EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL

HEALTH OF GRADE 11 & 12 ICT STUDENTS

Group Members:
Don, James Kian I.
Garcia, Ashley May A.
Montes, Franchescka Rhomae M.
Pasco, Maria Eliza T.
 Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Background of the Study

Internet has proven to have provided humanity a great change — whether for the

better or for the worst. It bridged people in so many ways, helped with their lives, and

provided them with miraculous things that the ancestors would have deemed

impossible. Especially in this pandemic, Internet gave people a door for an escape while

they remain locked up in their houses, for them to talk to friends and other people

without seeing them in person, for them to be involved with the world continuously —

which are all very tempting that some of the users are being affected in various ways,

positive or not.

Youth today is significantly immersed with the Internet. It helps them with their

interests, schoolwork, and socialization. The last example must be one of the biggest

reasons why a young person would be deep in a social media platform to connect, to

talk, to know about the lives of the people that they are associated or want to be

associated with.

The researchers aim to focus on the different effects that a social networking site

(Facebook, in particular) has on the Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

students in Alaminos Integrated National High School. The problem revolves around the

behavioral changes or mental health problems that these senior high school might

possess after their use of Facebook.

Theoretical Framework

Mental space is intertwined with the concept of identity. However, the mental

space concept is used since it is associated with how the students imagine themselves,

for example as learners, high achievers and/or students with mental health problems

(Gordon et al., 2000).

Social media refers to “the websites and online tools that facilitate interactions

between users by providing them opportunities to share information, opinions, and

interest” (Swar and Hameed, 2017, p. 141).

This study addresses these deficiencies in literature by exploring the impact of

social media usage on mental health through the original Social Comparison Theory

(Festinger, 1954)

Conceptual Framework

(Independent Variable)
*Social media site
-Facebook (Dependent Variable)
*Mental Health of the ICT
Students
(Controlled Variable)
*Gadget
-Smartphone/tablets/computer
Statement of the Problem

1) Does social media have an effect to the psychological well-being of the students?

2) How the psychosocial conditions of the students affected using social media?

3) Is there a relationship between the use of social media and psychosocial condition of

the students?

Research Hypothesis

H0: AINHS ICT students who are using social media do not experience mental health

problems such as anxiety and depression more than those who are not.

Significance of the Study

The study would be of help to the future researchers who will want to explore the

same or a similar problem in the society involving youth or social media.

The Students - The study will help the students identify the various effects of using

Facebook to their mental health.

The Parents - This study helps the parent of a student who is suffering from mental

health issues as a result of their child's use of Facebook. This study assists them in

understanding the effects of social media on their child's mental health so that parents

can provide appropriate treatment.

The Teachers - The study is significant for the teachers who might be concerned with

the effect Facebook has on students who use it. This could help them decide if a

situation involving a negatively affected student will need guidance or intervention.

The School - This research study is to examine the influence of Social Media and

Academic Performance of ICT Students.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study focuses on the effects of Facebook to the mental health of the ICT

students from Alaminos Integrated National High School in Alaminos, Laguna. The data

will be gathered from 30 respondents, randomly selected, from grade levels 11 and 12

through online Google survey forms. The date gathering from ICT sections Abacus and

Intel will be conducted online. The researchers will draw conclusions about the various

effects of the social networking site, Facebook, to the mental health of the said students

from the data that will be collected.

Definition of Terms
Internet - Is a vast network that connects computers all over the world.

Social Media Platform - A system for disseminating information over the Internet

to a selected group of followers.

Social Networking Sites - Is an online platform that allows users to create a

public profile and interact with other users.

Mental Health - Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social

well-being.

Behavioral Changes - It is sometimes considered a mental disorder, yet it is also

a strategy used to improve such disorders.

Socialization - The activity of mixing socially with others.

Facebook - Is a social networking site that makes it easy for you to connect and

share with family and friends online.

Psychosocial - involving both psychological and social aspects psychosocial

adjustment in marriage.
 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AMD STUDY

Related Literature

The social networking sites — for instance, Facebook — could create a negative

impact on a person's mental health. Multiple studies have found social media use as a

contributing link to various mental health symptoms associated with depression, anxiety,

low self-esteem, and negative well-being (Hardy & Castonguay, 2018). Some

individuals develop cognitive distortions when comparing their lives to other users’ posts

and content, which may lead to feelings of sadness and depression. Some examples

include comparing users’ number of likes and followers, feeling left out for not being

invited to events, and comparing own pictures to another's photos (Griffiths & Szabo,

2013).

