CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

"Effectiveness of Social Media on Academic Performance of STEM students in

Western Institute of Technology in S.Y. 2022-2023"

I. Background of the Study

Its purpose is to communicate with people online and share information, ideas,

and interests. It is social media, which we access through our phones and computers. Its

impact has benefited businesses, careers, relationships, and more, establishing a

significant connection with people all across the globe.

Social media networking sites were a huge help when the pandemic hit and

everyone had to stay in quarantine for many months, working from home and taking

online classes. It enhances learning, provides useful academic information and

connection with learning groups/ other educational systems (The Role of Social Media in

Education, 2017). Since the world has begun to heal, students are returning to face-to-

face learning, with some becoming addicted to social media sites such as Facebook,

Instagram, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, and others.

Osharive (2015) stated that because of the various social networking sites that

students explored, they were tempted to abandon their homework and reading times in

favor of online chats with their friends. Many students are addicted to social media, and

some may have worsened their conditions (depression, anxiety, burnout, and eating
disorders). Most students are often low on self-control and discipline, which negatively

affects their academic performance in school. Yet, frequent social media usage doesn’t

entirely indicate as social media addiction (Griffiths, 2010).

Recent studies have determined the impacts of social media on academic

performance; negative and positive. Technology keeps evolving as the future gets

brighter. The researchers had found a research gap for this study to fil in by providing

information on how to use social media effectively and to promote social networks that

improves students’ learning.

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students at

Western Institute of Technology in the school year of 2022–2023 will be able to assist us

in discovering the effectiveness of social media on their academic performance. The

research instrument of this study will be questionnaires passed out to the STEM students

via Google Forms. The responses will serve as evidence or support for this study.

The main objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of social media

on the academic performance of SHS-STEM students at WIT. It specifically aims to

investigate the usage of students on social media, specifically: (1) social media

networking sites; (2) assignments, (3) exams, and (4) internet time usage.
II. Statement of the Problem

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of social media on academic

performance of STEM students in WIT in S.Y. 2022-2023. Specifically, it aims to

answer these following questions:

1) How is social media effective on the academic performance of SHS-STEM

students?

2) What are the effects of social media on the academic performance of SHS-

STEM students?

3) Is there a relationship between the usage of social media and the academic

performance of SHS-STEM students?

III. Hypothesis

Based on the objectives, the researchers have formulated the hypothesis

1) Social media is effective in the academic performance of SHS-STEM

students when it is use to seek ideas and assistance from other people.

2) The effects of social media on the academic performance of SHS-STEM

students are broaden ideas, creativity, improved well-being and given

ideas of productivity.

3) There is no significant relationship between social media and the academic

performance of SHS-STEM students.

IV. Significance of the Study

"Effectiveness of Social Media on Academic Performance of STEM

students in Western Institute of Technology in S.Y. 2022-2023"

 The finding of the study will provide information:

To SHS-STEM students, the results of the study will benefit you on how to

use the social media to improve your academic performance

To Teachers, the findings of the study will allow you to maximize the

benefits of social media in learning

To future researchers, the results of this research may be a basis for further

studies and can be used as related literature

To parents, the findings of this study will enlighten you the benefits of social

media to your children

V. Scope and Limitations

The purpose of this study is to determine on the effectiveness of social media on

academic performance of SHS-STEM student at WIT during the school year 2020–2021.

The respondents will be 50 WIT STEM-SHS students who have participated in both

online and face-to-face learning. This study's instrument is to collect data from our

respondents, who will be surveyed using questionnaires.

These study findings will provide effective social networks for learning as well as

strategies for academic improvement. It will not cover every subject.

 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

1) Effectiveness of Social media

2) Academic Performance of students with Social Media

3) Social media as tool for enhanced teaching and learning

4) Pros and Cons of Social Media

2.1 Theoretical Underpinnings

The Effectiveness of Social Media. According to the study by Gorhe (2019), the

use of social media has various positive effects on students that relate to their academics.

Like, pieces of information that are shared and consumed using social media. It allows

students to learn more about a specific topic and boosts their confidence.

A study (Afia, 2013) investigated the potential benefits of using social media in

education. The results showed that social media promotes students' engagement

effectively, conveying their ideas and opinions comfortably. Also, the development of

social media applications for schools as educational tools benefits the learning and

teaching experience.

As a result, the chosen guide in this trial shown effectiveness at influencing students'

inclination to use social media, which is a crucial component for a successful Social

Media integration in Higher Education classes, as identified by many researches such as

(Balakrishnan, 2017, Ifinedo, 2017).

 

Academic Performance of Students with Social Media. A study (Oghenetega,

2018) assessed the impact of social media on the academic performance of selected

college students. 20% of most students’ time is often spent on social media. The survey

indicates that almost half of college students benefit from social media in their personal

lives, communication, organization, and interests. Some weren’t affected by social media,

and several only used it in their free time. The more time that students used social media,

the more it negatively affected their academic performance. 

