THE EFFECT OF OVERDEPENDENCE ON TECHNOLOGY ON THE

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 12 STEM STUDENTS IN BICOL

COLLEGE

RESEARCHERS:

ALEMANIA, Sweet Mae Louise A.

ARIENDA, Wayne Lawrence B.

CHAN, John Michael L.

DAGSIL, Sophia Cassandra

LICUP, Claro Alejandro R.

LIRIO, Andrei Hartzel M.

MARBELLA, Floyd L.

PALEJON, Lhem M.

RESPICIO, Michael Jay A.

ROSAMIRAN, Bea Grace N.

 Introduction

Rationale of the Research

In today’s generation the performance on the academic became over

dependent on the technology the popularization of technologies has increased.

The possibility that students can freely engage in many activities without some

restrictions from others. The excessive use of smartphones for entertainment or

leisure purposes has a negative impact on students' daily lives. When

smartphones are primarily used for entertainment and leisure, the risk of

smartphone dependence increases, potentially leading to distractions from

academic responsibilities.

The influence of teenagers using technology, such as smartphones,

tablets, and other digital devices, to carry out their tasks on the excessive

dependence on technology may vary. Moreover, the relationship between the

time spent on technology during tasks and overdependence is shaped by the

proportion of technology used for task completion. The use of technology can be

distracting and appears to cause an erosion of students’ sustained attention and

deep thinking which can ultimately translate to poor academic performance. The

level of dependence on technology nowadays majority of their time use for

leisure or games.

Technology, including devices like smartphones and tablets, also appears

to contribute to a culture of instant gratification and impatience due to the easy

access to information provided by the internet. Furthermore, while digital

technologies can enhance education, recent studies indicate that excessive use

of digital media can have negative effects on learning, sleep patterns, and overall

well-being among students. These effects include heightened stress levels,

increased anxiety, feelings of depression, and a potential increase in aggressive

behavior.

Various studies have analyzed the level of smartphone overdependence

students. However, majority have reported problems related to their academic

achievement, and friendships. Moreover, the over dependence on the technology

to students have outcomes of stress, self-efficacy, and self-control as well as the

effects on cyberbullying.

According to Draves (2007), “the adoption of technology in higher

education” allows learners to save valuable time and resources, making it

more efficient for students to complete lessons and assignments at their

own pace. According to Rather et al. (2019), studies show that many

individuals, especially the younger generation, who have grown up in a

digital age and are deeply immersed in technology in their daily routines,

feel incomplete without owning or using technology.

Overdependence on technology significantly impacts the daily lives of

students, instead of face-to-face interaction students are more focused on online

chats and even a basic task is given students still rely on digital tools.

Overdependence on technology causes a weakening of students’ social skills,

critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities. This overdependence in

technology shows up in various ways, from being on phone to spending too

much time on social media. Overdependence on technology can seriously affect

students’ mental health.

Grade 12 STEM students’ reliance on technology can significantly impact

their academic performance. These students heavily rely on technology for

research, data analysis, and projects. If Grade 12 students don’t develop strong

critical thinking and problem-solving skills using technology, it can slow down

their comprehension of complex scientific concepts. Long screentime and digital

distractions can result to decrease focus during classes and studying, also may

affecting students’ grades. This group of students represents the future

innovators in science and technology, so excelling in technical skills and

interpersonal interactions is crucial for the Grade 12 students. It's important for

teachers to realize and plan ways to support Grade 12 students in succeeding

academically and in their careers.

DepEd orders serve as informative guides and essential resources for all

individuals engaging with the Philippine educational system. Order No. 83, S.

DepEd. prohibits students from using smartphones in class, effective as of 2003.

Students who are prohibited from using cell phones in class find it more

difficult to utilize technology for educational purposes. Since technology is more

convenient for an indolent habit, students rely on it. The purpose of DepEd Order

No. 83 is to ensure that students maintain their concentrate on their academic

work while reducing outside distractions.

