Approval Sheet

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the subject Practical Research II, this

research paper entitled "THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO THE POLITICAL

AWARENESS OF HUMSS STRAND GRADUATES" has been prepared and

submitted by Peter Carandang, Edzsyr Gabrido, Cherish Kate Ilagan, Vanessa Jumawan

and Adeline Rosales.

Ms. Maricon B. Sollestre

Research Adviser

Approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the subject Practical

Research II by the Oral Presentation Committee with a rating of _____.

_______________________ _______________________
Member Member
___________________________
Chairperson

Date Approved: February 3, 2021

Mr. Christopher Jason G. Ong

Principal, Senior High School

i
 Acknowledgement

Profound gratitude is hereby extended to the following who contributed to the

accomplishment of this research paper.

To Ms. Maricon B. Sollestre, research adviser, for playing a vital role in the

success of this research paper.

To, Ms. Annalie L. Rosales, Science Research Specialist II, for being the

statistician of this study.

To Ms. Juvine Grace G. Lacson, Licensed Professional Teacher, for being the

validator of the research questionnaire.

To Mr. Christopher Jason G. Ong, Senior High School principal, for the

acceptance of this study in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Practical Research II.

To the Oral Presentation Committee, for the approval, comments and

suggestions for the improvement of the study.

To the Humanities and Social Sciences Strand Graduates, for the cooperation

during research conduction.

To their friends and families, for moral and financial support

Most of all, to Almighty God for giving them the knowledge, strength and

courage to finish this research paper.

ii
 Dedication

The researchers devoted this study especially to educators and teachers who put

so much time and effort into finishing this study, all of whom contributed to its

achievement. This is also dedicated to their families and colleagues, who have motivated

them all around and their Alma Mater, High School of St. Francis, to give them the

opportunity to construct this research paper.

iii
 Table of Contents

Title Page

Approval Sheet………...…………………………………………………………...…i

Acknowledgement........................................................................................................ii

Dedication………………………………………………….…………………….…..ii

Table of Contents…………………………………….……………………………....iv

List of Figures ………………………….……………………………………………vi

List of Tables…………………………………..………………………………….…vii

List of Appendices……………………………………………………………….......viii

Abstract……………………………………………………...………………………. ix

Chapter I

THE PROBLEM
Introduction…………………………………………...……………….1

Statement of the Problem…………………………………………..….4

Hypothesis………………………………………….……………….…5

Significance of the Study…………………………..…………...….….5

Scope and Limitation…………………………………..…..……….....6

Conceptual Framework………………………….……….………....…6

Theoretical Framework………………………….……….………...….7

Definition of Terms……………………………………………………9

iv
Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literatures…………………………………..…………………11

Related Studies……………………………………….………….……..14

Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design…………………………..…………………………….19

Research Locale…………………………..………………………….....19

Respondents……………………………..……………………………...20

Sampling Procedure……………………..……………………………...20

Instrumentation………………………..…………………………….….20

Data Gathering Procedure……………..……..……………………..…..21

Statistical Treatment……….....................................................................22

Chapter IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA….......23

Chapter V

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary……………………………………………………….…..……40

Findings………………………………………………………………....40

Conclusions……………………….…………………………………….43

Recommendations…………………………………………….……...…45

References………………………………………….…………………………………..47

v
 List of Figures

Figure 1

Conceptual Framework Paradigm (IPO) ………………………………….………….6

Figure 2

Conceptual Framework Paradigm……………………………………………………7

Figure 3

Frequency Distribution of Social Networking Sites………………………………….23

Figure 4

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondent (A)……………………………………24

Figure 5

Frequency Distribution of Active People known by the Respondents……………….26

Figure 6

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondents (B)…………………………………. 27

Figure 7

Usage of Social Media Applications in terms of Scroll Times……………………...28

Figure 8

Frequency Distribution of Social Media Roles in Political Awareness…………......29

Figure 9

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondents (C)………………………………….29

vi
 List of Tables

Table 1

Data Analysis of Social Media as a News Outlet….………………………………….31

Table 2

Data Analysis of

Social Media as an Influencer to Political Decisions…………………………………32

Table 3

Data Analysis of Social Media as

A tool for Mobilizing Online Political Protest……………………………………….33

Table 4

Data Analysis of Social Media as a tool for Political Content Sharing...…………….33

Table 5

Data Analysis of Social Media as tool for a Change in Political Behavior………….34

Table 6

Total of Each Section of Roles Weighted Mean…………………………………….36

Table 7

Standard Deviation………………………………….………………….……………37

Table 8

Analysis of Variance………………………………….………………….…………..38

vii
 List of Appendices

Appendix A

Output and Infographic………………….………………..……………….………52

Appendix B

Letter to the Principal………………….………………….……………….………53

Letter to the Validator………………….………………….………………………54

Letter to the Statistician………………….………………….………………….…55

Appendix C

Letter to the Respondents and Questionnaire……………….………………….…56

Appendix D

Figures 1 and 2………………….………………….……………….…….………60

Appendix E

Figures 3 and 4………………….……………………..………………….………61

Appendix F

Figure 5………………….………………….……………………………..………62

Appendix G

Figures 6 and 7………………….………………….……………...……….………63

Appendix H

Tables………………….………………….………………….………………….…64

Appendix I

Curriculum Vitae of the Researchers………………….………………….………..67

viii
 Abstract

Social Media is one of the most frequent platforms used nowadays. With its

frequent usage, it has become a tool for communication, entertainment and as a source of

information. For various reasons, as such how people of different ages and backgrounds

have different perceptions regarding politics and political awareness, it is in the

researcher’s best interest to study how social media can have different roles to actively

influence the said perceptions about politics. This study’s aim is to address which roles

social media plays in the political awareness of Humanities and Social Sciences strand

graduates. Humanities and Social Sciences have been known to be the Senior High

School strand to offer subjects regarding politics and researchers took interest in their

social media activity to analyze the roles it might have to their political awareness. To

evaluate the said roles, a survey is prepared and distributed online to collect data and

analyze said data. The information collected showed how Facebook is one of the most

common social networking sites used by the respondents which influences them with the

highest percentage among four more social media sites. It is also indicated how Friends

through social media can contribute in their political awareness as well and such became

factors of how there is a lightly significant role of Social Media in playing its role as a

News Outlet for the respondents which has the highest percent among other roles.

ix
 Chapter I

Introduction

Social media has shown its significance in the age of digital and technological

advancements. It has become part of our daily lives and has proved its importance in

disseminating information and communicating with the people in our lives. Different

Social Networking Sites have been developed for different purposes, there are

applications for socializing, dating, job-hunting, even applications for academic purposes.

One of those being Facebook which is known in common knowledge as the most used

social networking sites. Statistics say that there are roughly 2.7 billion users of the

mentioned application, and approximate 75 million from the Philippines (Statista, 2020).

Facebook users range from teenagers up to adults. It is said that at this age, the

most active users of Social Networking Sites are teenagers, young adults, and middle-

aged people. Facebook’s purpose varies from information-sharing to communication.

Now the application adds updates to adapt to the evolving needs of virtual conferences in

the light of the recent coronavirus pandemic. Facebook as a social media application has

been significant to people in terms of catching up to recent news and current events may

it be about show business or about serious matters like politics, religion, or church and

state matters.

There are other social media applications that serve the same purpose, namely

Twitter, and Reddit. Twitter’s strict restrictions in making accounts and its different

layout to Facebook make a large difference in the user’s age, which can also affect the

difference of its contents to Facebook. Another application that also serves an important

1
purpose but depends on the use is Tiktok which has been an influencer and creators’

platform recently. Tiktok is a platform where you share videos which displays different

types of contents, from visual arts, performance arts to fashion, food, and academic and

even news and current events.

In that sense, these social media platforms have a large number of users which

makes it a great platform to disseminate an important piece of information that is relevant

to issues that are being faced by society. The issues being said may refer to political

awareness which will be mainly tackled in this study.

