The Negative Effects of Social Media and Gadgets in the Growth of Filipino Children below

their Teenage Years

A Research Paper Presented to

Ms. Caselyn Morada

Mapua Institute of Technology

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in

English for Academic Purposes 2 (ENG 11)

By

Borromeo, Lewis B.

Hernandez, John Raymar B.

Montecillo, Louis Miguel O.

Tabajonda, Ahmar Archie

December 2015
 Abstract

The purpose of this study is to show how social media and gadgets greatly affects the

growth development of Filipino children below their teenage years. The idea was to inform and

pervade both children and parents that the growth development of a child is greatly affected if

he/she is misguided about the concepts and purpose of technology. This research draws upon

mostly on primary sources such as books, sites and survey questionnaires wherein our research

group mainly focused to Filipino children between the ages of 9 yrs. old to 12 yrs. old. The

anticipated outcome of this study is to explain the negative effects on the over usage of gadgets

and social media. This will provide useful and relevant information for all of us.
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The Negative Effects of Social Media and Gadgets in the Growth of Filipino Children below

Their Teenage Years

In this generation, technology plays an important role on our daily lives. It helps us to work

easily. Gadgets is part of technology. It helps us to do our task just by clicking. Gadgets also help

us to communicate with others even if they are far from us by the use of different social media

sites. We can also interact and share stories using social media. It is true that gadgets and social

media is helpful but there are negative effects that can create consequences if there are excessive

use.

The children living in the Philippines are mostly affected by social media and gadgets.

They are spending long hours using this. It can affect their everyday lives negatively. According

to a writer and a former Litigation lawyer, Robin S. Sharma, “Cell phones, mobile, e-mail and all

other cool and slick gadgets can cause massive losses in our creative output and overall

productivity”. Children are always holding their gadgets and become less productive. Gadgets and

social media can affect the children’s development if there is an excessive use and lack of parental

guidance. The youth living in the Philippines is an example of what the country will look like in

the future in which the children are greatly affected by the excessive use of gadgets and social

media. They mostly spent half their day in this.

Statistically saying, 1 out of 3 children feels angry, bad-tempered, and grumpy whenever

they have a limit in access to the internet. This survey shows that an abusive use and an easy access

to the internet greatly affects the psychological growth and development of the youth. Parents

admittedly stated that they have no idea with what activities their children are accessing online. It

is found out that 15% of the children stated that their parents don’t even bother to check their
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online lives. Thus, may result that children can lie about their age wherein according to a survey,

5% of the youth today claims that they are aged 26 or older. There is no doubt that the internet has

played a vital role in our lives, making technology develop faster compared to humans.

Filipino children are greatly satisfied with the use of technology nowadays. Technologies

are everywhere and we live with them. Technologies and other technological systems form the

society and background of our lives. In our generation, it is hard for a Filipino child to live and

imagine a life that does not revolve to technology for a day. The things technology do attracts and

transforms their experience and life style. According to a survey that our research group conducted,

1 out of 2 children aging 9 - 12 usually spent 3 or more hours in using gadgets. This children are

already attached to technology that it is hard for them to live a day without spending time to it.

Why Filipino children are already using technology at their very young age? To ask this

question about technology to a Filipino child would be easy but to ask them to define what

precisely counts as technology and why they are addicted to it is not easy. It is the elders’ duty and

responsibility to educate and monitor the young ones in the society. There are many different kinds

of technologies, each designed for a specific purpose or task. Obviously, most people know what

technology is because it is there when we were still young.

Does technology really affect the Filipino children’s behavior and attitude? According to

Frank (1947), “I can watch myself and my actions, just like an outsider”. By observing our actions

and behaviors, we easily infer our emotions. Hearing myself talk informs me of my attitude: seeing

my actions provide clues to how strong my beliefs and actions are. But does the children in our

generation have all experienced this phenomenon? Definitely not. The reason is that because they

are still children. In everyday of their lives, children aging 9 – 12 still engage in activities that
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requires thinking such as: deciding what to eat; solving math problems; or even trying to figure

out why their friends are angry with them.

A reason why most of the Filipino children aging 9 – 12 are greatly satisfied in using

technology is that they want to become updated in everything that is happening in their

surroundings and they want to be a part of the “trend”. By actively participating in social media,

learning about language and how to use it to find people who are interesting to talk about, as well

as how to use language to refer as mental event, such as a memory of a party. Language does really

influences children in social media but who were the ones who influenced and introduced this

Filipino children? According to a survey that a research group conducted, 8 out of 13 children are

influenced by their friends in using social media. The circle of friends were the ones who greatly

influence him or her.

