CHAPTER 1 

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 

1.1 Introduction 
 Mobile phones had become an essential part of daily life since their rapid growth in
popularity in the late 1990’s Ling (2004). A nationwide survey conducted in 2010 shows that
mobile phones are the most necessary medium of communication for adolescents. It has virtually
affected society’s accessibility, security, safety and coordination of business and social activities
and has hence become a part of the culture of the world. The traditional agents of socialization
are families and schools. The expansion of the educational system because of the highly skilled
workers lead to the school system. Surprisingly, research on the influence of mobile phones on
our school today has not been given much attention to, Ling (2004). 
There is the conflicting priority of young people, parents, and teachers in relation to the
mobile phone device, with the teachers more concerned about issues such as discipline in the
classroom and parents is worried about means of compacting their children at every point in
time. According to majority research done so far, it was discovered that the use of mobile phones
in school is problematic. As Ling and Helmersen(2000) states that the mobile phone is at cross
purpose with a mission of the school.  
Many studies have discussed smartphone addiction in terms of students' multitasking in
the classroom and the effects of this multitasking on students' academic performance Ellis,
Daniels, & Jauregui, (2011); Jacobsen & Forste (2011); Junco & Cotto (2011). Findings on the
consequences of multitasking with the smartphone on academic performance showed a negative
relationship between students' problematic mobile phone use and academic performance Junco
and Cotton (2011, 2012) investigated the relationship between multitasking on phones and
student academic performance among college students to account for the effects of multitasking
on academic performance. This study showed that sending text messages and checking social
media websites like Facebook while performing an academic task or doing homework interfered
with completing their schoolwork and negatively impacted the participants’ overall GPA.
Previous research suggests that excessive smartphone use in the classrooms can inhibit academic
performance Lepp, Barkley, and Karpinski (2014) found the negative effects of excessive
smartphone use on students’ academic performance through decreased GPA scores. 
In recent years, more studies have been carried out on smartphone use in relation to
academic performance. For instance, Jacobsen and Forste (2011) in their study found a negative
relationship between calling, texting, and self-reported grade point average (GPA) among
university students in the United States. On the other hand, Hong, Chiu, and Hong (2012) found
that calling and texting were positively correlated with a self-reported measure of academic
difficulty among a sample of female Taiwanese university students. Yet in another research,
Lepp, Barkley, and Karpinski (2015) reported that students who used the cell phone more daily
were likely to have a lower GPA than students who used it less. Basing their conclusions on a
sample of 536 undergraduates from 82 self-reported majors at a large public university, the
researchers suggested a vital need to sensitize students and educators about the potential
academic risks associated with high cell phone use. More studies were carried out to investigate
the causes behind a negative relationship between electro media use and academic performance;
multitasking has emerged as a possible explanation (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011; Junco & Cotton,
2011; 2012; Karpinski et al., 2013; Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Rosen et al., 2013; Wood et
al., 2012). Obviously, as smartphone use is not only limited to texting and calling but Internet
use, email, and social-networking sites such as Facebook, it can potentially increase multitasking
and task switching during academic activities. This ultimately leads to a decrease in academic
performance. 
The goal of this study is to determine the effects of using mobile phones on the academic
performance of grade 12 HUMMS students. Furthermore, this study also serves as an awareness
to those students who frequently use mobile phones. 
 
1.2 Statement of the Problem 
The study aims to determine the effects of using mobile phone to the academic of grade
12 HUMSS student of Tagbina National High School (S.Y. 2022-2023). 
 
1.What is the profile of the respondents in terms of mobile phone? 
1. Age; 
2. Sex; 
3. Grade/ Section; and 
4. Screen Time 
2.What is the academic performance of the students? 
3.What are the effects of using mobile phones to the academic performance of grade 12 HUMSS
students? 
 
 
1.3 Hypothesis  
 
Null Hypothesis 
         There is no significant relationship between using mobile phones to the academic
performance of Grade 12 HUMSS students of Tagbina National High School. 
 