Differences in beliefs have been the main reason for conflicts, especially in

society. This can be applied especially in social media now that the researchers heavily

rely on it for information and communication. Everyone has a different perception of life.

These perceptions can be from the information that the researchers have read, see or

watch on the social networking sites they are active in. With that being said, the

information we consume from the said sites must be reliable in order to perceive a more

sensible knowledge. That much explains how social media an influencing platform

towards its users can be.

Lee, So and Leung (2015) stated that the importance of social media rapidly grew

because it provides a forum of interaction for people. Social media has been one of the

sources of general information this decade may it be political, economic or social.

Politically, social media has been useful for politicians to interact directly with their

voters but aside from that, registered voters can utilize social media to influence the

younger generations as well.

2
 Aside from being the platforms for discussion, social media has been important

for influencing people, mostly social media users, to engage in online or offline political

discussions. Most scholars also believe that social media is certainly an effective way of

delivering content and bringing awareness among general people, (Reuter and Szakonyi,

2015).

Political Awareness is crucial in this point of life of Humanities and Social

Sciences Strand Graduates especially from the batch of 2019 and 2020 as they are

expected to be registered voters by 2022. Awareness regarding these matters are mostly

affected by the content they consume through social media. Being politically aware is

important now that they are approaching a new term. It is the duty of the citizens to have

enough political knowledge that will help them to wisely make decisions especially

during elections. The said political awareness can be more impactful if it is disseminated

through social media now that most people rely on social networking sites and public

figures that use the platform.

For their research topic, the researchers have chosen a research entitled Social

Media’s Influence to the Political Awareness of HUMSS Strand Graduates Batch 2019-

2020. They chose this because it is relevant in this time where they rely on online means

of information. Moreover, they are aiming to figure out how efficient using social media

in influencing political opinion is.

After reading some introductions about their topic, they chose to focus on three

areas. The first sub-question will look at what social networking sites influence the

Political Awareness of HUMSS Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020, while the second

will look at who the people are related to the respondents who commonly share posts

3
about Politics. Finally, they will aim to know-how are the influences from social media

impactful towards the political awareness of Humanities and Social Sciences Strand

Graduates Batch 2019-2020. In finding information to answer our research questions,

they have to start with the survey using a questionnaire. Then, they will use the survey

results to conclude it.

Statement of the Problem

Social Media Platforms have been a huge part of student’s daily lives, may it be

for leisure or for information. As Humanities and Social Sciences students, it is their part

to be actively speaking out our political views and ideologies and be politically aware.

Through this research, they aim to be able to figure out how efficient social media is as a

platform for engaging in politically inclined discussions and arguments from a HUMSS

student’s perspective and what is its role in the political awareness of said students. The

researchers, attempt to answer the following questions through this study:

1. What are the percentage of which social networking sites influence the

Political Awareness of HUMSS Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020?

2. Who are the people related to the respondents who commonly share posts

about Politics?

3. What is the role of social media on the political awareness of Humanities

and Social Sciences Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020 in terms of;?

3.1. News Outlet

3.2. Influencer

4
 3.3. Mobilizing Online Political Protest (Activism)

3.4. Political Content Sharing

3.5. Change in Political Behavior (Confirmation Bias)

4. What is the most common role of social media on the political awareness

of Humanities and Social Sciences Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020?

5. Based on the result of the study, what set of guidelines can be made in

posting political opinions and issues on social media?

Hypothesis

Social media does have a significant role in the influence of political awareness of

HUMSS Strand Graduates.

Significance of the Study

This study will be undertaken to find out the role of social media to the political

awareness of HUMSS Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020.

The results of the study will benefit the following:

The results will provide the students with some knowledge about the influence of

social media towards the awareness of HUMSS Strand Graduates 2019-2020. It will give

the student's a realization to use social media to their political awareness.

The given data would help the teachers on how they can guide the students to use

the social media wisely to get political awareness.

This may serve as researchers’ basis for the future search that will be conducted.

This may help in further deepening the subject matter and providing an in-depth study in

regard to Political Awareness and its significance.

5
 Scope and Limitation

The study’s purpose is to determine the role of Social Media to the political

awareness of HUMSS Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020. The respondents in this study

are the chosen Humanities and Social Sciences Strand Graduates Batch 2019-2020.

Because of the reason that this research includes online activities, the data is gathered

through online surveys. The total number of the starting sample is an estimate of 38

students from the 2019-2020 Batch. This research acknowledges that since the

respondents’ academic track revolves around social sciences, they have an existing

knowledge regarding politics and its related topics.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1. An Input, Process and Output Framework of the Research

6
Figure 2. Paradigm for the Role of Social Media in Political Awareness

Figure 1 is the process of the study and how the respondents were chosen as

samples and how the data will be gathered and interpreted while Figure 2 discusses how

the roles can affect the respondents’ political awareness when it is used through social

media platforms. The paradigm shall provide a better overview of how the study

progressed for the readers to have a better understanding.

Theoretical Framework

Most people believe that the youth does not engage with politics but with

millennial influence through Twitter and Facebook, there can be the increase of political

awareness and knowledge to the younger generation.

7
 Examination on social impact has exhibited that association with another

individual or a gathering affects individual mental cycles. Social impact happens when

people change their mentality or conduct because of acceptance by different people or

gatherings (Kelman, 1961). Contemporary social impact viewpoints share a three-sided

differentiation between regulating worries for (1) guaranteeing good relations with others

thinking about the prizes/disciplines they can give and (2) guaranteeing the soundness

and great assessment of oneself, alongside an instructive worry for (3) understanding the

substance of the impact claims (Wood, 2000). This order has its underlying foundations

in Kelman's (1958) grouping of social impact measures as consistency, distinguishing

proof and disguise (as cited in Tao, 2011).

Kelman’s Social Influence Theory proposes that an individual’s beliefs and

behaviors are influenced by others through compliance, identification, and

internalization. Kelman (1958) as quoted in Tao (2011) also proposed that through social

influence changes in attitude and actions may occur at different levels. This difference in

the level of changes can be attributed by the differences in the processes through which

individuals accept influence. This theory is applicable to the study in a way that by being

influenced, an individual conforms to what the greater population’s opinions are and that

if the said greater population which are the millennials influence the younger generation

positively, there will be an impact where the Latane’s Social Impact Theory is applicable.

Social impact theory (Latané, 1981; Nowak et al., 1990; as quoted in Chang,

2017) describes how people affect and are influenced by each other. Latané (1981)

defined social impact as an individual's feelings, thoughts, or a behavior influenced by

the real, implied, or imagined presence or actions of others. In the age of social media, it

8
is easier than ever for individuals to be influenced by others, as social media has become

an indispensable activity of people’s lives and the main source of information for many.

Latane’s Social Impact Theory (1981) refers to the social forces that impinge upon us,

pushing us to think or behave in a particular way. This theory has its importance

increased in interpersonal influence and group behavior. In a way, the social impact felt

by an individual should be a function of strength, immediacy, and number of source

persons that are present. Thus, these three elements, or descriptions, of source persons

should all directly affect the social force felt by a target person.

"The 1987 paper by Klayman and Ha as cited in Tao (2011) claims that the

Wason experiments do not really display a bias towards evidence, but rather a propensity

to make tests compliant with the working hypothesis. This was called the" positive test

strategy”.

Definition of Terms

Activism. Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social,

political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society

toward a perceived greater good.

Confirmation Bias. Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon in which a person

tends to accept those references or findings which confirm his/her existing belief in

things. Confirmation bias leads to statistical errors, as it influences the way people gather

information and interpret it.

9
Indispensable Activity. Absolutely necessary, essential, or requisite: an indispensable

member of the staff. incapable of being disregarded or neglected: an indispensable

obligation.