There are many negative effects of social media and gadgets that affect their development

if there is an excessive use. Children might suffer disorders, such as Attention Deficiency

Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), if a child spends long

hours in front of their smart phones and gadgets. According to Dr. Paliwal (2013), a consulting

psychiatrist, “We witness many cases where parents come complaining about their children

continuously stuck with their mobile phones and computers. These are the kinds of signs one

should be worried about as it may indicate Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), depression, or

Attention Deficiency Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)”. This explains that a child can acquire

disorders if they become dependent on the gadgets they use. A case conducted by Dr. Sardesai

encountered a young patient with an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The girl suffered with severe

OCD that she could not stop herself from using her smart phone. Her father noticed her that his

daughter uses this excessively. This case explains that excessive use of gadgets can affect
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children’s behavior. It is also the cause of attention deficit and cognitive delays. Another case of a

mother that has a son that become forgetful lately as he spends less time of eating and spends

extended hours in front of his laptop.

Another negative effect of excessive use of gadget is less interaction and active play.

Children ages 12 and below spend more time playing with their gadgets and checking their social

media accounts rather than playing outside their houses. They become anti-social and become

attached in their gadgets. It affects the communication skills development of children. They have

less time talking with their parents and siblings because they surround them with gadgets. Children

have less physical activities meaning they don’t have exercise that can help them build and

condition their brains. They only use their eyes that can damage their eye sights. Prolonged

exposure at their gadgets strains the eyes. Radiation emitted by gadgets is one threat that is harmful

to children. Research shows that children who are addicted in playing games in computer and other

gadgets are developing eye problem as they grow.

More time using their gadgets may also lead to obesity, an alarming problem nowadays,

because of lack of physical activities. Obesity may lead to other ailments like diabetes, heart attack,

and stroke.

Excessive use of gadgets can also affect the performance of the children in school. Because

they spend more time with their gadgets, they are losing their attention and concentration when

they are studying. They value their game plays and accounts more than their scores and grades.

When they are doing their assignments or reading, they are not focused on what they are doing.

They just immediately finish their assignments without checking if it is correct because they want

to be with their gadgets and play. Other effect and factor that contributes to performance of
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children in school is sleep deprivation. Some children are allowed to use their phone even if they

are about to sleep. They continue using their gadgets when it is already sleep time. There are some

cases that gadgets interrupt their sleep when they cannot stop themselves from checking their smart

phones. When they are playing their online games, children are missing out their sleep because it

cannot be paused.

Gadgets can also be the source of children’s aggression. Some games that they play contain

violence, murder, sex, torture, war, and mutilation. This can cause children to portray the

characters they see and apply them in real life.

Addiction is one of the worst effects of gadgets to development of children. If they continue

to spend long hours using their gadgets, they might develop addiction. Parents must put limitations

to their children when using gadgets in order to prevent them to become addicted.

There are many negative effects of gadgets stated and how it affects the growth of children.

Another factor that can cause negative effects in children’s growth is social media.

There are also many negative effects of social media that can affect the children’s

development. Cyber Bullying can produce depression, anxiety, isolation and even suicide. Cyber

bullying is a form of harassment using the media to give false and hostile information about a

certain person to embarrass or destroy life of children. An example of cyber bullying is when a

person uses a social media site to gain information about a person and use them as blackmail. They

start sending message to that person and might experience depression and anxiety that may lead to

suicidal. According to a website, Techno Crazed, identity theft is also one factor that can contribute

to cyber bullying. The problem is that children do not fully read and understand the privacy settings

of their own accounts. They are also not aware of the risks of sharing personal information. Explicit
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and Violent Imagery is also a factor. It might affect the minds of children negatively. Children

might imitate what they see.

According to pediatrics O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson (2011), there is a “Facebook

depression”, a depression developed when children takes long hours on social media, especially

Facebook, and begin experiencing classic symptoms of depression that may lead to social isolation

or self-destructive behaviors.

The results of the survey that the researchers conducted stated that majority of the

respondents were 11 to 12 years old. 10 years old is on the second and the least is 7 years old. In

terms of grade level of respondents, majority are Grade 6 and the least are Grade 1 and Grade 5.