Alternative Hypothesis 
        There is a significant relationship between using mobile phones to the academic
performance of Grade 12 HUMSS students of Tagbina National High School. 
 
4. Significance of the Study 
The result of this study is about the effects of using mobile phone phones on the
academic performance of grade 12 HUMSS students of Tagbina National High School
S.Y. 2022-2023. 
 
School Administrators. The result of this study will help them to conduct orientation regarding
the effects of using mobile phones on the academic performance of grade 12 HUMSS students. 
 
Teachers. The results of this study will help their students overcome the effects of mobile
phones. 
 
Parents. The results of this study will help serve as an enlightenment and aid, guiding their
children about the effects of using mobile phones to the academic performance of grade 12
HUMSS students. 
 
Students. The results of this study will help them to overcome the effects of using mobile
phones and improve their academic performance. 
 
Future Researchers.  The result of this study will serve as manual in determining the effects of
using mobile phone to the academic performance of grade 12 HUMSS students. 
 
5. Scope and Delimitation of the Study 
The primary subject of this study is the effects of mobile phone use on the
academic performance of Tagbina National High School G-12 HUMSS students. It is anticipated
that the researchers will investigate the ways in which using a mobile phone affects academic
performance. Only the impacts of mobile phones on students’ academic performance are the
main subject of this study. The respondents of this survey are the Tagbina National High School
Grade 12 HUMSS SY 2022–2023 students. 
 
 
 
 
1.6 Theoretical/Conceptual Framework 
This research is based on the constructivism theory of Jhon Dewey that emphasized that
the learners working within their mind individually to build their mind own knowledge, which
explains that the knowledge is not transmitted to them in a way or another. The most significant
change that constructivism theory adopts is the integration of technology in the education setting.
In fact, research has proven the effectiveness of using constructivism theory on the integration of
technology in education. Indeed, constructivism principles theory. From these constructivism
methods, the learners work on constructing and build their own knowledge using mobile phones. 
          In this study, the research is expected to identify the effects of using mobile phones on the
academic performance of the students. The theory then explained how mobile phones really
affect the academic performance of the students and prior knowledge about using mobile phones,
the learners work on their own knowledge. 
          Moreover, this study discovered that the use of mobile phones is uncontrollable among
students which is the leading cause of poor academic performance among students [International
Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering 2015]. 
 
 
 
Conceptual Framework  
This study considered the two variables of the effects of using mobile phones on the
academic performance of the students. 
 
Independent                                                                               Dependent  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This figure shows the effects of using mobile phones on the academic performances of
Grade 12 HUMSS students in Tagbina National Highschool. It has negative and positive effects,
The negative effects of using mobile phones can disrupt your sleep, which can have a serious
impact on your overall mental health. It can impact your memory, affect your ability to think
clearly, and reduce your cognitive and learning skills.The positive effects have improved their
academic results and improved their social networking. (Chukwuere 2018) 
  
1.7 Definition of Terms 
  The following terms are defined operationally to provide a further understanding of the
variables as well as important terms used in this study. 
Mobile phones.  It is a wireless handheld device. 
Academic performance. A list of assessments that define students' achievement. 
HUMMS. One of the strands of academic track on K-12 curriculum, which stands for
Humanities and Social Science. 
Effects. Their phones lead to poor academic performance in students failing to pay attention
while studying, their memory suffers, and their mind suffers from dullness and lethargy.  
  
CHAPTER 2 
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 
  This chapter shows the review of literature and studies related to and are considered
relevant to the subject. The researchers have read books, articles and various students. To
connect the ideas surrounding the effects of using mobile phone to the academic performance of
grade 12 HUMSS student S.Y. 2022-2023. 
2.1 CONCEPTUAL LITERATURE 
  Mobile phones enable students to access a variety of electronic media at almost any time
and place.  Popular activities such as playing games, surfing the internet, texting and monitoring
their own social media sites as it is linked to what is the outcome of their academic performance
being a student. In our present generation students are using gadgets they usually want to buy the
latest release of these gadgets especially mobile phones to satisfy their desires in terms of
entertainment and getting the newest of the new as a result students tend to use more time using
mobile phone than on studying that’s why it affects the student's habits and academic
performance. 
 
 Academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they
complete different assignments given to them by their teachers (Bedassa, 2015). Several research
and studies have been conducted in different regions of the world and the results have proved
that there is a relationship between student’s social media usage and their academic performance.
The continuous use of social media distracts the students from their studies and has the potential
of affecting their academic performance. The rampant use of social networking, texting and
chatting on Mobile Phones results in lower grades and poor academic performance of students.
The research has proved that some students have the habit of keeping their Mobile  
Phones on during classes and studies, even in the library, thereby distracting others (Sundari,
2015). 
 
  Effects of Mobile Phone use on academic performance of college going young adults in
India by Tripura Sundari (2015), published in the International Journal of of Applied Research
(Vol. 9, No. 1) was also read by the researcher. The research was conducted among the college
going students (age 18-25 years) of three  
cities in Andhra Pradesh. The results show that rampant use of social networking, texting and
chatting on Mobile Phones results in lower grades and poor academic performance of students.  
                 
The advantages of using mobile phones to the academic performance are they provide
instant access to multimedia resources, demonstrations or display multimedia in the classroom
with everyone present order to show how something works or provide more background and
context. Students can access multimedia enhancements for their lessons whenever they need.
Mobile phones allow educators to customize the learning experience for each student. Phones
can also be used to poll students to gauge their learning in real time, allowing educators to adjust
their approach when students aren’t following the lesson. It helps to customize education to each
student; they can enhance student success and create deeper and more engaged learning
experiences for students. A student having a mobile phone means that the student has everything.
It works as a reminder if you put some notes on the reminder.  
 
                The disadvantages of using mobile phones for academic performance are the
distractions to the students from their work or lecturers. Whether its gaming, social media, or
even pornography, mobile phones give students several distractions that can be more tempting
than the schoolwork they are supposed to be  
focusing on. When students have phones to hand, the temptation to switch over to something
more interesting can be overwhelming and irresistible. Disturbing other students, everyone
knows how annoying it can be when a phone rings or text messages are going in the middle of a
lecture or an exam. Those distractions can be mitigated by asking students to create interpersonal
distractions and problems in the classroom and cheating and academic dishonesty gives students
access to resources to cheat their way to access. 
              
              Youth is more inclined towards using mobile phones for activities other than
communication than older generation because in adolescence stage, people are more susceptible
to changing fashion trends and style, building them more Tech savvy which creates certain
behavioural disorders. The fame of cell phones is followed by an alarm towards the detrimental
effects of cell phone radiation. Fatigue, headache, decreased concentration and local irritation
and burning are the major effects of excessive usage of cell phones, as stated by various research
(Aanchal Vasudev, Manmeet Kaur, Harsh Kumar, Rini Chaturvedi, 2012). Moreover, mobile
phones are becoming increasingly important in monitoring delivery of healthcare interventions.
They are often considered as pocket computers, their advanced computing features, enhanced
preferences and diverse capabilities well sophisticated sensors and complex software
applications make the mobile healthcare (m health) based applications more feasible and
innovative. In several scenarios user friendliness, convenience and effectiveness of these systems
have been acknowledged by both patients as well as healthcare providers. M-health technology
employs advanced concepts and techniques from multidisciplinary fields of electrical
engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering and medicine which benefit the
innovations of these  
fields towards healthcare systems. It was found that mobile based applications have been widely
developed in recent years with fast growing deployment by healthcare professionals and patients.
However, despite the advantages of smartphones in patient monitoring, education, and
management there are some critical issues and challenges related to security and privacy of data,
acceptability, reliability and cost that need to be addressed (Mirza Mansoor Baig, Hamid Gholam
Hosseini, & Martin J Connolly, 2015). 
             In contrary, more studies were carried out to investigate the causes behind a negative
relation between electro media use and academic performance; multitasking has emerged as a
possible explanation (Jacobsen & Forste, 2011; Junco & Cotton, 2011; 2012: Karpinski et al.,
2013; Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Rosen et al., 2013; Wood et al., 2012). Obviously,
smartphone use is not only limited to texting and calling but Internet use, email, and social
networking sites such as Facebook, it can potentially increase multitasking and task switching
during academic activities. This ultimately leads to a decrease in academic performance.
According to Inner Drive (2019), the researchers discovered a negative relationship between
mobile phone usage and students' academic performance, such that every 100 minutes that a
student spent using their phone a day led to the student dropping 6.3 places in terms of their
academic ranking. Furthermore, the cell phone, now the most widely used medium in Asia, has
major educational implications. Most users, however, do not realize the cell phone's potential for
education, nor even for the communication functions for which it was originally designed. Most
educators still see the computer and the cell phone as unrelated devices, and the tiny cell phone
more as a personal accessory, especially for young people. With falling prices and increasing
functionality, however, it is virtually certain that not too far in the future all the world's students
will have a cell phone. This is sufficient reason and motivation for educators to explore the
possibility of making the cell phone an important tool in the educational systems of developed
and developing countries (Felix Librero, Angelo Juan Ramos, Adelina I Ranga, Jerome Triñona,
& David Lambert, 2017).  
                 
