Social Media Addiction and The Learning Abilities of High

School Students in Maharlika International School

A Research Presented to the Senior High School of Maharlika

International School

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of Senior High

School

By:

Benedita Romana Naga-Soro Victor Sarmento

Date October 21, 2022

 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

Social media has percolated into all generations of

internet users—becoming a prominent communications

apparatus, particularly in the student community. Social

media has been an ongoing predicament since it occurred. It

can be perceived as helpful due to the amount of

information and content that an individual can access, but

on the other hand, most individuals often struggle to stop

or control themselves once they start using social media.

My experience with social media as a student has been both

positive and negative. Using social media has its perks but

it also brings disadvantages to the table. The benefits of

using social media includes acquiring a wide array of

information from multiple sources online, connecting with

people of similar interests through social platforms,

discovering new topics or ideas that might inspire one to

look further into the aforementioned topic or idea, and

using the internet to quickly send or transfer documents or

data to the other party in an easy manner; The

disadvantages however, include the individual potentially

developing depression, anxiety, and disorders that might

affect their personal and social life, decreasing face-to-

face communication skills due to the individual spending

most of their time online, facilitating laziness by

allowing users to have full access to information at all

times, therefore allowing them to plagiarize when it comes

to school work, and causes distractions to occur when it

comes to academic learning.

Dili is the capital city and chief port of Timor-

Leste, otherwise known as East Timor, and is located on the

northern coast of the island. Due to being the capital of

its country, Timor is very much dependent on this city for

its many rising and developing economic changes—one of

these changes being the imminent uprising of the use of

social media. Social Media usage by the citizens of Dili

have been rampant due to easy access to devices such as

smart phones, iPhones, tablets, iPads, and laptops which

are connected to the internet. And the uninhibited use of

social media causes addiction, which has extremely

increased in recent times. Locals in Dili can be seen using

social media as a daily part of their lives; situations

including—while commuting to work, while eating, while

doing mundane tasks, while on their break or free time, and

even while using the restroom. This has led to a rise in

questions about the impact of social media and the internet

on the academic performance and the possibility of using it

as a teaching tool.

Social media goes through constant changes, and due to

that fact, there is no fixed definition of it—as Jacks and

Scott (2011), argued that “there is no single recognized

definition for social media”. Oxford (2011) defined social

media as “websites and applications used for social

networking”. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) also defined social

media as a group of internet-based applications that build

on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0

and allow the creation and exchange of user-generated

content. Another definition of social media by Dearborn

(2014) states that it is a “communication channel which is

very popular, extremely fast and broad, has proven to be

high effective, as well as trusted by billions of people to

share, discover content concerning individuals, brands,

information, entertainment, and knowhow.” The similarities

with these definitions involve social media being explained

as a means of communication between individuals over the

internet.

Social media commenced in the late 1990s with its

earliest form—the first recognized social media network,

called “SixDegress” surfacing in 1997. This technology

allowed people to make profiles online and make friends.

Since then, social media has developed and improved

tremendously. Today, uncountable types of social networking

sites exist—developed for local use, international use, or

specific purposes. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) classified

social media into six (6) different categories:

1. Collaborative Project (Wikipedia)

2. Blogs and Micro Blogs (Twitter)

3. Content Communities (YouTube)

4. Social Networking Sites (Facebook)

5. Virtual Game World (World of War Craft)

6. Virtual Second World (Second Life)

This classification of social media into classes has been

useful to scholars and individuals for proficient

identification and study of a particular social media type.

But today, a difficulty in identifying these social media

classes may arise due to the high proliferation of social

media, as new groups or categories of social media has

developed as time passes by. Heyam (2014) stated that

social media is considered to be the fastest growing series

of web applications in the 21st century. This rapid

development is also being backed by technological

advancement.
 Social media today has taken a new dimension and has

encouraged more participation through the introduction of

mobile phones that support social network applications.

Social network applications have now been migrated from the

computer to mobile phones, network information and

communication can be integrated into public space; and

these new services that are developed for mobile phones

allow users to create, develop, and strengthen their social

ties (Humphreys, 2007).

