Chapter I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Technological advents have almost revolutionized the ways and

patterns of personal and professional lives today. Among all these

changes, evolution of internet has also been serving as a strong

communication medium.

Participation with technology for social purposes has become the

mainstream communication method for many people in the past several

years. In particular, adolescents in high school have adopted these forms

of communication as the paramount way to keep in touch with family

and friends. Social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter

are the most popular places for these students to spend their time, and

are the primary focus of this study. The researchers examined the impact

of social networking participation among a sample of high school

students to determine how this involvement affects academic

performance, future plans, and overall attitude towards school.

Differences between male and female students regarding academic

performance, and social networking use will also be identified and

discussed. Recommendations for school counselors and further studies

will be offered.

Too much use of internet has some adverse effects also. Many

different factors influence the likelihood that high school students may
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become dependent on or overuse the internet. Accessibility is clearly the

factor in this overuse (Kandell, 1998). Adolescents remain unfamiliar

with the surroundings and social-culture life. These habits are

manifested through personality disorders like maladjustment, alienation,

truant, behavior, disobedience, escapism, etc. (Sleek & Staff, 2006). They

do not make notes any longer. They believe in cut-paste technology. They

make no reference to library materials. This shows that the use of

internet leads to serious consequences because it may mar the study

habits of children (Wang, et al., 2003).

In the past five years, much research has been done on the

emotional consequences of social networking site participation, but not

much has been studied on the academic outcomes. The researchers

chose to do this research study because they think attention must be

placed on high school students and the relationship between social

networking involvement and their academic performance. The

researchers want to understand how gender impacts this study, since

male and female students may have different reasons for participating in

social networking and may have different academic practices.

Students are the future of our nation. Being educated and

responsible citizens, it is significant to see to it that the study habits of

future generations are channeled in a proper direction. The goal of this

study is to learn about the internet impact on high school students’ daily

lives, and to determine the impact of that use academically whether

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internet use affects the study habits negatively or positively. Hence, the

study was conducted.

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to describe the influence of social networking

participation on students’ academic performance across gender lines in

Notre Dame-Siena College of Polomolok Basic Education Department.

Specifically, it answered the following questions:

1. What are the frequencies of social networking participation

across gender lines?

2. What are the frequencies of social networking importance across

gender lines?

3. What are the percentages of the academic performance of the

students across gender lines?

4. Does Social Networking Participation have significant influence on

students’ academic performance?

Null Hypotheses

1. There is no significant influence between the social networking

participation across gender lines.

2. There is significant influence between the social networking

importance across gender lines.

3. Social Networking Participation has no significant influence on

male students’ academic performance.

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4. Social Networking Participation has no significant influence on

female student’s academic performance.

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study are deemed beneficial to the following:

Students. This study hopes to help students to diagnose and

assess the influence of social networking participation in their academic

performance.

Teachers. This study aims to provide teachers knowledge in

handling their students effectively and efficiently in the light of

enhancing their academic performance by addressing the influence of

social networking participation across gender lines.

Parents. This study aims to help parents assess their children’s

academic performance and the influence of social networking

participation to it.

Curriculum Makers. This study aims to help makers of

curriculum to design instructional or assessment materials that will

address the influence of social networking participation in the academic

performance of the students.

School Administrators. This study aims to help school

administrators provide additional insights in curriculum planning and

designing.

Researchers. This study aims to add some insights about the

influence of social networking participation on academic performance

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among the students of ND-SCP in the academic year 2013-2014. It will

help the researchers correlate the social networking participation and

academic performance of the respondents.

Other Researchers. This aims to serve as a guide for other

researchers in drafting their research proposals, especially on researches

related to this topic.

Scope and Delimitations of the Study

This study focused on the influence of social networking

participation on students’ academic performance across gender lines in

Notre Dame-Siena College of Polomolok, Polomolok, South Cotabato for

the Academic Year 2013-2014.

This study was delimited to the social networking participation of

students. This was correlated to the student’s academic performance in

terms of study habits and completion of homework assignments in terms

of frequency and rank.

Uneven distribution of respondents had become a severe limitation

to the study since it is necessary that there are equal numbers of male

and female respondents in the study.

The hesitation of some respondents to participate in the study

might impose a serious limitation to the study since the 200 grade seven

to fourth year high school students must be represented to provide a fair

comparison or correlation.