Millennial. Millennials are likely the most studied and talked about the generation to

date. They are the first generation in history that have grown up totally immersed in a

world of digital technology, which has shaped their identities and created lasting political,

social, and cultural attitudes.

Political Awareness. Political awareness is being informed about what is going on in

politics, how it impacts you and your community, and what the ramifications are for the

world as a whole. So many people focus on “how does this impact me” instead of “how

does this impact everyone.” Political awareness is knowing and understanding all sides of

the story.

Role. The role assumed or the part played in a specific circumstance by a person or

object. In this research, the word role particularly refers to how the object functions.

Socializing. The action or practice of participating in social activities or mixing socially

with others.

Social media. Websites and apps that allow users to create and share content or to engage

in social networking activities.

Younger Generation. Generation Z, or Gen Z for short, is the demographic cohort

succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media

use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years.

10
11
 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter will provide brief overviews of past studies and literature that

supports the present research. Through this chapter the research will be further elaborated

for better understanding.

Related Literature

Foreign Literature

Relationship Between Politics and the Internet

In most countries, larger numbers say that the internet has had a good impact on

politics than then say the same thing about issues such as children or morality. But, in

particular, smaller shares say that the internet has had a good impact on politics than they

say about its impact on issues such as education, the economy or local culture (for more,

see the first report in this series). Adults in countries like the Philippines also make little

distinction between the impact of the Internet and mobile phones on politics. Almost

equal shares claim that the Internet and mobile phones have had a positive, negative or

zero impact on politics. (Smith, Silver, Johnson, and Jiang, 2019) Through Social Media

and the Internet, politics have been one of the most important issues to tackle nowadays,

most people engage in discussions and such.

12
How Social Media Changed Politics

The use of social media in elections, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube,

has significantly changed the way in which campaigns are run and how People

communicate with their elected officials. The rise of social media in elections has made

elected officials and candidates more accountable and open to the electorate. And the

ability to publish and distribute content to millions of people immediately enables

campaigns to carefully manage their candidates ' photos based on rich sets of data in real

time and at almost no expense. (Murse, 2019)

Beaupre (2015) stated that the Internet has created a new medium for political

conversation and news gathering, serving as a potentially viable platform to support

efforts for Millennial Voters to engage in social media marketing. Traditional political

marketing research and planning are the backbone of political marketing; future

campaigns will build on social media to increase participation among young voters by

implementing new branding, acquisition and communication practices.

Specifically, voicing one's views in social media is a strong predictor of overall

political engagement (Kushin & Yamamoto, 2010). According to Pew's study (2012) on

the data we use in this paper, after discussing it or reading posts about it on SNS, a

quarter (25 per cent) of SNS users became more interested in a political issue, and 16 per

cent of SNS users changed their views on a political issue as a result of exposure to

political content or debate on SNS.

13
News Online and Political Engagement

The question of whether Internet usage is a result of political activity is

established and most reports indicate that its impact is generally positive. It has been

found that political commitment is enhanced, that knowledge of political campaigns has

been increased, and that votes or other forms of participation have been improved. The

evidence also shows that such relationships extend to FB and Twitter social media

platforms, which allow users to share and interact with various types of content,

including information and public affairs. (Lee and Myers, 2016)

Youth Participation in Today’s Politics

Although some say that young people are involved in politics, some suggest that

young adults have already made a commitment to politics by their use of modern ICTs.

These systems, known as Web 2.0 (Digital Media Forms Youth Participation in Politics

2013) have the power to connect people in new and innovative ways through different

forms of engagement. (UK Essays, 2018)

Local Literature

Written on Paris’ Article in Rappler (2019) “Instead of simply voting in the

elections, young people might think that participating in politics should not be limited to

participating in the elections. There are several other ways which they think may be more

effective,” said Bautista. She said that more and more, youth are turning to “social

movement-oriented forms of participation,” like boycotts and working for non-

14
governmental organizations or NGOs. Aside from work in the campaign, Lopez is

involved in the Disgruntled Young People network, a group of young people who

regularly hold roundtable discussions about pertinent issues in the country. Through their

network, they also participate in a bunch of volunteer engagements. Reyes, meanwhile,

works for Hirayang Kabataan – consisting of young people who conduct leadership

trainings for others their age “to build a country governed by leaders with competence

and integrity.”

They both spoke with passion, but Lopez cushioned her optimism with a bitter pill

of sorts. “Hindi lang puwedeng puro advocacy, kasi may political realities din (Advocacy

alone is not enough because there are also political realities).”

Asked where they’ll be after the 2019 polls, Lopez and Reyes said they would

continue participating in politics with these advocacies. “There needs to be a call for

social movements for people to be more engaged in politics.”

Related Studies

Foreign Studies

Despite the growing popularity of SNS and the efforts of civic and political

organizations to adopt these services, there is limited empirical research on the effects of

using these services on citizens' political attitudes and civic behaviors (Ellison, Steinfeld

& Lampe, 2007; Pasek, more & Romer, 2009; Valenzuela, Park & Kee, 2009).

Political Consciousness but not Political Engagement

15
 The way young people think about politics and their part in our political system

needs to be understood. Research into the impact of service education on political

engagement remains unfinished, with considerable debate on the potential to contribute to

healthy democracy through service-learning (McAdam & Brandt, 2009; Walker, 2002, as

cited by Harker 2019)

The Impact of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on Millennials' political behavior

It seems that Millennials are less focused on traditional media according to

Njegomir (2016). This decrease of typically media consumption led to a generation of

adults who had little idea of what to take an informed decision when voting, Mindich

(2005) states. Political messages communicated via social media often lack sufficient

information to inform prospective voters. These are often published by views or illegal

news sources. This shift from traditional media to new media disadvantages Millennials

when political communication comes into play and has a consequent impact on their

political behavior.

Vatikiotis (2014) says that discussion of media engagement and citizen

involvement has been rekindled in the advent of social media (p. 293). He points out that

social media is an outlet for public participation in political discussions, but that the

objective and strategic interest of traditional media is absent in these conversations

(Vatikiotis, 2014: 298). A tweet or Facebook article has little or no public effect and is

ineffective web advocacy.

Youth Political Participation: Bridging Activism and Electoral Politics

16
 Fisher (2012) cited in her study that found that young people who come from

poorer backgrounds tend to talk more often about elections, vote more often, and become

more active. Young people from less privileged backgrounds are less interested and less

involved. The general role socio-economic status plays in political engagement is perhaps

best summarized by Verba and associates (1995) as "for every type of participation, asset

and activity are combined" quoted in Fisher (2012)

The use of new information and communication technologies is one of the ways

young people are regarded as leaders of political participation. Young Americans are

early adopted as "the benefactors of technological advances" (Garcia-Castanon et al.

2011, or p. 115).

Role of Social Media in Millennial Voting and Voter Registration

Social media and politics have become key elements of progress in elections.

Strategists of the movement have taken note of this pattern and pursued it. The political

contact tactics have been multi-faceted and 29 other ways to communicate to supporters

have been used in social media (Lassen & Brown, 2010).

Local Studies

Filipino Youth Nationalism and Political Consciousness

Over time, mass media, the Internet and the' new media' are only part of the

emerging social media concept. Often social "new media" are also included. Levinson's

(2009, 1-3) described specific attitudes in the new media such as the (1) presence of a

duality of users as both customers and manufacturer, (2) absence of qualified gatekeepers

and (3) ability to select a web platform, (4) minimal monetary charges for membership

17
and sign-up, (5) dynamic yet beneficially catalysts and and (6) the potential to go beyond

usual search tools and e-mail transactions.

ICTs in Political Engagement among Youth in the Philippines

The Philippines has a diverse history of civic and political activism, which is still

a tradition of involvement today. It has had positive and nonviolent protests, and the

nation has unseated a further corrupt President with the collective mass action since the

1986 People's Power Revolution that deposed a tyrant. The Constitution protects freedom

of expression and involvement in almost any way of principle and action. Collective

political and civil actions and other forms of protests take place regularly during key

political events, such as State addresses for the nation and certain congressional meetings.