Positive Effects of Social Media on Student’s Academic Life

Many of students’ lives have moved to a different

dimension since the introduction of social media, and

several studies have confirmed that social media plays an

important role on students, including the study conducted

by Wheeler and Yeomans (2008) & Rifkin, Longnecker, Leach,

and Ortia (2009). In their study, they recognize four (4)

major advantages of social media usage by students which

included; enhancing relationships, improving learning

motivation, offering personalized course material, and

developing collaborative skills. Social media has

definitely contributed to facilitating learning in the 21st

century. Although there have been other schools that state

social media being a nuisance to their students’ academic

life—such as Kuppuswamy and Shankar (2010)—who argued in

their study that social media distracts the attention and

concentration of the students towards learning and converts

in to non-educational activities such as useless and

unnecessary chatting; there have been several studies

conducted afterwards whose findings are contrary to the

claims mentioned above. For instance, the study conducted

by Jain, Verma, and Tiwari (2012)—titled “The Impact of

Social Networking in Promoting Education”—revealed that

students benefit from chatting with other students,

teachers, and external sources to acquire knowledge.

Negative Effects of Social Media on Students’ Academic Life

The enumeration of some of the risks associated with

social media by Davies and Cranson, 2008 included criminal

activities such as identity theft, fake contacts, sexual

abuse, harassment, and unstable advertising; most of which

are prevalent today. O’keeffe and Clakepearson (2011), also

mentioned cyberbullying, online harassment, sexting,

facebook depression, and privacy concerns as some of the

challenges associated with social media

 Cyber Bullying

Cyberbullying is a category of bullying that occurs in

the digital realm or medium of electronic text. It is any

behavior performed through electronic or digital media by

individuals or groups that repeatedly communicates hostile

or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or

discomfort on others (Tokunaga, 2010). The causes of

cyberbullying were significantly related with the use of

proactive aggression, justification of violence, exposure

to violence, and less perceived social support of friends

(Calvete, Orue, Estevez, Villardon, and Padilla, 2010)

Privacy Concerns

The rate at which students post or share fake

information is alarming, and it is difficult to realize

that what people say and post are who they truly are. It is

also arguable on the fact that the privacy options offered

by most social media sites do not provide users with the

flexibility needed to handle conflicts with individuals who

have different concepts of privacy (Preibusch, Hoser,

Gurses, and Berendt, 2007).

 Other studies conducted by researchers have also

proved that social media can be detrimental to a student’s

academic life if not used carefully or properly. Social

media affects students’ use of English; They use shortcuts

when chatting with friends and unconsciously get used to

them and thereby replicating the same errors during

examinations. One might argue that these are minor

challenges, but it is important to note and acknowledge the

increasing rate at which these errors are replicated in the

education sector and if not taken seriously, future

generations may see it as a norm (Obi, Bulus, Adamu,

Sala’at, 2012). A number of studies including but not

limited to: the study of Kuppuswamy and Shankar (2010),

Osharive (2015), Maya (2015), revealed that social media

can be problematic to students’ academic life if not used

properly

Social Media is currently home to nearly 58.5% of the

world population; roughly 4.62 billion people use social

media on an average of two (2) hours and twenty-three (23)

minutes, and more than two hundred (200) million people

worldwide are estimated to suffer from social media

addiction. Young adults who spend five (5) hours a day on

social media are two times (2x) more likely to show

depressive symptom. (Dr. Maegan R., 2020)

 50% of people are caught while driving and scrolling

through social media (Maya, 2022), 73% of people sleep with

or next to their phones at night which may lead to

overexposure to radiofrequency energy. (Ian Watts, 2022)

Students all over the world also experience addiction

to social media. Academic performance which is determined

by the grades of a student is one of the many great

concerns. Students who spend an unwarranted amount of time

on the internet becomes dependent on it and allows their

academic performance to deplete commensurately. It is

discerned that a student’s grades will suffer when spending

too much time on social platforms such as Instagram,

Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube or Facebook, while an exorbitant

amount of study time is lost. The fear of missing out—“The

desire to stay continually connected to what others are

doing”—has a direct effect on problematic social media use

with the fear of being negatively evaluated and self-

perception of low self-presentational skills. Furthermore,

when students feel lonely, they prefer to spend time on

social media platforms.