According to the study conducted by Apeanty and Danso (2014), it was believed by

students that asking their academic professors online about their lessons and other aspects

they don’t understand will help them get high grades. Yunus and Salahi (2012) indicated

that by using social media, the vocabulary and writing skills of the students improved.

Hence, it was seen that if used correctly for educational and constructive purposes, social

media can improve students’ academic performance.

2.2 Conceptual Framework

Social Media Academic Performance

Independent Variable Dependent

Variable
Figure 2.1 Paradigm of the Study shows the relationship between the independent and

dependent variable.

The dependent variable of the study is social media and the independent variable is the

academic performance

2.3 Definition of Terms

In this section, they are defined conceptually and operationally

Effectiveness. the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired

result; success. (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.)

In this study, The effectiveness of Social Media is investigated among STEM-

SHS students of Western Institute of Technology.

Social Media. websites and applications that enable users to create and share

content or to participate in social networking. (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.)

In this study, it is used by STEM-SHS students and affects their academic

performance at WIT.

Academic Performance. is the measurement of student achievement across

various academic subjects. (Ballotpedia, n.d.)

In this study, the academic performance of SHS-STEM students of WIT are being

measured to test the effectiveness of social media.

2.4 Social Media: what are it and its features?

"Social media are web-based communication tools that enable people to interact with

each other by sharing and consuming information." It has features that make it

convenient and addicting. Such as (1) having personal user accounts to use for

communication on any device; (2) profile pages to help represent something or someone

in creating their brand; (3) other people with their accounts so we can connect with them;

and (4) newsfeeds for updates of exclusive news and information about your friends,

2.5 Social media is a tool for enhancing learning and teaching.

A study (Abousaber & Oueder, 2018) revealed that communication between faculty

members and students improved, which made it easier to communicate with accurate

information and enhanced understanding and the growth of ideas and courses.

Landry (2014) argued that social media is a tool that can be used for beneficial or not-

beneficial purposes depending on the person. There are layers of good and bad on social

media. Yes, it's simpler to know the bad ones than the positive ones. However, social

media has increased opportunities for people all over the world (AlFahhad, 2018).

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Flickr, as well as open social

practices such as blogging, are being used in learning for convenient communication with

peer group students and potentially with others outside the class, such as students of the

same topic and subject experts (Sivakumar,2020).

Carl Dawson, a digital marketing professor at the Catholic University of Cordoba, stated,

"We live in a digital ecosystem, and it is vital that educational institutions adapt." This

means schools shouldn’t be stuck in old ways of teaching and learning. Traditional
learning can still stay intact, and technology will provide quick improvement (Wade,

n.d).

2.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media.

Social media provides a forum to contact peers and teachers from wherever they are,

offering the flexibility of extended duty hours. Some social media, especially Facebook,

Messenger, Google Classroom, Google Meet, and YouTube features, may boost students'

involvement in social and creative learning progressions that extend beyond traditional

educational settings and institutions (Sivakumar, R. 2020).

There are many benefits to using social media in academics. Lederer (2012) argued that it

improves student’s engagement and communication skills towards their classmates and

teachers, having an ability to ask questions without feeling intimidated.

According to Gorhe (2019), social media makes students distracted from their studies,

wastes their study time, and are unable to finish their schoolwork on time. This

distraction negatively affects their academic performance and causes a loss of

concentration on their studies, which hampers their GPA.

Some researchers also agree with Gorhe (2019) and added that social media platforms are

not consistently appropriate affecting students’ studies. Besides causing distraction and

inappropriateness, social media can be hurtful by the other users you’ve come across that

can lead some people to be cyberbullied (Lederer, 2012). It can lower self-esteem and

may not show a great performance in academics.

Social media won’t be useful without the people using it. It strengthens our connection in

the community, and a need for assistance is quicker with it. Opportunities are broader in

social media, like summer internships and jobs. It’s much better than walking around the

city looking for a poster. Also, promoting a success story to be read by many, for them to

be inspired to strive hard as well (Wade, n.d.),

A study (Ahmed et al., 2018) entitled Impact of Social Media on Academics: A

Quantitative Study was conducted to investigate the effective use of social networking

sites (SNS) and their impacts on academics. The methodology chosen was through

surveys among 5,621 students at Koforidua Polytechnic. The researchers collected their

information during lecture hours in the school year 2013-2014. The findings of the study

showed that most students (93.4 %) have phones, while 6.6% of them don’t. This means

that most students have access to the internet and are exposed to social media websites.

According to the survey, social media does have a relationship with the academic

performance of students. It positively affects students' social lives and eases their

academic stress.

In the relevant study of Osharive (2015) entitled social media and academic performance

of students the main goal is to investigate the influence of social media on the academic

performance of students at the University of Lagos. The majority of the respondents (378

students) showed that they have a social media addiction. Despite the addiction of most
students to social media, they were able to also have a significant influence on their

academic performance. The benefits of social media depend on the student themselves

due to social media’s negative effects: lack of privacy, a distraction from studies, and

lower productivity.