As the world revolves, things also revolves too. Like online shopping, remote
work, and virtual learning, gaming has reached a whole different level in the past
couple of years. According to 2020 statistics, it revealed that 43 million gamers
and 74 percent drove the unprecented rise in the Philippine gaming industry as they
play on their mobile devices and on their PC. Add to this, Statista Research
Department (2022) stated that online gaming is a flourishing industry in the
Philippines, with revenues showing exponential growth in 2020 compared to the
previous years. Gaming, either through consoles, mobile, or PC, has been gaining
traction among Filipinos, especially among the younger generation. Online gaming
has also proved a welcome diversion for many people chafing at movement
restrictions, the cancelation of countless public events, and a relentless onslaught
of news about the pandemic (France-Presse, 2022). This pandemic really
exemplies the huge impact on the academic performance of each students as the
outbreak started. According to the Office for National Statistics on 24 May,
49 percent of those students’ academic performance were affected same as well as
the 56 percent of that same sample reported that the lack of face-to-face learning
had “a major or moderate impact” on the quality of their course (Parr, 2021). In
line with this, several senior high school students including Isabella Lladoc, a
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strand student, were
delighted by the Department of Education’s (DepEd) push for the reintroduction of
in-person work immersion on Wednesday. It is because learning can be gained
through on-the-ground immersion and this current distance learning setup really
dismayed and affected her, Lladoc stated.

    According to Saulnier and Bachhuber (2012), playing online games can help
students improve their reading comprehension as it allows and assists players to
connect with each other to improve their vocabulary and grammar. As stated in the
study of Chinomona (2013), the rapid development in wireless networks and
mobile communication devices nowadays, cause of dominatiom of the people’s
time – particularly the youth generation. Furthermore, many kids have said that
online games have led them to become lazy and unfocused on their schoolwork,
which is why parents have imposed gaming limitations and students have imposed
self-restrictions. Most students defend themselves by claiming that playing online
games allows them to learn new things and have a great time (Mozelius, 2016). In
contrast, students nowadays use internet gaming not only for fun but also for study
as it help them exercise their minds and encourages them to explore the Internet. It
allows players’ minds to be more engaged, and aids them in making quick
judgments in stressful situations. Despite these advantages, playing online games
has become a necessity in their lives because it consumes so much of the player’s
time (Valdez, 2022). Additionally, the relationship of technology use with these
two academic behaviors have also been investigated and it aimed to inspect a path
model with technology use, student engagement, self-directed learning and
academic performance among undergraduate students (Tabassum Rashid and
Hanan Muhammad Asghar, 2016). In accordance with Akiri (2013), teachers’
classroom effectiveness has been found to have only a minimal influence on the
academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Delta State,
Nigeria. Students related factors such as intelligence, parental education,
socioeconomic status, and personalities which vary over wide margins in the study
area may have significant effect on the academic performance of students in public
secondary schools. This may also influence significantly on the academic
performance of students and consequently may be responsible for the observed low
performance of students when compared with the effectiveness of their teachers. It
allows players’ minds to be more engaged and aids them in making quick
judgments in stressful situations. Despite these advantages, playing online games
has become a necessity in their lives because it consumes so much of the player’s
time (Valdez, 2022). Additionally, the relationship of technology use with these
two academic behaviors has also been investigated, and it aimed to inspect a path
model with technology use, student engagement, self-directed learning, and
academic performance among undergraduate students (Tabassum Rashid and
Hanan Muhammad Asghar, 2016). In accordance with Akiri (2013), teachers’
classroom effectiveness has been found to have only a minimal influence on the
academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Delta State,
Nigeria. Students’ related factors such as intelligence, parental education,
socioeconomic status, and personalities, which vary over wide margins in the study
area, may have a significant effect on the academic performance of students in
public secondary schools.