Addiction is “a dependence on a behavior or substance

that a person is powerless to stop”(Olendorff, Jeryan,

Boyden, 1999), and a social media addiction is defined by

Adreassen and Pallesen (2014) as “being overly concerned

about social media, to be driven by a strong motivation to

log on to or use social media, and to devote so much time

and effort to social media that it impairs other social

activities, studies or job, interpersonal relationships,

and/or psychological health and well-being”.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced by the brain

that plays an important role in addiction. Certain

behaviors—including internet use—stimulates the release of

dopamine and that release causes a feeling of pleasure or

enjoyment. An individual may become addicted to any

activity that causes dopamine to be released, therefore

seeking to engage in that activity or behavior repeatedly

in order to re-experience the pleasurable feeling. Numerous

aspects of internet use can stimulate the brain to release

dopamine, including internet rewards that feed into the

addiction of social media users. Some sources insist that

social media addiction is not actually a true medical

condition, but merely a symptom of various types of

personal problems and mental health disorders such as

anxiety or depression. However, addiction to social media

can cause anxiety and depression, and the same goes for

vice versa. Excessive use and lack of control are

classified as the main reasons as to why people get

addicted to social media. Social media addiction not only

affects a specific group of people, but a rather wide range

of demographics.

This study will focus more on how students react to

social media and its effects on their mental and emotional

health. In the last century, education has developed into

technology-based learning programs and is considered one of

the most rapid growing facilities in the world today.

Social media technology can be defined as an important tool

of education that has improved international development in

the education sector around the world. The researcher

conducted this study because they are also part and exposed

to such addiction and misuse. They have noticed in the

school campus that social media affects the academic

performance of High School students of Maharlika

International School by spending their whole time on it and

ignoring their school works, resulting in lower grades and

poor class performance. The researcher wants to know the

positive and negative effects of social media to the

academic of High School students in Maharlika International

School and the factors that causes poor class performance

results. The researcher also wants to know how social media

can improve a student’s academic performance in an

effective way. The researcher is also curious and

interested to know if this study can help them avoid this

so-called addiction or if already involved in this

addiction—help them find ways to get rid of the said

addiction and gain back their interests in their studies

and school activities.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

This study focuses mainly on how students deal with

the mental and physical effects—positive or negative—that

have accumulated as a result of excessive use of social

media or social media addiction and how they overcome or

mitigate these effects.

Definition of Terms

The researcher has used conceptual definitions for

this study which gives clear understanding to the readers.

For clarification and appreciation of the current study,

the following terms are defined:

Social Media

Social media are websites and applications that

enables users to create and share content or to participate

in social networking.

Technology
 Technology refers to methods, systems, and devices

which are the result of scientific knowledge being used for

practical purposes. (Collins Dictionary, 2022)

Internet

The internet is a global computer network providing a

variety of information and communication facilities,

consisting of interconnected networks using standardized

communication protocols. (Megan Bence, 2016)

Addiction

Addiction is a fact or condition of having a compulsive

need for a particular substance, thing, or activity.

Mental Health

Mental health is the ability to think clearly, cope

with stress, manage emotions, and make good decisions. (Red

Oak Recovery, 2022)

Depression

Depression is a common and serious medical illness

that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think,

and the way you act. (NHS, 2019)

 Academic Performance

Academic performance pertains to how well a student

meets academic standards set out by the local government

and the institution itself. (Melissa Bell, 2018)

Facebook

Facebook is a popular free social networking website

that allows users to create profiles, upload photos, videos

and links, and send messages and keep in touch with

friends, family, and colleagues. (Chien Yu, 2020)

Instagram

Instagram is a photo and video sharing social

networking service that allows users to upload media that

can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and

geographical tagging. (Vibroidxire, 2022)

Snapchat

Snapchat is an American social media platform ran by

Snap Inc. that allows users to send pictures and messages

that last for a short period of time

Twitter
 Twitter is a social site designed to let users share

short messages or “updates” with other users

General Objective of the Study

To raise awareness among students on how harmful

social media addiction can be to their mental and emotional

health, and their learning abilities or academic

performances. This study aims to discover the impact of

social media on academic performance among students and to

obtain the benefits that are gained from using social

media. This study aims to know the social factors that

affect the high school students of Maharlika International

School to become addicted to social media. This study also

aims to know how this addiction affects the lack of

interest that students have towards their school work and

activities. It also aims to aid students with mitigating

the effects of social media with solutions that the

researcher will provide by the end of this study.

