The Impact of Facebook Addiction on the Academic Performance of Filipino Students

The Impact of Facebook Addiction on Academic Performanceof Filipino Students

Mart Anthony D. dela Peña

Comm2 – C2 Mrs. Noemi Agner March 15, 2012

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The Impact of Facebook Addiction on Academic Performance of Filipino Students Thesis Statement: Although Facebook has offered various benefits to the Philippinesociety, its addiction has become a major problem on the academic performance ofFilipino students.

Outline: I. The History of Facebook II. Facebook as a Social Network A. Facebook Profile 1. Facebook Photos 2. Facebook Groups 3. Facebook Events 4. Facebook Developers 5. Facebook Notes B. Facebook Chat and Messaging III. Facebook Addiction A. Facebook Addiction Defined B. Causes andNature of Facebook Addiction C. Status of Facebook Addiction in the country IV. Impact of Facebook Addiction on Academic Performance ofFilipino Students V. Ways in Minimizing Facebook Addiction in the Philippines

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The Impact of Facebook Addiction on Academic Performance of Filipino Students Facebook has paved the way for a faster, more comfortable and efficient social interaction.Even though many social networking sites preceded it,Facebook is the current biggest social networking sitewith over six hundred million users worldwide and it has an annual growth of 45.2% (Inside Facebook gold, June 2011).In addition, it has more than 28 million users in the Philippines which ranks no. 8 in Facebook statistics by country (socialbakers.com, 2012). Unfortunately, Filipino students have abused the advantages that Facebook extends to them and they have been using it without caution and moderation.Eventually, Facebook has greatly affected their academic lives.Generally, Garcia (2011) stated that Facebook usage have apparent effects, both positive and negative, on students.In 2010, Kirschner and Karpinskifound that Facebook usersspent less time in studying and they had lower grades than those who did not use SNS.However, the study of Kabre and Brown (2011) and Rosen (2011) showed that Facebook usage has no effect on academic performance of students. In relation with this worsening phenomenon, this study will seek toanalyze the impact of Facebook addiction on the academic performance of Filipino students in a multi-perspective approach which some previous studies failed to do so. It will also try to bring about latest statistical data and draw conclusion based on the recent trends of Facebook addiction in the country. In this study, the researcher will attempt to synthesize information about the topic to understand the causes and nature of Facebook addiction in the country. He will also gather recent

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statistical data and facts about Facebook addiction in the country as well as its influence to Filipino students.Lastly, the researcher will focus on the impact of Facebook addiction on the academic performance of Filipino students and will seek to present practicable means in lessening its negative effects. Aside from being the texting capital of the world,after the introduction of internet, the Philippines has the highest number of internet users in the “16 to 24” age groups who join social network groups (Cadiao, 2011).Apparently, this condition is worsening as internet services have been reaching far-flung municipalities in the country. Actually, according Thadani (2011),today‟s largest social networking sitewhich is enjoyed by millions of people around the world was created by Mark Zuckerberg, a sophomore of Harvard University that time, due to a mere chance.Mark, together with his classmates and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes;stole students‟ private dormitory identification pictures by hacking into Harvard‟srecords department andcreated the Facemash on 2003 where two undergraduate photos are placed side by side and viewers are asked which one is “hotter” (webhosting.com). Even though they faced charges filed by the university

officials

for

hacking

into

their

records

department,Mark

and

his

colleaguesimmediately opened The Facebook on 2004 after resolving it. A year later, Mark dropped “the” from the name and the URL and created the Facebook (FB)which was opened to everybody who are over 13 years old. Many privacy policy issues were encountered by Facebook along the way but ithas grown fast and became the biggest social networking site at present.

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Currently, Facebook contains numerous features which have developed together with its controversial history.According to Yaday (2006), Facebook Profile- which includes User Information, Status, Friends in the Network, Photos, Notes, Groups, and TheWall-is one of the interesting content of Facebook which enables user to share information, upload videos and photos, post content and interact with persons through messaging and chat.In addition, hestated that Facebook (FB) Photos is the most popular feature of Facebook because a user can upload unlimited photosand its restriction only limits sixty (60) photos per album.Meanwhile, a user canalso create new groups orparticipate existing ones in the Facebook (FB) Groups. Moreover, the usercanorganize,plan and joinevents and he can also invite and recommend others to an event. Users canalso write a Facebook blog in the Facebook Notes which will be displayed in his profile and friends can add comment about it. On August 2006,Facebook Developers were established that opened Facebook‟s internals to programmers and let them create widgets, mashups, tools and projects based on Facebookwith a limitation of 100,000 requests per day(Yaday, 2006).This feature has also been one of the recent trends in Facebook where games, including Tetris Battle and Ninja Saga, and other applications, such as Horoscope and Calendar of Birthdays, are created. Facebook consists of beneficial social networking featureswhich allow user to interact with a wide-ranged society regardless of distance. It also contains entertaining tools and applications that enhanceusers‟ intellectual and social capacity. However, how did these useful contentscaused addiction and contributed negative effects to Filipino students? The answer is in the definition of addiction and the nature of the Philippines society.

