Torn Between Two Lovers: The Plight of Students Hooked on Mobile Games

This study explored the plight of students hooked on mobile games to determine the challenges and strategies in balancing mobile gaming and academic responsibilities and the factors contributing to mobile gaming addiction. The study was conducted to provide strategies and interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of mobile gaming and promote a balanced, healthy lifestyle for students. The study used an exploratory sequential mixed-methods research design, effectively combining the strengths of the qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand students’ experiences comprehensively. This study was conducted on junior high school students, with ten students for the qualitative phase and 161 students for the quantitative phase in the thirteen secondary schools in the Division of Escalante City, Negros Occidental, who excessively play mobile games (Mobile Legends, Call of Duty, Roblox, and Minecraft). The qualitative data were analyzed in Phase 1 and determined three emergent themes: Theme 1, Challenges in Balancing Mobile Gaming, and Academic Responsibilities, which included difficulties in managing their time, school assignments or tasks, and facing various health problems. Theme 2: Strategies for Balancing Mobile Gaming and Academic Responsibilities encompassing self-regulation skills such as self-discipline, time management, goal-setting, and prioritization. Theme 3: The Contributing Factors to Mobile Gaming Addiction, which included the attachment between the mobile game and the player, social dynamics, game mechanics and features, and enjoying leisure and fighting boredom. The qualitative findings were used to develop survey questionnaires, and quantitative findings verified the results during phase 2. Most participants who avidly played mobile games were male students rather than female students. Mobile gaming is prevalent among adolescents aged 12-14, and most game preference is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, followed by Call of Duty (COD). This study enhanced the findings through comprehensive data analysis and integration; the results serve as a basis for educational leaders, teachers, and policymakers to provide a thorough understanding of the impact of mobile gaming, provide effective strategies and interventions to mitigate mobile gaming addiction and promote a balanced, healthy lifestyle for students.