CHN Thesis Final
CHN Thesis Final
THE PROBLEM
Introduction
Socialization among today’s youth has evolved. Face-to-face communication has been
replaced with email, social networks and other online tools. The internet has provided
opportunities to enhance, create and rediscover social ties that make a difference in the lives of
mankind. As compared to traditional communications, the internet lowers constraints like cost
geography and time, and it basically supports the type of open information sharing which brings
people together. Everything is easy, fast, and can be achieved through one click.
Wikipedia defines social networking as “an online service, platform or site that focuses
on building and reflecting of social network or social relations among people who share interests
or activities.” Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendster and the likes are
gaining popularity these days with its market among the students. Involvement to this sites has
become trendy and engaging. Studies show that engagement to social networking sites fosters
Social networking sites are now the focus of investigation by numerous social science
Asides from social networking sites, online gaming provides addictive means in which the
individual craves social interaction. Defined as, ‘ a game played over some form of computer
network,’ it can be in form of shooter games, real-time strategy games, browser games or
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massively multiplayer online games. Online gaming is being patronized just as much as social
networking sites. It is a new world where time, space and distance are non-issues and cultural
barriers are broken down. There is a strong sense of community where friendships are made and
The youth has become too attached to online gaming that it has become an addiction,
The research aims to provide a connection between social networking and online gaming
to the academic performance of school age children from selected barangays in Lucena City.
The target population for the research was defined as the students who form the major
chunk of users of the internet in terms of social networking site and online gaming. This was done
to have better insight into the research as the target population was one of the most avid users
understanding the questionnaire would be easy for them as they are familiar with these and are
quite clear about the reasons they use it and for the various problems that they now face because
OBJECTIVES
General Objective
The objective of the study is to determine the effect of social networking and
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Specific Objective
i. Age of Students
City?
City?
Lucena City?
v. Which among the two factors affect the student’s academic performance the
most?
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Scope and Limitations
The study is a descriptive study on the effect of social networking sites and online gaming
on the academic performance of nursing student’s studies. This study, however, does not attempt
to explain in-depth how these two factors affect a student’s scholastic rating.
The study will be conducted within a time frame of one semester to twenty school age
children from selected barangays in Lucena City. The underlying assumption is that the survey
conducted in limited area represents the general psyche of the users of the social networking site
and gaming.
The academic standing will be based on their grade on one subject alone. It shall not
consider the flexible grading system employed by instructors for evaluating student’s academic
The study is limited to identifying the association of the two variables to academic
performance. It is set on natural environment and shall not in any way, attempt to influence the
behavior of its respondents. The level of engagement to social networking sites and online gaming
is set, but not explored. The potential explanatory factors for the students excessive indulgence in
social networking and online gaming is not examined, nor its reasons.
For purposes of limitation, the respondents are limited to twenty school age children
from selected barangays in Lucena City. Another limitation was the availability of respondents
since there are different schedules among different year levels. The researchers also apprehend the
Definition of Terms
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Social networking sites - are social network services that focus on building online communities of
people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and
activities of others.
Academic performance - refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or
CHAPTER TWO
A. Social Networking
to determine the relationship between online social media usage and grades of college students.
Results shows that there is no correlation between the amount of time students spend using social
media and their grades. The most popular online network was Facebook with 96 percent of all
university students saying they use it on a typical day. Further, there was no correlation between
grades and the social media platform used. Almost the same number of heavy and light users of
both Facebook and YouTube received the same category of high and low grades. On a typical
weekend day, 41 per cent of students increase their usage of the social media networks, five percent
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of those significantly increase. Majority of students use these networks for social reasons and
entertainment.
Don Tapscott, author of Grown Up Digital says in an article that ‘there is not a shred
evidence that Facebook is bad for young people. On the contrary, it is a wonderful thing that with
balance, helps them grow, helps their mental abilities develop and it should be encouraged.
Another study tells a different side. According to Arya Karprinski’s study of about 219
students, 148 Facebook users had a full grade point lower than those who do not have Facebook.
