MORE than 60 per cent of second form students at Glenmuir High school in Clarendon blame a preoccupation with media devices, particularly computers and televisions, for their average academic performance.

This is according to research conducted by upper sixth former Tsahai Thomas, 17, between October 2007 and January this year which showed that when it came to academic performance, exactly half of the 30 students who participated got averages of between 70 and 79 per cent on their last report cards.

Those who got above average grades (80-89 per cent) totalled 13, while two got between 60 and 69 per cent.

“All the students received passing averages but the majority of them were merely performing at the average level. Less preoccupation with the media could have alleviated this,” the researcher said.

Her conclusion was based on patterns brought out by the study which was titled: ‘Does preoccupation with the media affect the academic achievement of second form students at Glenmuir High School?’

It showed that for 76.1 per cent of 24 respondents aged 12-14, the most popular use of the Internet was to play online games, send e-mails and instant messages, participate in chatrooms and surf entertainment sites. Only 23.8 per cent said they used the Internet for doing homework.

The longest time spent doing homework on any given day was between one and two hours while the longest spent watching TV was more than four.

“The majority of the students confessed that they thought that the media was a hindrance to their academic performance,” she added, pointing to the 63.3 per cent who said they thought so.

In order to bring grades to above average levels and to reduce TV and Internet time, Thomas recommends an incorporation of media devices into the learning process and sustained monitoring by parents of the time students spend using the devices.

The research paper, which was one of eight presented by high school students at the third annual Caribbean Child Research Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus last week, won Tsahai the title of Outstanding Child Researcher 2008.

She also took the prizes for best methodology and best written paper. Among her prizes were a laptop computer and a mobile phone.

Schoolmate Janeth Diggs-White was awarded best oral presentation for her paper on the effects of early sexual relations on the social behaviour of sixth formers at Glenmuir while Colin Banton of Balaclava High walked away the top male presenter. His work looked at some effects of poverty on the rights of the child.

The theme of the conference this year was ‘Promoting child rights through research: Building a region fit for children’. It is an annual two-day event.