The Impact of Social Media Use to Study Habits of Grade 12 TVL Students

A Research Proposal
submitted to the SHS Department of
Luciano Millan National High School

In Partial Fulfillment
to the course
Practical Research 2

Orbillo, Marc Henry C.

January 2024
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Rationale

In the past decade, the rise of social media platforms has been rampant and its

accessibility has been very convenient to users. Oyza and Edwin (2015) states that social

media originated as a tool that people used to interact with friends and family but was

later adopted by businesses that wanted to take advantage of a popular new

communication method to reach out to customers.

The increased use of social networking websites has become an international

phenomenon in the past several years. What started as a hobby for some computer literate

people has become a social norm and way of life for people from all over the world (Flad,

2010). Teenagers and young adults have especially embraced these sites as a way to

connect with their peers, share information, reinvent their personalities, and showcase

their social lives (Belal, 2014). With the increase of technology used for communicating

with others and the popularity of the Internet, "Social Networking" has become an

activity that is done primarily on the Internet (Bebo, 2017).

Facebook is the most popular social networking website on the internet today,

with more than 500 million members worldwide. This is rather interesting story of an

unassuming 19-years-old who did not realize the true potential of what he was setting out

to accomplish. Mark Zuckerberg, born May 14, 1984, in New York, was a sophomore in

Harvard University when he stumbled upon this marvelous creation that made him a

millionaire within a few years (Boyd, 2018).

 Many students who have access to social media waste their time on it by chatting

and surfing the internet for non-educative information. They are glued to their phones all

day, making them a loose sense of time. Some students are also seen pressing their

phones during classes, seminars, and also in the libraries. Some of them will even plug in

their ear pieces and hum out the songs they are listening to when studying which reduce

their rates of assimilation and act as a source of disturbances to others around them

(Ictech, 2014).

In a bid to know what is going on in the world and to be current with events, they

are always seen on the internet reading, browsing, and reading fashion and social blogs.

There is obvious a great decrease in student's passion to read for pleasure and enjoyment

but instead, prefer to seek pleasure from the media by streaming videos on social media

and playing with their Smart phones. The main reason why they now read is just to pass

an examination and not to gain knowledge. This has reduced the vast use and

development of the brain. Students are no more learning through reading. Students who

so much devote their times on networking have a great tendency of having low grades,

poor academic performance, and become unsuccessful (Boyd and Elison, 2012).

Information technology is indisputable that a vast number of students have

completely lost interest in reading, both in and out of higher institutions. To say that the

reading competition and zeal among students are fast declining is simply stating the

obvious (Adesulu, Adebusayo & Amos, 2017).

In the Philippines, Digital 2023 report identifies that there are 85.16 million

internet users in the country, with about 84.45 million social media users equating to

72.5% of the country’s population.

 Because of its accessibility, many students spend more time in social media,

which might possibly affect their study habits. This study aims to determine the social

media use of Grade 12 TVL students of Luciano Millan National High School and its

impact to their study habits.

Theoretical Framework

Social media theories help us understand how people interact on social media

platforms. They help us make sense of the complex relationships between users, content,

networks, and technology. Some of the most common theories in social media include the

Social Capital Theory, the Network Effects Theory, the Cultivation Theory, and the Spiral

of Silence Theory.

Social capital theory contends that social relationships are resources that can lead

to the development and accumulation of human capital. For example, a stable family

environment can support educational attainment and support the development of highly

valued and rewarded skills and credentials. In evolutionary terms, social capital can be

defined as any feature of a social relationship that yields reproductive benefits. According

to Savage and Kanazawa (2002, 2004), humans have evolved preferences for

companionship in general, and specific preferences for cues that signal higher levels of

social capital. Since evolved preferences for certain types of social relationships should

have been selected in the EEA, we can expect to observe gender differences that reflect

the division of labor in foraging societies. For example, females can be expected to value

and derive emotional satisfaction from membership in small social networks comprising

close personal relationships constructed from strong social ties. These types of

relationships would be especially adaptive for women by providing assistance in foraging

and caring for children. Males would be expected to benefit more from membership in

larger social networks constructed from weak ties that would constitute hunting groups,

political alliances, and fighting parties. Males would benefit especially from forms of

social capital that would confer resources and social status.

Savage and Kanazawa (2002) contend that reformulating sociological

explanations of crime in terms of evolutionary theory can provide new insights about

deterrents to crime. Specifically, choice and social control theories, cultural deviance

theories, and strain theories all suggest that the threat of losing social bonds can be a

powerful inhibitor of deviant or criminal behavior. Evolutionary theory invites

predictions that social ties and relationships that were most closely related to reproductive

success in the EEA are especially likely to produce a deterrent effect against deviance and

crime. For women, behavior that would jeopardize close personal relationships would be

particularly costly, thus, the threat of losing those relationships would deter such

behavior. For men, social capital that yields material resources and social status is

especially valuable, and the threat of losing those resources would be likely to inhibit

deviant or criminal behavior. This type of reasoning is consistent with empirical findings

that document male sensitivity to status loss or degradation.

