CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In the early 2020, a new highly contagious disease called Coronavirus

Disease 2019 or Covid-19 caused a huge impact to our daily living. The world

paused while many places and countries were put unto lockdowns and

quarantines. People are afraid to go outside and meet other people since the

contagion is still present and are not controlled by that time. Additionally,

people’s actions and movements were limited, many countries imposing

restrictions and many stayed at home to prevent the spread of this new virus.

Moreover, students' actions toward this lockdowns and quarantines were

changed and was different from their past habits and lifestyle that they used to

do. Thus, the used to be “normal” became the “new normal” since the

movement of people were restricted.

Last January 2020, the Philippine Department of Health confirmed the

first case of corona virus in the country. The lockdown or generally called as a

community quarantine started last March 12 2020 according to the

Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) when President

Duterte declared a Community Quarantine to Metro Manila. Classes were

suspended until April 12 but the students will still provide the requirements of

their academic and school essentials. But due to that it became an outbreak,

the President declared an Enhanced Community Quarantine on March 16,

2020. In response of worsening pandemic, Phillipine President Rodrigo

Duterte proclaimed an enhanced community quarantine which marks the

history of the Philippines to experienced outspread total lockdown

(Hechanova, 2020). In addition, as cited by Mobo in year 2020, during this

moment, much of Filipinos spend their time at home with their families and did

a variety of activities they never did before. In line with this, a study conducted

by Pastor in the year 2020 entitled Sentiment Anslysis of Filipinos and Effect

of Community Quarantine Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic pointed

out that negative sentiments of Filipinos during community quarantine

increases over time. In line with the study, most of filipinos are seeking

assistance that the government can give to ease their suffering amidst this

pandemic.

One of the lifestyles of people living in Davao Region are Digital

Lifestyle and Academic Lifestyle. These lifestyles have been changed due to

Covid-19 pandemic specifically, Enhanced Community Quarantine. The study

conducted by Erick T. Baloran entitled Knowledge, Attitudes, Anxiety and

Coping Strategies of Students during Covid-19 Pandemic, stated that Davao

del Sur was under Enhanced Community Quarantine wherein people’s

lifestyle, specially students’ lifestyle was affected, the emotional impact was

also evident. The academic and digital lifestyle was affected because

according to the study, Covid 19 pandemic and Enhance Community

Quarantine made an impact on the context of Philippine Education, classes

were postponed due to lockdowns. Their academic and digital lifestyle was

changed as their way of learning is now through digital. In their academic

lifestyle, the majority of college and universities faced current challenges with

virtual learning (Talidong & Toquero,2020). In line with their digital lifestyle,

the study’s finding shows that students are still engaging with social media
that can also be for academic purposes and online games with 87.74

combined percentage.

Statement of the Problem

This study shall determine the impact of enhanced community

quarantine to the lifestyle of senior high school students of Maryknoll School

of Lupon Inc. Furthermore, it aims to describe the relationship between the

variables connected to the study. More specifically, this study sought to

answer the following questions:

1. How enhanced community quarantine affect the lifestyle of senior high

school students of Maryknoll School of Lupon Inc.

2. Is there a significant relationship between enhanced community quarantine

and lifestyle of students.

3. What are the internal and external effects/problems associated with senior-

high students controlled by ECQ?

Review of Related Literature

The Philippine government imposed a total lockdown in Luzon, known

as the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), as a preventive measure to

minimize the COVID-19 outbreak. This ECQ is widely known as one of the

longest lockdown in the world. Under the ECQ, all modes of domestic travel,

including ground, air, and sea, was suspended. Residents were not allowed to

leave their homes except in case of emergencies. Border closures and entry

bans were also enforced. Thousands of police officers and military personnel

were deployed at checkpoints to ensure that people complied with the

lockdown. The administration also implemented, through several platforms as

preventive measures, strict social distancing ( Duddu, 2020, CSIS, 2020)

and educated the community on healthy lifestyles.