The New Symbol of Political Awareness: Social Media Catalyst

Social media as a way of helping Filipino young people today to become

politically aware, it is a way to be completely aware of what's happening within our

nation by using the social media modes as a platform to link to the global world. Now,

the century of cyber networkers is all modes inclined to technology, Web is fully inclined

to function and the virtual world allows them to learn the language of the human spirit.

We reside every day in this virtual environment. In order for the changing technology to

become the necessity of man, it is not only every individual who needs the social

networking system. (Corpuz, 2014)

Corpuz (2014) also stated that social media are new information network and

information technology using a form of communication utilizing interactive and user-

produced content, and interpersonal relationships are created and maintained. Typical

18
social media network services could be content sharing, web communities, and Internet

forums.

19
 Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Generally, the research design is explained in this chapter. Among those topics

included which will be given some kind of explanation are the research locale, the data

gathering procedure, sampling technique and statistical treatment chosen for the data.

This chapter will provide a brief overview of methods and such.

Research Design

This research will utilize a quantitative method as this research aims to know the

efficiency of the role of social media towards HUMSS Strand Graduates in regards to

their political awareness. Quantitative method emphasizes the measurement of numerical

data, and concepts. Using the mentioned method will ensure the research’s focus on the

influence that social media can impose on HUMSS students. This research’s type

according to purpose is descriptive as this research aims to define how Social Media is a

huge factor in influencing HUMSS strand graduates in participating in political

awareness and to describe the extent of social media’s role in influencing their political

awareness.

Research Locale

The study was conducted online with the supervision of St. Francis High School.

The school provides students with an environment which encourages them to achieve

their highest potential through intellectual development which fosters academic

achievement and lifelong learning. The research is conducted online to fill the demands

20
of distanced learning and observe social distancing. Aside from that it is also conducted

online to match the nature of the research which refers to online activity of the

respondents which are also graduates or alumni from the said institution.

Respondents / Sample

The researchers gathered data and information on approximately 38 students that

will answer the questionnaires that the researchers will adopt. The researchers used the

purposive sampling to identify which role social media plays in HUMSS strand

graduates' political awareness, as it is assumed that graduating from Humanities and

Social Sciences Strand has background ideas regarding political awareness.

Sampling Procedure

Purposive sampling is a form of non-probability sampling technique, also known

as judgmental, selective or subjective sampling. Non-probability sampling focuses on

methods of sampling where the investigated units are focused on the researcher's

decision.

Research Instrument

The researchers prepared an online form or questionnaire through Google Forms

to gather information and data regarding the role of social media in Humanities and

Social Sciences Strand Graduates’ political awareness. The questionnaire has two parts

one with five sections: a) social media as news outlet, b) social media as an influencer c)

social media as a tool for mobilizing online political protest, d) social media for political

content sharing and e) social media as a tool for a change in political behavior.

21
 Before that part, the questionnaire first will have a part wherein they will choose

Social Networking Sites, People they often see active in Social Media, their time usage of

Social Media Applications and their use of Social media. The said questionnaire was then

submitted to the research adviser and validators for further revisions and validations.

Data - gathering Procedures.

To proceed with the research, the researchers will first provide a draft of the research

instrument which is an online questionnaire that includes questions for the samples to

answer. The said draft will be submitted to the research adviser for checking and

clarification. As the draft is reviewed and check the researchers will now revise and

improve the questionnaire.

Now that the draft is approved, the researchers will ask for permissions of the

respondents to conduct the study and answer the online questionnaire. To further

continue, when the draft is approved, the researchers will send the link of the online

questionnaires to the respondents.

As the information is gathered, the researchers will then tally the data and

analyzed. The said information will be beneficial for the study’s results and discussion

after it is interpreted.

As for the output, an informative infographic will be made to address the result

gained and present which role of social media functions as.

22
Statistical Treatment

As the data is gathered, the researchers will then analyze, tabulate and

interpret it. The Statistical treatment that is used for the data is ANOVA. The statistical

approach used to evaluate discrepancies between two or more means is the Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA). It might seem odd that the approach is called "Analysis of

Variance" rather than "Analysis of Means." As you can see, the name is fitting because

by analyzing variance, inferences regarding means are made. ANOVA is used to test

general differences rather than particular differences between means (Lane, 2014).

ANOVA is useful for evaluating three or more variables. It's close to multiple

two-sample t-tests. However it results in fewer type I errors and is suitable for a variety

of issues. ANOVA groups vary by comparing the means of each group, including the

distribution of variances to different sources. It is used in topics, in research groups,

between groups and within groups. (Investopedia, 2019)

Additional data will also be tallied, analyzed and interpreted. Weighted Mean will

b used to determine the level of frequency or occurrence of the respondents use of social

media. The following scale points and adjectival interpretation will be referred for

analysis

Scale Range Description

points

1 1.00-1.80 Never

23
 2 1.81-2.60 Seldom

3 2.61-3.40 Sometimes

4 3.41-4.20 Often

5 4.21-5.00 Always

Chapter IV

ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

In this chapter, the researchers make their analysis, presentation and interpretation

of the data they collected. Here, the results that were conducted and collected are to be

explored and will be presented in texts, figures and tables. There will be interpretation

provided for the given data.

Frequency Distribution of Social Networking Sites which influences political opinions

of the respondents.

Figure 1

24
 Figure 1 displays the social networking sites used by the respondents and which

influences them the most. The said sites are: Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Tiktok and

Instagram. It is stated the out of the 38 respondents, which belongs to the Humanities and

Social Sciences Graduates of Batch 2019-2020, 19 of them chose Twitter while

additionally, 12 out of these 19 chose Facebook as well. That meaning, although 31 chose

Facebook, only 18 chose the said site alone and only 5 chose Twitter alone as data shows.

With a total of 81% making up the percentage of respondents who prefer Facebook it is

in the lead of social media sites which influences them the most, followed by Twitter,

Reddit, Tiktok and Instagram, respectively. Reddit gained 5.3 percent while both Tiktok

and Instagram have 2.6 percent.

Most respondents use Twitter and Facebook as the social media with the most

influence on their political awareness. Out of 38, respondents, more than half chose

Facebook. The diagram below indicates the findings regarding the responses of each

respondents of their social networking site or sites which influences them. See Figure 2.

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondent (A)

Figure 2

25
 Visual representation of what respondents chose in the first question regarding

what social networking sites influence the respondents more on their political opinions.

There is a saturation of responses with Facebook as their source of influence regarding

political awareness. As seen on the diagram, 12 of the respondents rely on two social

networking sites and not just one, namely both Twitter and Facebook, additionally,

another respondent showed multiple answers like Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter and

Facebook as well.

Results imply the multiple use of social media applications or sites by the

respondents. Most probably due to demands of distanced learning with the internet being

a necessity for education. Regarding the results, this might affect the view of Humanities

and Social Sciences regarding the use of Social Media as a factor of influence towards

their political awareness.

According to Sumida, Walker and Mitchell (2019), Facebook is the most used

social media for news followed by Twitter. This is also the case with the study of David,

San Pascual, and Torres (2019), they mentioned how Facebook in the Philippines grew

rapidly among the country's most prestigious news outlets to become the key driver of

news traffic. A paper on Facebook's position in news reporting in the country shows that

Facebook-referred traffic accounts for about 60 percent -90 percent of clicks on news

pages among the top 4 news websites. This peculiar circumstance of the Philippine news

reader makes it a good place to research the possible consequences of depending on

Facebook for political news.

26
Frequency Distribution of People known by Respondents who actively posts politically
related information.

Figure 3

This figure now shows the familiar people they see who often actively post

politically related news and opinions.

In the lead shows Friends with the highest mark of 22 or 57.9%. Out of these 22

only 8 chose it alone while the rest, 14, chose it with Parents, Activists and Social Media

Influencer.

