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The IUP Journal of Knowledge Management

Correlation Between Internet Use Habits and Poor School Performance: A Study of Adolescent Students in Nigeria

Article Details

Pub. Date	: Apr, 2023
Product Name	: The IUP Journal of Knowledge Management
Product Type	: Article
Product Code	: IJKM030423
Author Name	: Fidelis I Onah
Availability	: YES
Subject/Domain	: Management
Download Format	: PDF Format
No. of Pages	: 18

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Abstract

As the academic performance of adolescent students in Nigeria continues to deteriorate, researchers are worried as to how the Internet use habits contribute to their emotional and behavioral development and how it affects them. The paper investigates the prevalence of Internet addiction disorder among adolescent students in Calabar, Nigeria, and how it relates to their school performance. A questionnaire-based survey method was employed to gather data from a random, nationally-representative sample of adolescents (males and females) during the period November 1 to December 3, 2021. Young's 20-item Internet Addiction Test (YIAT) was applied to assess the prevalence of Internet addiction. The self-reported research data was evaluated by quantitative means to associate it with poor school performance among the study population. The outcome of the study confirmed the prevalence of Internet addiction and its association with poor school performance in the source population. This study obviously has implications for parents, guardians and policymakers, both in the educational and economic sectors of Nigeria.

Introduction

The uncontrolled use of the Internet, or Internet addiction, is a new research area. While Internet addiction can occur among all age groups, students and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to it because of the mental, emotional, and social developments they undergo before adulthood. This study was conducted to evaluate Internet use habits and its correlation with poor school performance among 17 to 23-year-old students in Calabar and by extension the whole of Nigeria. Youth Internet Addiction disorder has vast research findings in Asian countries and a few studies from elsewhere in the world. Studies that evaluated youth Internet addiction and its correlation with their poor school performance were scarce in south-south part of Nigeria.

A study, therefore, is presented here to address its devastating effect on academic achievement of adolescents for mitigation purposes. The evidence generated will also be useful to families, non-governmental organizations, health practitioners and policymakers in monitoring and treatment of other Internet misuse-related challenges.