 Based on Landon Scalf, 'students are getting far too dependent because it

makes work easy. They are not developing their thinking abilities because

technology is spoon-feeding them knowledge.'' Students are increasingly likely to

just copy text from the internet and commit plagiarism as they rely more on

technology and Google. If plagiarism infringes on the original author's copyright,

patent, or trademark, legal action may be required. The constant use of

computers in the classroom has also stopped youngsters from visiting the library,

writing letters to others, or engaging in social contacts.

Fonseca, et al. (2014) found that using technology increased students'

engagement with the suggested content, leading to enhanced overall

achievement. They identified a considerable correlation between technology and

student motivation, as well as a significant association between technology use

and academic achievement. In another study, Cheng, et al. (2015) discovered

that students' long-term knowledge retention in a technology-enhanced

classroom (Virtual Age) influenced learning outcomes, and students who use

technology outperform in engagement and achievement. Trimmel and Bachmann

(2004) discovered that students who used technology in the classroom had

higher engagement rates, more enthusiasm in learning, and greater motivation to

achieve well than students who did not use technology.

Many articles assert that using technological tools and programs is the

greatest approach to get kids interested in the material, but few of them address

the negative consequences that technology may have when used improperly.
The daily screen time that students experience has nearly tripled over the last

four years! (Vallée & Saunders, 2017). It has been established that youngsters

who are still developing can have negative health impacts from excessive blue

light exposure. About 50% of children and young people surpass the

recommended 2-hour daily screen use, according to Saunders and Vallance

(2017). Research indicates that screen usage negatively correlates with several

health markers in children and young people, such as academic success, pro-

social behavior, obesity, aerobic fitness, quality of life, self-esteem, and anxiety

and depression (2017).

According to one vision, technology is mostly autonomous, meaning it

operates independently of human will. Some argue that technology is entirely

controlled, but only by 'end users' since it is value neutral. The core premise of

security is to detect all potential dangers and risks and design methods to

prevent harmful circumstances from occurring in the first place, known as the

'closed security principle'. This principle states that security is achieved using

technological techniques. (Hans Oberdiek 2008).

The purpose of this study is to investigate how Grade 12 STEM students

at Bicol College perform academically when they rely too much on technology.

As mentioned by (Kuznekoff, J. H., et al., 2015) rapid growth of mobile

computing, including smartphones and tablets, presents a double-edged

problem: along with previously unimaginable access to information come

previously unforeseen distractions. This was supported by (Oberle, E., &

Novakovic-Agopian, T., 2015) that Technology use has become the most

common leisure-time activity for many adolescents around the world. Students'

increasing usage of technology and the possible effects it may have on their

academic performance are the driving forces behind this research. This study

seeks to contribute to the understanding of the impact of technology on

educational outcomes as it becomes more prevalent in daily life. It aims to

investigate the correlation between academic achievement and an excessive

dependence on technology. The conclusions drawn from this research may

provide valuable insights for educators and parents, assisting them in devising

plans and interventions to support Grade 12 STEM students' success in the

classroom while maintaining a balanced approach to digital usage of technology.

Since this study focuses on the factors of overdependence on technology

affecting a person's well-being and why students rely too much on technology.

This study aims to investigate how a student's mental health affects the

overdependence on the gadget that results in a student's too much reliance on

the gadget and how it affects or encourages a student to use technology for

academic performance. Previous research found that technological dependency

has a significant impact on a variety of industries. For instance, consider Dong Gi

Seo et. al, (2016) found that technology dependency has an impact on social

interactions and academic accomplishment, however Samaha and Hawi (2015)

found no correlation between smartphone usage and academic performance.

These contradicting findings demonstrate a lack of targeted research to better

understand the true impact of technological dependency on academic

achievement.

Objectives

In this study, our objectives is to examine, to identify, and to investigate the effect

of overdependence on technology on the academic performance of grade 12

STEM students at Bicol College. Specifically, it aims to determine the following:

1.To examine the forms and factors of overdependence and how it

encourages students to rely on technology for academic performance.

