IMPACT OF SCREEN TIME ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

The rapid increase in digital technology and internet-enabled devices has essentially transformed the day-to-day activities of students at the university campuses, where they dedicate large proportions of their active lives to screens, be it academic, social or recreational. Although moderate and intentional screen time can help in learning, unregulated screen time of excessive and uncontrolled time was attributed to sleep disturbance, lack of concentration, cognitive burnout, and decreased academic performance. Although this issue is of global concern, there is not much empirical research exploring the link concerning the amount of screen time and university performing of students at the university level in Pakistan. The research study identifies the role of screen time in academic performance among university students in Pakistan that utilizes a quantitative, descriptive-correlational type of research design. A total of 200 undergraduate students of a public university at Punjab are selected in a stratified random fashion. The data are gathered by a validated researcher-created Screen Time and Academic Performance Questionnaire (STAPQ) based on 30 Likert items (placed in five domains: patterns of daily screen time, academic screen use, recreational screen use, sleep and health effects, self-regulation of screen use). The student cumulative Grade point average (CGPA) is used as a measure of academic performing. Statistics used in the study are descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, independent samples t-test and were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 28.0. The result indicates the total recreational screen time and CGPA have a statistically significant negative relationship whereas there is a weak positive relationship between academic screen use and performance. The most predictive factor of poor academic performance is excessive screen consumption of social media and entertainment. The research ends with practical suggestions to students, faculty and the university administration.