Effects of Excessive Computer Usage to the Academic Performance

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The Effects of Excessive Computer Usage to the Academic Performance of 1st and 2nd Year Nursing Students

Thesis Statement:

Although technology and particularly computers have helped us a lot in the innovation our world and making our work more efficient and faster, the excessive use of computer among students has become a recent problem regarding specifically on their academic performance in school.

Outline:

I. The use of computers among the nursing students of Silliman University

a. Extent and trends

b. Explanations

1. Characteristics of computers

2. Social changes

3. high marketability of computers

II. Behavioral effects of excessive computer usage

a. Impact on education

1. Poor study habits

2. Low performance in school

3. Disregards classes from time to time

b. Effects on psychological behavior

III. Evaluation on the excessive use of computer of students

a. May cause depression

b. Leads to paranoia

c. Eventually leads to suicide

Introduction:

The computer, an invention so important that without its existence, our technology and the things we enjoy today would be more or less somewhat of just a mere idea and would not be that realistic as of today. Computers have become an extended feature of our daily lives. Computer use has reached beyond the efficiency of our work to the major source of fun and entertainment for many people. For most people, computer use and video game play is integrated into their lives in a balanced and healthy manner. For others, time spent on the computer or video game is out of balance and has displaced work, school, friends, and family time. Addiction and dependency have been studied for more than 100 years, yet there remains “no single set of causal factors that enjoy a majority following among researchers and clinicians” (Butcher, 1988, p. 171). Recent research at colleges and universities has suggested that some college students’ academic performance might be impaired by heavier use of the Internet. The concept of addiction has been very broadly extended into so-called “excessive appetite disorders” such as

pathological gambling and other behaviors, including “love, sex, food, dieting,

jogging, television—even religion” and video game play (Kubey, 1996; Milkman &

Sunderwirth, 1987, p. 126), as well as computers (Shotton, 1989). Research into

“gambling dependency,” formally recognized in the American Psychiatric Association

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSMIV),

has established a set of criteria often used by other researchers looking at dependent behavior. In addition to, claims of “sex” or “food” addictions, however, have not been based in research as much as has gambling. Instead, some commentators and researchers apply the DSM criteria to the Internet and replace the word “gambling” with the word “Internet,” reaching a conclusion of “addiction” instead of “dependency,” which is the operative DSM term, and despite likely behavioral and psychological differences in the activities.

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