The Effects of Internet Addiction on Students' Academic Performance

In the present times, majority of young students have become addicted to the internet. Numerous studies suggest that children are spending more than fifty hours on the digital media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (Rachel & Douglas n.p). The problem has even resulted in death as some of the young people ignore feeding to play and end up dying. This paper illustrates how students spend too much time on social media and gaming, and little time accessing on education, and useful information online.

Students are spending a minimal amount of time accessing education-related information. An example of such a case is that of a 15-year-old from South Korea (Rachel & Douglas n.p). The student plays for 8 hours a day and is up all weekend to play games. The student performance has dropped as he is not using the internet for learning purposes. Previously the child was among the top performers in his course, but now he is in the bottom half of the class. The boy is unable to communicate when asked questions; such are the adverse effects of the internet on learning.

Sherry Turkle who is a professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology a university which teaches the world’s most talented student says that the internet has necessitated changing the approach of teaching the students. Adapting new teaching methods is the only way to improve the student urge to apply technology in learning as opposed to accessing social media platforms. Sherry adds that the students do not concentrate in classes as they get distracted by various non-academic activities and end up failing. 

Further, the students themselves agree that the internet has provided them with an opportunity to multi-task where Eliza who is a mechanical engineering student said that unlike before she can keep track of her phone and at the same time consult with the lecturer (Rachel & Douglas n.p). Upon arriving at the Institution, one finds most of the  students using computers whereby some are checking more than two tabs at a go. It is therefore undeniable that the students hardly concentrate wholly on learning when using the electronic machines. The learners opt to explore the alternative uses of the gadget which are playing games or texting their friends about social issues like hanging out.

In addition, distractions from the social media have made the students reading and writing abilities to deteriorate. Unlike before students are unable to understand the hard copies of books because they feel the internet provides a summary of the concept in the book. Students say the internet is a better source of information because a book with more than 200 pages is available on the internet in a few pages. Therefore, the web provides limited knowledge when compared to the hard copies. Studies show that only 6% of the student attends classes prepared to read and write, as a significant percentage prefer to learn over the internet. Learning over the internet eliminates the need to write which affects the students’ memory capabilities adversely. Besides learning online exposes the children to incorrect language and over time the students may start using the wrong semantics when communicating verbally or orally.

Moreover, the digital media provides students with fantasy on real things in life. For example, games allow the students to participate in exciting activities like driving cars on a virtual platform. The games, therefore, provide a memorable experience for the students making them come back again. The student is willing to make time for gaming even if it means failing to do assignments.  Education, on the other hand, is aimed at imparting knowledge as opposed to entertaining. The internet has provided a connection where people can share opinions on educative issues. The views are detailed and are educative for student however the learners are yet to maximize on the learning opportunities.

Besides, the students are okay with the limited theoretical knowledge they access from the internet and therefore do not engage in meaningful conversation with their classmates. When the students fail to talk to each other the idea of technology dividing us as much as it uniting us applies (Steve 2). The concept implies that the students often keep in touch with those that are far using the social media channels. On the other hand, they overlook those that are near them physically by allocating little time to learn how to interact better with one another. Poor communication translates to poor learning among students.

Ultimately, students access the internet a lot to participate in social media activities and play games. They, however, spend little time searching for meaningful materials and learning. The time spent on education is little because students face destruction, the student also opts for the digital media because it is entertaining and fulfills their fantasies. Lastly, multitasking at the expense of learning. Limited learning on the internet has seen the student reading and writing skills deteriorate. It is therefore vital that the teachers devise new ways of teaching using technology to prevent the students’ academics from becoming casualties of digitalization.   

Works Cited

Rachel Dretzin and Douglas Rushkoff. Digital Nation: Growing Up Online. Posted on 2nd

February, 2010. Accessed from, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/

Steve Johnson. “The New York Times.” Social Connections. Published on 28th November, 2006. Accessed from, http;//johnson.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/local-connections/? php=true& type =blogs& r=0.