People that did not use Facebook reported that they study about 11-15 hours and those who had
Facebook only studies 1-5 hours per week. The Ohio report shows that students who used
Facebook had a significantly lower grade point average-the marking system used in US
A team of researchers from Harvard and University of California, Los Angeles are
monitoring the Facebook profile of an entire class of students at one college. Their goal is to study
how personal tastes, habits and values affect the formation of social relationships and how social
2009 annual conference in San Diego, California, US, college students who use Internet social
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S. Shyam Sundar, a professor and founder of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at
Penn State, has led students in several Facebook studies exploring identity. One involved the
creation of mock Facebook profiles. Researchers learned that while people perceive someone who
has a high number of friends as popular, attractive and self-confident, people who accumulate too
In Hargittai’s study, he said no evidence was found that Facebook use correlates with lower
academic achievement. He further added that basic Facebook use simply does not have
generalizable consequences for grades. According to his study, the doubts about the use of social
networking sites vis-a-vis students are reminiscent to those cast on earlier new media, including
TV and motion pictures, and their effect on children. He emphasized however that if students are
spending excessive time on Facebook at the expense of studying, their academic performance may
suffer.
Students are using social networking sites more than many school administrators may
realize. Despite the fact that most schools block access to such sites via school computers, 9-17
year olds spend as much time using the Internet for social activities as they spend watching
television-about 9 hours a week, according to a 2007 study by the Alexandria, VA-based NSBA.
The study of more than 1,200 students found that 96 % of those with online access had used social
networking technology-including text messaging- and 81 % said they had visited a social
networking website at least once within the 3 months before the study was conducted.
B. Online Gaming
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In a study of the impact of online-game playing on life satisfaction of gamers on different
personality dimensions, Chen et al found that neuroticism in gamers had a negative influence on
life satisfaction. Neuroticism also has a significant negative influence on subjective well being in
teen gamers. A negative relationship between web surfing frequency and life satisfaction has also
been found.
predictor of addiction-related behaviours like excessive Internet use, online gaming addiction and
online gambling problems.; youth with deficiencies in ability to read, express and elicit desired
conclusion and found out that Internet addiction was related to problematic alcohol use in a sample
conducted one study to try to determine the negative and positive effects of gambling. He assigned
gamers to four groups: single-player console games, single- player PC games, single- player arcade
games and fantasy themed MMORPG. For the gamers of the MMORPG group, they reported a
much lower level of overall health and well-being than the other groups. They were also observed
to not be sleeping as well as they should and their quality and quantity of real-life socialization
and academic work saw a sharp decrease. It was theorized that MMORPGs were so complex, so
fantastical and alluring and so involved that the gamers reported they had “lost track of time while
playing, had gone to bed late and forgotten to eat.” After only a few days of such activity, all the
gamers of the MMORPG group showed a dramatic decrease in all areas of health.
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From the same study, Prof. Smyth found that the MMORPG gamers group reported a much
greater enjoyment and sense of reward from the game. They also reported having a high interest
of going back to the game to play some more at a later time. One more surprising benefit found
was the rise in the gaining of new friends as compared with the single-player groups, and the level
However, although there are some positive effects that are possible from computer game
use there are mostly negative effects. Several professors conducted a research project to determine
Educational Technology: “Gaming Frequency and Academic Performance” individuals who spend
two or more hours playing games on a daily basis score lower in every subject than their non-
gaming counterparts. By spending a high percentage of time on video games there is not enough
time left to spend in studying for classes. The study found out that there was not a single positive
Social networking sites are web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public
or a semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users whom they share
a connection and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the
system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.
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For the past years, social networking has been very popular for people worldwide.
Social networking is a great form of entertainment. It allows users to meet new people, reconcile
with old friends, and find friends across the globe with the same interests.
The term “social network site” is used to describe this phenomenon, and is alternately
used with “social networking sites”. The term “networking” emphasizes relationship initiation,
often between strangers. On most sites, participants are not necessarily looking to meet new
people, rather they are primarily communicating with people who are already part of their extended
social network.
The main types of social networking services are those which contain category divisions,
(such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages)
and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these.
