The Effects of Mobile Games on the Academic Performance of Grade 12 Students of La

Immaculada Concepcion School

CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

The history of video games goes as far back as the early 1950s, when academic

computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations as part of their

research or just for recreation. In the 1960s, joysticks were invented which are

connected to televisions to allow the control of the game by players. In the 1970s to the

80s, arcade was popularized by some groups of people along with computer scientists,

in that same year, joysticks became bigger, and they added buttons to it to maximize

the movement of the characters of the games.

As years passed by, we had entered many generations like the 6th generation

console, which eventually became the bridge for online gaming and mobile games. In

the year 2013, since the development and widespread consumer use of smartphones,

mobile games have been a driving factor for mobile users, as they can reach people

who cannot afford hardware for a certain game platform like computers, laptops, and

consoles. Before today's modern games and phones, it all started in the 1900s with the

first mobile game which is called "Snake", produced and developed by the Nokia

industry. Later on, the game "Tetris'' was also developed (a few years later after the

Snake was released) by Nokia, which also helped other mobile phone companies not

only to gain an increasement of income from creating and selling their mobile phones
but have also produced and sold their products twice the normal percentage rate and

range.

Many companies have also released video and mobile games, some games that

were made came with sequels, and until today some companies recreate old famous,

most bought video games played. Today, we all have different kinds of mobile games

and even desktop games. Desktop games have now mobile phone game versions

which are easier for players to carry around, and for people who can not afford to buy

laptops or desktops.

(Euromonitor, 2016) Video games in the Philippines remained fragmented in 2015. In

video games software, the mainstay of the category, the top eight players captured less

than a 10% value share. The inability of numerous Filipino families to afford video game

software and hardware at legitimate prices leads them to turn to unlicensed goods

(Vitale, 2010). An increase in pirated video game productions might result in an

increase in owning Gaming Hubs and/or Internet Cafes which might result in a higher

population count of gamers. Anderson (2004) explains that his meta-analysis revealed

that violent video games were strongly related to strongly increased aggressive

behavior, aggressive cognition, cardiovascular arousal, and even decrease in helping

behaviors. In a later meta-analytic study, Anderson et al. (2010) strengthened their

position on the mentioned effects and provided evidence of a decrease in prosocial

behavior, a decrease in empathy, and the presence of desensitization tolerance.

 Playing mobile games can possibly have negative effects on the mental, physical,

and emotional state of a Student. Some of the issues that may occur are depression

and anxiety, as well as social isolation, (Wang J-L Sheng J-R and Wang H-Z, 2019).

(Anderson, Janna and Lee Rainie, 2012),Several studies in psychology have found out

that increased time spent on the Internet can lead to a negative impact on a person's

ability to communicate appropriately face-to-face with friends, peers, family members

including parents. Studies revealed that the human brain is easy to destroy and one of

the reasons is using technology. The education system tends to go with the flow with

this constant change in society in order to get things relevant with the generations

today. According to Kuss & Griffiths (2012), teens who play online games are just

having fun. They do not just actually play because of some sort of seriousness, but also

because they just want to feel relief. During school hours, students tend to feel stressed

due to loads of school work and through playing it will relieve their stress. However,

there are some people along with students who take mobile games seriously because in

mobile gaming there is a business like for example ML players (Mobile Legend players)

stream the game for entertainment and earn money. According to Dennis O. Dumrique

and Jennifer Castillo (2017), It is undeniably questionable that playing online games

provide them something that no one can give. According to some research it is

beneficial. It enables the mind of the players to be more active, especially those puzzle-

based games. Furthermore, it helps the player to come up with decisions in tight

situations, especially those adventure games that keep the players to be alert, active

and strategic. Students' learning takes place unexpectedly, but the inappropriate usage

of playing online games also leads in some problems such as being distracted in
school. Further, it is where the attention of the child was divided that even their health

and social life is unknowingly affected.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Conceptual Framework in this research is systematically explained below:

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

1. Profile of students: Surveys Recommendation:

1.1 Age Questionnaires Recommended time of
1.2 Sex playing games is 30 mins
1.3 Number of minimum, 2 hrs maximum.
Subjects per day When playing mobile
2. Health conditions in games, you are required to
terms of: distance your face from
2.1 Length of having your phone 5 meters away.
illness
2.2 eating habit
2.3 sleeping habit
2.4 eye condition

Figure No.1 (Input, Process and Output of significant relationship between Mobile

Games and study habits.)

The researchers will brainstorm to form ideas to create a brief introduction about

Mobile Games then formulate relevant questions about the study that can be beneficial

to cognitive development of the respondents. In gathering data researchers use

different types of data gathering namely. The researcher’s conclusion about the study is

that there is a significant relationship between playing mobile games and the study

habits of Grade 12 Students in La Immaculada Concepcion School S.Y. 2020-2021.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

According to Peter Dockrill (2016), some psychologists have argued if massive

online players games can be beneficial or not to the cognitive development of a player.

It has been demonstrated and serious games exert different influences on students who

have different levels of intellect. This Peter Dockrill gives the researchers information

and assurance that Mobile Games have a significant relationship about the study habits.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to know the effects of mobile games on the academic performance

of Grade 12 students of La Immaculada Concepcion School

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of?

1.1 Age
1.2 Sex
1.3 Location
2. What are the types of online games the respondents commonly play?
2.1 First Person Shooter
2.2 Role Playing Games
2.3 Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

3. How many hours do they spend in a day?

4. What are the effects of Online games to the respondents?

4.1 Psychological
4.2 Physical
4.3 Emotional
HYPOTHESIS

There is a big significant relationship between playing Mobile Games and the study

habits of 12th grade students in La Immaculada Concepcion School.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study focuses on locating the effects of playing mobile games on the academic

performance of the students. The study is delimited just for the Grade 12 students in La

Immaculada Concepcion School, Inc., the most purpose of our study is to illustrate the

consequences of playing mobile games and aims are determining whether playing

mobile games hinders the accomplishment of their home works. The study only focuses

on mobile games and its reference to the educational performance of the chosen

students. However, the study excludes the results of mobile games to their behavior.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of our study was to seek out how mobile games affect the student’s

understanding of their academic performance and social behavior. Also, this study aims

to give knowledge about how students often use mobile games and how students are

no longer able to focus too much on learning. However, the purpose of our study will not

only focus on the negative effects of mobile games on academic performances but also

the good effect of it. Our results support the final assumption that mobile learning
games have the potential to reinforce motivation. It reveals that game mechanisms like

Collaborative Actions or Augmented Reality provide an incentive to induce engagement

with learning or a specific topic. With respect to knowledge gain, results are less

comprehensive (Dumrique, & Castillo, 2017).

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms are defined according to the context on how they were used in

the study for a clear understanding of what they mean.

1. Mobile Games, is a video game played on a smartphone.

2. Online Games, games that are played online via the Internet.

3. Augmented Reality, a technology that superimposes a computer-generated

image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.

4. First Person Shooter, a type of video game whose gameplay involves shooting
enemies and other targets and in which a player views the action as though
through the eyes of the character they are controlling.

5. Role-Playing Games, a game in which players take on the roles of imaginary

characters who engage in adventures, typically in a particular computerized
fantasy setting overseen by a referee.

6. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, Multiplayer online battle arena is a subgenre

of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each
other on a predefined battlefield.

7. Cognitive, the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and

understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

8. Psychologists, an expert or specialist in psychology.