Out of the 13 results in Social Media Influencer, 6 of them are the only ones who

chose it alone. Meanwhile the majority of those who chose Teachers mostly chose others

too. Similar statements can be given for the rest. Activists and Teachers have the same

percentage.

Another answer was also input due to the nature of the question which provided a

blank for other people they might see the posts with. A response indicated that they see

27
themselves as the one who is most active in posting politically related news and opinions.

See Figure 4 for a diagram of responses.

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondent (B)

Figure 4

The figure illustrates the distribution of each respondent’s answers regarding who

they see post or share politically related news or opinions often. The data collected states

most of the respondents see their friends share politically related information. The

collected responses also indicate that they have multiple people whom they see the news

or opinions regarding politics. Only a few chose individual choices, and this implies that

the people they know displays active participation regarding political awareness.

28
 The said indication implies Friends as the most person they see to be actively

posting politically related news and opinion. That means that most of the respondent’s

political awareness may or may not rely on their Friends. Results may also imply the

importance of Friends, Parents and Influencers in increasing the respondent’s awareness

regarding politics.

To solidify the results, the researchers also found similarities with other studies

like Nicolas M. Anspach’s study regarding Facebook Friends’ influence. Individuals who

may be unaware of political news from conventional media outlets may opt to read such

information on Facebook if they see their friends discussing an article in their News Feed

(the name given to the string of posts made by friends that greets individuals when they

log onto Facebook) as mentioned by Anspach (2017)

Usage of Social Media Applications in terms of Scroll Times

Figure 5
Figure 5 displayed the social media usage of the respondents in terms of times of

scrolling. It is seen that 34% of the respondents have a screen time of 12 or more and are

more likely to be on social media for longer periods of time. 26.3% of the respondents

29
answered 3-6 times while 23.7% are scrolling through their social media 6-9 times. 5.3

percent responded with 0-3 times as the lowest and second to it is 9-12 times with 10.5%

Results imply that the majority of the respondents have no less than 3 times of

scrolling through social media. It also implies how the respondents encounter more news

on the platform and how most of them have an average of 6-9 times scrolling through it.

Frequency Distribution of Social Media Roles in Political Awareness

Figure 6

The figure states the distribution of which function social media is used for by the

respondents. Most respondents chose Social Media as their News Outlet with 20

responses or 52.6%. Political Sharing is the second most chosen function with 36.8% and

30
Change in Political Behavior the third with 34.2%. There are 5 people who responded

with Social Media as An Influencer to their Political Decisions as the only function of

social media for them while the remaining 3 chose it with other options and not as stand-

alone meaning they use social media for different functions.

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondents (C)

Figure 7
Legends:
A - News Outlet D - Political Content Sharing
B - As an Influencer to your political E - For a change in Political Behavior
decisions (Mainly Confirmation Bias)
C - Mobilizing Online Political Protest

The Venn Diagram displays the distribution of each choice the respondents made.

Here we can see the saturation of choices in A - Social Media as News outlets, D -

Political Content Sharing and E - For a Change in Political Behavior. C - Mobilizing

Online Political Protest has one count and is counted together with A - News Outlets and

E - For a change in Political Behavior.

31
 The results of the answers mostly imply that the respondents do not use Social

media to Mobilize Online Political Protest and a majority of the responses displays Social

Media as a News Outlet. This answers the fourth statement of the problem of the research

which refers to the role of Social Media and its function towards the respondents political

awareness.

Articles mention how South East Asian Countries like the Philippines consume

more news on online venues than the traditional medium. In Singapore, 87% of

respondents, 86% of respondents and in the Philippines, 85%, said they are consuming

information online. 'Online' is increasingly the use of social media and smartphones. In

each country with around 2,000 respondents, the percentage of people who say they have

access to news via social media is 70 per cent in Malaysia, 68 per cent in the Philippines

and 63 per cent in Singapore. Smartphone users in Malaysia and Singapore were 81%

higher than in the Philippines at 75% (Son, 2019)

Table 1
Social Media as a News Outlet
WAM Description
5. How many times do you use social media for political news in a week? 2.84 Sometimes
6. How many times in a week have you used social media as a source of 2.92 Sometimes
political knowledge?

7. How often do you use the internet to hear about political news? 2.13 Seldom
8. How often are you learning new political knowledge through social 3.55 Often
media?

9. How often do you research on your own regarding political 2.61 Sometimes
news?

10. How often do you encounter political discussions in social media? 3.55 Often

32
 Table 1 shows the results of the first section of the questionnaire which refers to

the role of Social media as a News outlet. As seen in the table the highlighted rows

indicate the statements or questions with the highest weighted average mean.

With a weighted arithmetic mean of 3.55, respondents show learning often new

knowledge through social media. This implies that their social media functions as a

source of new information. With that in consideration, respondents’ perception regarding

politics may or may not be affected by the information received depending on its degree.

The tenth statement which has a weighted arithmetic mean of 3.55 as well shows

that the respondents often encounter political discussions on social media.

Both statements with the highest arithmetic mean shows how social media is also

responsible for the news and information consumed by the respondents. As mentioned in

the data analysis of Figure 6 and 7, news lately is consumed through social media more

and most Southeast Asian countries especially the Philippines has relied on the online

medium of gaining news and information. Online consumption of news and information

has been gaining trust little by little but although the consumption rate is high, most of

the population are still wary of fake news. (Son, 2020)

33
 Table 2
Social Media as an Influencer
WAM Description
11. How many times have you actively participated in some activity about 2.03 Seldom
politics because of what you’ve seen in social media?

12. How often are you learning and applying new political knowledge through 3.26 Sometimes
social media?

13. How many times in a week have you used social media to support political 2.32 Seldom
opinions of others?

14. How often do you join political discussions in social media? 3.47 Often
The table 2 displays the distribution of weighted arithmetic mean of the

questionnaire section which focuses on the Role of Social Media as an Influencer in the

respondent’s political views and awareness. The weighted arithmetic mean is visibly

lower than the ones in the Table 1. Statement number 14 which has the highest weighted

arithmetic mean is highlighted with 3.47 which implies that the respondents often join

political discussions online. This implies that the influence they received has pushed

them to join political discussions themselves.

The results also somehow support how in general, the results of Ahmad, Alvi, and

Ittefaq’s (2019) study indicate that online political activity impacts significantly on

political effectiveness. Online findings indicate that respondents regularly exchange

political information and political content online with friends, their families and

colleagues from the second variable real participation (VRP) relationship. They engage

actively in real-life policies.

Table 3
Social Media as a tool for Mobilizing Online Political Protest

WAM Description

15. How often do you sign petitions regarding political issues? 2.21 Seldom

34
 16. How many times have you actively participated in online political protests? 1.74 Never
17. How often do you encounter political protests in social media? 3.03 Sometimes
18. How many times do you use social media for political protests? 1.82 Seldom
19. How many times do you express support to a certain political protest online? 2.21 Seldom
In Table 3, the highlighted row refers to Statement number 17 which refers to

how often the respondents encounter political protests. The responses had a weighted

arithmetic mean of 3.03 which has a description of Sometimes as its degree of frequency.

The results imply that the respondents do not frequently encounter political

protest which indicates that Social Media does not function as a tool for mobilizing

political protest for them.

Although there is evident mobilization of political protest as cited in Breuer’s

(2012) study where they focused on Tunisian Revolution in 2011 where Social Media

had a role in online political protest it is not a similar case for this research’s respondents.

Table 4
Social Media as a tool for Political Content Sharing
WAM Description

20. How many times do you constantly share your views on politics through 2.21 Seldom
social media?

21. How often do you see posts pertaining to politics in a day? 3.53 Often
22. How often are you satisfied with the political content in your timeline? 2.74 Sometimes
23. How many times do you personally post your own political opinion? 1.87 Seldom
24. How many times do you use social media to share political opinions? 2.16 Seldom
The Table 4 provides the weighted arithmetic mean of statements or questions

which is related to Social Media as a tool for Political Content Sharing. The question with

35
the highest arithmetic mean is statement number 21 which has a WAM of 3.53. Next to it

is statement number 22 with 2.74 weighted arithmetic mean.