Significance of the Study

This study undertakes the edification of a better

understanding on how social media affects high school

students’ learning abilities and academic performances. The

findings will contribute to applying the proper usage of

social media by examining the social factors that are

linked to the causes of social media addiction towards high

school students.

Benefits and Beneficiaries

High School Students of Maharlika International School:

They will find here the advantages and disadvantages

of using social media and the internet and will hopefully

use these factors to help separate good and bad habits.

All Students of Maharlika International School:

To be more aware and monitor their personal usage of

social media and to teach self-restraint and

responsibility.

Faculty Members of Maharlika International School:

To be more mindful and attentive of the actions

executed by their students and educate them about their

limitations of using social media.

Guidance Counselor of Maharlika International School:

They can use the gathered data in the study to reach

students who are affected and hold a seminar or awareness

program at school about exercising control over the use of

social media.

Parents of All Students in Maharlika International School:

 They can be more aware of their children’s digital

footprint and apply rules or monitor the number of hours

that they spend on social media or the internet

Any Communities Possessing the Same Kind of Case:

They can read about the study and use it as a guide on

having a better understanding on the emergence of this

issue and how to deal with it.

Statement of the Problem

In recent years, the internet and social media has

been the most important source of information. The growing

aspects or features of the use of social media cannot be

underestimated any further. It has been noticed that the

high school students of Maharlika International School

dedicate more of their attention and time to social media

and the internet than they do for their academic studies,

and that causes them to get distracted or lose focus. These

distractions would then result to failure to commit to

academic standards set by institutions or the local

government in their exams or works. Academic excellence

plays an important role when it comes to a student’s life

as it affects life situations among families, social

gatherings, in an institution, in a workplace, or among

colleagues. Many individuals are concerned with discovering

ways with which they can improve their academic

performance. Many parents and guardians share concerns that

most students are spending too much time online and

therefore cannot manage their schedules as to the amount of

time they study. And although parents continue to voice

their concerns, this issue is still ongoing as students

continue to utilize these sites on a daily basis. We must

reduce the number of hours that students spend on social

media platforms to increase their productivity in their

academic studies and learning abilities, and lessen the

negative mental and physical effects of social media

addiction on young adults. This researcher seeks to

investigate the level of engagement of high school students

of Maharlika International School into social media and to

also determine the effects of social media use on their

academic work and performances. This study will focus on

these following questions:

1. Does the use of social media sites have any impact on

the academic performance of high school students in

Maharlika International School?

2. What are the benefits that they derive from using

social media?

3. Why do students visit social media sites?

 Chapter II

DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter will explain the methodologies and

research design to be used , the scope or population of the

study, the gathering tools and procedures applied, and the

treatment of the data

Scope of the Study

The participants of the study are limited to the High

School students of Maharlika International School. The

targeted respondents are aimed to identify the students who

are addicted to social media, resulting in poor academic

performances. A total sample of 53 students were selected

as participants to answer the questionnaire. The

respondents of this survey will focus strictly on High

School students, assuming that they are allowed to use

social media. The survey will be distributed to the

targeted respondents ranging from Grade 7 to Grade 12

students in the High School Department of Maharlika

International School. The area of coverage of this study

will be conducted in Fatuhada, Dili, since it is where

Maharlika International School is located.

Methodology

A survey method was used to solicit data and information

from the junior and senior high school students of

Maharlika International School during free periods and

break times of the first semester of 2022-2023 academic

year. A set of questionnaires were designed by the

researcher to collect information and data. The researcher

floated the questionnaires out to the high school

department during break times, then gathered the data to

later be used in the research. The questions in the

questionnaire focuses on assessing how social media affects

the student’s learning and academic abilities.

