8 Watching TV Effect on Academic Performance Name of Student Department, University

8

Watching TV Effect on Academic Performance

Name of Student

Department, University

Course Name

Dr. Professor’s Name

Date

Watching TV Effect on Academic Performance

Assignment 3 Introduction: Effects of Watching Television on Academic Performance

Watching television is undoubtedly one of the most common pastimes in the 21st century (Ramírez et al., 2021). Today, children get hooked on watching television, often as young as one or two years old. According to extensive research conducted over the years, watching television among young and school-going children is a double-edged sword in that it is both advantageous and disadvantageous (Hish et al., 2021). On the positive end of the spectrum, it was found that watching television is beneficial as it improves children’s communication and comprehension skills. In addition, television helps children to interact better with their peers (Ramírez et al., 2021). On the negative side of the spectrum, however, watching television has been found to cause significant effects on children, among them difficulties concentrating on academic work (Al Sagr & Al Sagr, 2020). In the end, diminished concentration in school work impacts academic performance. In light of this development, the present study will explore the suitable threshold (for watching television) that should be accorded to school-going children.

Background Research

According to (Mundy et al., 2020), children who watch too much television have a high risk of experiencing brain development delays (Hish et al., 2021). Specifically, the study (Mundy et al., 2020) used a longitudinal study design to test how watching television impacted the academic performance of 1,239 students (aged 8 to 9). Ultimately, it was found that children who watch more than seven hours of television have delayed sensory and cognitive development abilities (Mundy et al., 2020). Also, this study found that watching too much television causes delayed speech development, findings that are consistent with those of Al Sagr & Al Sagr (2020).

In (Ramírez et al., 2021), 2,440 school-going children in Chile (aged 9 to 12) were surveyed to determine their time spent watching television and how it impacted their overall well-being. Ultimately, it emerged that watching more than eight hours of television caused reduced academic performance for the children. Also, watching too much television was found to cause sleep deprivation and significant anxiety.

Overall, research has definitively shown that children who watch too much television are usually at a high risk of developing lifestyle illnesses, which in turn affect academic performance. For example, excessive television affects blood flow to brain cells (due to inactivity), adversely affecting how information is fed to one’s brain (Ramírez et al., 2021). Also important to note, according to (Mundy et al., 2020), watching too much television lowers school-going children’s concentration, significantly affecting their study time.

Purpose of the Inquiry

The key objective of the proposed inquiry will be to investigate the maximum number of television hours that school-going children should be safely exposed to. There is a gap in empirical research on this topic, as many existing studies focus on exploring the problems associated with watching too much television. Researchers have not adequately investigated the effects of too much television on children’s academic performance and concentration (study time). As such, the present inquiry will help parents safely expose their young ones to TV.

Hypotheses

Hypothesis #1: Over 8 hours of daily television leads to poor academic performance among children aged 12 and below.

Hypothesis #2: Less than 4 hours of daily television enhances academic performance among school-going children aged 12 and below.

Hypothesis #3: Less than 2 hours of daily television time does not affect academic performance for children aged 12 and below.

Hypothesis #4: Watching television for over eight hours significantly lowers school-going children’s concentration.

Hypothesis #5: Watching television for less than four hours does not significantly impact school-going children’s concentration.

Variables: The dependent variables will be class performance and concentration

The independent variables will be age and the number of hours spent watching television.

Methods

Participants and Procedure

My proposed research will recruit 100 school-going children aged between 7 and 12. The participants will then be surveyed in clusters of 30 members, and there will therefore be 5 clusters. Each cluster will be subjected to all three levels of television time (8, 4, and 2 hours). Also important to note is that the 150 participants’ academic performance will be evaluated at the end of the semester to determine if they were affected significantly. In addition, 50 children’s psychologists will be included in this study to offer their opinions and lived experiences about how much television time children should be exposed to.

Materials

The materials for the proposed study will be television sets, notebooks, pens, personal computers, and software to tabulate the number of television hours participants are subjected to. Also, the controlled variables will select participants with identical IQ and academic performance levels. The dependent variable will be academic performance, while the independent variable will be the hours spent watching television.

Operational Definitions

Exposure to television will be measured in hours, and guardians/parents will be provided with portable timers and notebooks to record the hours spent watching television.

The impact of watching television (on the children) will be measured using IQ score deviations and end-of-semester school performance.

An increase in IQ levels and end-of-semester performance will be categorized as a positive impact, while a decrease will be a negative impact of too much television time.

Instrument

Interviews with open-ended questions will be the main instrument in this study. Here, the 50 children’s psychologists will be asked what they think are the main impacts of too much television on children. How many hours of television do you believe children should be exposed to daily?

Assignment 4

Procedure

A consent form will be sent to individual families and duly signed before the research commences.

Children will be exposed to the various hours of television.

Guardians and parents will record the findings (data collection).

Opinions and lived experiences of the 50 children psychologists will be collected using the interviews.

The results of the proposed quantitative study will be analyzed using SPSS and thematic analysis to determine whether or not television time affects children’s impact on academic performance. More than 8 hours of watching television is projected to impact academic performance significantly.

Results

After conducting the research, 4 hours of television is expected to be the optimal duration. Spending 4 hours will be beneficial in enhancing IQ and school performance. Also, more than 8 hours of television will likely be found to be counterproductive, as it lowers school performance.

Discussion

In conclusion, the present inquiry will investigate the impact of excess television on children’s academic performance. The study’s results will demonstrate the safe number of hours for children aged 12 and below. However, low budget and time constraints may impact the present research. Regarding ethical conduct, written consent will have to be provided by the children’s parents before

Limitations

The sample size is too small.

The time constraint in collecting and analyzing the quantitative data will impact the study’s validity.

The findings may not be generalizable in other nations other than America.

References

Al Sagr, A. N., & Al Sagr, N. A. (2020). The effect of electronics on the growth and development of young children: A Narrative Review. Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries, 14(1). https://jhidc.org/index.php/jhidc/article/view/250

Hish, A. J., Wood, C. T., Howard, J. B., Flower, K. B., Yin, H. S., Rothman, R. L., Delamater, A. M., Sanders, L. M., Bian, A., & Schildcrout, J. S. (2021). Infant television watching predicts toddler television watching in a low-income population. Academic Pediatrics, 21(6), 988–995.

Mundy, L. K., Canterford, L., Hoq, M., Olds, T., Moreno-Betancur, M., Sawyer, S., Kosola, S., & Patton, G. C. (2020). Electronic media use and academic performance in late childhood: A longitudinal study. PLoS One, 15(9), e0237908.

Ramírez, S., Gana, S., Garcés, S., Zúñiga, T., Araya, R., & Gaete, J. (2021). Use of technology and its association with academic performance and life satisfaction among children and adolescents. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 764054.