CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the conceptual and research literature, synthesis,

and theoretical and conceptual framework for this study.

Conceptual Literature

The following review includes the concept of social networking sites and

their effects upon utilization.

Social networking sites. Maarop et al. (2017) noticed how SNSs have

become very popular and provide a more convenient lifestyle to people

nowadays. According to their study, SNSs have modernized the way people

connect, interact, and socialize with each other. They also said that it has

become an indispensable part of life with the increase in complexities of modern

times that might cause an individual to spend time on the computer or

smartphone.

Mwangi (2013) noticed that social networking sites (SNSs) are becoming a

reliable and chosen form of Communication. According to her study, SNSs are

online platforms that help improve relationships among close teenagers as

friends but have also made the teenagers unable to build interpersonal

relationships with other friends who are not close to them. She also stated that
SNSs inhibit its users from being able to express themselves face to face,

especially to members of the opposite sex.

According to Chasombat (2014), SNSs are one of the factors that impact

the relationship maintenance between a person and another. In her study, SNSs

when talked about by people are described as communication platforms with no

boundaries. It was also stated that they have both positive and negative effects

on their users, while they virtually bring people together but also drift away from

their loved ones in reality.

Utilization of social networking sites. Parvez et al. (2019) explained the

usage of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) among teenage students. They said

that the use of these platforms has increased and that the usage of SNSs has

extensive influence on students in numerous ways, particularly on their

interpersonal relationships. Their study also found that SNSs have helped

improve relationships among teenagers but have also made some negative

impacts such as wasting their time, increasing crimes and immoral acts, and

increasing their monthly expenditure.

According to Subramanian (2017), SNSs have impacted various aspects of

modern life and it has a profound influence on interpersonal communication. He

said that people need interaction for fulfilling their social needs and SNSs have

become a preferred medium for communication with the growth of digital and

mobile technologies. He also said that it has reduced the face-to-face interaction
of human beings whether it is for marketing or promoting a product or a personal

communication

Eginli et al. (2018) found that SNSs have an impact on interpersonal

relationships among teenagers; they mostly improved their relationships with one

another thus bridging and bonding social capital. SNSs are valuable for people to

create social networks to sustain their relations, and also protect the

communication between them. It was mentioned in this study that users of social

network sites indicate that social network sites are characterized by

informational-cooperative, relational-socialization, expressive, strategic, and four-

dimensionality, but are responsive to the need for a large number of

interpersonal communication.

Research literature

The following were the studies which bear significance and relevance to

the present study.

The study by Vu (2021) examines the impact of social networking sites

(SNSs) on students' study habits and interpersonal relationships. It reveals that

excessive use of SNSs can negatively affect students' communication skills,

socialization, and academic performance. Students' disengagement from reality

and lack of real-life interaction negatively affect their socialization and academic
performance. The study suggests that excessive SNS use could lead to harmful

career prospects and hinder students' ability to meet real-world demands.

Based on the findings of the study of Ademiluyi (2019), it was concluded

that social media use positively influenced communication skills and students’

academic performance. This implies that if social media is well used for

academic purposes will improve the communication skills and academic

performance of business education students. This also implies that if learning of

business education continues traditionally, the academic performance would

remain unconvincing.

The findings of the study of Horoub (2021) discussed that social media

platforms like Facebook and Instagram enable youths to communicate and learn

about social norms and values, but they can also negatively impact face-to-face

communication skills, leading to addiction and affecting other important activities.

These platforms can also affect prevailing values and norms, and influence the

ability of young people to communicate effectively and use body language in

real-life situations. Overuse of social media can lead to decreased body

language skills and academic performance, and some students may abandon

physical contact with family and friends.

According to the study by Kolhar (2021), a majority of the participants

reported prolonged use of social networking sites for nonacademic purposes.

Explaining that these habitual behaviors can distract students from their
academic work, adversely affect their academic performance, social interactions,

and sleep duration, and lead to a sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity, which

in turn can render them vulnerable to non-communicable diseases and mental

health problems.

Subramaniam (2017) highlighted the impact of social media on

interpersonal communication, including language skills. He suggested that in a

society where online communication and hyper-sharing are prevalent, individuals

are more likely to use mobile phones to communicate with friends and family

than face-to-face. Social networks have broken down barriers to communication

and interact with others effectively, to allow individuals to express themselves

freely and ideas on topics emerged. This platform allows students and experts to

connect with like-minded peers, and seek advice and opinions on specific topics.