The bad influence of social media is still very timely and even more widespread

in the pandemic, wherein people are more active online. Barrense-Dias, et al. (2019)

shared that social media is the most exceedingly terrible stage for youth where the

younger’s use for cyberbullying and trolling which is a hazard for youngster’s mental

health. In addition to this, Pater & Mynatt (2017) depicted that social media causes for

hostile and unsafe conduct in this manner it is harmful to the emotional well-being of a

person, particularly for youngsters. The impact of internet-based life relies upon its use

if an individual who utilizes too much social media as well as whatever can be hurt to

him.

However, the effects of Facebook as a social networking site could have a

positive effect, too, and that is still under the aim of the researcher's study. According to
a 2018 survey, 31% of adolescents believe that social media has a mostly positive

impact on their life. Adolescence is a time when connections with peers is increasingly

important, and social media provides opportunities for social connection. It can help

young people form communities, keep in touch with friends who do not live nearby, and

it can provide a place to get social support. Social media can provide a valuable

connection to one’s peers (Brown, 2019).

Related Studies

This study is grounded in Festinger’s (1954) Social Comparison Theory

and The Interpretation Comparison Model (Stapel, 2007; Stapel & Koomen, 2000), to

understand how a college student’s mental health is impacted by comparison to others

on social media. Two quantitative correlational articles discussed similar findings that

social media, specifically Facebook, can be beneficial to improve one’s mental health

(Johnston et al., 2013; Zhang 2017). For instance, posting a status update on Facebook

about the difficulties in one’s life can lead to perceived social support, in turn improving

mental health (Johnston, et al., 2013; Zhang, 2017). The largest difference between the

two studies is the focus of their research. Zhang (2017) sought to find the correlation

between self-disclosure of stressful life events on Facebook, life satisfaction, and

depression. Johnston et al. (2013)

Social Media’s Negative Impact on Mental Health In contrast to the first two

articles, two qualitative studies found results that social media negatively impacts

mental health (Radovic et al., 2017; Virden et al., 2014). Radovic et al. (2017)

conducted a phenomenological study to document social media experiences by

interviewing 23 individuals diagnosed with depression. Findings indicate that individuals

frequently compare themselves to what they see on social media and seek approval

leading to depression and lower lifesatisfaction (Radovic et al., 2017).Consequently,

results found a relationship between social media use and psychological distress when

an individual did not calculate the repercussions of what was posted online (Virden et

al., 2014).

There is an estimated 350 million people suffering from depression worldwide

(World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). Depression is the current leading cause of

disability and likely to be the second leading cause of death across the globe by 2020

(WHO, 2018). It is a common but serious mood disorder manifested by the lack of

interest in common things and experiences, low mood, and mixed emotional, cognitive,

physical and behavioural symptoms (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health,

2010).

According to the Pew Research Center (2016), 89% of adults (aged 18-29) use

social networking sites (SNS) for social interactions, information seeking and sharing,

for entertainment, relaxation, expression of opinions, communication, business deals,

and surveillance about others (Whiting & Williams, 2013). The most popular social

networking site worldwide, based on the number of active accounts, is Facebook

(Statista, 2016). People use Facebook because it satisfies the needs for belongingness,

self-presentation (Nadkarni & Hofmann, 2012), self-worth and self-integrity (Toma &

Hancock, 2013), and is advantageous in increasing connectivity and on-line learning

(Pantic, 2014).
 Among the fifteen most popular media sites (Kallas, 2018), Facebook (FB), which

is considered as the “king of the social media platforms”, has an estimated 2.17 billion

active users per month (ABSCBN News, 2018). Filipinos spend an average of nine

hours and twenty-nine minutes a day on the internet (Camus, 2018). The Philippines

again topped the world in terms of social media usage with 67 million accounts on

Facebook, and another 10 million on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The researchers will use a survey approach towards assessing whether social

media has any effect to a person's psychosocial health. There will be a questionnaire

that will allow a respondent to identify whether their behaviors have been affected by

their use of social media and what effect in particular prompted any behavioral changes.

With the data that will be collected, the researchers be provided with a platform to

identify barriers, insight, and possibly future feedback for mental health education. A

limitation of this research design is that with surveys, some participants may not have

provided as much information in the open-ended questions, as that required more effort

and time. The researchers will have a questionnaire divided into two parts two reduce

the number of open-ended question to mitigate this.

