Exploring the Effects of Social Media on the Study Habits of Grade 6 Pupils

Exploring the Effects of Social Media on the Study Habits of Grade 6 Pupils

Alma A. Aragdon, May V. Biagan, Sheila E. Amoroso, Kuh V. Paterno
College of Education, Partido State University, Philippines

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.70733

Received: 06 July 2023; Revised: 17 July 2023; Accepted: 21 July 2023; Published: 30 July 2023

ABSTRACT

There has been growing concern on the distraction caused by social media resulting to the youth’s weakened schooling and social skills. As a result, educators have looked for ways to lessen its detrimental consequences on educational achievement while incorporating its beneficial qualities into the teaching and learning process. This study sought to examine the effects of social media on study habits of grade 6 pupils in a public elementary school in Camarines Sur, Philippines. It uses Descriptive-Correlational research design and utilized survey questionnaires in collecting data from a sample. Weighted mean, percentage techniques and Pearson’s correlation tools were used to analyze the data. Findings from variables investigated showed that social media exposure had no significant effect on the study habits of the pupils. This indicated that pupils were able to maintain their study habits despite social media exposure. It is recommended that despite the no significant result of social media to pupils’ study habits, this result cannot be generalizable to all due to various interrelated factors. It is therefore being recommended that further exploratory studies be conducted to investigate on other variables that were not looked into by this present study such as the pupils’ noise and distraction adaptability which, despite the presence of distractions such as social media, can still maintain proper focus on their primary assignment for schooling.

Keywords: social media, study habits, distraction, schooling, learning

INTRODUCTION

Social Media is computer-based technology that facilitate sharing ideas, thoughts and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. By design, social media is internet-based and gives users quick electronic communication of content. Content includes personal information, documents, videos and photos. Users engage with social media via computer, tablet or smartphone via web-based software or web- application often utilizing it for messaging.

The benefits and drawbacks of social media optimization exceed each other because it has an impact on students’ academic achievement. Reference [13] claim that social networking sites draw students’ attention before diverting it to unsuitable and non-educational activities, such as pointless chit-chatting. Reference [21] also pointed out that although social networks- which have grown to be incredibly popular and well-known over the past few years- are undoubtedly a progression of technology, they are especially dangerous for teenagers.

Reference [12] discovered that 97% of pupils used social media. Social media was only used for academic purposes by 1% of them. 43% of them used the website to pass the time by browsing, compared to 35% of them who talk to others. Also 57% of them had social media addiction, 74% of them spent their leisure time on social media sites, 66% felt more pulled to social media than academic pursuits, and 52% of them said that social media had harmed their learning activities. Based on usage, snapchat (45%), instagram (22%), twitter (18%), and whattsapp (7%), were the most widely used app and between 1:00 o’clock AM and 2 o’clock AM, 46% and 39% of them said they went to bed, respectively. A great deal of them (68%) blamed social media use for keeping them up later than usual, and 59% said it had impacted their social connection and ability to sleep. This has an effect on the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of the students as well as on their mental health. Students are happy that social media plays a significant role in their everyday life because they spend a lot of time on it both during day and night. The majority of participants acknowledge using social networking sites often for purposes other than academics. These ingrained behaviors encourage a sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity, which raises children’s risk for non-communicable diseases and mental health problems. They can also make it difficult for children to concentrate on their schoolwork, have negative impact on their grades, social interactions, and sleep patterns.

According to [25] many students in our nation are abandoning their reading habits because they spend so much time on social media. Many secondary school students in Nigeria today have develop antisocial behaviors including fraudulent habits and other undesirable characters that are peculiar in social media. Similar to this, social media has an impact on the reading habits of many Nigerian secondary school pupils since they choose to spend a lot more online than in their books.

According to [26] social networking sites and applications are widely used by students. They spend a lot of their time on these sites as a part of their daily lives. Studies revealed that among the various age groups of students, university students are among the most users of social networking.

On the other hand, students neglect their studies by spreading time on social networking websites rather than studying or interacting with people in person. They forgot the task that were assigned to them and by frequently participating in social networking can negatively affect their grades or hamper their journey to their future careers. It is evident from the result that social media overuse has a bad effect on the study habit of every student. Therefore, students should know how to control themselves in using any social media for them to concentrate with their studies and to reach their highest dreams in life.

Due to the development of technology, students today waste a large portion of their study time on social media rather than focusing on their academic work. The majority of students preferred to watch videos from various programs on YouTube and Facebook, respectively, to keep up with what their peers were sharing. In comparison to studying their academic subjects, students used various social media accounts on average for 6 to 10 hours and 7 to 24 everyday [23].

METHODOLOGY

A. Research Design

This study used descriptive-correlational research design. This research design describes the variables and the relationships that occur naturally between and among them. This research design helps the researchers describe the level of exposure on social media and the study habits of the pupils.

B. Research Participants

The participants of this study were Grade six pupils in a public elementary school in Camarines Sur. The researchers chose respondents from the two sections, wherein each section consists of 46 pupils. The researcher applied purposive sampling technique and generated 60 respondents as representative sample. The inclusion criteria include being a Grade six pupil in that research location, has been an active social media user for three or more years, and has maintained a study habit in the course of his study.