There are several definitions for network effects in the economic literature which

are more or less detailed or specific. Katz and Shapiro (Katz et al. 1985, p. 424) describe

the source of positive consumption externalities as the "utility that a user derives from

consumption of goods" which "Increases with the number of other agents consuming the

(same) good". Another definition also provided by Katz and Shapiro defines network
effects as "the value of (a) membership to one user (which) is positively affected when

another user joins and enlarges the network" (Katz et al. 1994, p. 94). Church, Gandal

and Krause (Church et al. 2002, p. 1) emphasize that "network effect exists if

consumption benefits depend positively on the total number of consumers who purchase

compatible products". Economides Introduces the term "network industries" where

external effects in vertical industries play a crucial role (Economides ,1996). According

to these definitions, it is easy to come up with many examples such as computer or

telecommunication networks, but also automated teller machines (ATM), credit cards,

VHS video systems, QWERTY keyboards and more. Such wide definitions would also

include newspaper subscriptions, golf club memberships, or customer loyalty programs.

Literally all kinds of consumption with positive feedbacks on the supply side, as well as

on the consumer side could be subsumed under the terms of network effects and network

externalities. Obviously, such a broad definition is not helpful to describe the unique

constellation in communication networks, where each adopter is a "consumer" and

(willingly or not) a "supplier" of an adopted standard at the same time. These network

externalities should therefore be the core of any definition of network effects.

Cultivation theory examines the long-term effects of television viewing on

viewers' conceptions of social reality. Cultivation analysis initiated as part of the Cultural

Indicators Project founded by George Gerbner in the late 1960s. The central hypothesis

of cultivation analysis is that people who spend more time watching television are more

likely to perceive the real world in a way as most commonly depicted in television

messages, as compared to those who watch less television, but are otherwise comparable

in major demographic features (Gerbner, 1969).

 Television is the most pervasive and constant learning system in society.

Cultivation analysis approaches television as a message system with aggregate and

repetitive patterns of images, the contents of which were absorbed by viewers over long

period of time. Different from the then traditional mass communication research, which

focused on the effects of individual messages, episodes, series, and genres on immediate

attitudes and behavior changes, cultivation analysis emphasizes the general and pervasive

outcomes of cumulative television exposure (Signorielli and Morgan, 2009).

Findings of nearly four decades of cultivation research on television message

systems have unveiled a ‘distorted’ reality: exaggerated crime rates, overrepresentation of

violence, gender-role stereotyping, nontraditional family composition, the ‘mean world

syndrome,’ and so on (Morgan et al., 2009). This misshaped, yet repetitive represented

‘reality,’ gradually dominates the worldview of heavy viewers, who rely on television as

their main source of beliefs and values.

As a primary storyteller in our society, television not only impacts on individual

ideologies, but also influences society as a whole as the fundamental manifestation of the

mainstream culture. Among heavy television viewers, the relatively common outlooks

and values cultivated by television become the dominant or mainstream culture of that

society, despite individual differences. The notion of mainstreaming refers to “television

viewing may reduce or override differences in perspectives and behavior which stem

from other social, cultural, and demographic influences” (Signorielli and Morgan, 2009,

p. 113).

Some of the major aspects in cultivation studies have examined television's

influences in areas such as violence, gender-role stereotypes, health, family, and most
recently, online gaming and psychological health implications (Signorielli and Morgan,

2009).

Spiral of silence, in the study of human communication and public opinion, the

theory that people’s willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is

affected by their largely unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular

or unpopular. Specifically, the perception that one’s opinion is unpopular tends to inhibit

or discourage one’s expression of it, while the perception that it is popular tends to have

the opposite effect. Developed by German survey and communication researcher

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960s and ’70s, the spiral of silence theory more

broadly attempts to describe collective opinion formation and societal decision-making

regarding issues that are controversial or morally loaded (Petersen, 2021).

In the context of the theory, the term public opinion refers to opinions or behavior

that can be displayed or expressed in public without running the risk of social isolation

or, in some cases, that even must be displayed to avoid the danger of isolation. Thus,

public is not meant in a legal or political sense—as something that is freely accessible to

all or that concerns the general population or society as a whole. Instead, the concept is

interpreted from a social-psychological perspective as a state of consciousness in which

individuals are aware that their actions are “seen by all” or “heard by all,” requiring that

they constantly monitor not only their own actions but also the reactions of others in their

environment. Accordingly, Noelle-Neumann viewed public opinion as a form of social

control that ultimately applies to everyone, regardless of social class, and that is apparent

in many areas of life, ranging from controversial political issues to fashion, morals, and

values. Such an understanding of public opinion differs markedly from the traditional
conception, according to which most people’s opinions on public issues are influenced by

rational debate among educated elites (Petersen, 2021).

