THE STUNNING EFFECT OF UNRESTRICTED USAGE OF GADGETS TO THE ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCES OF GRADE 11- ABM SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF BITOON

NATIONAL VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
INTRODUCTION
Gadgets act (2017) states that the explosion of online activity on gadgets in recent years has led to
several problems that need to be addressed, one of which is the abuse and misuse usage of gadgets which should
be reduced or limited. The gadgets are attracted in a way that is not easily move in the daily lives of billions of
people around the world. Gadgets as a new medium of communication are one of the newest trends in
information technology. People can instantly connect and have correspondence with one another by just use of
cellphones, laptops, or tablets through these technological inventions. However, for every gadget that student
use and may bring,it clearly describes the impact of the usage of gadgets among students on academic
performance (Davis, Mark and Barbara, (2008).

Unrestricted usage of gadgets is negatively associated with academic performances of student users and
destructive impact of gadgets is far more momentous than its advantage (Englander, 2010). Kirschner and
Karpinski (2009) states that users of gadgets devote lesser time to studies that none users had lower grades in
academic courses. Further (Karpinski, 2009) said that,“among various unique destruction of every generation,
gadgets have been proved as the major destruction of current generation”.

However, there is some evidence that these devices are also a source of destruction and different results are
found depending on the family type. In other words, this paper seeks to contribute to a Better understanding of
the effect of unrestricted usage of gadgets. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the stunning effects
of gadgets on students’

academic success. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the negative effects of unrestricted usage of gadgets the academic performances of Grade 11- ABM
students?
2. Does unrestricted usage of gadgets have negative effects to students’ grades?
3. Does unrestricted usage of gadgets have negative effects to students’ participation?

4. What will be the possible solution to address the negative effects of using cell phones to the academic
performances of the Grade 11 ABM students?

LITERATURE REVIEW
With smart phones (mobile phones with built-in internet connectivity) expected to number 651 million
by 2019 in India according to networking technology giant Cisco, nomophobia (no-mobile-phone-phobia,
coined in 2010 by the UK Post Office), may bejust one of the many problems that the new generation of ‘digital
nativeswill face over the long term.

A 2011 UNICEF report estimated India’s population of adolescents to be around 243 million. A huge
chunk of this demographic is also the likely target of internet service providers, as the average age of the web
surfer gets younger every year. With landline phones all but phased out worldwide, it is no surprise to see
toddlers and pre-schoolers being allowed to use (and usually master) their parents’ electronicdevices. Despite
the uneven spread of broadband internet in India, the love for smartphones and other hand-held electronic
devices has exploded across nearly every sphere of life, and overturned

ultimately, the way we behave. This passion has turned to addiction, and needs concrete intervention, say
experts. Excessive use of mobile phones causes students to fare poorly in elementary, junior high and high
school, not only because it makes them lose their concentration due to a lack of sleep, but also because it
apparently compromises what they have studied, researchers say. Students who spend several hours each day
staring into mobile phones or smartphones tend to change their sleeping habits and stay up late to use the
devices, education ministry research published Thursday showed. The research was conducted last November
with 23,139 participants from the fifth grade of primary school up to the third year of high school, at 771 public
schools nationwide. It showed, for instance, that 53.5 percent of junior high students who said they use a mobile
phone for more than four hours a day to talk, send email or surf the Net, habitually do not getto sleep until after
midnight. That ratio was much lower, at 14.9 percent, for those who don’tuse mobile phones at all.

The research also found that overusing mobile phones affects the quality of students’ sleep.Asked if they
find it hard to get up in the morning, 78.1 percent of junior high respondents who often watch or use electronic
devices, including TVs, game consoles, mobile phones andcomputers, immediately before bedtime said they
sometimes or frequently do have trouble the next morning. That compared with 60.9 percent among those who
don’t use gadgets at all.This lack of sleep also affects school performance, said Junichi Sato, an education board
official who led the project, which was jointly carried out by the city of Sendai and Tohoku University. The
research, published in March, looked into the correlation between studying enthusiasm and smartphone usage. It
found

that using a mobile phone for an extended time even affects students who habitually study a lot. That implies a
lack of sleep or reduced study time as a result of mobile phone usage is not the only way these devices affect
performance at school. The study revealed that students who spent over two hours every day both studying and
using messaging apps, especially the popular Line, scored worse on a math exam than those who spent less than
30 minutes a day but didn’t use a smartphone at all.