Respondents of the Study

 The students in grade 11 and 12 ICT Strand were chosen as a respondents for

this study. Participants were selected using the cluster sampling approach. In cluster

sampling, population was divided into smaller groups, which are randomly selected to

produce a sample. Thirty students form grade 11 and 12 ICT students in Alaminos

Integrated National High School were selected to participate in the survey. This group of

students was chosen by the researchers since they are suitable for the study.

Research Instrument

Given the exploratory nature of the study, the researchers developed a survey to

collect demographic characteristics and information pertaining to the purpose of the

study. The questionnaire encompassed relevant open-ended and closed-ended

questions. The questionnaire will be attached to this research paper. The survey will be

distributed online with the AlNHS' Grade 11 and 12 ICT students as the respondents.

Statistical treatment of the Data

For this study, the statistical treatment that will be used is the Pearson's

correlation coefficient, which measures the strength and direction of the relationship

between two variables (see at the end of this paragraph for the formula). This statistical

treatment will allow the researchers to validate or refute the study hypotheses. For its

qualitative portion, this study used thematic analysis, a process through which

participants’ answers are coded and then clustered based on similarity to form themes.
 References:

ABS CBN News. (2018). Philippines is world's top social media user: study. Retrieved
from http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/02/01/18/philippines-is-worlds-top-social-media-
user-study
Barrense-Dias. et al., (2019). Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(2), p.S12.Brooks, S.,
2015. Does personal social media usage affect efficiency and well-being? Computers in
Human Behavior, 46, pp. 26-37
Brown, S. (2019). The selfie generation: examining the relationship between social
media use and early adolescent body image. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 39,
539-560.
Camus, M. (2018). PH is world leader in social media usage. Retrieved from
http://business.inquirer.net/246015/ph-world-leader-social-media-usage
Festinger, L. (1954). A Theory of social comparison processes. Retrieved from
https://www.humanscience.org/docs/Festinger (1954) A Theory ofSocial Comparison
Processes.pdf
Griffiths, M., & Szabo, A. (2013). Is excessive online usage a function of medium or
activity? An empirical pilot study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 3(1), 74-77.
Hardy, B. W., & Castonguay, J. (2018). The moderating role of age in the relationship
between social media use and mental well-being: An analysis of the 2016 General
Social Survey. Computers in Human Behavior, 85, 282-290.
Swar, B., and Hameed, T. (2017). “Fear of missing out, social media engagement,
smartphone addiction and distraction: moderating role of self-help mobile apps-based
interventions in the youth,” Paper presented at the 10th International Conference on
Health Informatics (Porto).
Johnston, K., Tanner, M., Lalla, N., & Kawalski, D. (2010). Social capital: The benefit of
Facebook ‘friends’. Behaviour & Information Technology, 32(1), 24-36. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2010.550063
Kallas, P. (2018). Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites and Apps. Retrieved
from https://www.dreamgrow.com/top-15-most-popular-social-networking-sites/
Nadkarni, A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2012). Why do people use Facebook? Personality and
Individual Differences, 52(3), 243-249. doi:10.1016/j..2011.11.007
National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health. (2010). Depression in adults with a
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Psychiatrists.
Pater, J. and Mynatt, E.D., (2017). Defining Digital Self-Harm. In CSCW, ISBN: 978-1-
4503-4335-0 (pp. 1501-1513).
Pew Research Center. (2016, January 12). Social media fact sheet. Retrieved from
http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/social-media/social-media-use-by-age-group
Radovic, A., Gmelin, T., Stein, B. D., & Miller, E. (2017). Depressed adolescents
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Virden, A., Trujillo, A., & Predeger, E. (2014). Young adult females’ perceptions of high-
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Zhang, R. (2017). The stress-buffering effect of self-disclosure on Facebook: An
examination of stressful life events, social support, and mental health among college
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 Survey Questionnaires
I. Personal Profile:

Name: ______________________
Grade & Section:
□ 11 – Abacus
□ 12 – Intel
Gender:
□ Male
□ Female
□ Non-binary
□ Rather not say
Age: ______

II. Device
□ Mobile phone / smartphone
□ Tablet
□ Smart watch
□ Laptop
□ Desktop
□ Smart TV

III. User Accounts

□ Facebook
□ Instagram
□ Twitter
□ TikTok
□ Tumblr
□ Whatsapp
□ Telegram
□ Wattpad
□ Snapchat
□ YouTube
□ KakaoTalk
□ Messenger
□ LinkedIn
□ Reddit
□ Grindr
□ Discord
□ Bumble
□ Pinterest
□ Canva
□ Kumu
□ Twitch
□ Viber
□ Others: ________________