Certain countries have taken specific steps, such as suspending their

visa-on-arrival policy and instituting strict travel bans, to prevent the spread of

the disease. Even so, COVID-19 has already brought potential economic ruin

to Bali, Rome, Singapore, Barcelona and other destinations that were once

tourist magnets (Neubauer, 2020). In an effort to reduce the spread of the

virus, similar to other countries such as Italy, the UK, Austria, France,

Portugal and Turkey, the Chinese Government has enacted policies to

decrease personal contact and increase physical distance (Chen et al., 2020).

As part of these social distancing policies, officials encouraged people to

avoid mass gatherings.

Large public events were postponed or cancelled and densely

populated places (e.g. schools, universities, government offices, libraries,

museums and factories) were temporarily closed at the height of the outbreak

(The State Council of the People’s Republic of China, 2020). When COVID-19

was at its peak, limited segments of urban public transport systems were

operational and all cross-province bus routes were taken out of service.

Chinese citizens were essentially forced to protect themselves against

COVID-19 by staying close to home, limiting social contact and wearing

protective masks when going out in public. To further promote disease control

and prevention, the mainland Chinese Government imposed stringent travel

restrictions and encouraged potentially infected individuals to self-quarantine

(Cowling and Lim, 2020). Because COVID-19 spreads via human-to-human

transmission, social distancing has been suggested to help prevent infection

(Lee, 2020). The overpopulated destinations can be minimized if authorities

impose visa restrictions and charge entry/user fees for certain attractions and

activities (Butler, 2019; Wall, 2020).

Although, strangely, children are found to be protected from severe or

deadly critical infections, they can become the sources of spread, which was

the main reason to close the schools worldwide. (Abdulamir, A. S. et al.,

2020) Some studies state that prolonged school closures and home

confinement might have the negative effects on children’s physical and mental

health (Brazendale, K et al., 2017). The “psychological impact of quarantine is

wide-ranging, substantial and can be long-lasting” (Brooks S. et al., 2020).

Cenon (2020) states that the quarantine is an unprecedented situation

as it disrupts our daily life and productivity routines. However, we should view

the quarantine as a unique opportunity to work on things that would help us

improve our performance and become more productive citizens when the

quarantine is lifted. Therefore, it is understandable to feel unproductive when

we are required to stay home.

On an individual level, more problematic in everyday life may be the

habit-forming nature of smartphone use (oulasvirta, rattenbury, ma, & raita,

2012). Smartphone use has, arguably, the potential to develop into an

addictive behaviour, similar to gambling, which can interfere with our everyday

life. Though not an official diagnosis, several researchers have demonstrated

how classic addiction symptomology may be applicable in the context of

smartphone overuse, including loss of control (e.g. Distortion of time spent on

the phone), preoccupation with the smartphone, withdrawal symptoms and

negative effects on our social and work lives (e.g. Kwon et al., 2013, lanaj et

al., 2014, lin et al., 2015). The latter problem area is of interest for the current

study, as smartphones can distract us to a point where we are unable to

achieve a state of flow at work (see Montag & Walla, 2016).

McDool et al. (2020) provide some evidence that the internet negatively

affects children’s psychological wellbeing. For children who can read and surf

internet, the prolonged time indoors can increase the negative impact of

internet on health. The pandemic has affected educational systems

worldwide, leading to the widespread closures of schools and universities.

According to data released by UNESCO on 25 March, school and university

closures due to COVID-19 were implemented nationwide in 165 countries.

Including localized closures, this affects over 1.5 billion students worldwide,

accounting for 87% of enrolled learners (UNESCO, 2020). Even though adults

also use digital technology to a great extent, concerns tend to centre on

children’s use because of the many social, biological, cognitive, and

psychological changes that characterize this life period. Children go through

critical developmental stages, such as identity formation and building positive

friendships while immersed in the digital age (George and Odgers, 2015). In a

situation where the students are not allowed to go to school, the alternative is

to move from traditional to online education. In this case the essential parts

are the internet coverage, availability of computers or smartphones in the

population. (Geostat, Share of households with internet access, 2019).