Data Gathering Tool

Questionnaires will be handed out to junior and senior

high school students of Maharlika International School. The

questionnaire consists of questions that will evaluate how

students use social media and how it affects their studies

in school.
Data Gathering Procedure

The data used in the study will be collected from the

aforementioned participants. This study will be conducted

for 1 week with the 54 high school participants of

Maharlika International School. The researcher will

administer the questionnaires during free periods and/or

breaktimes. When the participants have completed the

questionnaire, the researcher will collect the data and

promptly tally it in a table and classify the data. The

questionnaire consisted of the following questions:

1. Would you say you are addicted to social media?

2. Does social media affect your academics?

3. What are the positive effects of social media to your

academic or class performances?

4. What are the negative effects of social media to your

academic or class performances?

5. What are the social factors that causes your academic

or class performance to result in a poor academic

performance?

6. On average, how many hours do you spend on social

media sites?

7. On average, how many hours do you spend studying?

 8. Do you think social media can help you improve your

academic or class performance?

Treatment of the Data

Frequency, percentage, and tables were used to

calculate the academic performance and social media

addiction levels of junior and senior high school students

of Maharlika International School.

Table 1: Table of population

Year Levels No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

7 6 11.32%

8 10 18.87%

9 10 18.87%

10 15 28.30%

11 4 7.55%

12 8 15.09%

Total 53 100%

Table 1 gives the distribution of students and number

of respondents per class.

 Chapter III

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The previous chapter presents the research design and

methodology, population, data gathering tool, data

gathering procedure, and treatment of data.

This chapter represents the interpretation of the

computed values of the positive and negative effects of

social media and how it affects students in their academic

learning abilities.

Social Media Addiction

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “Would you say you are

addicted to social media?”

Table no. 2 shows 2 responses containing “yes” and

“no” with the highest percentage of 77.36% of which the

respondents answered yes, and the remaining percentage of

22.64% where the respondents answered no. There were a

total number of 53 respondents and a total percentage of

100%.
Table 2: Would you say you are addicted to social media?

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 41 77.36%

No 12 22.64%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 2 shows that 41 respondents representing

77.36% said that they are addicted to social media and 12

respondents representing 22.64% said that they are not

addicted to social media. The analysis indicates a majority

of respondents 77.36% is addicted to social media. The

remaining 22.64% however, claim to not be addicted to

social media.

Social Media Effects on Academic Performance

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “Does social media

affect your academics?”

Table no. 3 shows 2 responses containing “yes” and

“no” with the highest percentage of 64.15% of which the

respondents answered yes, and the remaining percentage of

35.85% where the respondents answered no. There were a

total number of 53 respondents and a total percentage of

100%.

Table 3: Does social media affect your academics?

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 34 64.15%

No 19 35.85%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 3 shows that 34 respondents representing

64.15% said yes when asked if social media affected their

academics and 19 respondents representing 35.85% said no

when asked if social media affected their academics. It can

be deduced from this table that majority of the 64.15% of

the respondents affirmed that the use of social media

affects their academic performance, while the remaining

35.85% of the respondents denied that the use of social

media affects their academic performance. This study

confirms MehMood and Taswir’s (2013) study that states the

use of technology such as the internet and social media is

one of the factors that can influence students’ academic

performances positively or adversely. This claim is further

supported by Choney (2010), and San Miqual (2009) who

believe that students’ use of social media will have

negative effect on their academic performance.

Positive Effects of Social Media on Academic Performance

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “What are the positive

effects of social media on your academic or class

performance?”

Table no. 4 shows 4 responses which contained “it

helps me with my assignments” which garnered 64.15% of the

respondents’ answers, “It helps me to be updated from the

latest school events” which garnered 9.43% of the

respondents’ answers, “It is a source of communication

which is a tool for dissemination” which garnered 26.42% of

the respondents’ answers, and an “Other” option which

garnered 0 answers from the respondents. There were a total

number of 53 respondents and a total percentage of 100%.

Table 4: What are the positive effects of social media on

your academic or class performances?

