Social Media and How It Influences Filipino Lives

Globalization can be defined in different manners, but the principal underlying idea is
that, it is the growing interdependence of the world's economies, cultures, and populations (Kolb,
2018) and is driven by new technologies and new economic relationships (The Social
Dimension of Globalization, 2003). One aspect of globalization is social globalization, defined
as ‘the sharing of ideas and information between and through different countries’ (Fairhead,
2018). In the 21st century, the main medium of social globalization is through the internet and
social media platforms.
With the spread of social globalization among developing countries, the Philippines is not
oblivious to the rising popularity of social media, on the contrary, the country was dubbed as the
“Social Media Capital in the World”, as the leading country that spends the most time on social
media globally for four times in a row. With the latest survey of Global Web Index released mid-
August on 2019, it showed that Filipinos connect to social networks for an average of four hours
and five minutes during a "typical day" (Adel, 2019). According to Statista, as of the third
quarter of 2019, Facebook and YouTube were the most popular social media platform, followed
by Instagram, Twitter and Skype.

Social media has become such a big part in the social lives of Filipinos that people of
different ages and social status are able to connect and exploit it. According to Pew Research
Center, 94% of 18- to 29-year-olds use the internet or own a smartphone, while the number is
36% for ages 50 and up. In terms of income, 61% of low-income individuals use the internet
while 80% of the high-income bracket do (Gonzales, 2020). In this paper, the reporters will
discuss the effects of social media in Filipinos in terms of the connectivity, creativity,
entrepreneurship and patriotism, and the impact of social media in the country in the political
mindset, self-expression, social movements and entertainment of the citizens.

References
Adel, R. (2019, August 25). Filipinos spend ‘most time’ on social media in the world — poll.
Retrieved from PhilStar:
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/08/25/1946329/filipinos-spend-most-time-
social-media-world-poll
Fairhead, R. (2018). Types of globalisation. Retrieved from tutor2u:
https://www.tutor2u.net/politics/reference/types-of-globalisation#:~:text=Social
%20globalisation%20refers%20to%20the,films%2C%20books%20and%20TV
%20series.
Gonzales, G. (2020, April 3). Big divide in internet use in Philippines by age, education level –
report. Retrieved from Rappler: https://www.rappler.com/technology/pew-internet-use-
report-philippines-march-2020
Kolb, M. (2018, October 29). What Is Globalization? Retrieved from Peterson Institute for
International Economics: https://www.piie.com/microsites/globalization/what-is-
 globalization#:~:text=Globalization%20is%20the%20word%20used,investment%2C
%20people%2C%20and%20information.
The Social Dimension of Globalization. (2003, March 11). Retrieved from World Commission
on the Social Dimension of Globalization:
https://www.ilo.org/public/english/wcsdg/globali/globali.htm