Gretzel et al. (2020) mentioned that people are more dependent on

online platforms for their communications during the pandemic, tourism and

recreation practitioners can take advantage of this online space and

encourage their consumers to reflect their hygiene practices and social

supports on their social media pages. Furthermore, they also believe that IT

and social media are paramount in understanding the COVID-19-related

condition; policymakers and managers should, therefore, consider the

capacity of online platforms to help them learn about behaviours and needs

during the pandemic. In a situation where the students are not allowed to

go to school, the alternative is to move from traditional to online

education. In this case the essential parts are the internet coverage,

availability of computers or smartphones in the population. (Geostat, Share of

households with internet access, 2019).

‘‘We think of phones as a communication tool, but the truth is they may

be just the opposite’’ (Skenazy, 2009, np). Other views suggest that people

are adapting to new communication norms in an increasingly digital world,

learning to quickly attend to, process, and respond to multiple and sometimes

simultaneous messages (Davidson,2011). Statistics from Facebook, which as

of June 2011 had over 500 million active users, documents that over 50% of

the users log in each day (Facebook, 2011) ‘‘People that use Facebook on

their mobile devices are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile

users’’ (Facebook, 2011, p. 1).

The findings of the study of Belk’s (2013) expanded the digital

extended self’ theory and show how people use social media to communicate

and present themselves during the community quarantine and with a lack of

face-to-face communication. After the content analysis of Instagram posts

containing #viewfromquarantine, they found out that the narratives of

adaptation to the new situation were the specific feature of contents shared in
the particular period. In this regard, adaptation to alternative means of

communication and doing outside activities inside were the most common

contents. People continued using Instagram as a tool for self-presentation

during the self-isolation period. While the majority of users tended to share

their selfies with a facial expression related to the pandemic situation such as

boredom and anxiety, some others tried to express a more positive version of

self by presenting narrations of hope.

Baker (2020) argues that, apart from social gatherings, one dangerous

trend that continued to be experienced by people worldwide is the rate at

which suicide is being committed on daily basis. The level of suicide has been

increased by the pandemic, when people become despondent and extremely

poor without income without certainty on achieving what they have planned to

achieve and their expectations met by a sheer fiasco, they discovered suicide

as the last resort.

McDool et al. (2020) provide some evidence that the internet negatively

affects children’s psychological wellbeing. For children who can read and surf

internet, the prolonged time indoors can increase the negative impact of

internet on health. Even though adults also use digital technology to a great

extent, concerns tend to centre on children’s use because of the many social,

biological, cognitive, and psychological changes that characterize this life

period. Children go through critical developmental stages, such as identity

formation and building positive friendships while immersed in the digital age

(George and Odgers, 2015).

 The study of Sañudo, B., Fennell, C., & Sánchez-Oliver, A. J. (2020)

assessed the effects of home quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic on

lifestyle such as physical activity, sedentary behavior, smartphone use, and

sleep patterns, by collecting objective smartphone use and objective physical

activity data. As expected, lifestyle changed during the quarantine in the

Sustainability 2020, 12, 5890 7 of 12 participants, as they exhibited less

engagement in physical activity, and more time spent sitting, using

smartphones, and sleeping. Their results were herein demonstrated that

individual’s routines may have changed due to the COVID-19 enhance

community quarantine. Participants spent more time at home using digital or

smartphones and consequently, the number of objectively-measured steps

were significantly reduced. Moreover, people spend more time using screens

during the quarantine, and in young adults this was also associated with a

growing prevalence of sleep problems. The use of screens can ameliorate

social isolation; however, these behaviors like smartphone use can have a

negative influence on the levels of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and

sleep patterns.