The highest statement’s results indicates that the respondents see posts pertaining

to politics often and the second highest implies that they are sometimes satisfied with the

content they see. Through the results we can see indications that Social Media can also be

a platform for political content sharing.

According to other results of studies, their key findings include data such as how:

38 percent of people using Social Internet Sites (SNS) or Twitter "like" or endorse social

media materials that have been shared by others. The 'like' button is most likely used by

liberal democrats who use the social media — 52% of them did, as did 42% of

conservative republicans. As well as how the tools for reposting posts linked to political

or social concerns originally shared by another 33 percent of social media users. This is

more likely to be achieved by Republican social media users of social media: 39 percent

use social media to repost content compared to 34 percent of democrats and 31 percent

use independents. (Rainie, Smith, Schlozman, Brad, & Verba, 2012)

Table 5
Change in Political Behavior (Confirmation Bias)
WAM Description
25. How often do you share the same agreement regarding a political opinion 2.42 Seldom
of others?

26. How many times do you express disagreement with other people’s 2.39 Seldom
political views?

27. How many times do you express agreement with other people’s political 2.37 Seldom
views?

28. How often do you look for disconfirming information about politics 2.18 Seldom
instead of confirming?

29. How often do you compare opinions from different people with different 2.66 Sometimes
ideologies?

36
 Table 5 is the section of the questionnaire which refers to Social Media as a tool

to help have a change in Political Behavior. Its statement with the highest weighted

arithmetic mean is statement number 29. It implies that the respondents only compare

their opinions from different people with different ideologies sometimes as it had only a

weighted arithmetic mean of 2.66. This section has the lowest among the questionnaires

highest which implies that the respondents do not use social media as a tool for a change

in political behavior always.

This may not be the case with this study’s results, but other studies have proven

the effect of social media in the change in Political Behavior. According to Safranek,

(2012) on their study regarding the Philippines' Revolution. Loyalists voted against

Estrada in the Philippine Congress on 17 January 2001 during an impeachment trial of

President Joseph Estrada. With the aid of transmitted text messages, activists may

coordinate a protest at a major crossroads in Manila less than 2 hours after the decision.

More than a million people arrived in the next few days. "The willingness of the public,

almost 7 million text messages were sent that week, to organize such a huge and rapid

response alarmed politicians in the country so that they changed their course, allowing

them to show evidence.

The said phenomenon helped convincing other people to change their political

behavior.

Table 6

37
 Total of Each Section of Roles’ Weighted Arithmetic Mean
Total WAM Description

Social Media as a News Outlet 2.93 Sometimes

Social Media as An Influence 2.77 Sometimes

Social Media as a tool for Mobilizing Online Political 2.20 Seldom

Protest

Social Media for Political Content Sharing 2.50 Seldom

Social Media for a Change in Political Behavior 2.40 Seldom

Table 6 is a tabular presentation of the total of each role of social media. The role

with the highest weighted arithmetic mean is Social Media as a News Outlet. It has 2.93

with a description of sometimes.

Although the result is unsatisfactory this still implies that social media still has a

role in the Humanities and Social Sciences Graduates’ political awareness. As mentioned

in earlier passages their roles may have been proven as the case in most studies but due to

limitations of these research it did not match the expected results. Aside from that the

general results only imply that the respondents, which are the graduates of Humanities

and Social Sciences Strand from St. Francis High School mostly use Social Media for

news more than the other roles.

On the next data analysis, the researchers will then explain the variance and

significance of questions with the highest weighted mean. See Table 7 and 8 for the

standard deviation and analysis of variance.

Table 7
Standard Deviation

38
 This Tabular presentation shows the standard deviation of the statements from the

questionnaire. Low standard deviation is more reliable than the high standard deviation

meaning that statements 7, 13, and 21 which are on the lower than .8 standard deviation

are much closer to the mean and has less variation while statements, 17, 14 and 20 have a

spread out values and shows more variation.

Results gained from statements 7, 13, and 21 does not vary from each other much.

Statement 7 which has a weighted arithmetic mean of 2. 1 and a standard deviation of

0.84 refers to the active participation because of what has been seen of consumed from

social media while statement 13 with 2. 3 weighted arithmetic mean and 0.81 standard

deviation refers to the frequency of social media use to support other social media

opinions. Lastly statement 21 refers to the frequency of satisfaction with the political

news consumed which has 2.7 weighted arithmetic mean and 0.83 standard deviation.

39
 These statements are only around the Seldom and Sometimes adjectival

interpretation and also shows low standard deviation.

Table 8

Analysis of Variance

ANOVA or Analysis of Variance displays the significance of the statements to

each other. Table 8 is a tabular presentation which exhibits the significance of the

statements or questions with the highest weighted arithmetic mean.

P<0.05

Light yellow = significant at p<0.05

Dark yellow = significantly different at p<0.01

40
 As seen in the tabular presentation Statement 17 is significantly different at

p<0.01 from statements 9-10 respectively as ranked in the table. So is Statement 28 and

21 from statements 8, 14, 20 and 10.

The cells shaded with light yellow is significant at p<0.05 such as statement 17

from statements 13, 25, 26 and 24, while statements 28 and 21 is significant from both

statement 12.

41
 Chapter V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

In this final chapter of the research, the findings and the wholes thesis are

summarized: generalizations in the form of conclusions are made; and the

recommendations for the solution of problems discovered in the study are addressed to

those concerned.

Summary of Findings

The study was conducted for the purpose of determining which Role does Social

Media function for Humanities and Social Sciences graduates of St. Francis High School.

Descriptive method of research is utilized, and an online questionnaire was used to gather

needed data and using weighted arithmetic mean the results were analyzed. To also

evaluate the significance of the statements Analysis of Variance is also utilized.

Graduates of Humanities and Social Sciences Batch 2019-2020 were the respondents, and

the research was conducted during the school year 2020-2021.

1. 31 responses or 81 percent of the respondents refer to Facebook as the Social

Networking Site which influence their political opinion.

2. 10 out of 38 respondents or 26.3 percent chose their parents as people who

commonly or actively post and share politically related news. 57.9 percent chose their

Friends on the other hand.

3. With the highest weighted arithmetic mean of 3.55, findings stated that the

respondents often learn new political information through social media as a news outlet.

Findings also stated that the respondents also often join political discussions through

42
social media because of its influence. Results also include how respondents only

sometimes encounter political protest as seen through the weighted arithmetic mean of

3.03 for the statement number 17. 3.53 is the highest weighted arithmetic mean in the

questionnaire section (D) from the statement number 21 which refers to how often they

see posts pertaining to politics in a day. Lastly is the lowest weighted arithmetic mean

2.66 with the adjectival interpretation of sometimes.

4. The percentages from the results gathered on which roles is most common for the

respondents in terms of their political awareness through it includes 52.6% for Social

Media as a News Outlet as the highest.

Conclusion

The following conclusions were drawn from the findings of the study:

1. Facebook is the social networking site which influences Humanities and Social

Sciences student’s political awareness to be followed by Twitter by a few. These social

media application or site will be a huge factor in increasing political awareness of its

users once used correctly.

2. Majority of the respondents see their Friends mostly to be active in posting

political news. Parents and Social Media Influencers also play this role and may affect

their political awareness the way the people they see often perceive the said awareness.

3. Social Media in terms of being a News Outlet is the role most chosen in this study

and results show that respondents often learn new political knowledge and encounter

political discussions when they use social media as a news outlet. As consumption of

43
media grows larger, news will also be consumed through online means and the

respondents may use social media as a news outlet more.

