THE EFFECT OF OVERUSE OF GADGETS ON THEIR MENTAL HEALTH IN

SELECTED GRADE 10 STUDENTS OF SALVACION NATIONAL HIGH

SCHOOL

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

The use of technology is one of the popular uses of people today, especially

young people. Most people say that their day is not enough if they cannot use their

gadgets. “Some of the gadgets we cannot even imagine without being them

are Laptops, smartphones, microwaves, smartwatches, etc. The use of devices has

solved lots of problems with physically challenged people. It has influenced us in

many ways, and we can't even think without gadgets in our daily lives.”

(indiatimes.com 2022)

In the Philippines, most students have their own mobile phone, laptop and so

on. but will it help them to solve their problem when it comes to learning or will it

increase? According to TCOR_Marketing (2018) “Preventing teen addiction to

technology means finding a balance within students’ lives, so that teenagers do not

misuse their technology as an escape from real world challenges, emotions,

socialization, or identity. Online activities should be balanced with real-world

experiences and interactions.” A gadget is an important device and has become a

necessity for human beings around the world. Tal and Torous (2017) said the rapid

development of modern technology in the era of technological gadget has led to the
revolution of modern media by the present generation Z (Gen Z). Previously, the use

of gadget is very limited to professionals but nowadays, the use of these gadgets is not

uncommon especially among Gen Z. More and more gadget users are able to own

these devices because they are widely available and are commonly sold at affordable

price. This study is generally aimed at identifying the extent of addiction affecting

mental health (quality of sleep, depression, anxiety and stress) among Gen Z. In

particular, the objectives of this study are to identify the level, relationship and

contribution of quality of sleep, depression, anxiety and stress as well as gadget

addiction among Gen Z users. The outcome of this study is expected to contribute to

various parties especially teenagers and parents in identifying the elements that can

lead to mental health and also serves as a guide in helping this group reduce their

dependency on this gadget. All the sections in this study involve quantitative data

collection.

Therefore, we choose to study how to solve the excessive use of technology by

selected grade 10 students of Salvacion National High School.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study aims to assess the the effect of overuse of gadgets on their mental

health in selected grade 10 students of Salvacion National High School and to identify

the possible actions for those students who are involve of overusing of gadgets.

Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the good and bad things that excessive use of gadgets can do to him?
 2. What will be the effect of excessive use of gadgets on their health?

3. What should be done to avoid excessive use of technology?

SCOPE AND DELIMINATION

The main focus of this study will limit only to the mental health of Grade 10-

MAXWELL students in terms of overuse of gadgets on their mental health in of

Salvacion National High School in Salvacion, Pilar, Sorsogon for school year 2022-

2023.

This study will be conducting in the Province of Sorsogon, especially in

SNHS, Pilar, Sorsogon. This research will choose the one section of Grade 10

Students of the said school. A total of 38 students serves as the respondents of this

study.

All information and conclusions will draw from this study well obtain only to

this particular group of students.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Over using of gadgets in school is one major factors leading to declining

mental health problem. And school play an important role in disseminating mentally

information to encourage stewardship. This will be very big influence for the school

for making a change leading to their mental health. The importance of this study are

the following.
STUDENTS. This study will help students to reduce their excess of gadgets and not

to affect their health.

TEACHERS. The result of this study may serve as an eye opener so that they can

teach students the proper or correct use of technology and they can also learn

something about it that they can apply to themselves.

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR. The result of this study could serve as a base line

data to focus on the health of their students.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DepEd). The result of this study will help

them appraise the existing programs in terms of the student’s needs, and ability and

make change as required.

PARENTS. Who is directly concerned about the health of their children and it will

help parents to teach their children to keep their bodies productive in other things and

not always focus on gadgets.

COMMUNITY. This study will help them to become aware and to create more

opportunities to the encourage, not only the students but to encourage all the people

out there to do not to revolve their lives around gadgets.

studies of knowing the importance of mental health rather than excessive use of

gadgets.