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PsychologyToday.com (2011) defines addiction as“a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (gambling) that can be pleasurable but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work or relationships, even health”. However, shortly after the introduction of internet,this definition of addiction has been widened into a broader sense due to the birth ofinternet addiction disorders and the most common one is the Facebook Addiction (Mootee, 2008). Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD)is now being introduced by psychologists as a form of addiction (abscbnnews.com).According to Fenichel (2009), FAD is the integration of Facebook as a part of a person‟s daily activities like waking up, getting dressed, using the telephone, or checking e-mail. Instead ofaccomplishing certain tasks,Facebook addictsuse Facebook as an escape.Healso added, “One of the ironies is that the very people who might otherwise be working with people professionally to treat addictions, social isolation, etc., seem to be themselves among the most active Facebookers.” Evidently,

FADhas

become

a

serious

problem in the society, particlularly in the Filipino community, but Filipinos seem to neglect its effects.Although no absolute empirical data can determine the new form of addiction, it is apparent that it is worsening in terms of Facebook usage.

The widespread Facebook addiction in the country can be explained by various factors which constantly influence Filipinos. Elvin(2010) and Radwan (2011)cited in their internet articles that unfulfilled social needs and social approval are some of thereasons of social networking addiction. In an economically depressed country like the Philippines, there are many social issues that have not been resolved through the years and one of which is prostitution.However, through Facebook and other social networking sites, victims of these social odds which are

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sometimes unaccepted in their community can easily socialize and they contribute to the increasing number of Facebook users. Aside from the social problems which cause Facebook addiction, Elvin (2011) added that the availability of Facebook on mobile phones alsointensifies the cases of this type of addiction.The country has been nicknamed as the texting capital of the world several years ago and now surveys revealed that Philippines has the highest percentage of Facebook users in relation to its total number of internet users (facebookphilippines.ph). These surveys only show thatmobile phone hasits part in the worsening Facebook usage in the country.

In addition, Filipino culture has a great implication on the status of FB addiction in the country. The country has obviously a young population, based on the age distribution of population, which is why the Filipino youth are fragile to these kinds of phenomenon. For example, when some students sign up on Facebook, others are obliged to join as well because ofstrong ties with peers and the concept of barkadas who greatly influenceone‟s hobby. Another significant factor which worsens FB addiction in the country is our attraction to modern technology. As mentioned earlier, the country has been considered as the texting capital of the world and the highest number of Facebook users in relation to its internet users.

Furthermore, the unregulated mass media intensifies the worsening Facebook addiction in the country. Advertisements and online shopping worsen Facebook addiction in the country becauseit gives the user a more accessible and comfortable way ofengaging in business transactions though they are not secure.Business industries such as the showbiz industry also utilize individuals‟ appreciation of Facebook to generate profits. A classic example is the competition of products on Facebook wherein Starbucks Philippines, Havaianas Philippines and Nescafe Philippines ranked top 3 Philippine products based on their number of fans

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(facebookphilippines.ph). These factors, when summed up, contribute to the individual reasons why Filipino youth are addicted to Facebook.

A comScore market research on 2011 showed that Philippines has the highest percentage of Facebook (FB)users in relation to the country‟s internet users with 93.9% of out the 29.7% of internet users (facebookphilippines.com). On May 2011,based on the statistics by Socialbakers, 24 500 920 Facebook accounts were already created by Filipinosand the country ranked no. 3 with the most number of new Facebook sign-ups on April 2011 with 1.3 million new accounts”.Another astonishing statistics by braincontour.com (2012)also showed that the number of Facebook usersin the country had grown by 78% from November 2010 with 18 million to April 2011 with 23 million users. Currently, the Philippines ranks no. 8 in Facebook statistics by country with over 27 593 300 Facebook users (Socialbakers.com, 2012).Although internet services are not yet available in far-flung areas of the country, these statistics show that Facebook penetration in the country is worse than we actually imagine. By the end of January 2012,Socialbakers released another statistics which showed that27.62%of the Philippinepopulationor 92.91% of Filipino Internet users are Facebook users.It also illustrated that the number of FB users in the country grew by more than 1 356 040 in the last six months (from August 2010 to January 2012).Based on statistics of FB users‟ age distribution in the Philippines, the „largest age group‟ is currently 18 – 24, which is composed mostly of college students, with total of 10 761 387 users and the 13-17 age group has a 19% share of FB users which is reflected in the diagram.

