Exploring the impact of internet access within the household on students’ levels of academic procrastination: a quantitative study on tertiary education students, using a survey

Abstract

Procrastination exists as an innate human behaviour with negative consequences. With the movement of academic programs onto online platforms following the outbreak of the Coronavirus and the implementation of ‘lockdown’ regulations, procrastination serves as a barrier to students’ academics. With an increased ability to procrastinate, the internet serves as a known source of distraction and exists as a means to participate in academic procrastination. The growing access to the internet within households could pose a potential threat to students’ levels of academic procrastination. This research aims to answer how internet access within the household impacts students’ levels of academic procrastination. The research took a quantitative approach where data was gathered from a sample of 30 tertiary education students within South Africa who completed a survey over Google Forms. Notable findings included that the majority of students used the internet six or more hours daily, majority of students used the internet as a tool of academic procrastination, and the most used site or application that students used on the internet and when participating in academic procrastination online. Results regarding the research question, however, were inconclusive and revealed that more research will be needed to shed light on the answer.