Although the cell phone is likely to be on hand while college students are in class and
studying, research investigating its relationship to academic performance is limited. In an early
study of the phenomenon, Sánchez-Martínez and Otero (2009) used a combination of self-
reported monthly cell phone expenses and  
frequency of use data to identify intensive cell phone users in a large sample of Spanish high
school students. In the study, intensive cell phone use was related to school failure as well as
other negative behaviours such as smoking and excessive alcohol use. More recent studies
operationalize cell phone use as calling and texting while utilizing a variety of measures for
academic performance. For example, Jacobsen and Forste (2011) identified a negative
relationship between calling, texting, and self-reported grade point average (GPA) among
university students in the United States. Similarly, Hong, et al., (2012) found that calling and
texting were positively correlated with a self-reported measure of academic difficulty among a
sample of female, Taiwanese university students. While these studies provide a starting point for
understanding the relationship between cellphone use and academic performance, they neither
use objective measures of academic performance nor do they consider the cell phone’s
expanding capabilities beyond calling and texting. 
                 Modern cell phones enable users to access a variety of electronic media at almost any
time and activities such any place. Popular playing video games, surfing the Internet, and
monitoring social media sites are now all easily accomplished with most cell phones.
Researchers have linked each of these activities, independent of cell phone use, to academic
performance. For example, heavy video game playing has been associated with lower GPAs
(Jackson, et al., 2011; Jackson, et al., 2011). Also, low levels of Internet use have been
associated with improved academic performance (Chen and Peng, 2008). Chen and Tzeng (2010)
found that heavy Internet information seeking was associated with better academic performance,
while videogame playing was associated with lower levels of academic performance. Several
recent studies have identified a negative relationship between social networking sites [e.g.,
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) and academic performance (e.g.,Rosen, et al., 2013; Stollak, et al.,
2011). Kirschner and Karpinski (2010) demonstrated that Facebook users have a lower self-
reported GPA and spend fewer hours per week studying than nonusers. Likewise, Junco (2012a,
2012b) found a strong, negative relationship between time spent on Facebook and actual
cumulative GPA. These negative relationships have been found in populations across the world,
including North America, Europe, and Asia (e.g., Chen and Tzeng, 2010; Karpinski, et al.,
2013). 
 