The backbone of social network sites consists of visible profiles that display an
articulated list of friends who are also users of the system. Profiles are unique pages where one
can type itself into being. After joining a site, an individual is asked to fill out forms containing a
series of questions. The profile is generated using the answers to these questions, which typically
include descriptors such as age, location, interests and an “about me” section. Most sites also
encourage users to upload a profile photo. Some sites allow users to enhance their profiles by
adding multimedia content or modifying their profile’s look and feel. Other, such as Facebook,
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The visibility of a profile varies by site and according to user discretion. By default,
profiles on Orkut or hi5.com are crawled by search engines, making them visible to anyone,
regardless of whether or not the viewer has an account. Alternatively, sites like MySpace allow
users to choose whether they want their profile to be public of “Friends only”. Facebook takes a
different approach-by default, users who are part of the same network can view each other’s
profiles, unless a profile owner has decided to deny permission to those in their network. Structural
variations around visibility and access are one of the primary ways that social network sites
After joining a social network site, users are prompted to identify others in the system
in which they have a relationship. The label for these relationships differs depending on the site
popular terms include “Friends”, “Contacts” and “Fans”. Most social network sites require bi-
directional confirmation for friendship, but some do not. These one-directional ties are sometimes
labelled as “Fans” or “Followers” but many sites call these “Friends” as well. According to Boyd
(2006), the term “Friends” can be misleading, because the connection does not necessarily mean
friendship in the everyday vernacular sense, and the reasons people connect are varied.
The public display of connections is a crucial component of social network sites. The
Friend’s list contains links to each Friend’s profile, enabling viewers to traverse the network graph
by clicking through the Friends list. On most sites, the list of friends is visible to everyone who is
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Most social network sites also provide a mechanism for users to leave messages on
their Friend’s profiles. This feature typically involves leaving “comments” although sites employ
various labels for this feature. In addition, social network sites often have a private messaging
feature similar to webmail. While both private messages and comments are popular on most of the
Beyond profiles, Friends, comments and private messaging, these sites vary greatly in their
features and user base. Some have photo-sharing or video sharing capabilities; others have built-
While social network sites are often designed to be widely accessible, many attract
homogenous populations initially, so it is not uncommon to find groups using sites to segregate
themselves by nationality, age, educational level, or other factors that typically segment society,
A favorable aspect of social networking sites is their ability to connect people of seemingly
different culture, background and living location despite the glaring distance in between,
promoting intercultural relations and stronger ties. It also increases the chance for single
individuals to find their potential partners and with such a vast array to choose from, nonetheless.
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But even with these obvious advantages, there is still the looming threat of the misuse of these
websites. A pressing danger is those of internet sexual predators, who use these networking sites
to lure in potential victims, most of which are children ranging from nine to seventeen years old,
Wikipedia reports that social networks are also being used by teachers and students as a
communication tool. Because many students are already using a wide-range of social networking
sites, teachers have begun to familiarize themselves with this trend and are now using it to their
advantage. Teachers and professors are doing everything from creating chat-room forums and
groups to extend classroom discussion to posting assignments, tests and quizzes, to assisting with
homework outside of the classroom setting. Social networks are also being used to foster teacher-
parent communication. These sites make it possible and more convenient for parents to ask
Dr. Himanshu Tyagi forwarded the idea that sites like Facebook and MySpace could be
harmful for the young people that frequent them. According to him, the problem is that when teens
begin to live their lives actively online, they may begin to put less value on their own “real” lives.
Social networking in the middle and high school and even college can become a detriment
to education. Attention and popularity is the most important for which most of them tend to misuse
social networking sites and use them for socializing and meeting new people instead of using it for
educational purposes. It tends to become a distraction to these kids; they tend to pay more attention
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Not only do social networking sites affect one’s academic performance negatively, they
are also causes of damage in a student’s chance of being successful in the future.
Tim Pychyl, an associate professor of psychology at Carleton University, says the problem
with using Facebook and other commercial social networking tools goes beyond the privacy
concerns. He argues that while discussion groups, chat, blogs, and email can be valuable tools in
the classroom, using commercial products such as Facebook and Twitter can lead to distraction
and procrastination. Because these social networking tools can be used to follow friends and
celebrities, view pictures, chat and play games, they can create problems in the classroom.
The National School Boards Association (USA) in partnership with research firm
Grunwald Associates LLC and the support of Microsoft, Newscorp and Verizon has just published
a data-rich survey dissecting social and education related activity patterns by American students.
