UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY USAGE AND INTRINSIC

MOTIVATION AMONG SELECTED COLLEGE
STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO
TOMAS

INTRODUCTION
As stated by Prensky (2001), the world we live in today is now being called the digital
age, wherein students from preschool to college have spent most of their lives so far
being surrounded by and using mobile phones, digital music players, playing video
games, watching television cartoons, socializing on the internet through computers.
However, Villegas (2013) stated that there has been
Digital technology includes all types
of electronic equipment and a debate whether or not the influence and power of
applications that use information in the these new digital tools have a positive or negative
form of numeric code. influence in different aspects of our lives. As such,
Intrinsic motivation is the type of the researchers would like to determine whether
motivation that comes from the digital technology has a relationship with intrinsic
person’s internal drives such as desire, motivation of students. But according to Ryan and
needs, and actions and is a critical Deci (2000), in order to understand motivation one
element for a person’s physical, social,
must understand the three basic psychological
and cognitive development.
needs (autonomy, competency, and
Three Basic Psychological Needs: relatedness). Therefore, the researchers would
Autonomy the need to be able to also like to determine which mediums of digital
determine one’s outcome rather than it technology have a relationship with the three basic
being caused by external factors. psychological needs.
Competence the need to be able to
successfully perform tasks while at
varying levels of difficulty.

Relatedness the need to feel a sense

of belongingness or support from
one’s environment or peer.

Theories used: Self-determination theory

(Deci & Ryan, 2000), Uses and
gratifications theory (Katz, Blumler, &
Gurevitch, 1974), and Erik Erikson’s
psychosocial stages of development (Feist,
Feist, & Ann-Roberts, 2013).
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 METHODOLOGY
Research design: Descriptive-correlational design

Data analysis: Pearson correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics

Participants: ages 18-24, population = 618, sample = 150 through convenience sampling

Research instruments: Personal Data Sheets, Media and Technology Usage and
Attitudes Scale (MTUAS), Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale (BNSG)

Research procedures:
 Pre-data gathering phase
 Thesis proposal, choosing of tests, approval of the
PHASE 1
study

 Data gathering phase

 Administration of the tests chosen both manually
PHASE 2
and digitally and scoring of the results

 Post-data gathering phase

P PHASE 3  Tallying of the results, data interpretation, norming,
and thesis defense

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 shows that the most used medium or feature of digital technology is text message
(nearly every hour) while media sharing, internet searching, and smartphones (at least
several times a day) are also being frequently used by college students. As for the results
of the BSNG scales, the most satisfied psychological need by college students is
relatedness with approximately 58 (39%) out of the 150 participants scored high to very
high while the least satisfied psychological need is autonomy with approximately 83 (55%)
out of the 150 participants scored very low to low.

Table 2 shows the correlational and regression analysis between digital technology usage
and intrinsic motivation, results show that there is a weak positive correlation between
DTU and IM which is highly significant with a p<0.05.

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 Table 3 shows the correlational and regressional analysis per subscales, results show
that phone calling and number of Facebook friends affect satisfaction levels of
relatedness, which means the more conduct phone calls and the more friends you have
on Facebook, the more you feel connected to other people or have a sense of belonging.
Meanwhile, only phone calling is related to competence which means the more you
conduct phone calls, the more one feels successful or has a sense of achievement. And
lastly, the number of Facebook friends and autonomy, the more friends you have on
Facebook, the more you feel a sense of freedom or choice.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether digital technology usage is relate to
intrinsic motivation composed of the three basic psychological needs, the results which
can be seen from tables 1 to 3 have proven that the more one uses digital technology,
the more they satisfy their basic psychological needs and thus increasing their intrinsic
motivation. Moreover, table 3 shows which aspects of digital technology affect the
different psychological needs. However, limitations of the study include the lack of
generalizability and diversity due to convenience sampling and the low reliability of the
BNSG scale for autonomy and competency subscales which may have affected the
results. As such, the researchers recommend that 1) future researchers develop a
standardized test for both digital technology usage and intrinsic motivation, 2) for
researchers to replicate the study with a larger and more diverse sample of the population,
and lastly 3) to conduct the research with a more comprehensive analysis that can include
generational differences, social standing, personality types, and more.