Facebook is the most visited social media site that has 23.51% and Ask.fm being the lowest with

1. 2%. Smart phones with 19.35% is the most usually used gadget. Most of the respondents are

spending 3 or more hours using their gadgets and they stated that most of them are influenced by

their family members.

To conclude our study, technology, social media, and gadgets has been an important factor

in our lives for decades. With this study, the researchers aim to show the harmful effects of social

gadgets in the mental and physical aspects of a child as gadgets become more prevalent in the lives

of the individuals. The conducted study can be a great influence to parents. The research can urge

the parents to be attentive to their children and promote parental supervision in order for the youth

to grow up without any psychological problems.

There are a number of reasons why gadgets contribute a tally of undesirable effects to

children, one of which is sleep deprivation and children aged 6 to 13 need 9-11 hours of sleep.

Youngsters are admitting that the use of laptop, tablets, and smartphones are greatly affecting their
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sleeping schedule. These days, children below their teenage years are inclined to their gadgets and

reenact them as their better half.

For future references, in order to gain a complete information of the effects of social media

and gadgets to children, the researchers suggests to conduct a study that examines all aspects of

the effects of gadgets to children. This includes the specific physical effects on children like, sleep

deprivation, addiction, and etc. for a more accurate data and an easier outcome.
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References

(n.d.). Retrieved from www.technocrazed.com : http://www.technocrazed.com/top-10-negative-

effects-of-social-media-on-children-and-teenagers
Gauvain, R. D. (2009). Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint. New York: Mcgraw-Hill

International .

Gwenn Schurgin O' Keefe, M., Kathleen Clarke - Pearson, M., & Media, C. o. (2011). The

Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents and Families.

Kaplan, D. M. (2009). Readings in the philosophy of technology. Washington DC: Rowman &

Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Kennedy, M. (2013, October 7). Children's internet use survey offers Warning to Parents .

Linda A. Jackson, P. A. (n.d.). www.apa.org. Retrieved from www.apa.org:

http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa2003/12/jackson.aspx

Macleighob. (2012, April). Social Media and its Impact on Families.

Myers, D. G. (1999). Social Psychology. New York: Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

PHD, L. L. (2011). Child Psychology And Development For Dummies. New Jersey: Wiley

Publishing Inc.

Vedanti Singh Chauhan, T. (n.d.). No Kidding! Gadget Obsession may affect kids' Behaviour.

Retrieved from m.timeofindia.com: m.timeofindia.com/city/indore/no-kidding-gadget-

obsession-may-affect-kids-behaviour/articleshow/19372397.cms

Ward, V. (2013 , May ). Children using internet from age of three, study finds.
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Appendix A

Shown below are the results of the interview that the researchers conducted:

1. What is your age?

Fig. 1 Age of the respondents

4%

8%
28%
12%

20%
28%

7 8 9 10 11 12

2. What is your grade level?

Fig 2. Grade Level of the respondents

4% 4% 8%
0%

42% 23%

19%

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4

Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7
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3. What social media sites do you usually visit?

Fig. 3 Social Media sites that are usually visited

2%
0%
9%

18%
51%
2% 18%

Facebook Twitter Tumblr Instagram

Ask.fm Vine Others

4. What gadgets do you usually use?

Fig. 4 Gadgets that are usually used

9%

35%
27%

29%

Smart phones Computer/Laptops Tablets Game consoles

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5. How many hours do you usually spend on using your gadgets?

Fig. 5 Hours spent on using gadgets

19%

50%
31%

0-1 hours 1-2 hours 3 or more hours

6. Who influenced you to use Social Medias?

Fig. 6 Factors that influenced the respondents to

use social medias
2%

15%
41%
42%

Advertisements Family Friends Others

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Appendix B
Interview questionnaire
1. What is your age? 5. How many hours do you usually spend on

using your gadgets?

2. What is you grade level? o 0-1 hours

o 1-2 hours

3. What social media sites do you usually visit? o 3 or more hours

(you can check more than one)

o Facebook 6. Who influenced you to use social media?

o Twitter o Advertisements

o Tumblr o Family

o Instagram o Friends

o Ask.fm Others: ____________

o Vine

Others: ____________

4. What gadgets do you usually use?

o Smart phones

o Computer/Laptops

o Tablets

o Game consoles

Others: ____________
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