A Pre-Experimental Study on The Use of Group Counseling with Self-Management Techniques to Reduce Gadget Addiction among High School Students

  • Alber Tigor Arifyanto
    Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, South East Sulawesi
    Indonesia
  • Erma Pratiwi Nufi 
    Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, South East Sulawesi
    Indonesia
  • Dodi Priyatmo Silondae
    Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, South East Sulawesi
    Indonesia
  • La Ode Ahmad Haidir
    Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, South East Sulawesi
    Indonesia
  • M. Ridwan Tahir
    Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, South East Sulawesi
    Indonesia

Abstract

The high prevalence of gadget addiction among adolescents, driven by uncontrolled device usage, highlights the need for alternative intervention methods. Group counseling offers students the opportunity to share experiences, provide mutual support, and learn new skills within a structured setting. Self-management is an essential skill for adolescents to regulate their time, emotions, and habits. Integrating self-management techniques into counseling sessions provides students with practical tools to independently control their gadget use, offering benefits both in the present and for long-term well-being. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of group counseling employing self-management techniques in reducing gadget addiction among students at SMA Negeri 5 Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. A pre-experimental approach with a one-group pretest-posttest design was used. The participants consisted of 430 students who completed a gadget addiction scale. A purposive sampling technique was applied to select 9 students with high gadget addiction scores. Group counseling sessions were conducted six times, with each session lasting 90 minutes. Gadget addiction data were collected using a pre-test during the first session and a post-test in the sixth session. The counseling sessions addressed increasing awareness of healthy gadget use, understanding the adverse effects of gadget addiction, practicing self-management techniques, evaluating progress, strengthening commitment to sustained self-regulation, and creating a follow-up action plan. The results showed a significant decrease in gadget addiction scores from an initial average (pre-test) of 134.44 (63.41%) to a post-test score of 105.88 (49.94%), reflecting a reduction of 28.55 points or 13.46%. Inferential statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test with a significance level of α = 0.05 yielded a P-value of 0.008. Since the P-value was less than α (0.008 < 0.05), the alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted, and the null hypothesis (Ho) was rejected. Therefore, it can be concluded that group counseling with self-management techniques is proven effective in reducing gadget addiction levels among students at SMA Negeri 5 Kendari.

