Computer Games Addiction: Their Effects on the Academic Performance of Grade 6 Pupils of Nagkaisang Nayon

Abstract

The 21st century is a world surrounded by technology. As such, children have no other ways of recreating themselves but through computers. Computers were invented to improve one's quality of life. However, due to the rampant its use, the users become addicted to it, spending so much time in computer games. Addiction to the computer has a big impact on academic performance. Students waste so much time on computers instead of doing their lessons, particularly their assignments, projects, and others. It is of these reasons why researchers decided to conduct this study. The Descriptive method was used. This is to verify and determine the effects of computer games addiction on the academic performance of grade 6 pupils. Purposive sampling techniques were employed to select 40 pupils, while questionnaires, unstructured interviews, and focused group discussions were used to elicit information from the respondents. Frequency and ranking were used to determine the profile of the respondents, their computer games played, the length of time, and the amount of money they usually spend in a day. Weighted mean was used also to determine the effect of computer game addiction to the respondents. The respondents were males, ages ranging from 11 to 12 years old. They revealed that respondents played Dota, League of legends and Rules of survival games which they usually spent one (1 ) to two ( 2 ) hours daily, spending P50 to 70 pesos in computer rentals coming from their daily allowance. These decreased their academic performances because they lost interest in studying their school lessons and activities. Students' main duty is to attend class and do assignments instead of playing games on computers. To avoid this, teachers should record their attendance and checked assignments regularly. Also, they should see to it that they make teaching interesting and enjoyable like the computer games students play outside school. Schools should offer programs and activities for millennials and that parents should closely monitor their children's academic performances.