Abstract
In modern society, computers have become almost a non-negotiable part of every individual’s life. Then this is bound to have both positive and negative consequences on people. Because of this many young children and individuals anywhere can become addicted to playing such games online and offline gaming. It became a huge distraction to the academic performance of the learners by being addicted to computer games. The main goal of this study was to determine the level of understanding on playing in computer games and academic performance of learners in Sultan Palao Ali Memorial Elementary School, SPAMES (127217), Tagoloan District, Division of Lanao del Norte. The study used descriptive-correlational research design. Descriptive research determined the profile of elementary learners of Sultan Palao Ali Elementary School located at Barangay Inagonan, Tagoloan Lanao, Del Norte and the level of understanding on playing in computer games and the academic performance of the respondents. Based on the results of the study, most of the learners at Sultan Palao Ali Elementary School, Tagoloan District, Division of Lanao del Norte, were age ranges from 11 – 13, females and in satisfactory level as to their academic performance. In the level of understanding of playing computer games of the respondents, among the indicators of the level of understanding, the indicator “Playing computer games can enhance the accuracy/speed of my hands), got the highest mean score which can also be interpreted in the agreed level, while the indicator “Playing computer games can increase my empathy and supports my mental well-being) garnered the lowest mean of 1.80, which can be interpreted in the disagreed level in which the respondents believed that playing computer games negatively impacted their health. Further, in correlation, the null hypothesis, which states that there is no significant relationship between academic performance and profile in terms of age, was not rejected, while sex was rejected. At the same time, the null hypothesis, which states that there is no significant relationship between academic performance and the level of understanding of playing computer games, was also rejected. Furthermore, in the regression analysis, the null hypothesis stating that “there is no variable/s best predict the academic performance” was rejected.