4. Social media as an influencer to the respondents’ political opinions often leads

them to join political discussions and applying the political knowledge they learned. This

influence can grow and increase their political awareness and may as well be a positive

impact. Social Media influencing the respondents will eventually lead them to participate

through offline such as voting and protesting for their rights.

5. Social media as a tool for mobilizing online political protest has the least degree

of frequency. The results show that the respondents do not actively participate in online

protests or activism.

6. Social media in terms of being a tool for political content sharing mostly showed

that the respondents consume political content like the news as mentioned earlier.

7. Social Media as a tool to help in changing political behavior does not have

promising results but respondents seldom express disagreement nor agreement regarding

political opinions through social media.

8. The most common role that social media function for the respondents is social

media as a news outlet. This result aligns to the overall questionnaire and shows that the

respondents which are graduates from Humanities and Social Sciences strand use social

media often to be a source of political news and information and has a role in increasing

political awareness.

9. Social Media only have a slight significant role in the influence on the political

awareness of HUMSS strand graduates.

44
Recommendation

The following are recommended based on the findings and conclusions of the

research:

1. From the results, the researchers also recommend multiple use of platforms to

cross check or verify the information consumed to avoid fake news and false information.

That and the use of social media as news outlet as results and findings has shown

will greatly affect each one who consume information online and apply it offline.

2. Aside from Friends, other people should be able to play the role in being actively

participating in sharing political knowledge to increase the political awareness of the

people around them. It is recommended even more for people who have relatives, friends

or acquaintances who are registered voters as they have the rights to offline participation.

3. Each roles of social media in this research function individually and thus are

proven from another research standpoint, researchers recommend conducting similar

studies in other locale and population to extend each inquiry and exert effort to lessen the

limitations and deficiencies that this research has.

4. The researchers’ goal is to address the Role that Social Media plays in the

Political Awareness of Humanities and Social Sciences Strand Graduates, to fully

elaborate the function of said role, the researchers will create a comprehensive

infographic which displays a set of guidelines based on the results and findings of the

study. This infographic can be used by the respondents themselves and future Humanities

and Social Sciences strand graduates as well.

5. Researchers recommend especially to the future researchers to have a bigger

population and sample to gather data from. Through this way, data will be further

45
reliable. It is also recommended for them to have an instrument that will measure the

activeness of the respondents regarding their online political participation and awareness.

46
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51
Appendix A
 ST. FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL
4322 Sariaya, Quezon Philippines

Appendix B
Date: December 2020

MR. CHRISTOPHER JASON G. ONG 

Principal, Senior High School Department
St. Francis High School
Brgy. Munting Bayan, Sariaya, Quezon

Dear Mr. Ong,

We, senior high school students of St. Francis High School, conducting the study
Entitled, “ The Role of Social Media to the Political Awareness of HUMSS Strand
Graduates." As a requirement for Practical Research II.
Due to the pandemic situation, because of the Covid-19 virus, we decided to conduct the
survey through online platforms, we will make sure that the questionnaires will contain
appropriate questions and will answer according to the direction. In connection with this,
May I request your permission to allow us to administer the questionnaire among the
recent alumna of Saint Francis High School, specifically Batch 2019 - 2020 HUMSS
strand Graduates.
Rest assured that information to be shared by the respondents will be held in strictest
confidentiality and will be used solely for the purpose of the study.
Please accept our gratitude for your kind approval to this request.
Respectfully Yours,
The Researchers
Carandang, Peter
Gabrido, Edszyr
Ilagan, Cherish Kate
Jumawan, Vanessa
Rosales, Adeline

Endorsed by:
Maricon B. Sollestre
Practical Research Adviser

Approved by:

Christopher Jason Ong

Senior High School Principal

53
 ST. FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL
4322 Sariaya, Quezon Philippines

Date: November 14, 2020

Juvine Grace G. Lacson
Licensed Professional Teacher

Dear Madam/Sir:
In partial fulfilment of Practical Research II, we, the Student researchers are working on
the research paper Entitled “The Role of Social Media to the Political Awareness of
HUMSS Strand Graduates”. It is to comply with one of the course requirements to finish
Senior High School, Humanities and Social Sciences Strand, at Saint Francis High
School, Brgy. Munting Bayan, Sariaya, Quezon.
At present, we are in the process of completing the instrumentation of the said research
paper. In this regard, may I request your assistance to validate our questionnaire.? We
believe that your expertise would be of great help to improve our questionnaire.
Your positive response regarding the matter will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for your assistance.

Respectfully Yours,
The Researchers,
Carandang, Peter
Gabrido, Edszyr
Ilagan, Cherish Kate
Jumawan, Vanessa
Rosales, Adeline

Endorsed by:
Maricon B. Sollestre
Research Adviser

Noted by:
Christopher Jason G. Ong
Senior High School Principal

Approved
Disapproved

54
 ST. FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL
4322 Sariaya, Quezon Philippines

Date: November 2020

Annalie L. Rosales,
Science Research Specialist II
DOST Regional Office 1
City of San Fernando, La Union

Dear Madam/Sir:
In partial fulfilment of Practical Research II, we, the student researchers are working on
the research paper Entitled “The Role of Social Media to the Political Awareness of
HUMSS Strand Graduates”.
It is to comply with the course requirements to finish Senior High School, Humanities
and Social Sciences, at Saint Francis High School, Brgy. Munting Bayan, Sariaya,
Quezon.
In this regard, may I request your assistance for the Analysis and Interpretation of Data in
relation to our statistical treatment.? We believe that your expertise would be of great
help to improve our questionnaire.
Your positive response regarding the matter will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Respectfully Yours,
The Researchers

Endorsed by:
Maricon B. Sollestre
Research Adviser

Noted by:
CHRISTOPHER JASON G. ONG
Senior High School Principal

Approved
Disapproved

55
 Appendix C

Letter to the Respondents

To whom it may concern,

Please be informed that we are conducting a study about the Role of Social Media
on the Political Awareness of Humanities and Social Sciences Strand Graduates. In this
connection I have constructed survey questions to gather information for this research.
This investigation will be helpful for proving how impactful social media is in helping
influence others. Your participation in this study by the way of answering the
questionnaire is very vital. without it the study will not be as complete as it should be.
Kindly fill up the questionnaire.
Please feel assured that your anonymity and the information you will give will be treated
with the strictest confidentiality.
Thank you very much for your kind response to my request and if you are interested, we
will inform you of the results of our study.

Very sincerely yours,

Researchers
Carandang, Peter
Gabrido, Edszyr
Ilagan, Cherish Kate
Jumawan, Vanessa
Rosales, Adeline

56
 Questionnaire

General Directions. Please accomplish this questionnaire very carefully and honestly. Put
a check mark on which applies to your situation. Answer specific questions honestly.

I.
1. What social networking sites influence you on your political opinions?
❏ Twitter
❏ Facebook
❏ Reddit
❏ Tiktok
❏ Instagram
2.  Who are the people that you know, who actively post opinions or news related to
politics?
❏ Parents
❏ Friends
❏ Teacher
❏ Activists
❏ Social Media Infuencer
3. In a day how often do you scroll through your social media?
❏ 0-3 times
❏ 3-6 times
❏ 6-9 times
❏ 9-12 times
❏ 12 or more times
4. What is the function of Social Media in your Political Awareness?
❏ News Outlet
❏ As an influencer to your Political Decisions
❏ Mobilizing Online Political Protest
❏ Political Content Sharing
❏ For a change in Political Behavior (Mainly Confirmation Bias)

II. Directions. Put a checkmark on which applies to your situation. Choose carefully and
honestly.
Degree of Frequency
Never - 1
Seldom - 2
Sometimes - 3
Often - 4
Always - 5

1 2 3 4 5
II. A. Social Media as a News Outlet

How often do you use social media for political news in a week?

57
 How oftens in a week have you used social media as a source of political
knowledge?

How often do you use the internet to hear about political news?