IV. Usage
Days spent on a device weekly: _____________
Hours spent on a device (on an average day): ____________
Hours spent on social media sites: _____________

QUESTIONNAIRE:
Part 1: GENERAL DIRECTIONS

This questionnaire is for the research entitled "Effects of Social Media on the
Psychosocial Health of Grade 11 & 12 ICT Students". The aim of this study is to know
the effects of the usage of social media to the mental health of the Grade 11 to 12 ICT
students from AINHS.
For each statement in the survey, please indicate how often to never you do the given
statement by putting a mark on the right side of the statement. There is no right or
wrong answer. Your information and answers will be kept strictly confidential.

0 – Never
1 – Rarely
2 – Sometimes
3 – Often
4 – Very Often

1. Social media distracts me from my chores.

2. Before I go to bed, I check social media account/s.
3. I find myself saying, "Last 5 minutes na lang talaga," when using social media.
4. I sleep late because of using social media.
5. I spent time on social networking sites as a pastime.
6. I use my device while I'm eating my meals.
7. I feel distant from my family because of the influence of social media.
8. I use profanities/slang that I learned from social media when talking to my friends
online/in person. (i.e. "btw" "bitch" "rip me")
9. I feel more comfortable interacting in an online community.
10. I express myself through posting on social media.
11. I engage in other people's internet discussions.
12. I leave honest, even bad, feedback on other people's posts.
13. I acknowledge that other people's online opinions that differ from mine.
14. I join online groups to help myself complete my school activities.
15. Social media encourages me to finish my studies on time.
16. I get nervous/anxious posting online.
17. I get depressed after prolonged social media use.
18. I use social media to distract myself when I'm feeling down.
19. I use social media whenever I am stressed.
20. I attempted to limit/cut down my use of social media but failed.
 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
Part I. INTRODUCTION

The data from the respondents were gathered through the online platform Google Forms. This
chapter is composed of the analysis, presentation, and interpretation of the findings that were
collected.

Part II. QUANTITATIVE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

Analysis of Questionnaires
The form was distributed in an online messaging platform, Messenger, and received a total of
38 responses. Eight (8) of those responses have been completely discarded from this study,
as they were the double of pre-existing responses. The remaining thirty (30) were used to
interpret the results.
Data gathered through the questionnaire was subjected to frequency counts. To put it simply,
the respondents' data for each individual question were added together to find the highest
frequency of occurrence. Their responses to the questions, which are quantified, are then
presented in percentage forms. This analysis is presented in graph forms. The researchers
used graphs containing the data.
In this study, the respondents came from the Grade Levels 11 and 12, Sections Abacus and
Intel respectively, which are both under the Information and Communications Technology.
Abacus students take up 63.3% of the responses whereas the remaining 36.7% are all Intel
students. Their ages ranged from 16-20, in which 33.3% are female and the 66.7% are male.

Figure 1. Devices Used by the Respondents

Twenty-eight (28) of the respondents has a mobile phone or smartphone as their device. This
has the highest percentage, reaching up to 93.3% of the respondents. The secondary devices
were a tablet or a laptop, both having 20% (6), and next was a Smart TV with 13.3% (4). It is
safe to assume that most students use their smartphone when accessing their social media
accounts.

Figure 2. Respondents' User Accounts

As for the social media accounts of the respondents, all the respondents have at least one
social media account each and 93.3% (28) of those are users in Facebook, 86.7% (26) uses
Messenger, and 73.3% (22) are YouTube users. The next ones massively used are Twitter
and TikTok, both with 40% (12). These are the social networking sites that are high in
frequency, meaning they are more opened by the respondents compared to the rest.
For the days spent using their device in a week, 56.67% (17) of the respondents use their
devices daily, whereas 20% (6) use their devices in 4-6 days, and the rest use it from 1-3 days
a week.
For the comparisons of hours spent using their device compared to the time spent on social
media, refer to the table below.
 Table 1. Hours Spent on A Device and Social Media
To see the correlation between these two sets of variables, refer to the Pearson R findings
below.
 Picture 1. Pearson R Calculation and Results

According to the Pearson Correlation Coefficient Calculation of the data, there is a significant
medium positive relationship between X and Y, (r(28) = .396, p = .030).. The value of R is
0.3963, but this is sufficient only to know the relationship between a respondent using his or
her device and logging into a social media platform after doing so. The p-value is 0.03015.
The result is not significant at p < .05.
Part III. QUALITATIVE INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

This part of the analysis includes the breaking down of the questions into their categories and
the results of the responses. The table below shows the results of the question part of the
survey.

