RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNET ADDICTION AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The world today revolves around internet usage as both young and old engage actively with their internet. The students are not exempted, as they utilize the internet for academic purposes alongside their social entertainment. The poor usage of internet by the students may be one of the causes of underachieved academic goals set by both the ministry of education, parents and the student. The study examined the relationship between internet addiction and students’ academic achievement in public senior secondary schools in Anambra state. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The sample of the study comprised 420 SS1 students (210 males, 210 females) drawn from using proportionate random sampling technique. Two instruments were used for data collection: Internet addiction test (IAT), and basic examination result. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation were used as tools for data analyses. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The two core subjects’ English language and Mathematics in Basic External Certificate Examination (BECE or junior WAEC) result of senior secondary school one students were used to assess their academic achievement. The findings showed that there was a very low negative relationship between internet addiction and students’ academic achievement in English Language, but, a low negative relationship was found between internet addiction and students’ academic achievement in Mathematics. There was a significant negative relationship between internet addiction and academic achievement in Mathematics among male students, however there was no significant relationship between internet addiction and academic achievement in English language among male students. For the female sample, there was a significant negative relationship between internet addiction and academic achievement in English language and Mathematics among female students in public secondary schools in Anambra state. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Schools should have functional school counselors who can assist those students who go through various psychological problems.