Theoretical Framework

A study usually supported by theories, concepts, and models which are

grounded in its hypothesis. The following theory of the study is here

aforementioned:

The theory of (Person) Behavioral Immune System (BIS) posits that

due to self-protection, anxiety, unwillingness, and other negative emotions

and cognitions may develop in such environments (Schaller, 2006). While

quarantined and out of the university environment and schedule, students

 may experience stress, anxiety, anger, boredom, loneliness, and other

emotions, with both shorter- and longer-term impacts. In the shorter-term,

such feelings may lead to sleep problems, changes in eating habits, and

engagement in potentially addictive behaviors, and some of these factors may

then also increase anxiety, depression and stress. News, misinformation, and

rumors about COVID-19 may also increase negative thoughts and emotions

within students and about their futures.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework in Figure 1 shows the relationship between

the independent variable and dependent variable. The following are the

discussion on the indicators that will be used in this study.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable Participants

Digital lifestyle

mmunity
e (ECQ)
andemic Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework Showing the Relationship of
Academic Lifestyle Senior High
t home
Students
the Variables of of MSLu
the Study
wns

Active Lifestyle
 The independent variable in the study is the Enhanced Community

Quarantine wherein the government imposed an enhanced community

quarantine (ECQ) in which is effectively a total lockdown, prohibiting the

movement of the population except for person’s necessity, or work in

response to the pandemic. The Covid-19 stands for coronavirus disease and

even referred to as the 2019 novel coronavirus or ‘2019-nCoV’ (Bender,

2020). This new virus can be transmitted just in minutes through droplets or

even touching surface metals or other materials which have been infected

from a person who has respiratory problems. Even though the elderly and the

very young children are easily affected, nobody is immune to this new

infectious disease once it hits the body, so all people are susceptible to its

devastating effects (Bender, 2020; Meng, Hua, & Bian, 2020). Staying at

home is highly recommended by the government for everybody’s safety and

following the rules given by the government. As stated by Lanndon Ocampo &

Kafferine Yamagishi, 2020, governments are currently looking at designing

lockdown relaxation efforts by simultaneously considering both public health

and economic restart, governments are resorting to trial-and-error approach in

creating a lockdown exit strategy while preventing succeeding waves of cases

that may overwhelm healthcare facilities.

Conversely, the dependent variable of the study is Lifestyle, in which

according to Farhud, 2015, lifestyle is a way used by people, groups and

nations and is formed in specific geographical, economic, political, cultural

and religious text. Furthermore, lifestyle is referred to the characteristics of

inhabitants of a region in special time and place. It includes day to day

behaviors and functions of individuals in job, activities, fun and diet . Farhud,
(2015). This includes: Digital lifestyle, Academic Lifestyle, and Active Lifestyle.

The academic lifestyle of students in higher education has undergone

fundamental changes in the past two decades, such change can be grasped

by looking at the system of activities, at the changing patterns of time

distribution such as the decline of reading (Bocsi, 2013), but without doubt, it

can also be traced in the strategies to merge different forms. Due to

Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), academic lifestyle of students has

change from having a face to face class into online classes and modular

classes which affects their lifestyle for students and teachers as well are not

used to this.

In the beginning of our day when we woke up until the time we go back

to bed, we, people are involved with all kinds of things related to digital. For

example, digital alarm clock, digital home, digital communications systems,

mobile phones, laptops, television and a lot more. People are observed as

having a focus on social media interaction and connectedness but mostly

young students with their friends, family and colleagues, and preferring group-

based approaches to study and social activities. As of today, during pandemic

and Enhanced Community Quarantine, people are more active in their digital

lifestyle since we are all staying at home so, we always use gadgets for

school, works, entertainments and other purpose of digital that we need. The

hours we spent in our devices have been increased compared to the hours

we spent before the pandemic, since we don’t go outside anymore.

Lastly, active lifestyle refers physical activities that a person does

throughout the day. This can be any activity that gets us up and moving.

People often spend their time in engaging to activities such physical

exercises. Physical exercise is a powerful preventative and treatment

intervention that is known to be effective in generating metabolic and immune

health benefits (Huang, Zourdos, Jo E, Ormsbee, 2013). Living a lifestyle that

is active and healthy is in the best interest of every individual, (Hedberg,

2010). During the pandemic, people’s active lifestyle has been decreased for

many of us can’t go outside and more focus on devices instead of being

active, physically.