Moreover, social networking sites serve as a means of bringing together

individuals with common goals on a large scale, which is crucial for stimulating

sustainable social change.

According to the study conducted by Vevere (2015), because of the

development of new technologies and social networking in the twentieth and

twenty-first centuries, there has been a significant shift in philosophical

communication. Social media has changed situation dynamics by encouraging

interactivity and reciprocity, but it has also introduced negative factors such as

loss of privacy, communicativeness, social alienation, and dependency issues. It

was mentioned in the study that in the nineteenth century, Sren Kierkegaard

predicted the positive and negative aspects of media-dominated culture and

communication, emphasizing the loss of individuality, crowd as untruth, noise,

parallel social reality construction, and anonymity. The study also investigated

the impact of social media on communication and students' attitudes toward

modern communication practices, revealing that, while they recognize its

influence, they also see it as a new natural environment.

Synthesis

This section presents the significance of the literature reviewed as

compared with the present study.

The insights gathered from the conceptual and research literature were

valuable to this study. According to these studies, it was concluded by the

researchers that the continuous growth and progress of technology have an

influence on ongoing social development and how individuals function in social

settings. People develop skills to adapt to ways of socializing and thrive in their

professional lives as well. Moreover, social networking platforms have become a

part of students' and individuals' daily existence.

The proposed study and the study of Vu (2021) are both similar in the way

that they provide a comprehensive analysis of the impact of social networking

sites (SNSs) on students’ interpersonal relationships. However, the present study

does not tackle the effects of how it will further affect their learning habits. This

study highlights that excessive consumption of SNSs can have negative effects

on important aspects of student life. Notably, this research study reveals that the

overuse of SNSs has direct, negative effects on students’ communication skills,

social skills, and ultimately academic performance while the present study is

solely focused on the impact of SNSs on the capability of a student to develop

socially upon continuous use of different platforms. With the rising numbers of

youngsters using SNSs, it is important to analyze each angle possible and each

effect it has on them in being able to come up with immediate responses to the

situation.

However, the study conducted by Ademiluyi (2019) found that social media

use had a positive impact on communication skills and academic performance

among business education students. It suggests that utilizing social media for

academic purposes can lead to improvements in both areas. While the present

study does not incorporate the effects of SNSs on a student’s academic

performance upon use, it also states that SNSs were able to positively affect its

users, most specifically students, to improve and observe growth when it comes

to their skills in communicating.

On the other hand, according to Horoub's study, social media platforms

have a negative impact on youths' face-to-face communication skills, addiction,

and other important activities, which are observed nowadays. A lot of students

and teenagers tend to overuse SNSs and it begins to affect them negatively.

These platforms have an impact on prevailing values, body language, and

academic performance. Overuse can result in poor body language skills and a

loss of physical contact with family and friends. The poor outcome of overly using

these platforms was properly given attention leading to a better understanding

and a clearer picture of how it will affect its users when not utilized responsibly.

However, the current study is focused only on the response of students upon

using social networking sites and does not tackle the effects social media

platforms have on their users. But with the similar goal of both different fields, this

study helped produce a better understanding of how social platforms are

affecting their users in current times.

Kolhar (2021) discovered that prolonged nonacademic use of social

networking sites can distract students from academic work, have a negative

impact on performance, social interactions, and sleep duration, and lead to a

sedentary lifestyle, increasing their vulnerability to noncommunicable diseases

and mental health problems. Both the present study and the study of Kolhar

discuss the factors affecting the communication skills of students. However, the

current study doesn’t further observe the other effects these platforms have,

aside from their impact on the development of the communication made by its
young users. It explains how it isn’t just the platforms that affect the social

interactions of students but also their way of using them.

According to Subramaniam (2017), social media has a significant impact

on interpersonal communication, particularly language skills. He contended that

online communication and hyper-sharing have reduced interaction barriers,

allowing people to freely express themselves and seek advice. Social networks

also enable large-scale collaboration among individuals with common goals,

promoting long-term social change. As a result, people are becoming more

sedentary which explains a lot as to why and how social networking sites have

been creating an impact on the way people communicate. It was explained in this

study that while online communication is often used, it creates a space for

improvements in how people communicate despite it being done through texts or

video calls. With interaction barriers down, people are more likely open to

communicating with others, allowing them to even seek advice or info, implying

the effectiveness of SNSs in helping communication skills develop.