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

It helps me with
34 64.15%
my assignments

It helps me to be

updated from the

5 9.43%
latest school

events

It is a source of

communication
14 26.42%
which is a tool

for dissemination

Other 0 0%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 4 shows that 34 respondents representing

64.15% said that social media helps them with their

assignments, 5 respondents representing 9.43% said that

social media helps them to be updated from the latest

school events, 14 respondents representing 26.42% said that

social media is a source of communication which is a tool

for dissemination, and 0 respondents chose the other

option. From this table, we can conclude that majority of

the respondents 64.15% use social media to help them with

their assignments in school. 9.43% of the respondents use

social media to keep themselves updated to latest school

events. And the remaining 26.42% uses social media as a

communication tool in order to spread or transfer

information.

Negative Effects of Social Media on Academic Performance

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “What are the negative

effects of social media on your academic or class

performance?”

Table no. 5 shows 4 responses which contained “It

distracts me from studying” which garnered 41.51% of the

respondents’ answers, “It entertains me a lot, therefore I

do not have time to study” which garnered 30.19% of the

respondents’ answers, “It lowers my grades in my subjects”

which garnered 9.43% of the respondents’ answers, and an

“Other” option which garnered 18.87% of the respondents’

answers. There were a total number of 53 respondents and a

total percentage of 100%.

Table 5: What are the negative effects of social media to

your academic or class performance?

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

It distracts me
22 41.51%
from studying

It entertains me a

lot, therefore I
16 30.19%
do not have time

to study

It lowers my

grades in my 5 9.43%

subjects

Other 10 18.87%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 5 shows that 22 respondents representing

41.51% said that social media distracts them from studying,

16 respondents representing 30.19% said that social media

entertains them a lot; so therefore, they do not have time

to study, 5 respondents representing 9.43% said that social

media lowers their grades in their subjects, and 10

respondents representing 18.87% chose the other option. The

table implies that 41.51% of the respondents believes that

social media distracted them from studying. 30.19% of the

respondents shared that social media provides them with a

multitude of entertainment, therefore they do not have time

to study. 9.43% of the respondents believes that social

media negatively affects their academic performance by

lowering their grades. 18.87% of the respondents provided

alternate responses to the question; most wrote that there

were no negative effects of social media to their academic

performance. A study done by Choney (2010), and San Miqual

(2009) affirm that students’ use of social media will have

negative effect on their academic performance.

Social Factors That Cause Poor Academic Performance

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “What are the social

factors that causes your academic or class performance to

result in a poor academic performance?”

Table no. 6 shows 4 responses which contained

“Addiction to social media platforms such as Instagram,

Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube” which garnered

35.85% of the respondents’ answers, “Lack of slee and

concentration due to spending too much time on social media

sites” which garnered 20.75% of the respondents’ answers,

“Laziness because of social media sites” which garnered

33.97% of the respondents’ answers, and an “Other” option

which garnered 9.43% of the respondents’ answers. There

were a total number of 53 respondents and a total

percentage of 100%.

Table 6: What are the social factors that causes your

academic or class performance to result in a poor academic

performance?

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Addiction to

social media

platforms such as

Instagram, 19 35.85%

Snapchat,

Facebook, Twitter,

or YouTube

Lack of sleep and

concentration due

to spending too 11 20.75%

much time on

social media sites

 Laziness because

of social media 18 33.97%

sites

Other 5 9.43%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 6 shows that 19 respondents representing

35.85% chose addiction to social media platforms such as

Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube when

asked what the social factors were that causes their

academic performance to result in poor academic

performance, 11 respondents representing 20.75% chose lack

of sleep and concentration due to spending too much time on

social media sites, 18 respondents representing 33.97%

chose laziness because of social media sites, and 5

respondents representing 9.43% chose the other option.

Table no. 6 alludes that 35.85% of the respondents believed

that the social factors that were causing their academic

performance to result in a poor academic performance was

their addiction to social media platforms. 20.75% of the

respondents believed that a lack of sleep and concentration

due to spending too much time on social media sites

contributes to the social factors that were causing their

academic performance to worsen. 33.97% believed that their

laziness because of social media sites provided to the

social factors that affected the academic performance

negatively. While the remaining 9.43% wrote alternative

responses—all five (5) respondents wrote that there were no

social factors that causes their academic performance to

result in a poor academic performance.

