There’s bad news for internet lovers. New research suggests too much time spent online can take a significant toll on a student’s ability to succeed academically, as it makes them less motivated to study and increases their test anxiety.
To come to this conclusion, researchers from Swansea University in Wales and the University of Milan recruited 285 college students and assessed them on their study skills and motivation, anxiety and loneliness. Students who reported higher rates of internet addiction found it extra difficult to organize their learning productively and were more anxious about their upcoming tests. Internet-addicted students were also more likely to say they were lonely. And loneliness, too, makes studying harder.
“These results suggest that students with high levels of internet addiction may be particularly at risk from lower motivations to study, and, hence, lower actual academic performance,” Phil Reed, a co-author of the study and a professor of psychology at Swansea, said in a news release.
Nearly 25 percent of the students surveyed spent more than four hours a day on the web, while the rest reported using the internet for 1-3 three hours a day. Only 1 percent said they were online for more than seven hours daily.
Forty percent of the students said they spend the majority of their internet time on social media, 23 percent said they are most commonly on the web for movies and music, 11 percent said their time goes towards “information seeking,” and 7 percent said they are on the web mostly for a “learning activity.”
“Internet addiction has been shown to impair a range of abilities such as impulse control, planning and sensitivity to rewards. A lack of ability in these areas could well make study(ing) harder,” Roberto Truzoli, a co-author of the study and associate professor at the University of Milan, said in the release.
The study also suggests that the association between too much time on the internet and a student’s ability to succeed academically is at least partially mediated by loneliness. Loneliness, itself, plays a large role in students’ motivation and ability to succeed academically, the researchers determined. And when students spend more time on the internet, they are sacrificing valuable social interactions that, in turn, contribute to their loneliness.
“This suggests that those with high levels of PIU (problematic internet usage) may be particularly at risk from lower motivations to study, and, hence, lower actual generalized academic performance due to a number of consequences of PIU,” the authors wrote in the study.
Too much time on the internet is never a good thing. Along with the academic, social and mental health problems it can cause, excess time spent surfing the web can lead to trouble sleeping and even high blood pressure. And withdrawing from the internet can cause psychological changes similar to that of alcohol or weed.
And college students aren’t the only ones to worry about. Teens spend, on average, seven hours and 22 minutes a day using their devices. And American 8-12-year-olds spend four hours and 44 minutes on screens each day.
Despite these concerns, teachers at all levels of education are continuing to transition from written to online homework and assignments.
Reed has concerns about this trend. “Before we continue down a route of increasing digitization of our academic environments, we have to pause to consider if this is actually going to bring about the results we want,” he said in the release. “This strategy might offer some opportunities, but it also contains risks that have not yet been fully assessed.”
Although digital technology is a great way to access information, it’s not a great way to teach, Reed told The University Network. There’s “no substitute for face-to-face sessions and contact, where nuances can really be explained and developed.”
“What is surprising is the continued drive to use digital technology in education without thinking it through,” he added. “It may be expedient, but it may not be a great solution to all the problems.”
