The researchers learned from the study “Social Networking Systems Affect One‟s Academic Performance Adversely” that time management is very important. Managing time especially for the students is very important because if a student does not know how to manage his time and apply organization on his schedule, it will surely affect the academic performance of the student.
One good example of this is that according to researchers, 65 percent of Facebook users accessed their account daily, usually checking it several times to see if they had received new messages and updates from their friends and other contacts. The amount of time spent on Facebook at each log-in varied only from just a few minutes to more than an hour. Surveys showed that people who do not have a Facebook account study for an average of eleven to fifteen hours per week, while those with Facebook account study only for one to five hours per week. This big decline on the studying hours of a student may result to poorer performances in exams, recitations, class discussions, and other academic activities. The time which could be spent in reading, studying and taking rests are spent playing, chatting, socializing, and keeping up with friends which may be done after they have finished their school requirements. This shows that a lot of students have difficulty in prioritizing the most important things.
Students also show the act of procrastination and cramming because of these social networking sites that exist in the present day. Because of this study, it has been proven that the everyday habit of procrastination and regular cramming of home works, and studying of lessons
have been the most tremendous factor of acquiring substandard scores, the cause of which is the excessive usage of social networking sites.
It is important to learn how to balance one‟s time and to know one‟s priorities first before engaging oneself to other activities. As a student, it is important to remember that the number one priority should be academics rather than entertainment.
VII. CONCLUSION
The researchers have come up with a conclusion that social networking sites do affect one‟s academic performance adversely. It directly causes the gradual drop of grades of students.
It directly affects a student‟s academic performance if the student invests his time in social networking sites instead in his studies. Procrastination and time-wasting is a major issue in this study.
It can also be implied that social networking sites are highly addictive to those people who cannot control themselves into constantly using these sites, prioritize entertainment over schoolwork, and gives too much attention to social acceptance and affiliation. The term
“addictive” is such an understatement when compared to the unfavorable effects of these social networking sites. Excessive use of these sites has influenced students to consider entertainment over learning. There is such a saying that “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” However, unnecessary “play” is clearly a serious concern in terms of education. It might even be regretful on the student‟s part if this habit continues on. Not only will it lead to low grades, it will also lead to unremarkable job opportunities and mediocre income. Nowadays, one‟s economic status defines one‟s way of living. The more the salary one gains, the better the lifestyle.
The work described above contributes to an ongoing debate as to whether or not social networking sites, most especially Facebook as it is the most popular, affect the academic performances of the youth today, and to questions of the public, particularly parents, such as,
“Should these sites be banned in order to decrease the risks of our children getting low grades?”
It also contributes to the continuous dialogue regarding the importance of social networking sites, both for practitioners and researchers alike. Vast, uncharted waters are yet to be explored. SNSs
researchers' ability to make causal claims is limited by a lack of experimental or longitudinal studies. Although the situation is rapidly changing, scholars still have a limited understanding of who is and who is not using these sites, why, and for what purposes. Such questions will require large-scale quantitative and qualitative research. The researchers hope that these findings and the work described here will help build a foundation for future investigations of these and other important issues surrounding social network sites.
APPENDICES
FIGURE 1: How often do you use the internet?
Seldom
Once in a while Weekly
Almost everyday
FIGURE 2: Which do you do more; surf the net for school work or for entertainment?
School work Entertainment
FIGURE 3: Agree or Disagree: Do social networking sites affect your academic performance negatively?
FIGURE 4: Have your experienced instances where you attend to these sites (e.g. Farmville, Restaurant City, etc.) when you‟re supposed to be studying?
Yes No
FIGURE 5: Which social networking site do you use frequently?
Facebook Friendster Multiply Plurk Myspace Twitter Other
FIGURE 6: Do you find it hard to concentrate on schoolwork knowing that you can play these games and visit these sites just by logging into your
computer?
Yes No
FIGURE 7: Imagine this scenario: It‟s Sunday morning and you have an assignment due tomorrow morning. You really have plenty of time to do your assignment, but you have started on it earlier in order to get an early sleep later that night. But then you remembered that the harvest period of your crops in Farmville is right that very moment. What will you do?
Log into your facebook account and attend to your farm
Ignore it completely
FIGURE 8: Compare your grades before you became engaged into these games/social networking sites and after you became involved. Did you see a drop in your academic performance? (Even the slightest bit of slip is considered.)
Yes No
FIGURE 9: Do you think you are addicted to these games/social networking sites?
Yes No
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