In about 1 in 5 (22%) of all students surveyed, and about one in three tens (31 %) are
nonconformists, students who report breaking one or more online safety and behaviour rules, such
as using inappropriate language, posting inappropriate pictures, sharing personal information with
These nonconformists are significantly heavier users of social networking sites than other
students, participating in every single type of social networking activity surveyed (28 in all)
significantly more frequently than other students both at home and at school-which likely means
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B. Online Gaming
The existence of games as a source of interaction and individual stimulation have always
been linked to the technological availability of the time and place. With the transition to a
information-based society, computers and computer games have evolved from monstrous room-
sized computing machines to complex multi-use personal computers. Much has been improved
from the first computer in game in 1962 called the Space War to the MMOPRG (Massively
Multiplayer Role Playing Games) which was introduced in 1997 and is taking up everyone by
storm. In MMOPR, countless number of people can interact and work together to create a massive
virtual representation of reality. This increase in virtual worlds have been found out to instigate
Online gaming provides emotional escape and relief from high intervals of stress and
social interaction. Since college students continue to actively meet an endless array of deadlines,
stress becomes an innate aspect of college life. With the simultaneous exposure of an intense social
atmosphere, many students are fearful to expose themselves as shy and vulnerable human beings.
The games allow people to protect themselves from the real world, both socially and emotionally,
It is important to stress that many people focus on the negative effects of these games and
fail to see the opportunity for learning and growth. According to Raise Smart Kids: “The Good
and Bad Effects of Video Games” there are several positive effects that come from spending time
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playing video games. Most games do not teach kids math, history and other subjects, however,
they do provide students indirect opportunities to learn principles that can help them in their
academic pursuits. Certain types of video games can help train kids to follow instructions as well
as help them develop their problem solving and logical thought processes. These skills translate
directly to the classroom as students are asked by teachers to complete tasks and are presented
problems that require them to use logical problem solving skills. Kids can also learn inductive
Excessive computer game playing can wreck player’s academic performances, along with
exacting steep tolls on their personal relationships. Psychotherapist Hilarie Cash notes playing
computer games can cause the brain to increase the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter
that stimulates pleasure. Excessive game playing conditions players to keep playing for the
dopamine rush, prompting these players to neglect all other aspects of their lives. Richard Ries, a
psychology professor at the University of Washington cautions that not enough studies have been
conducted on intensive playing to classify this behaviour as an addiction, noting the medical
In a 2008 bulletin for the American Medical Association, Dr. Ronald M. Davis cited a
Swiss study which found that every hour children spent playing on computer games each day, the
risk of obesity doubled. In addition to the effects of prolonged sedentary activity, KidsHealth notes
many computer games require repeated motions from players that puts stress on joints, tendons
and muscles, increasing their risk for suffering reprtitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel
syndrome and tendinitis. In their paper "Working with Gamers: Implications for Counselors,"
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Gerra W. Perkins and her co-authors note that computers games' flashing images can trigger
The effects of violent games on players' behavior remains a controversial topic among
that despite initial concerns over violent computer games, researchers found children who grew up
with video gaming didn't exhibit increased aggression as a whole. Patrick Markey, Ph.D., cautions
that violent games tend to exacerbate aggressive tendencies in players with specific personality
traits. Using the Five-Factor Model of personality, Markey found that players who scored low in
agreeableness and conscientiousness, while registering high levels of neurosis, were likely to
exhibit increased aggression after playing games which rewarded violent behavior. Dr. L. Rowell
Huesmann of the University of Michigan postulates that violent computer games can affect
children more subtly, desensitizing them to violence over time and influencing them to believe
commitments from players to develop alter egos and progress through open-ended game worlds.
Many players join guilds, collectives of players within a game, and the relationships players
develop online can take precedence over their real-world relationships and obligations. Cash notes
young players may devote themselves so much to playing they neglect coursework, sabotaging
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C. Performance
On the point of academic performance or excellence, Tuckman (1975) said that performance
is used to label the observable manifestation of knowledge, skills, concepts, understanding and
ideas. Thereby, performance is the application of a learning product that at the end of the process
ability, mastery of the content, skills in applying learned knowledge to particular situations. A
student’s success is generally judged on examination performance. Wiseman (1961) added that
success on examinations is a crucial indicator that a student has benefited from a course of study.
performance, or how well a student meets standards set out by local government and the institution
itself. As career competition grows ever fiercer in the working world, the importance of students
doing well in school has caught the attention of parents, legislators and government education
departments alike.