C. Research Instruments

This study used adapted survey questionnaire consisting of series of questions with indicators and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from the respondents. The instruments used were composed of three sets – the first set is for finding the pupils’ level of exposure to social media, the second part is determining the study habits of the pupils, and the third set is for determining how pupils’   level of social media exposure influence their study habits. The interview and survey questionnaire have permission of the principal and respondents following the research ethical considerations.  The survey questionnaire was checked by two experts for content and face validity and reliability.

D. Data gathering Procedure

The researchers followed the step-by-step procedure in gathering the needed data in this study. After the approval of the communication letter asking permission to the principal to gather data from their pupils, the researchers prepared the adapted survey questionnaire and administered it on-site. It was answered by the grade six pupils with the assistance of the researchers. The data generated from the actual conduct of the survey were tabulated and analyzed.

E. Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations were observed during the conduct of the study. Informed consent forms were properly secured from the participants, ensuring their understanding and voluntary participation in the study. The researchers also prioritized the participants’ well-being by observing minimum health protocols during the data gathering. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the process, with any identifying information kept secured and participants’ identities protected in reporting the findings. The researchers handled the recorded data carefully, ensuring its security and privacy.

F. Data Analysis

           The data generated were analyzed using the following statistical tools:

Weighted Mean. A weighted average (weighted mean or scale average) is used when some data values are considered to be more important than other values to contribute more to the final “average”.The data was tallied by multiplying each data point by its weight. The sum of the products was divided by the number of respondents. This tool was used to answer problem number 1 (Level of exposure to social media of Grade 6 Pupils).

Percentage Technique. A frequency count was used to obtain the quantitative meaning of the tabulated data. The scores were divided by the number of respondents multiplied by 100. This tool was used to answer problem number 2 on the study habits of Grade 6 pupils.

Person’s r. Pearson’s r was used to determine the relationship between social media exposure and study habits of Grade 6 pupils.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This study found out that all the indicators under pupils’ level of exposure to social media obtained the computed weighted mean of 3.22 and verbally interpreted as Average. It shows that pupils manage well their study habits and use of social media. In addition, researchers found out that there was no significant correlation between pupils’ level of social media exposure and their study habits. In-depth discussion of the findings is provided below:

1. Pupil’s level of exposure to social media

Understanding the pupils’ level of exposure to social media will help us in measuring its impact to their academic performance. The table below presents the Grade 6 pupils’ level of exposure to social media.

TABLE I. LEVEL OF SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE

Legend: 1.0 – 2.5 Below Average; 2.6 – 3.5 Average; 3.6 – 5.0 Above Average

               As shown in various indicators in Table 1, the computed weighted mean for social media exposure were in the highest weighted mean of 4.02 described as “Above average”, the 2^nd highest weighted mean was 3.98 described as “Above average” and the 3^rd highest weighted mean was 3.58 described as “Average” and the lowest weighted mean was 1.85 described as “Below average”. The overall weighted mean was 3.22 which indicates that the level of social media exposure of the pupils is Average.

              Looking closely on the given indicators, it was noticeable that pupils’ level of social media exposure was noticeably on the average level but two indicators were on Above Average level. These indicators include: Social media allows the respondents to do research for their lesson/assignment, and social media enrich their vocabulary. This implies that pupils who regard social media to have beneficial effects were said to be above average. This can be similarly interpreted from the study conducted by Ganiyu [9] saying that social media usage has advantages on the studies of the respondents.

 Furthermore, the indicators having average interpretations were on its highest having an indicator of: It is difficult to concentrate on his studies while using social media. This can be interpreted as that of the Ezeji & Ezeji [8] that social media has detrimental impact on students’ daily revision of their submission and completion of their homework. In addition, this can be supported by the study of Gok [10] which found out that over 70% of students do not have time for studying both science and social courses. Apart for these classes, 80% 0f female students and 65% of male students study in major course less than one hour. According to this study, students’ study habits, academic performance, and behavior are all negatively impacted by their use of social networking sites. The majority of students spend more time on social media than they do actually studying for classes.

It can also be readily noticed that indicator number 3 received the least of the weighted mean which means that only few of the respondents believe that social media can serve as a venue for releasing school pressure and stress. This further reinforces the earlier findings that students’ level of social media exposure has an opposite effect on them making them more prone to feelings of pressure and stress.

TABLE II. STUDY HABITS OF GRADE 6 PUPILS

                Based on Table 2, the top 5 indicators having the most frequency under Yes or Agree category were:  1) 52 or (86.67%) of the respondents regularly attend their class, 2) 50 or 83.33% takes time to study everyday, 3) 49 or (81.67%) review yesterday’s lecture notes before the class starts, 4) 47 or (78.33%) of the respondents spend enough time studying, and 5) 46 or (76.67%) of them focused entirely on their work when studying, as well as studying for each class every day. Given this data, having a 59.22% out of 522 respondents, it can be inferred that majority of the respondents are practicing good study habits thus making their learning journey more enjoyable and productive. This can be supported by the Interest-Driven Creator Theory of Azikiwe [26] which assumes that learners, when driven by interest, can be engaged in knowledge creation. By repeating such process in their daily learning routines, learners will form interest-driven creation habits that when sustained over time, can lead them into becoming lifelong interest-driven creators.