Hours Spent on Social Media Sites

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “How many hours do you

spend on social media?”

Table no. 7 shows 4 responses which contained “Less

than 1 hour” which garnered 13.21% of the respondents’

answers, “1-2 hours” which garnered 16.98% of the

respondents’ answers, “3-4 hours” which garnered 26.42% of

the respondents’ answers, and “5 hours and above” option

which garnered 43.49% of the respondents’ answers. There

were a total number of 53 respondents and a total

percentage of 100%.
Table 7: How many hours do you spend on social media sites?

Responses Frequency Percentage (%)

Less than 1 hour 7 13.21%

1-2 hours 9 16.98%

3-4 hours 14 26.42%

5 hours and above 23 43.39%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 7 shows that 7 respondents representing

13.21% stated that they spend less than 1 hour on social

media, 9 respondents representing 16.98% stated that they

spend 1-2 hours on social media, 14 respondents

representing 26.42% stated that they spend 3-4 hours on

social media, 23 respondents representing 43.39% stated

that they spend 5 hours and above on social media. From

this table, we can further determine that majority of the

43.39% of the respondents spend an alarming amount of 5 or

more hours of their time on social media. 26.42% of the

respondents spend an overwhelming 3-4 hours of their time

on social media. 16.98% of the respondents spend an average

of 1-2 hours of their time on social media. And the

remaining 13.21% of the respondents spend less than 1 hour

of their time on social media

 Hours Spent on Studying

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “How many hours do you

spend studying?”

Table no. 8 shows 4 responses which contained “I don’t

study” which garnered 30.19% of the respondents’ answers,

“Less than 1 hour” which garnered 43.40% of the

respondents’ answers, “1-2 hours” which garnered 22.64% of

the respondents’ answers, and “3-4 hours” option which

garnered the remaining 3.77% of the respondents’ answers.

There were a total number of 53 respondents and a total

percentage of 100%.

Table 8: How many hours do you spend studying?

Responses Frequency Percentage (%)

I don’t study 16 30.19%

Less than 1 hour 23 43.40%

1-2 hours 12 22.64%

3-4 hours 2 3.77%

Total 53 100%
 Table no. 8 shows that 16 respondents representing

30.19% said that they don’t study, 23 respondents

representing 43.40% said that they spend less than 1 hour

of their time studying, 12 respondents representing 22.64%

said that they spend 1-2 hours of their time studying, and

2 respondents representing 3.77% said they spend 3-4 hours

of their time studying. Table no. 8 proves that students

spend less of their time studying than they do spending

their time on social media platforms. A majority of 43.40%

of the respondents study less than an hour. 30.19% of the

respondents don’t study at all. 22.64% of the respondents

study an average of 1-2 hours. And only 3.77% of the

respondents study 3-4 hours.

Improvement in Academic Work by Social Media

The table below shows the responses of the respondents

when they are asked the question of “DO you think social

media can help you improve your academic or class

performance?”

Table no. 9 shows 2 responses containing “yes” and

“no” with the highest percentage of 73.58% of which the

respondents answered yes, and the remaining percentage of

26.42% where the respondents answered no. There were a

total number of 53 respondents and a total percentage of

100%.

Table 9: Do you think social media can help you improve

your academic or class performance?

Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 39 73.58%

No 14 26.42%

Total 53 100%

Table no. 9 shows that 39 respondents representing 73.58%

said yes when asked if social media can help them improve

their academic performance and 14 respondents representing

26.42% said no when asked if social media can help them

improve their academic performance. From this table, we can

conclude that a majority of 73.58% of the respondents think

that social media can help them improve their academic

performance. The remaining 36.42% of respondents however,

deny that social media can help improve their academic

performance. Although it was confirmed in the study that

most of the respondents use the social media sites for

other purposes rather than academic work, the respondents

are aware of how social media affects their academic

performance.
 Chapter IV

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions of the research

study based on the findings presented in chapter 3. Also,

recommendations will be made to improve or help struggling

students with their academic performance.

Conclusions

In relation to the following study, the following

conclusions were drawn:

1. Social media affects students’ academic performance

based on the way it is used—whether it be positive

or negative.

