uses-of-the-Internet
https://www.internetsociety.org/internet/history-
internet/?gclid=CjwKCAjwmNzoBRBOEiwAr2V27Wo0nnmHPYff1hIDQP84vZabOdF8hnQIQrcBCOz2SHOr
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