A case study on the impact of internet on upper primary students in Singapore.

Abstract

The downward trend in the age of children exploring the Internet has raised questions on how their usage may have made a difference in their lives - from reducing academic competence to poor social skills and weak social relationships. While there had been many studies done on the impact of Internet on adults and secondary school students from 13 to 16 year old, far fewer research has been done on the effects and impact of Internet on 10 to 12 year old children who are at their formative adolescence stage. This study aims to close this gap by providing insight into the online behaviour of 225 children between 10 to l2-year-old. The survey questionnaire technique was chosen for the study. The questionnaire contains items concerning children's Internet usage patterns, perception, guidance and monitoring received as well as effects on academic results, social and emotional relationship and on adoption of other activities. The questionnaire, implemented online, was used to elicit responses from 25 classes of 10 to12 old students in a government-aided school. Following screening to ensure that they have exposure to Internet usage, 687 students were invited to take part in the study by completing the online questionnaire hosted on the school e-learning portal. From a total of 272 responses, 225, comprising 113 boys and 112 girls, were used for the analysis. Key findings indicated that Internet was used primarily for communication and entertainment by respondents. Few content creation activities were carried out.