Table 1User Age Distribution on Facebook in Philippines

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A finding from Course Smart: Wakefield Research Study (2011) showed that 73% of college students can't study without some form of technology and 38 % cannot go more than 10 minutes without checking laptop, phone, etc. Apparently, Facebook usage lessens a student‟s time for study and they browse Facebook after school instead of studying. However, a study by Kabre and Brown (2011) andRosen (2011), has shown that media hours and checking Facebook often do not affect a student‟s school performance.Additionally, Ahmed and Qazi (2011)quoted Linda et al saying“students, using internet more, scored higher on reading skills and had higher grades as well”. They alsoclaimed that social networking sites do not harm academic performance of students because, according to them, students are managing their timeefficiently.Although these studies are partially correct, there scope is limited only in their countries and these cannot assure the same scenario in the country. Additionally, according to Cadiao (2011), who focused her study on Filipino college students, Facebook provides social, mental, emotional and technological benefits to students thus it helps them improve their academic life.In her study, she used different psychological and

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social perspectives including Jean Piaget‟s Theory of Cognitive Developmentand Social Constructivist Theories.However, Cadiao (2011) did not consider the concept of Facebook addiction in her study and focused on moderate Facebook usage only. In addition, she centered her study only on student perspective which is a can be considered as a relative variable. Nevertheless,Rouis, Limayem, and Sangari (2011)as well asKirschner and Karpinski (2010) stated thatFacebook lowers grades because students spent less time in studying than those who do not use social networking sites.According to Kirscher and Karpinski (2010), 74%out of the 26% who reported that Facebook had an impact on their lives claimed that it had a negative impact such as procrastination, distraction, and poor-time management.Similarly, Ahmed and Qazi(2011)mentionedKubey, Lavin and Barrows (2001) saying that social networking sites cause impairment of academic performance and internet dependency.Banquil and Burce (2009) also noted that the grades of social networking sites users are dropping continuously.Likewise, Nalwa and Anand (2003) suggested that addiction to social networking sites leads to poor academic performance because addicted users prefer to use internet instead of taking their personal and professional responsibilities.Evidently, these studies emphasized the existence of the abuse of Facebook usage that leads to diversion of students‟ attention from their academics to social networking. Though Rosen (2011) noted that Facebook usage does not affect students‟ academic life because they cannot multi-task, he did not consider that students may focus more on social networking than studying which is the case the Philippines. There are many different ways in minimizing FB addiction but it cannot assure total eradication of the problem. The very basic step in avoiding FB addiction is to admit that you are addicted to Facebook. An internet article by Thurs (2009), also presented several ways of minimizing Facebook usage. He said that a person who is addicted to Facebook may remove

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mini updates and email notifications to avoid temptations and use Facebook-blocking applications to regulate the use of social networking sites. Also, if a person wants to permanently block social networking sites, thedailymind.com suggested applying the following instruction: “Click

START

and

then

select

RUN.

In

that

box

type

notepad

c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. A neat little Notepad will appear with a bunch of computer jargon on it. Scroll down to the last line of that code and type 127.0.0.1 facebook.com. After that Facebook will never show up on your PC again. You can substitute the domain for any other domain that you do not want to view.” This studysought to impart knowledge about the causes and effects of Facebook addiction in the country.Beforeanalyzing facts and data about Facebook addiction, the researcher presented a brief background about the history of Facebook and its features as a social networking site in order to have a clearer idea on why Facebook addiction arises and how it affects the Filipino youth.In addition, the researcherpresentedcertain statistics about the status of Facebook addiction in the Philippines and analyzedthe impact of Facebook addiction on Filipino students. Lastly, the researcher presentedpracticable ways on minimizing Facebook usage and lessening its ill effects. Based on the facts and data gathered as well asthe analysis and discussions about the topic, the researcher conclude that Facebook addictionis very rampant in thePhilippines due to the country‟s tolerance on the usage of the said social networking sites (SNS) which is reflected in theexcessive intervention of the mass media in these SNS and the weak implementation of policies concerning minors‟ use of internet services. Even with many contrasting views on the effects of Facebook addiction on students, the researcher affirms that Facebook addiction contributes negative impact on Filipino students.Although someprevious studiesare correct in

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saying that Facebook usage has a positive impact on the academic performance of students, the researcher claims that its addiction causes the impairment of academic performance. Similarly, the researcher defends his claim because some of these recent studies do not reflect the cases in the Filipino communitydue to differences ofFacebook penetration in countries and some of them are based on moderate Facebook usage only. Finally, theresearcher recommends that the Filipino society must take Facebook addiction seriously and parents must guide the youth, particularly the students, in preventing FB addiction.He also asserts that the local government must promulgate policies to regulate theinternet usage of minors in their respective localities and the national government must impose regulations on advertisements and other related subjects insocial networking sites.Facebook policy should also be enhanced to regulate Facebook usage of minors.Lastly, further studies should be made regarding the topic because the number of FB users is still growing and Facebook trends, together with other trends of other modern-based technology, varies from time to time.

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