                 Recently, multitasking has emerged as a possible explanation for the negative
relationship between electronic media use (including cell phone use) and academic Jacobsen and
Forste, 2011; Junco and Cotton, 2011; 2012; Karpinski, et al., 2013; Kirschner and Karpinski,
2010; Rosen et al., 2013; Wood, et al., 2012). Indeed, several studies reveal that students
frequently report using a variety of electronic media including cell phones while in class,
studying, and doing homework (Jacobsen and Forste, 2011; Junco and Cotton, 2012; Sánchez-
Martínez and Otero, 2009; Tindell and Bohlander, 2012). Several recent studies, using a variety
of methods, identify a negative relationship between multitasking and academic performance.
First, Wood et al. (2012) measured the influence of multitasking with an array of electronic
media on students’ ability to learn from typical, university classroom lectures. Emailing, MSN
messaging, and Facebook use via computer were all investigated as was cell phone texting.
Results showed that multitasking with any of the technologies was associated with lower scores
on follow-up tests compared with students who did not multitask. Second,Junco and Cotton
(2012) used a hierarchical regression to determine the power of multitasking to predict actual
cumulative college GPA. Results showed that Facebook-multitasking and texting-multitasking
were significantly and negatively related to college GPA after controlling for sex, actual high
school GPA, time preparing for class, and a student’s Internet skills. Finally, Rosen et al. (2013)
observed the study behaviours as well as study settings of a sample of middle school, high
school, and university students. Participants were observed for 15 min with on task and off-task
behaviour recorded every minute. Results showed that participants typically became distracted
by media such as Facebook and texting after less than 6 min of studying. Furthermore,
measurements of daily Facebook use and daily texting behaviour predicted off-task behaviour
during study periods as well as self-reported GPA. 
 
             In review, emerging research suggests that texting, Internet use, email, and social
networking sites such as Facebook can potentially increase multitasking and task-switching
during academic activities and decrease academic performance. Notably, all these previously
investigated activities can now be accomplished with a single, Internet-connected cell phone.
Therefore, measurements of cell phone use should not be limited to only texting and calling but
should take this wide array of activities into account. Furthermore, and in consideration of the
ubiquity of the cell phone, the relationship between this expanded definition of cellphone use and
academic performance warrants investigation. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.2 RESEARCH LITERATURE 
 
Using the Federal Polytechnic students of Ilaro, Ogun State in Nigeria as a case study,
this research paper studies phone usage and determined the effects internet-enabled mobile
phones have on the academic performance of students at the tertiary institutions. The purpose of
the research was to better understand and identify a connection between students' academic
success and their use of mobile devices during class time, which is generally thought to be a
source of distraction for them. To gather the data for this project, 45 students were given
standardized questionnaires to complete to get their unique perspectives. In addition, 15 in-depth
interviews were conducted concurrently to gain a thorough understanding of the pupils using the
information acquired. 
              As cell phone technology continues to advance quickly, it appears that the gadget can
help students learn and get better academic results. Numerous elements of our everyday lives,
notably those of students, have been impacted by the recent rapid growth of cell phones. Because
of this, the current study's goal is to ascertain how Jahangirnagar University students, both male
and female, use their mobile phones in relation to their academic achievement. A face-to-face
survey was administered to 274 students from Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh, including
159 male and 115 female second- through fourth-year students from various disciplines. The
findings show that factors such as gender, age, and relationships with people of the opposite sex
all significantly improve pupils' academic achievement. However, spending and marital status. 
        Academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they
complete different assignments given to them by their teachers. (Bedassa, 2015). A number of
research and studies have been conducted in different regions of the world and the results have
proved that there is a relationship between student’s social media usage and their academic
performance. The continuous use of social media distracts the students from their studies and has
the potential of affecting their academic performance.  
The rampant use of social networking, texting and chatting on Mobile Phones results in
lower grades and poor academic performance of students. The research has proved that some
students have the habit of keeping their Mobile Phones on during classes and studies, even in the
library, thereby distracting others. (Sundari, 2015) Aoki and Downes (2004) focused on the
behavioural and psychological aspects of cell Phone usage among the High School students.
They tried to find the reasons behind why a technology is adopted in a particular way. They
identified several attitudinal factors based on the exploratory study including necessity in modern
times, cost efficiency when compared to landline Phone, safety or security, and dependence.  
The biggest challenge faced by the teachers during class hours is to control the Mobile
Phone usage by the students, but the use of this device seems uncontrollable among students
which led to distractions. In response to the question asking the purpose for using cell Phone in
classroom, the respondents revealed that they send SMS in classrooms in the top order of priority
and read SMS received. They tend to also answer voice calls and make voice calls as well from
the classroom.