Therefore, when the term “low” is integrated with “academic performance”, it is the
inability to acquire particular grades on examinations that indicated the individual’s mastery of the
CHAPTER THREE
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METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The research is a descriptive study to gauge the relationship between social networking
sites and online gaming to academic performance of school age children from selected barangays
in Lucena City? The study is interested to determine what is the effect of those two variables to
the grades of students. This study utilized standardized testing instrument, which was administered
to respondents. Statistical tool has been applied to check the dependency of one condition to the
other.
Research Environment
This study was conducted at the selected barangays in Lucena City, these study was
conducted thru the help of the local goverment and good people of these selected barangays.
Research Instrument
A survey was developed containing three sections of closed response (e.g yes/no and
Likert-type scaling) and open-responsive items. Section 1 of the instrument asked respondents to
provide demographic information (e.g name, course, age, sex). Section 2 invited students to
provide academic information (GWA, number of hours spent studying, extracurricular activities).
Section 3 asked about computer and Internet usage (number of hours spent in the internet for social
network sites, and number of hours spent in the internet for computer games, social network sites
they visit, type of computer games they play). The fourth section solicited information related to
students’ perceptions of the impact of social network sites on their own academic achievement.
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The fifth section gathered information on the students perceptions on the impact of online games
to their own academic achievement. The test was administered for 10 minutes. We also interviewed
Validity evidence for the instrument was provided by reviewing the questionnaire for the
following: (1) Clarity in wording, (2) relevance of the items, (3) use of standard English, (4)
absence of biased words and phrases, (5) formatting of items, and (6) clarity of the instructions
(Fowler, 2002). The team members used these guidelines to review the instrument. Based on their
Research Locale
The study will be conducted at the selected barangays of Lucena City, with its concern on
Respondent
Twenty students from school age children from selected barangays in Lucena City will be
the respondents of the study. These respondents are composed of various individuals who differ in
age, sex, preferences, social status and the likes will be randomly chosen from the selected
Respondents were recruited by visiting selected barangays and asking for volunteers to
complete surveys in the 2nd semester of 2017-2018. Permission from instructors was obtained prior
to visiting the classes. The sampling method began as a convenience sample, which eventually
developed into snowball sampling as students began referring their friends who were willing to be
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respondents of the study. A script to introduce the study, explain the consent process and recruit
respondents was followed. A description of the instructions was also included at the top of the
study, as well as an introduction of the group. The survey took approximately 15-20 minutes to
complete. Students completed and returned the survey at the time of recruitment.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Section I:
Age:________ Gender:___________
Section 2:
1. Please provide us with your General Weighted Average (GWA) for the 1st semester AY
2011-2012: _____________
o 2-4 hours
o Sports
o Club participations
None
Section 3:
1. At an average, how many hours do you spend on social networking sites per day?
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o 5-9 hours
o 2-5 hours
2. At an average, how many hours do you spend on online gaming per day?
o 5-9 hours
o 2-5 hours
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Others ______
Section 4:
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o Positively
o Negatively
3. Have you experienced circumstances where you attend to these social networking sites
when you are supposed to be studying?
o Yes
o No
4. Do you find it hard to concentrate on your schoolwork knowing that you can log in to
your Facebook account?
o Yes
o No
5. Compare your grades before you become engaged in social networking sites and after
you have become involved. Do you see a drop in your academic performance?
o Yes
o No
o Yes
o No
7. Do you think your time for studying is reduced because of the time you spent for social
networking sites?
o Yes
o No
Section 5:
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o Positively
o Negatively
3. Have you experienced circumstances where you play computer games when you are
supposed to be studying?
o Yes
o No
4. Do you find it hard to concentrate on your schoolwork knowing that you can play
computer games?
o Yes
o No
5. Compare your grades before you become engaged in computer games and after you have
become involved. Do you see a drop in your academic performance?
o Yes
o No
o Yes
o No
7. Do you think your time for studying is reduced because of the time you spent for online
games?
o Yes
o No
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