Conceptual Framework

Students’ academic performance takes important place in teaching and learning

process. Social media utilization supposed to enhance the students study habits and help

to attain greater height in their academic pursuits. De Escobar (2009) observed that

students need to be familiar with the relationship between good study habits and

academic achievement to accomplish great success in any level of education. According

to Nneji (2002) study habits are learning tendencies that enable students work privately.

Azikwe (1998) described study habits as the way and manner a student plans his or her

private reading outside lecture hours in order to master a particular subject or topic.

Crede and Kuncel (2008) noted that study habits denote the degree to which the student

engages in regular acts of studying that are characterized by appropriate studying routines

(e.g. review of materials) occurring in an environment Study habit can be measured

directly through assessment, inventories, reports, examinations and rating scales.

Study habit can be the students’ way of study whether systematic, efficient or

inefficient. It literally means that good studying habit produces positive academic

performance while inefficient study habit leads to academic

failure (Ayodele & Adebiyi, 2013). Some researchers have expressed their concern on

the negative use of media among the students which has affected the study habits and

performance. Oji (2007) noted that the growing incidence of students using the internet

not necessarily for academic purposes but for anti-social activities is at an astonishing
rate. They use websites for pornography, fraud and for other social vices in the society.

Schill (2011) asserted that the social media sites encourage negative behavior among

students such as catching up with unknown friends and so on. Wang, Chen and Liang

(2011) findings on effect of social media on college students, showed that social media

use is negatively associated with academic performance. They noted that two thirds of the

students are found using social media while in class studying or doing homework. This

multitasking increase distraction and becomes detrimental to students’ performance and

study habits and reading habit. that is conducive to studying.

Research Paradigm

Based on the underlying theories and concepts presented, the paradigm of the

study has been defined.

Figure 1 on the next page presents the paradigm that this study follows.

This study follows the IPO model. The input of the study includes the social media use

and study habits of Grade 12 TVL students of Luciano Millan National High School.
 Input Process Output

Social media use and Determining the Proposed action plan

study habits of Grade significant relationship that would help
12 TVL students of between students’ students optimize
Luciano Millan social media use and social media use for
National High School study habits their studies

Figure 1. Research Paradigm

The process includes determining the significant relationship between students’

social media use and their study habits.

The research out put is a proposed action plan that would help students optimize

their social media use for their studies.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to identify the impact of social media use of Grade 12 TVL

students of Luciano Millan National High School to their study habits. More specifically,

this study aims to find answers to the following research problems:

 1. What is the extent of frequency of social media use of the respondents?

2. What are study habits of the respondents?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the respondents’ study habits to the

extent of frequency of their social media use?

4. What action plan may be proposed to optimize social media use for the

respondents’ studies?

Hypothesis of the Study

Null Hypothesis: There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ study

habits to the extent of frequency of their social media use.

Assumptions of the Study

This study is based on the following assumptions:

1. Students spend more time in social media outside class hours affecting their study

habits at home.

2. The more frequent a student spends time with social media, the less they do good

study habits.

3. Students who spend less time with social media have better study habits.

Significance of the Study

This study would benefit different stakeholders who are part of the community

around Luciano Millan National High School. Specifically, this study would benefit the

following:
 Students: This will provide them an opportunity to improve their study habits for

optimal learning.

Teachers: This study will provide a fresh perspective on their students’ study

habits as well as identify ways to optimize social media to their students’ learning.

Researcher: This will enhance the researcher’s skills in carrying out a study as

well as understand more on this research’s content.

Future Researchers: Future Researchers will benefit from the result of this

research study or suggestions for carrying out useful research. This study will give them

useful building guidelines.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study is solely focused on identifying the impact of social media use to study

habits of Grade 12 TVL Students of Luciano Millan National High School for the school

year 2023-2024.

This study is limited to the Grade 12 TVL students’ study habits and social media

use frequency and it does not cover other strands of the Senior High School department

of the school.

Any concepts outside study habits and social media use of the respondents such as

academic performance, specific technology use, among others, are not covered in this

research.

Definition of Terms
Social Media - websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or

to participate in social networking

Study Habit - an action such as reading, taking notes, holding study groups which the

students perform regularly and habitually in order to accomplish the task of learning

Technology - machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific

knowledge

Social Network - a dedicated website or other application which enables users to

communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc.

TVL - stands for Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track, a strand in the Philippine Senior

High School system