              On the other hand, the top 5 indicators of which pupils do not practice as part of their study habits are: 1) not taking notes in lecture with 46 or 76.67%, 2) do not make a list of the things to do with 41 or (68.33%), 3) not having trouble finishing tests on time with 40 or (66.67%), 4) not getting sleepy while studying and not giving up if an assignment is difficult with 36 or (60%) and 5) not wasting time because of not being organized and not having the difficulty determining important points in lecture with 33 or (55%). These data clearly show that a considerable number of the respondents (40.78%) do not experience difficulty in their study habits. However, not taking lecture notes and not making a list of the things to do could be very interesting points of further discussion since taking down notes or writing down to-do tasks are important study habits that can aid one’s memory in remembering specific details or information and organization of one’s ideas. It also engages the pupils in active learning since they become alert in selecting important information during oral lectures or independent study.

              This phenomenon can be explained with the emergence of digital note-taking in the academe brought about by the presence of mobile devices that serves as audio and video recorders providing students with more convenience in capturing slide lectures through their devices’ cameras. In a study of Sangalang (2019), it emphasized the efficiency of note-taking skills of students using mobile phones and its effects on academic performance. Given this, Sangalang recommends that instead of prohibiting students in using mobile phones inside the classroom, teachers may make it as an integral part of their classroom.

              Similarly, not making a list of the things to do may be inferred as an after-effects of digital technology usage among the youth cultivating love for instant gratification instead of going through the difficult process of note-taking. This made them more reliant on their gadgets and short-term memory which would often result to forgetfulness and loss of retention. On the other hand, for some students, digital note-taking is arguably better compared to keeping a written to-do list because it helps them in aiding their memory thus avoiding forgetting important tasks, activities, among others. Because of the need to instantly capture reminders or to-do list, students turn to their gadgets to satisfy their need. This is supported by the Gratification theory (Lull, 2002) which discusses the effects of media on people. It explained how people use the media for their own need and get satisfied when their need is fulfilled. In other words, it can be said that the theory argues what people do with media rather than what media does to people. As such, social media both have positive and negative effects to people.

TABLE III. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUPILS’ LEVEL OF SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE AND STUDY HABITS.

In normal situations, it is expected that the pupil’s level of exposure to social media will have a negative effect on their academic performance since social media usage causes loss in pupils’ focus. However, given the focus of the variables of this study, it was found out that social media exposure and study habits have shown no significant relationship.

Table 3 shows the relationship between pupil’s level of social media exposure and study habits. It was revealed 0.571614 correlation or no linear relationship exists between the two variables.

Given these findings, it can be inferred that the study habits of a pupil may still be affected by the social media exposure since it still causes the child to lose his focus, however, testing for significance, the social media exposure cannot have a significant effect on the child’s study habits. These findings can be explained considering the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977 as cited by Mimiaga & Safren, 2009) which provides a system in which the psycho-social components, through which emblematic communication effects the idea, the influence, and human activity, are analyzed and determined. This theory inspects determinants and structures of its effects such as in human behavior, wherein a conduct is created and regulated by environmental effects or inner dispositions, frequently categorized as unidirectional causality. Fonagy (2018) puts basis on the value of oneself and society, individual variables like mental, social, and natural occasions, norms of private behavior and environmental events are determining variables mutually influencing one another.

Thus, individual personalities exposed to various social conditions and are comprising as the respondents of this study had resulted to different results considering their own unique individual variables and behaviors which therefore, cannot give a generalizable stance for that matter.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings, this study concludes that despite the grade 6 pupils’ average level of social media exposure, they were still able to maintain their study habits well. It was concluded that the use of social media does not at all times have negative effects on the children’ focus and capacity to absorb or learn information. Social media can even help them facilitate their school works or assignments.  However, it was also observed that there are some children who cannot balance their social media usage and their study habits. Therefore, this study proves that balancing social media exposure and study habits of pupils are greatly dependent on their individual differences. Hence, the results of this study are not conclusive since there are also other intervening variables that have significantly affected the results. These intervening factors were not looked into by the present study which form part as its limitation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the study’s conclusion, this study recommends that future researches be carried out along this topic. They may conduct additional explorations on other factors that will help in correlating pupils’ level of social media exposure and their study habits. The researchers advise conducting research that is similar to that in other articles because it will broaden the focus and help determine what theory is most appropriate for this type of study. Future researchers will be able to determine the factors that correlates to pupils’ level of exposure and their study habits. Lastly, future researchers are advised to conduct an in-depth analysis of the data by choosing more appropriate tools to compute and find better results of the data that has been gathered.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researchers are indebted for the approval of all respondents to take part in this study. Moreso with the Partido State University and the College of Education for granting the researchers in conducting the study.

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