We all know that internet is very useful. Without too much hassle, we can find lots of information just using our smartphone or computer. Not only that, internet can also be used to connect with our loved ones through social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Despite this, excessive usage of internet is not good, since it can cause addiction. Addiction to internet is known to affect a person’s life, both physically and mentally. Not only on adults, but children can also get addicted to internet. Beside affecting their emotions, results of recent studies also show that it may also reduce learning motivation on children.

According to the results of a recent study conducted by Swansea University, researchers found that students who use too much internet are less motivated to engage in their studies and tend to be more anxious in facing exams. This effect is exacerbated by the increasing feeling of loneliness felt by students as a result of the addiction. The results of this study have been published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.

In the study, of the 285 participating students, it was found that 25% of them spent more than 4 hours per day surfing the internet. Of that time, 40% was spent playing around in social media and 30% was used for information retrieval. The researchers explain, with the increasing feeling of loneliness experienced by students, this can certainly affect their learning process and lead to poor academic performance.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Pixabay

Source(s):

• Reed, P., Truzoli, R., Viano, C., and Gamozzi, P.G., (2019). Problematic internet use and study motivation in higher education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12414.
• Science Daily - Internet use reduces study skills in university students (2020). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200117085321.htm, 21 January 2020.