“When people talk about children using smartphones in a negative sense, their main concern seems to be
about their criminal use, but this study calls the attention of parents and students to the risk that excessive use of
smartphones can compromise students’ effort to study,” Sato said. Sato advises the use of smartphones and
other mobile devices be limited to just an hour a day.

METHODOLOGY
Context and Participants
The study focuses on determining the stunning effects of unrestricted usage of gadgets to the academic
performances of selected grade 11-ABM students of Bitoon National Vocational High School during the second
semester (fourth quarter) of the school year, 2018-2019. The respondents of the study are the purposely selected
100 Grade 11- ABM students who spent most of the time using gadgets to academic performances.

Instrument section
To conduct this study, the researchers used the survey questionnaire together with the observation in
gathering the data. The survey questionnaires are attached with the informed consent letter to the respondents
and it is divided into 2 parts. The first part is the demographic profile of respondents and second part is the close
ended questions that are answerable by Yes, No, Maybe, and Somehow.

Instrument
The study also uses some articles online that will help strengthen the researchers’ study most
particularly in writing the review on related literature.

Sampling Technique
The study uses Cluster Sampling which simply means that there are samples taken in each section of
ABM to present the particular group instead of choosing all individuals.

Locale of the Study

The study is conducted at Bitoon National Vocational High School, Bitoon, Dumanjug, Cebu, for the
reason that there is an occurring issue regarding with the academic performances of the students.

Data Gathering
The researchers gather such data by letting the chosen respondents answer the provided survey
questionnaires.
Data Analysis
The approach of this research is a qualitative one because it deals with the opinions, behaviors,
characteristics possessed by the respondents. Each question is represented by corresponding pie graphs or circle
graphs to determine the percentage of the respondents who answered Yes, No, Maybe and Somehow.

RESULTS
Figure 1 shows that cell phones are useful to the academic performances of the students since 71% out
of the whole respondents answered yes, and only 4% answered no. On the other hand, 14% answered maybe
and 11% answered somehow.
Figure 2 shows that unrestricted usage of gadgets has negative effects to the students’ grades since 49%
answered yes and 5% answered no. On the other hand, 36% answered maybe and 10% answered somehow.

Figure 3 indicates that unrestricted usage of gadgets have negative effects to the students’ participation
and behavior since 51% of the entire respondents answered yes , and only 5% answered no, while 34%
answered maybe and 10% somehow.

Figure 4 implies that there are negative effects of unrestricted usage of gadgets to students' grades
simply because 58% agreed, while only 10% disagreed. However, 22% out of the sample answered maybe and
8% answered somehow.

Figure 5 depicts that 44% of the entire respondents are doubtful that gadgets can affect social interaction
to the peers within the campus. Otherwise, 38% answered yes, while 14% disagreed to the statement, and 4%
were not sure about their answer.

Figure 6 encompasses that cell phone is a major distraction when students are studying notes or while
doing assignments, since it reveals 51% answered yes and 22% answered no. Thus, 15% of the respondents are
having hesitation since they answered maybe and 12% answered somehow.
Figure 7 shows that using gadgets without any limitation is one of the reasons of poor academic
performances of Gr. 11 ABM students since 55% answered yes and 30% answered maybe. Nevertheless 11%
disagreed to the statement and only 4% of somehow.

Figure 8 indicates that restriction and confiscating the cell phones serves as a disciplinary action among
students since 66% answered yes and 10% answered no. Furthermore, 16% answered maybe and 8% answered
somehow.
Figure 9 depicts that 59% of the respondents don't use cell phones during class hours or during teacher’s
discussions while 24% answered somehow. Yet, 10% answered maybe and only 7% answered yes.

Figure 10 presents that 40% of the respondents use cell phones or gadgets 0-2 hours daily, while 46%
use cell phones or gadgets 3-5 hours every day, and 14% of 6 hours or more.
It was shown that there are negative effects of using cell phones to the academic performances of Grade
11 ABM students such as bad effects to the students' grades, participation and behavior, social interaction to the
peers within the campus, a distraction when studying notes, and a cause of poor academic performances.

CONCLUSION
Therefore, the unrestricted usage of cell phones has negatively affected the student’s academic
performances and academic aspects of learning. Furthermore, it was found out that confiscating the cell phones
serve as a disciplinary action and a possible solution to avoid the negative effects of using cell phones to the
academic performances of the students. In this problem, it must be given attention and action in order to let the
students prioritize studies and more focused to the academic works.