Does internet influence students in a good or a bad way? (Research Paper Sample)

Does internet influence students in a good or a bad way?
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INTRODUCTION
Background information
Technology advancement has revolutionized scores of things including learning. Internet is the recent advancement that has transformed the world to a global village. In education sector, concept such as distance learning, web based tutorial, scholarly articles among other has gain momentum in 21st centaury. Moreover, with information age, the need for convenient and faster learning is inevitable. Most importantly, there is huge power in internet communication, material delivery, and developments in learning institution. Evidently, lately, internet based learning is growing tremendously. However, it is affected by huge cost of setting up high tech facilities that enables expedient. Moreover, some students have developed a tendency of using internet for wrong reasons, thus rendering the medium as of dreadful influence to students.
Hypothesis
Ho: Internet influences student in a superior way.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
With information age, the need for knowledge is wanting. Further, knowledge based learning has outweighed tradition method that focuses on predetermined concepts. However, Internet is a game changer in learning institutions. Lately, numerous scholarly materials are published online, which acts as boast to research. Thus, internet has great impact on students. Nonetheless, it is worth a mention that immature use of internet is harmful to student. It results to reduced thinking capacity, sexual exploitation, cyber bullying, and moral corruption.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Internet is a global network that incorporates millions of computers. Lately, this medium has gain momentum in the world of education. As such, numerous learning materials such as Ebooks, journals, and article, containing information that varies enhances learning. Thus, it is crucial for student to understand what is at stake for them on the internet. However, students must instill discipline to ensure collect use of internet (Katz & Rice, 2002 p. 2).
Positive influence of internet on students
Enhance research
Muhammad explains that tradition learning focus on studying defined content. Hence, limits student to certain ideas. However, with internet capability real learning through online research and chart room is enabled. Further, digital library is trending fast in many learning institution. This has resulted to most scholarly articles and journal published online. Therefore, internet is the only medium that can enable students access networked library system for extensive learning (Thirunarayanan and Perez-Prado, 2002 p. 133).
Social life
Kate and Rice clarify that most student experience stress originating from family issues as well as school. This affects their performance. However, using internet, they attain social support from peer and expert. Further, internet cultivates equitable interaction between individuals from diverse background. This comes because of hiding identity mark such as race, gender, and age, which may results to unwarranted assumptions concerning interests and capabilities of members of diverse social group (Katz & Rice, 2002 p. 15).
Enhance interactive learning
Most of student finds it hard to ask question due to lack of confidence. However, courtesy of internet, learners and lectures get a chance to share ideas and ask questions via chat room. Further, embracing internet in school is a channel to development.
Improve performance
Internet enhances knowledge based learning. This results from availability of numerous materials that are reliable. Further, courtesy of Email and other applications, global information is shared within student reach. Additionally, this idea eliminates paper work (Thirunarayanan and Perez-Prado, 2002 p. 135).
Negative impact of internet on students
Moral decay
In instances where net neutrality is embraced, students gain access to diverse information. This enables student below 18 to access information that can result to moral decay. For instance, pornographic materials, which are largely available on the internet negatively affects students. This leads to sexual abuse. Such materials affect the virtuousness and purity of the young at mind (Barker, 2000 p. 73).
Reduce thinking capacity
Internet era has resulted to brain drain. Picture this, whenever students are given assignment, they rush to the internet access material and copy facts. This is not a productive way of doing thing. As such, it results to condensed thinking capacity. Further, this concept turns students into lazy bones. In case this trend continuous, education will be equated to, cramming of facts posted on the internet (Alavi et al, 2012 p. 4).
Cyber bullying
This occurs when students use internet to bully they colleague. In most cases, student feel snubbed when it happens to them. This may result to depression. Further, mental torture lies under bullying. This has seen a significant number of softhearted students commit suicide. Generally, with the increase in internet usage in school the number of cyber bullying increases. Internet addiction
Internet addiction mostly originates from social media and game. It affects students’ life in different ways such as poor performance and healthy complications. Psychologically, students develop short attention span. Further, prolong use of internet foregoes family, teacher, and colleagues ties. To some extend, student skip meal and develop insomnia (Alavi et al, 2012 p. 5).
METHODOLOGY
Sampling
Using a questionnaire, 40 fourth year students from California state university in USA were interviewed by means of simple random technique. This included random selection of student irrespective of their area of study. Consequently, respondents were interviewed on the following;
Whether internet influence students
Ways in which it influence students
However, it was not a walk in the park. Due to tight schedule, it was hard to get in touch with interested students. This led to consumption of more time than planned. Nonetheless, all ended well with data analysis using SSP resulting to tabulation of percentage values of results.
Social economic factors
These factors affect usage of internet. They include age, gender, and financial status.
FINDING
Social economic data
According to table 1, social economic factors featured in the survey. This includes gender, age, and monetary status. In terms of gender, there was a significant difference in the number of male (62.5%) compared to female (37.5%). Further, since data collected incorporated fourth year students, age bracket of 23-29 at 65% predominated. Additionally, most students in the campus originate from middle income earning family as affirmed by (52.5%) of respondents.
Table 1
VariableCalifornia state universityTotalGenderMale
Female25
1562.5
37.5Age23-29
30>26
1465
35Monetary statusUpper class
Middle class
Lower class11
21
827.5
52.5
20

Impacts of internet of students
A significant majority of respondent (67.5%) believe that internet has positive impact on students. They associate this to numerous benefits that comes through using internet. Most of respondents (33.3%) believe that internet enhance research. This is witnessed because higher learning institutions largely engage in research work. Further, using internet performance is improved, which is supported by 29.6% of respondents. Additional, a number of respondent (18.5%) believe that social life and enhance interactive comes with internet.
According to table 2, a significant number of respondents (32. 5%) believed that internet has no positive influence on students. This is confirmed following negative impacts consequential from it usage. Among the respondent (38.5%) claimed internet lead to reduction of thinking capacity among users. Further, moral decay and internet addiction as stated by 23.1% of respondents is believed to neutralize such an effective tool. Moreover, a few respondents (15%) claimed cyber bullying, which have hit schools going children hard, results from internet in accessibility.
Table 2
California state universityTotalPositive impact of internet on studentYes
No 27
13  67.5
32.5
Why yesEnhance research
Social life
Enhance interactive learning
Improve performance
9
5
5
8
33.3
18.5
18.5
29.6Why noMoral decay
Condense thinking capacity
Cyber bullying
Internet addiction3
5
2
323.1
38.5
15.4
23.1
DISCUSSION
Social economic factor
Based on age, gender, and financial factor,...