A study on the relationship between Online Gaming and Academic

Performance of Senior High School students in San Lorenzo Ruiz

College of Ormoc

Ancajas, Micah
Araneta, Vince Harold
Caballero, Ramypete Emmanuel
Margate, Kian Emmanuel
Matiga, Shannen
Misa, Georgia Meca

Abstract

There are many factors that correlated with students' academic performance. Some people believe that
online game is one of the factors that affect students’ academic performance negatively. Thus, the purpose of this
study was to investigate the relationship between online games and student academic performance among students
of San Lorenzo Ruiz College of Ormoc. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data about students' gaming
frequency and students' academic performance. 44 students were selected randomly as the sample of the study. The
result of the research indicated that there is a weak to no relationship between video games and students’ academic
performance of SLRC. From this findings, it can be concluded that not playing games can significantly increase
grades. In contrast, being frequent gamer also does not guarantee student to perform bad in academic.

Keywords: academic performance, online games,

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 Chapter 1:

The Problem and its Background

Introduction:

In today’s era, the online game industry has become very profitable industry because of the increasing

demand on the gaming industry especially teenagers who are the main contributor of this increasing

demand. Online game is defined as games that are played over some form of computer network, most

often the Internet. However there are opinion that stated the online games can give certain benefit to the

player. Among these benefits are, playing online games for hours can help in improving visual-spatial

skill and math, it can improve prosocial skill if playing violent game. Moreover, playing online games

also might help the user in mechanical engineering (Jakob, Watkins 2016)

On the other hand, there are also the negative effects of the video game. There are increasing debates of

whether video game will give more benefit than harm or vice versa. Example of the negative effect from

the research that conducted previously found that student who plays video game has lower GPA than the

one that not plays and he has more aggressive behaviour and dislike by teachers. Moreover, Foen,

Zakaria, May, and Confessore also found that online games negatively correlated with students’ academic

achievement, but not significantly.

Therefore, this research paper purposes to study the relationship between online games and academic

performance among students in senior high school Students of San Lorenzo Ruiz College of Ormoc.

1.1 Rationale

The computer and the online game industry have grown considerably over the past decade. In

2015 a study conducted by the Kaiser Family foundation: “Generation M: Media in the lives of 13-18

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 years old”, showed that over 93 percent of teenagers had online game players in their home and 72%

percent of the time are engaging in gaming. The widespread of online games has led to a series of

questions. The most common question discusses the effects of gaming on academic performance of

the gamer. Researchers have found that each situation should be handled independently because the

effects vary from individual to individual. This research aims to comprehend the various effects of

gaming in a student’s academic performance. We aim to expose the 1.) Time spent in playing games;

2.) how often they play games; 3.) Last year’s general average.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

What is the correlation between online gaming and academic performance of senior high school

students in San Lorenzo Ruiz College of Ormoc?

1.3 Scope and Delimitation

This study focused mainly on the level of effects of online gaming on academic performance of

senior high school students of San Lorenzo Ruiz College of Ormoc, school year 2019-2020.

In this study, the student’s performance refers to the average grade last year, 2018 for grade 11

students and 2019 for grade 12 students.

In gaming industry, we chose the Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA2) and Mobile Legends because as

technology has advanced this far, these popular games are booming in the nation. DotA2 which is

considered the most popular old video game which is famous for its huge prizes and popularity is now

having a huge impact of the gaming industry. Mobile Legends on the other hand, has become popular in

Southeast Asia, it is a game playable on mobile phones which most people have nowadays. The level of

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effects of online gaming focuses only on the time spent in playing games and how often they play games.

The student’s last year’s general average was also put into consideration.

The study was conducted in San Lorenzo Ruiz College. The students of the mentioned school served

as the respondents of the study.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Engaging in gaming related activities has effects on the cognitive and social aspects of a student.

Gaming has also an impact on the attitudes of the students.

The information stated above are important parts of Adequate and Efficient Academic

Performance. A study conducted by “Pew Research Center” reveals that 59% of females and 84% of

males from 13-17 engage in gaming related activity.

Although this is not the exact age group of Senior high school students, this study shows a large

portion that teenagers are engaging in these activities. This study also emphasizes that gaming has

become a larger part of most of these teenagers’ lives and it has a great impact on how they live their

lives.

1.5 Objectives of the Study

1. Is there any relationship between online games and academic performance of the senior high

students in SLRC?

2. Is there any relationship between times spent playing online games and academic performance of

Senior High students in SLRC?

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 Chapter 2:

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Studies

According to Anand (2007), the penetration of online games into the Philippines alone is huge,

with at least 90% of homes having children that have played (rented or owned) online games. This is a

record level that continues to increase. 55% of console players and 66% of online players are over 18. The

college demographic seems to be the major group of gamers simply because they have a lack of parental

supervision and they have more flexible schedules, allowing for more play time (Anand, 2007).

In overviewing the research, one main concern seems to be whether the playing of online games

impacts academic performance in a negative or positive way and what those consequences are. One study

done by Anand (2007) found a negative correlation between the amount of time spent playing online

games and the GPA and SAT scores of students. This means that GPA and SAT scores decreased as time

spent playing increased. However, Anand (2007) did recognize the limitation of using SAT scores

because they represent a one-time standardized score. Using GPA is more credible because it represents a

continuous measurement of school performance.

Shao-I, Jie-Zhi, and Der-Hsiang (2004) also studied addiction (no definitive definition was given)

and noted a decrease in school performance when the student was addicted to gaming. They found that

gaming Modern Psychological Studies (2011) 17: 37-44 38 addiction physically impacts academic

achievement because the student is too involved in the game to do homework or prepare academically.

Jackson et al (2008) found that time spent playing games was a negative predictor of academic

performance and that those who played online games more often had poorer grades than those who played

less.