Keywords
  • Gadget addiction
  • Group counseling
  • Self-management
  • Adolescents
  • Intervention effectiveness
Lisensing Information
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Arifyanto, A. T., Nufi, E. P., Silondae, D. P., Haidir, L. O. A., & Tahir, M. R. (2025). A Pre-Experimental Study on The Use of Group Counseling with Self-Management Techniques to Reduce Gadget Addiction among High School Students. KONSELOR, 14(2), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.24036/02025142122-0-86
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX
References
  1. A. S. C. A. (2019). ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (4th ed.). ASCA.
  2. Bandura, A. (1991). Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 38, 248–287.
  3. Bernal, G., Rodríguez, & Domenech, M. M. (2012). Cultural Adaptations: Tools for Evidence-Based Practice With Diverse Populations. American Psychological Association.
  4. Cahayani, F. (2021). Effectiveness Of Group Guidance With Self Management Technique to Minimixe Online Game Addiction in Class X Student of SMAN 2 Banjarmasin. Jurnal Pelayanan Bimbingan Dan Konseling, 4(2), 151–159.
  5. Calderón-Garrido, D., Ramos-Pardo, F. J., & Suárez-Guerrero, C. (2022). The Use of Mobile Phones in Classrooms: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 17(6), 194–210. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v17i06.29181
  6. Chen, I.-H., Chen, C.-Y., Pakpour, A. H., Griffiths, M. D., & Lin, C.-Y. (2020). Internet-Related Behaviors and Psychological Distress Among Schoolchildren During COVID-19 School Suspension. 2507(February), 1–9.
  7. Choukas-Bradley, S., Nesi, J., Widman, L., & Galla, B. M. (2020). The Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness Scale: Development and validation with adolescents. Body Image, 33, 164–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.017
  8. Corey, G. (2016). Theory & practice of group counseling. Cengage Learning.
  9. Creswell, & Clark, P. (2018). Mixed Methods Research. Pustaka Pelajar.
  10. Dinda Asmidar, T., & Syargawi, A. (2025). The Effectiveness of Group Counseling Services Using Self-Management Techniques on Students Addicted to TikTok. 9(2), 768–781. https://doi.org/10.31316/g-couns.v9i2.6985
  11. Gresham, F. (2015). Evidence-Based Social Skills Interventions for Students at Risk for EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 36(2), 100–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932514556183
  12. Guerrero, C., Jaume, A., Juiz, C., & Lera, I. (2016). Use of mobile devices in the classroom to increase motivation and participation of engineering university students. IEEE Latin America Transactions, 14(1), 411–416. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLA.2016.7430109
  13. Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement vs. traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66(1).
  14. Hong, W., Liu, R. De, Ding, Y., Jiang, S., Yang, X., & Sheng, X. (2021). Academic procrastination precedes problematic mobile phone use in Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal mediation model of distraction cognitions. Addictive Behaviors, 121(February), 106993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106993
  15. Hoong, R. (2021). Self control and gadget use: An experimental study of soft commitment devices. 140. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292121002269
  16. Isni, R. A. F., & Anugrah, D. (2021). Handling Gadget Addiction in School-Age Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Wantilan Village, Subang Regency. Proceedings, 1(XXVIII), 1–17.
  17. Jacob, S. M., & Issac, B. (2007). Mobile Learning Culture and Effects in Higher Education. Engineering Education, 2(2), 19–21. http://www.niu.edu/spectrum/2009/fall/mobilelearning.shtml
  18. Jiang, Z., & Zhao, X. (2016). Self-control and problematic mobile phone use in Chinese college students: The mediating role of mobile phone use patterns. BMC Psychiatry, 16(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1131-z
  19. Kanfer, & Gaelick. (1991). Self-management methods. In F. H. Kanfer & A. P. Goldstein (Eds.), Helping People Change. Pergamon Press.
  20. Kazdin, A. E. (2017). Behavior Modification in Applied Settings (7th ed.). Waveland Press.
  21. Khurana, A., Bleakley, A., Jordan, A. B., & Romer, D. (2015). The Protective Effects of Parental Monitoring and Internet Restriction on Adolescents’ Risk of Online Harassment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(5), 1039–1047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0242-4
  22. Kuss, D. ., Shorter, G. ., van rooij, A. ., Griffiths, M. D., & Schoenmakers, T. M. (2013). Internet addiction components model. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 11(5), 1–26. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11469-013-9459-9#page-1
  23. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social networking sites and addiction: Ten lessons learned. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14030311
  24. Kwon, M., Lee, J. Y., Won, W. Y., Park, J. W., Min, J. A., Hahn, C., Gu, X., Choi, J. H., & Kim, D. J. (2013). Development and Validation of a Gadget Addiction Scale (SAS). PLoS ONE, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056936
  25. Lin, Y. H., Chiang, C. L., Lin, P. H., Chang, L. R., Ko, C. H., Lee, Y. H., & Lin, S. H. (2016). Proposed diagnostic criteria for Gadget addiction. PLoS ONE, 11(11), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163010
  26. Ling, R. (2012). Taken for Grantedness: The Embedding of Mobile Communication into Society. MIT Press.
  27. McCoy, B. R. (2013). Digital Distractions In The Classroom: Student Classroom Use of Digital Devicees for Non-Class Related Purposes. Journal of Media Education, 4(4), 5–12. http://en.calameo.com/read/000091789af53ca4e647f
  28. Michie, S., Abraham, C., Whittington, C., McAteer, J., & Gupta, S. (2009). Effective Techniques in Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Interventions: A Meta-Regression. Health Psychology, 28(6), 690–701. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016136
  29. Nano, V. (2024). Indonesia Juara Satu di Dunia, Ini Bukti Warga RI Sudah Candu Parah. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/tech/20240203202921-37-511479/indonesia-juara-satu-di-dunia-ini-bukti-warga-ri-sudah-candu-parah
  30. Natasya Husnurrida, S., & Ilhamuddin, M. F. (2024). The Effectiveness of Group Counseling Using Self-Management Techniques to Reduce the Intensity of TikTok Use Among Adolescents at MAN 1 Jombang. Journal Unesa, 14(5).
  31. Oulasvirta, A., Rattenbury, T., Ma, L., & Raita, E. (2012). Habits make gadget use more pervasive. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 16(1), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-011-0412-2
  32. Primack, B. A., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Whaite, E. O., Lin, L. yi, Rosen, D., Colditz, J. B., Radovic, A., & Miller, E. (2017). Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.010
  33. Raymon, N. (2014). Cell Phones Could Help Millions in Developing Countries To Read. https://time.com/74584/unesco-study-mobile-phones-book-reading-literacy/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
  34. Ricardo, E., J, P. T., S, S. B., N, K. J., L, M. B., Manju, M., & F, J. A. (2016). Examining effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral therapy for externalizing and internalizing disorders in urban schools. Behavior Modification, 40(4), 611–639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445516631093.Examining
  35. Schunk, D. H., & DiBenedetto, M. K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60, 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101832
  36. Simsir-Gokalp, Z., & Akyurek, M. I. (2024). Self-control and Problematic Social Media Use: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health, 199–215. https://doi.org/10.55549/jeseh.722
  37. Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
  38. Sugiyono. (2023). Educational Research Methods: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Approaches, R&D. Alfabeta.
  39. Sunday, O. J., Adesope, O. O., & Maarhuis, P. L. (2021). The effects of gadget addiction on learning: A meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 4(March 2020), 100114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100114
  40. Thomas J, D., & Tipsord, J. M. (2013). Peer Contagion in Child and Adolescent Social and Emotional Development. Bone, 23(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100412.Peer
  41. Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. Preventive Medicine Reports, 12, 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.003
  42. Wang, J. C., Hsieh, C. Y., & Kung, S. H. (2023). The impact of gadget use on learning effectiveness: A case study of primary school students. In Education and Information Technologies (Vol. 28, Issue 6). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11430-9
  43. Wang, J. L., Wang, H. Z., Gaskin, J., & Wang, L. H. (2015). The role of stress and motivation in problematic gadget use among college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 53, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.005
  44. Wang, Q., Chen, Y., & Li, L. (2024). Effects of physical activity and self-control on mobile phone addiction in college students: a cross-lagged study in China. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1417379
  45. Zimmerman, B. J. (2005). 2 Attaining 5 Elf-Reg U Lat Ion a Social Cogn Itive Perspective. Handbook of Self-Regulation, 2005, 13–39. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Check for updates

Issue

Downloads

PDF

Statistic

Abstract Views
: 302 times
PDF
: 107 times