2.To identify the key factors causing students to use technology as their

main source of assistance and rely on it for academic tasks, and to identify the

key factors significantly affecting students' reliance on technology.

3.To determine how overdependence on technology affects the academic

performance of grade 12 STEM students in Bicol College.

Significance of the Study

This study determines the effects of overdependence on technology on

the academic performance of Grade 12 STEM students. Furthermore, the

following will gain from the study's results:

Parents and Guardians. The parent will be educated on how to monitor

and motivate their children in developing beneficial technology use

overdependence habits, and this research will give them the knowledge of the

impact of the said problem on their students’ academic achievement.

Teachers. By employing improved teaching methods, using this research,

teachers will provide better quality education to students. Teachers can ensure

smooth learning by adjusting their teaching strategies to the problem caused by

their reliance on digital platforms and create better and more conducive

environments for the students to learn by becoming more aware of the issue.

Students. This study will help the students to have a better understanding

of how their excessive reliance on technology affects their academic

performance They will learn to establish healthy technological habits for better

academic performance and become mindful of the possible consequences of

over-relying on technology.

Future Researchers. This study may become an asset in the conduct of

future studies on the impact of Grade 12 STEM students at Bicol College’s over-

dependence on technology. The study will provide an outline of knowledge and

insight which will enable further research on the impact of school technology use

on student effects.

Scope and Delimitation

This study primarily focuses on the effects of overdependence on

technology and how it affects academic performance. The participants of this

study are limited to Grade 12 STEM students at Bicol College Daraga Albay.
Moreover, this research attempts to offer potential strategies for preventing the

effects of overdependence on technology, which may help individuals deal with

its various effects. Furthermore, since this study claims that Grade 12 STEM

students rely too much on technology, this study investigates how they perform

academically while relying on technology. In doing so, it may assist individuals in

managing the effects of technology on their academic pursuits by highlighting the

drawbacks of this excessive reliance and providing ways to prevent it.

This study will significantly examine the effect of overdependence on

technology on the academic performance of GRADE 12 STEM STUDENTS of

Bicol College. Grades 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of Bicol College Daraga Albay are not

included in this study. This study will only examine the impact of overdependence

on common technical devices such as laptops, smartphones, and internet access

on the academic performances of Grade 12 STEM students at Bicol College.

Also, it doesn't see how using too much technology might affect the students in

the Future, Furthermore, the study does not explore the wide societal impacts of

overdependence on technology beyond its effect on academic performance.

Moreover, this study study's scope is restricted to Grade 12 SHS STEM students

to interview about the effects of overdependence on technology. It considers the

number of the students, the frequency when they use technology and how it

affects their academic performance.

Definition of terms

Academic performance. The level in which a student reaches their

educational goal. In this study, it refers to the academic performance of Grade 12

STEM students in the use of technology.

Device. Refers to a tool made or adapted for a particular purpose. In this

study, it refers to electronic tools that contribute to the overdependence on

technology of Grade 12 STEM students.

Digital media. This involves any form of media that can be accessed

electronically. In this study, it refers to the excessive use of digital media that

affects the students of Grade 12 STEM students in their studies; this effect is like

lack of sleep, stress, depression, and aggressive behavior.

Entertainment. Refers to tasks or experiences which provide an

individual pleasures, enjoyment, or relaxation. In this study, it refers to digital

activities that contribute to overdependence on technology of Grade 12 STEM

students.

Overdependence. Refers to relying on something, to accomplish a task.

In this study, it refers to relying excessively on technology of Grade 12 STEM

students.

Smartphone. A phone that can do similar things to a computer. In this

study, it refers to a type of technology used by students in learning.

 Stress. It is our body's reaction to stressors that can be negative or

positive. In this study, it refers to negative stress caused by excessive use of

technology of Grade 12 STEM students.

Technology. It refers to devices, systems, and ways used in solving

problems. In this study, it refers to technologies that affect Grade 12 STEM

students' learning.

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