Table 2. Questionnaire Results

For the first questions number 1 to 5, the category is of the respondent’s self. This is to see
whether the social media has certain effects to the respondent as an individual. For these
questions, 43.33% (13) answered that they sometime get distracted from their chores
because of their use of social media, 60% (18) say that they sometimes (30%) or frequently
(30%) check their accounts before going to bed or try to compromise with their time when it
comes to using social media. This in return reflects with the fourth question, as 30% (9) of the
respondents tend to sometimes sleep late because of their online social networking activities.
For the last question, 36.67% (11) the respondents sometimes use social media for passing
the time.
Questions 6, 7, and 8 are for friends and family of the respondents. When eating meals,
23.33% (7) rarely use their device and the same percentage responded that they never do.
Whereas this is positive, the percentage of respondents are almost even between all levels,
meaning that 53.33% (16) of ICT students do use their device while eating. As for feeling
distant from their family because of the influence of social media, 50% (15) answered that this
is not the case for them while 33.33% (10) answered that they sometimes do feel that way
with their loved ones. There is very low number from the sample who answered that they
strongly identify with this situation. For question eight, 60% (18) answered that they never or
rarely apply the shortened language or “slang” that they learned from social media.
The third category is community, which includes questions 9 to 13. For both questions 9 and
10, 36.67% (11) answered that they sometimes feel comfortable interacting in an online
community and express themselves through posting. Along with this, 33.33% (10) rarely
engage with discussions on the Internet. This is followed by 26.67% (8) of the ICT students
who sometimes do so. Question 12 shows that 40% (12) of the respondents rarely leave
honest feedback on others’ posts, followed by a 26.67% who sometimes do so. For the last
question regarding the user and her community, only 30% (9) rarely acknowledge that other
people’s opinions could differ from theirs online and 26.67% sometimes do so. All of these
reflects of the poor online community performance of the respondents that participated in the
survey.
Question 14 and 15 are under the school category. Eleven respondents (36.67%) answered
that they never join online groups that could help them with school and eight said that they
rarely do, whereas 50% (15) responded that they sometimes are encouraged by social media
to finish their schoolwork in time. This shows that although they are low in participation online
to help them boost their studying, they do feel encouraged by what they see online to help
them manage their time for studying.
The very last category deals with their actual mental health and under it are the last five
questions. This section will show whether they are severely affected by the existence of social
networking sites or if they were moderate or average in terms of their relationship with it. In
this category, 53.33% often or sometimes feel anxiety or nerves when they post things online.
After prolonged use, 40% (12) of the respondents never experience depression whereas
26.67% (8) rarely do. For questions 18 and 19, 36.67% (11) use social media to distract
themselves when downcast or stressed. For those who attempted to cut down their social
media use only to fail, 33.33% (10) sometimes did try, 36.67% (11) never or rarely did, and
30% (9) often and very often tried to.
 CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary
The correlation between an increase in mental health symptoms and increased social
media use has been proven in the literature, although in this study it was shown to be
weak amongst ICT students of AINHS. Despite that, there is still significant effect of
social media use to the psychosocial health of the said students. These mental health
symptoms include—but are not limited to—isolation, insecurity, poor self-esteem,
anxiety, and depression. Although there have been many studies supporting the
negative impact of social media, there are also benefits. Because of the universal
access to social media, mental health providers can use social media as a medium to
provide mental health education and treatment. However, certain barriers exist for
treatment because there is not enough research done to include a proper diagnosis.
While negative impacts and benefits exist with the increased use of social media, there
requires a response by mental health professionals.
Conclusion

Recommendations
Future research should attempt to address the shortcomings of this study, including
having a larger size of sample population for more accurate results. Researchers who
desire to expand or duplicate this research should incorporate a stronger method for
participant recruitment as well as using a longitudinal approach to observe participants’
responses overtime. They should emphasize that the honesty that will come with their
respondents will be utmost helpful to the study. A greater sample size and stronger data
analysis method can help address internal validity issues this research is possibly guilty
of. Future research can build on this study’s findings by exploring what barriers
agencies are experiencing integrating social media use in mental health treatment. The
goal of future research should be about producing generalizable knowledge. In the
meantime, the findings in this study can help younger students who would like to refer to
a simple research.