How often are you reading articles to seek information about political news?

How often do you research on your own regarding political news?

How often do you encounter political discussions in social media?

II.B Social Media as an Influencer 1 2 3 4 5

How many times have you actively participated in some activity about politics
because of what you’ve seen in social media?

How often are you learning and applying new political knowledge through social
media?

How many times in a week have you used social media to support political opinions
of others?

How often do you join political discussions in social media?

II. C. Social Media as a tool for Mobilizing Online Political Protest 1 2 3 4 5

How often do you sign petitions regarding political issues?

How many times have you actively participated in online political protests?

How often do you encounter political protests in social media?

How many times do you use social media for?

political protests?

How many times do you express support to a certain political protest online?

II. D. Social Media as a tool for Political Content Sharing 1 2 3 4 5

How many times do you constantly share your views on politics through social
media?

How often do you see posts pertaining to politics in a day?

How often are you satisfied with the political content in your timeline?

How many times do you personally post your own political opinion?

How many times do you use social media to share political opinions?

58
 II. E. Change in Political Behavior (Confirmation Bias) 1 2 3 4 5

How often do you share the same agreement regarding a political opinion of
others?

How many times do you express disagreement with other people’s political views?

How many times do you express agreement with other people’s political views?

How often do you look for disconfirming information about politics instead of
confirming?

How often do you compare opinions from different people with different
ideologies?

59
 Appendix D

Data Presentation of Influencing Social Networking Sites

Frequency Distribution of Social Networking Sites which influences political opinions

of the respondents.

Figure 1

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondent (A)

Figure 2

60
 Appendix E

Data Presentation of Active People

Frequency Distribution of People known by Respondents who actively posts politically

related information.

Figure 3

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondent (B)

Figure 4

61
 Appendix F

Data Presentation of Social Media Application Usage

Usage of Social Media Applications in terms of Screen Times

Figure 5

62
 Appendix G

DATA PRESENTATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES

Frequency Distribution of Social Media Functions in Political Awareness

Figure 6

Venn Diagram of Responses per Respondents (C)

Figure 7
Legends
A - News Outlet
B - As an Influencer to your political decisions
C - Mobilizing Online Political Protest
D - Political Content Sharing
E - For a change in Political Behavior (Mainly Confirmation Bias)

63
 Appendix H

Tables

Table 1
Social Media as a News Outlet
WAM Description
5. How many times do you use social media for political news in a week? 2.84 Sometimes
6. How many times in a week have you used social media as a source of political 2.92 Sometimes
knowledge?

7. How often do you use the internet to hear about political news? 2.13 Seldom
8. How often are you learning new political knowledge through social media? 3.55 Often
9. How often do you research on your own regarding political news? 2.61 Sometimes
10. How often do you encounter political discussions in social media? 3.55 Often
Table 2
Social Media as an Influencer
WAM Description
11. How many times have you actively participated in some activity about politics 2.03 Seldom
because of what you’ve seen in social media?

12. How often are you learning and applying  new political knowledge through social 3.26 Sometimes
media?

13. How many times in a week have you used social media to support political 2.32 Seldom
opinions of others?

14. How often do you join political discussions in social media? 3.47 Often
Table 3
Social Media as a tool for Mobilizing Online Political Protest
WAM Description
15. How often do you sign petitions regarding political issues? 2.21 Seldom
16. How many times have you actively participated in online political protests? 1.74 Never
17. How often do you encounter political protests in social media? 3.03 Sometimes
18. How many times do you use social media for political protests? 1.82 Seldom
19. How many times do you express support to a certain political protest online? 2.21 Seldom

64
 Table 4
  Social Media as a tool for Political Content Sharing 
WAM Description
20. How many times do you constantly share your views on politics through social 2.21 Seldom
media?

21. How often do you see posts pertaining to politics in a day? 3.53 Often
22. How often are you satisfied with the political content in your timeline? 2.74 Sometimes
23. How many times do you personally post your own political opinion? 1.87 Seldom
24. How many times do you use social media to share political opinions? 2.16 Seldom
Table 5
Change in Political Behavior (Confirmation Bias) 
WAM Description
25. How often do you share the same agreement regarding a political opinion of 2.42 Seldom
others?

26. How many times do you express disagreement with other people’s political 2.39 Seldom
views?

27. How many times do you express agreement with other people’s political views? 2.37 Seldom
28. How often do you look for disconfirming information about politics instead of 2.18 Seldom
confirming?

29. How often do you compare opinions from different people with different 2.66 Sometimes
ideologies?

Table 6
Total of Each Section of Roles’ Weighted Arithmetic Mean
Total Descriptio
WAM n

Social Media as a News Outlet 2.93 Sometimes

Social Media as An Influence 2.77 Sometimes

Social Media as a tool for Mobilizing Online Political 2.20 Seldom

Protest

Social Media for Political Content Sharing 2.50 Seldom

Social Media for a Change in Political Behavior 2.40 Seldom

65
 Table 7

Standard Deviation

Table 8
Analysis of Variance

66
 Curriculum Vitae

Rosales, Adeline L.
Brgy. Tumbaga 1, Sariaya, Quezon
Contact Number: 09276550233
Email Address: [email protected]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate :    August 5, 2003

Birthplace :    Lucena City   
Age :     17
Nationality :    Filipino
Religion  :     Roman Catholic
Father’s Name :    Alfredo Rosales
Mother’s Name :    Elvira Rosales

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Secondary Education : St. Francis High School (SHS)

                          St. Francis High School (JHS)
Intermediate Education : Sariaya East Central Main Elementary School

67
 Curriculum Vitae

Ilagan, Cherish Kate

Brgy. Bucal Sariaya, Quezon
Contact Number: 09163880870
Email Address: [email protected]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate :    November 14, 2003

Birthplace :    Lying In    
Age : 17
Nationality :    Filipino
Religion :    Roman Catholic
Father’s Name :    Rex Ilagan
Mother’s Name :    Nanel Ilagan

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Secondary Education : St. Francis High School (SHS)

                          St. Francis High School (JHS)
Intermediate Education : Bucal Elementary School

68
 Curriculum Vitae

Jumawan, Vanessa Q.
Brgy. Sampaloc 2, Sariaya, Quezon
Contact Number: 09777700144
Email Address: [email protected]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate :    August 21, 2003

Birthplace :    Sampaloc 2, Sariaya Quezon        
Age :    17
Nationality :    Filipino
Religion :    Seventh Day Adventist
Father’s Name :    Bryan Jumawan
Mother’s Name :    Charlyn Quiño

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Secondary Education : St. Francis High School (SHS)

                          St. Francis High School (JHS)
Intermediate Education : Governor Natalio & Susan Enriquez Elementary School

69
 Curriculum Vitae

Carandang, Peter R.
Brgy. Bignay 1, Sariaya, Quezon
Contact Number: 009454292784
Email Address: [email protected]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate :    September 17, 2002

Birthplace :    Bignay 1, Sariaya, Quezon        
Age :    18
Nationality :    Filipino
Religion :    Roman Catholic
Father’s Name :    Joseph Carandang
Mother’s Name :    Julia Carandang

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Secondary Education : St. Francis High School (SHS)

                          St. Francis High School (JHS)
Intermediate Education :    Bignay 1 Elementary School

70
 Curriculum Vita

Garbrido, Edzsyr Learron

Brgy. 5, Sariaya, Quezon
Contact Number: 
Email Address: [email protected]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate :    May 10, 2002 

Birthplace :    Sariaya, Quezon        
Age :    17
Nationality :    Filipino
Religion :    Roman Catholic   
Father’s Name :    Edwin Sarte
Mother’s Name :    Leonila Gabrido 

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Secondary Education : St. Francis High School (SHS)

                          St. Francis High School (JHS)
Intermediate Education : Sariaya East Central Main Elementary School

71