CHAPTER II

Review and Related Literature and studies

This chapter summarizes the research and publications that were determined to

be pertinent to the available data. The gap that has to be filled following the

evaluation of the literature and prior research is what establishes how the current

study relates to and differs from earlier studies. The research also includes a

theoretical and conceptual framework as well as a glossary of words.

Related Literature

At many schools, gadget addiction is becoming more and more of an issue.

Teachers and other people in the education industry frequently struggle with gadget

addiction. Students who are hooked to utilizing devices during class are less likely to

pay attention or engage, which has an impact on their grades and academic

performance. The study of Amelia S. Ablen, Ph.D., Friedr (2019) Today, as the world

grows technologically sophisticated, there is a great demand for the hottest electronic

gadgets. These are cellphones, smartphones, laptop, and several electronic gadgets.

Smartphones or cellphones support a wide variety of other services, such as text

messaging, multimedia messaging, electronic mail or e-mail, internet access, business

applications, games, photography and calendaring among other services. Also,

cellphones are increasingly one of the most popular information access devices. What
stands out from the study is the high use of interactive, multi-user functions which can

at times be disruptive or beneficial during the study. In essence, the study revealed

that cellphones are beneficial for learning, but learners have a tendency to abuse them.

The presence of cellphones presents a host of options and challenges for today’s

students. The cellphone is an undeniably convenient, helpful tool for study. However,

it can be a hurtful source of distraction depending on the attitude and use pattern of a

student. As a result, they got lower scores in exams or tests and were less effective at

tasks such as note-taking. This generation of “voracious text” might be affected by so

many online distractions. When students did not use mobiles, they were better at

recalling information. With the exam season underway, there are family arguments

about whether teenagers really can learn while using several online gadgets.

The study of R. S. Torres (2019) the effects of using gadgets show the effects

of gadgets on the physical and mental health of the respondents. There is no denying

that technological devices have become a significant part of students’ everyday lives.

But the question is: “How do these devices affect the student’s learning?” We are

witnesses of how the students’ learning gets affected by technological devices. The

major achievements of technology have left man spell-bound and every part of the

world today is enjoying the comforts provided by technology. Modern technology has

greatly improved people’s lives through different fields, such as education. They

should use it for their benefit and should not abuse its use. Gadgets compile many

products in one but overusing them tends to change its usefulness to destruction.

Therefore, users who are experiencing addiction to gadgets seem to be more

noticeable as it greatly affects their psychological ability, especially their social

interaction, that is why we made this study to figure out how gadgets dramatically

affect students. (Carbonell et al., 2018). The Gen Z gadget addiction level is an
important issue because it is closely related to mental health as well as their overall

welfare. Mental health is one of the indicators of productivity. The highly productive

Gen Z is an important asset in the national development. The Gen Z is the country’s

backbone in terms of the economy as this generation will soon be in the work force

and will contribute to the productivity of the country. Hence, the study of gadget

addiction on mental health is an important perspective in assisting to formulate

policies related to mental health in higher education institutions and globally for the

implementation of the policy that is for the Gen Z. Thus, the study aims to know and

identify the distribution of generations that are experiencing gadget addiction, thus

contributing to psychological and mental disturbances among Gen Z in Malaysia,

particularly those from training institution of Ministry of Health Malaysia, and thus

estimating the percentage of users with gadget addiction and its impact on their

mental health.

According to Zulkefly & Baharudin (2009), the abusive use of gadgets among

youth has experienced an increase from time to time causing symptoms of anxiety,

depression and stress.

Hassan et al. (2017) state that users who attempt to control and reduce the

frequency of using the gadgets are found to suffer from mental problems. Gadget

users who fail to control the excessive use of gadget suffer from symptoms such as

restlessness, tiredness, feeling angry and extremely emotional especially gadget users

who fail or unsuccessful in surfing the Internet.