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 Jaruratanasirikul, Wongwaitaweewong, and Sangsupawanich (2009) found that the excessive

playing of online games (five hours or more per session) resulted in school grades that were below a 3.00

average, and that time spent playing was a predictor of academic performance

2.3 Conceptual Framework

Online Games (Mobile Performance of selected
Legends and DotA 2) students
- Game time
 Academic grades

2.4 Hypothesis

Playing online games affects the student’s academic performance. To give directions to the given

statement of the problem, the following hypothesis are formulated:

1. There is a direct relationship between gaming and academic performance.

2. There is an inverse relationship between gaming and academic performance.

3. There is no relationship in gaming and academic performance.

2.5 Assumptions of the study

Playing online games is a hindrance towards the level of academic performance of the

students. The higher the game time, the lower the academic performance as measured through grades

with lower study time. Respectively, the lower the game time, the higher the academic performance

with higher study time. Thus, the relationship between playing online games and academic

performance is inverse.

2.6 Definition of terms

For a better comprehension on this study, the following definitions of terms are provided:

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Academic Performance - or "academic achievement" is the extent to which a student, teacher or

institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals.

Gamer - a person who plays online games or participates in role-playing games.

Online games - refer to games that are played over some form of computer network, most often

the Internet.

Online Gaming Addiction - also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder is

generally defined as problematic, compulsive use of video and/or internet games, that results in

significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in various life domains over a prolonged

period of time.

Respondents- a person who replies to something, especially one supplying information for a survey or

questionnaire or responding to an advertisement.

Chapter 3:

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

This research falls under the cross-sectional studies under descriptive type of quantitative

research. This focuses on the variables of interest the relationships between them. The variables of

interest in this research are the academic performance of senior high students and the time and

frequency of online gaming being undergone by the senior high school department in San Lorenzo

Ruiz College in the school year 2019-2020.

3.2 Respondents of the Study

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 The grade 11 and grade 12 department of the senior high school department in San Lorenzo Ruiz

College are the main respondents in this study. The respondents of the study consist of the 45

randomly selected students in the aforementioned departments in the year level 2019-2020. The

researchers had a total of 45 respondents, which 5 were randomly selected from each of the sections

of the entire senior high school departments.

3.3 Instruments of the Study

The instrument being used by the researches in this study was a questionnaire or survey. This was

the chosen instrument to be used in the study because of its efficient and quick process of gathering

the needed data for the research. The data that was being sought after was the frequency and time

spent on online gaming for the senior high department of San Lorenzo Ruiz College.

3.4 Statistical treatment

To determine the relationship between the time frequency spent on online games and academic

performance, the researchers use pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation. The researchers

use this statistical tool due to the fact that it shows the relationship of two variables.

where;

n = number of pairs of scores

∑xy = sum of the products of paired scores ∑y = sum of y scores
∑x = sum of x scores ∑x2 = sum of squared x scores

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∑y2 = sum of squared y scores

3.5 Validity and Reliability

The instrument being used by the researches in this study was a questionnaire or survey.

This was the chosen instrument to be used in the study because of its efficient and quick process of

gathering the needed data for the research. The data that was being sought after was the frequency

and time spent on online gaming for the senior high department of San Lorenzo Ruiz College.

APPENDIXES

Appendix 1

Name: _____________________ Section: _______

Instructions: Check your answer.

1. Do you play these following games?

( ) Mobile Legends
( ) DOTA 2
2. How frequently do you play these games?
( ) Once a week
( ) Twice or thrice9a week
( ) Everyday
Others: (Specify) _____________
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 Chapter 4

Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data

This chapter presents the result and findings of the study. The data were interpreted in

accordance with the problem of the study.

PRESENTATION OF DATA
Games Mean Time Spent in a Week Mean Grade

ML 3.952380952 88.7

DotA 2 9.533333333 89

Table 1. Mean Scores of Variables

Table 1 shows the mean scores of the two variables. As shown by the table, ML has the

least time spent in a week (3.952380952 hours) but also has the lowest mean grade of the two

games (88.7). DOTA 2 on the other hand has the highest amount of time (9.533 hours) but also

musters the highest mean grade (89).

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 Games Dota 2 ML Both Games

Correlation 0.016275 -0.22591 -0.115145338

Table 2.A Correlation between the Total Time Spent in a Week and Grade

The table shows that DOTA 2 has the greatest correlation (0.016275) while ML has the

least correlation (-0.22591). The correlation of both of the online games combined is (-

0.115145338) which indicates a negative correlation.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

After the statistical treatment, where the researchers used pearson product-moment

coefficient of correlation and ANOVA, the correlation between online gaming and the academic

performance of the students was discovered by the researchers. DOTA 2 topped with an r value

of 0.016275 which indicates that there is a very weak positive relationship, or there is no

significant relationship between the two variables, time spent playing DOTA 2 and the academic

performance or grades of the senior high students. This is likely due to the spread between the

two variables is wide and suggest that online gaming does not influence the outcome of the

academic performance. ML follows with an r value of -0.22591 indicating that there is a weak

negative relationship between the two variables. This tells the researchers that playing ML does

indeed have an influence when it comes to affecting the academic performance of senior high

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school although this might be minor. This shows that ML does indeed promote a slight decrease

in academic performance for the individuals who play this online game.

Both online games combined obtained an r value of -0.115145338, indicating a very

weak negative relationship or no significant relationship. This tells the researchers that online

games in general have no significant influence when it comes to affecting the academic

performance. Playing these games does not have any firm relationship with the grades of the

senior high school students. There is no significant relationship, correlation, or impact between

online gaming and the academic performance of the students.

Chapter 5

Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

5.1 Summary of Findings

5.2 Conclusions

5.3 Recommendations

References:

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