While the study conducted by Vevere discussed that social media

promotes communication and interaction. The study looks into how social media

affects communication and how students feel about contemporary

communication methods. What it finds is that although students are aware of

social media's influence, they also view it as a new natural environment. With

that being said, the way students view this “new environment” makes a lot of
difference in how it can affect their communication skills in formal settings.

Especially when they get used to the ways of communication that are done

virtually, it can further affect the way they communicate physically. Both this

study and the current study want to delve into a deeper understanding of how

SNSs can even further affect students while considering the way they perceive

these platforms as part of their everyday lives.

Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 The factors
influencing the
communication skills
of students through
the use of social
networking sites.  Improved
communication
 The significant skills of students
difference social and users
networking sites  Data that were
 Higher possibility
make in daily gathered were
of creating better
communication processed and
interpersonal
compared to when treated statistically
relationships
only done face-to-  Data was among other users
face analyzed and
 Better
interpreted
understanding of
 The difficulties faced  Observing the
factors affecting
by students in platforms firsthand
and influencing the
communicating upon and through the
communication
developing reliance distribution of
skills of students
on the use of social survey
from using social
networking sites as a questionnaires
networking sites
medium for
communication

 The perceived needs

of students for
personal
development and
improved
interpersonal
 Figure 1

Research Paradigm on the Impact of Social Networking Sites on the

Capacity of Students to Develop their Communication Skills

Frame 1 reflects the input of the study based on the different problem

statements of this study.

Frame 2 reflects the process or the flow to be employed by the researcher

in achieving the final output. It included the methods used in gathering data and

information. The process involves data gathering, processing, and statistical

treatment. The process also implies analyzing and interpreting data gathered as

well as observing the platforms firsthand and distributing survey questionnaires

to understand them better.

Frame 3 presents the outputs of the study such as improved

communication skills of students and users, a higher possibility of creating better

interpersonal relationships among other users, and a better understanding of

factors affecting and influencing the communication skills of students from using

social networking sites.

Theoretical Framework

Enhancing meaningful communication by understanding the influence of

social networking sites on the communication skills of students was central to this

study. With that being the main goal of this study, the most influential theory

found to be associated with communication through Social Networking sites was

the Media Richness Theory and the Theory of Symbolic Interactionism.

The Media Richness Theory which was introduced by Daft and

Lengel in 1984 is a communication theory suggesting that different

communication mediums have varying levels of richness or capacity of carrying

information. According to this theory, communication media can be classified into

low and high richness according to their effectiveness. Low-richness media, such

as text-based messages or memos, have a limited ability to transmit nonverbal

clues, tone, and emotional expressions. These mediums are seen to be

appropriate for transmitting plain, factual information. However, high-richness

media, such as face-to-face conversations or video conferences, allow for a

wider interchange of nonverbal clues, tone of voice, and instant feedback. They

work better with communications that are complicated, unclear, or emotionally

laden. Depending on the nature of the discussion, this theory describes a wide

range of ways in which communication platforms, including social networking

sites, might facilitate high-quality communication among its users. Mentioning

how the efficiency of the platform being utilized might have an impact on how

well information gets passed on to another person, clarifies even more how every

platform is made for various functions and goals that define their intended use.

On the other hand, the theory of George Mead known as Symbolic

Interactionism is centered on how people manage their impressions to present

themselves in social settings and the small-scale interactions that occur in daily

life. This theory provided further details that solidify its connection to the present

study. Theories that are highly related to Mead’s theory are Goffman’s theories.

Which collectively contributed to his broader perspective on symbolic

interactionalism. According to Goffman, we act out roles in social circumstances

based on what we believe other people would find acceptable or enjoy. He

contrasted this with performing on a stage, where we must act in a certain way,

and being alone in a private space where we are free to be who we truly are. He

talked about impression management, which is managing the way we present

ourselves to others by our words, actions, and attire. Goffman also emphasized

the value of face-to-face communication, emphasizing the messages that may be

conveyed through proximity, gestures, and looks. He also mentioned unwritten

conventions we follow in social settings, such as predetermined roles we know

how to play. It examined how individuals deal with the idea of "stigma," which is

perceived as being different or less accepted by society and can be either hidden

or managed. The main ideas pointed out in his theories were highly relevant to
what type of influence social networking sites were speculated to have on the

communication skills of students and their users upon continuous use.