2. High School students in Maharlika International

School spend more time on social media than they do

on studying.

3. Most High School students of Maharlika are addicted

to social media platforms and sites.

4. Social media helps students with their assignments

5. Social media distracts most students from studying.

6. Most High School students of Maharlika International

School thinks that social media can help them

improve their academic performance

Recommendations

Based on the findings and aforementioned conclusions,

the following recommendations are presented:

➢ Recommendations for students to improve or lessen

their addiction to social media:

1. Set boundaries between yourself and social media

platforms and sites by setting restrictions or

limiting your screen time on your mobile device or

laptop or PC.

2. Find and discover hobbies that benefit your academic

performance to help you distract yourself from

social media platforms and sites.

3. Take a break and delete apps or set limits by

disabling notifications from social media.

4. Don’t have your phone beside you whilst you sleep.

➢ Recommendations for students to improve their academic

performance:

1. Use technology to your advantage, but know and set

your limits.

2. Be organized and consistent with your assignments or

homeworks.

3. Connect with classmates or others—don’t be afraid to

ask for help when you need it.

 REFERENCES

Asur, S & Huberman, B.A. (2010). Predicting the future with

social media. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45909086.

Boyd, D. M & Ellison, N.B (2007). Social networking sites:

definition, history, and scholarships. Pp. 210-230

Brown S. (2010). From VLES to Learning webs: the

implication of Web 2.0 for learning and teaching.

Interactive Learning Environments, 18(1) pp. 1-10.

Retrieved from

https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10494820802102158983.

Davies, T., & Cranston P. (2008). Youth work and social

networking. Final research report. Retrieved from

https://www.nya.org.uk/resource/youth-work-social-

networking.

Dearborn E., (2014). My official definition of social

media. Retrieved from

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140929215745-47165795.

Heyam A. A., (2014). The influence of social networks on

students’ academic performance. Journal of Emerging Trends

in Computing and Information Sciences. 5. ISSN 2079-8407.

Retrieved from https://www.cisjournal.org.

Jain N. Verma, A., Verma, R., & Tiwari, P. (2012). Going

social: the impact of social networking in promoting

education. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED548379.

Khan, S., (2010). The impact of social networking websites

on students. Retrieved from https://www.irjims.com.

O’Keeffe, G., & Clake-pearson, K.C., (2011). The impact of

social media on children, adolescents, and families.

Retrieved from https://www.pediatrics.aappublications.org.

Osharie, P., (2015). Social media and academic performance

of students. Retrieved from

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Pappas, C., (2013). The role of social media in E-learning.

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social-media-in-elearning

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 Appendix A
Maharlika International School
Fatuhada, Dili, Timor-Leste
High School Department

Social Media Addiction and The Learning Abilities of High School Students in Maharlika
International School

Name (Optional): _________________________________ Age: ___________________

Year and Section: ________________________________ Gender: ________________
Direction: Read and understand each question carefully. Put a check on the box of your
chosen answer

1. Would you say you are addicted to social media?

 Yes
 No

2. Does social media affect your academics?

 Yes
 No

3. What are the positive effects of social media to your academic or class
performances?
 It helps me with my assignments
 It helps me to be updated from the latest school events
 It is a source of communication which is a tool for dissemination (to spread)
 Others; Specify _________________

4. What are the negative effects of social media to your academic or class
performances?
 It distracts me from studying
 It entertains me a lot, therefore I do not have time to study
 It lowers my grades in my subjects
 Others; Specify _________________
5. What are the social factors that causes your academic or class performance to
result in a poor academic performance?
 Addiction to social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook,
Twitter, or YouTube
 Lack of sleep and concentration due to spending too much time on social media
sites
 Laziness because of social media sites
 Others; Specify _________________

6. On average, how many hours do you spend on social media sites?

 Less than 1 hour
 1-2 hours
 3-4 hours
 5 hours and above

7. On average, how many hours do you spend studying?

 I don’t study
 Less than 1 hour
 1-2 hours
 3-4 hours

8. Do you think social media can help you improve your academic or class
performance?
 Yes
 No