Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Throughout the years, internet has transformed and evolved into a more advanced

and convenient tool in people’s lives. Many improvements have been made and drastic

changes were provided. Internet have become the source of entertainment, information

and communication for all kinds of people. Due to great enhancements, internet has

brought different platforms that can make people’s lives easier; and one of those

platforms is Social Media. Things shared on Social Media may include personal

information, documents, photos, and videos. This is generally used by children, teens,

adults, parents, teachers, authorities, to summarize it briefly, it can be used by any

individual.

Social Media is a place of sharing of information, ideas, career interests, and other

forms of expression via virtual communities and networks; it is also internet-based and

gives users quick electronic communication of content which includes personal

information, documents, videos, and photos. Users engage with social media via

computer, tablet or smartphone via web-based software or web application, often

utilizing it for messaging.

Social media may take the form of a variety of tech-enabled activities. These

activities include photo sharing, blogging, social gaming, social networks, video sharing,

business networks, virtual worlds, reviews and much more. Commonly for individuals,

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social media is used to keep in touch with friends and extended family, some people will

use various social media applications to network career opportunities, find people across

the globe with like interests, and share their thoughts, feelings, insight, and emotions.

Those who engage in these activities are part of the virtual social network.

As many are aware, Social Media is not only effective as a widely communicative

tool but also efficient for acquiring information and knowledge management. And as for

that, almost every student who are equipped with modern devices uses social media as

their source of information. Most students uses social media for its swiftness and

expectedly informative, although since social media is deemed for its inaccuracy in some

times, checking the reliability of the source is a must for searching in social media.

Social Media, with its numerous positive aspects, such as easy access to

information, sharing knowledge to other users which provides socialization, enhancing

professional networking which concludes that it can also be used as a marketing tool, and

education. As this study goes, Social Media as a source of information to students which

mainly points out to help in their education and academic performances, Social Media

plays a big role to disseminate information, network, and other support services to

students. (for example: admissions, alumni relations, library and marketing).

The purpose of this study is to find out the essence of Social Media to learners,

mainly for acquiring information. The researchers of this study also seeks to figure out

which Social Media platforms that students use most as a source in pursuing their desired

information. Through the use of systematic and precise methods, the researchers were

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able to identify whether the Social Media is an effective source of acquiring information

to students.

Statement of the Problem

1. What is the perceived length of time students spend in using Social Media as

their source to acquire their desired information?

2. What barriers do students encounter in using Social Media as their source?

2.1 Reliability

2.2 Lack of proficiency of users in seeking their desired information

3. What are most used Social Media platforms as a source in acquiring

information?

Objective of the Problem

1. To know the perceived length of time students spend in using Social Media as

their source to acquire their desired information.

2. To overcome barriers that students encounter in using Social Media as their

source;

2.1 Reliability

2.2 Lack of proficiency of users in seeking their desired information

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 3. To know the most used Social Media platforms as a source in acquiring

information.

Hypothesis

Alternative Hypothesis: Social Media is an effective source of acquiring

information to students. The relationship of the mentioned variables is proven by the

researchers who conducted the study.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study will be of great benefit to the following:

To the Students, this study will help students know the effectiveness of Social

Media in attaining information for their school works and requirements to complete.

To the Faculty, through this study, they will have knowledge on how to teach

and guide their students in using different Social Media platforms with limitations and in

appropriate one.

To the School Administration, they will know how to manage the faculty and

the students through Social Media in introducing their education and exercise their

domain through virtual concepts.

To the Future Researchers, the results of this study can help researchers of the

future who take interest to study the contents of this paper furthermore and serve as a

basis future researches that have connection to this topic.

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Scope and Delimitation

This study dealt with the relationship of Social Media and the students. This study

focused on the effectiveness of Social Media as a source in acquiring information to the

respondents. The respondents of this study were taken from Grade 7 and Grade 8

Students of TFBC School Inc. wherein there were seven (7) females and three (3) males.

This study was conducted through the use of mobile phones and laptops due to the

restriction of minors to go out during the pandemic. The primary method that was used in

this study in gathering data are questionnaire and survey. In this method, respondents

were given a message (an editable picture) where questions are stated to gather the data

that best describe their perspectives about Social Media as a source in acquiring

information.

Definition of Terms

Blog. a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an

individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

Business Network. a complex network of companies, working together to

accomplish certain objectives.

Convenient. means fitting in well with a person's needs, activities, and plans

Education. the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially

at a school or university; an enlightening experience.

Evolve. to come forth gradually into being; develop; undergo evolution.

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 Electronic Communication. means any transfer of signs, signals, writing,

images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a

wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo-electronic or photo-optical system.

Marketing. the action or business of promoting and selling products or

services, including market research and advertising.

Review. a formal assessment or examination of something with the possibility or

intention of instituting change if necessary.

Virtual World. a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by

many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently

explore the virtual world, participate in its activities and communicate with others.

Transform. make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or

character of.

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 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature

Foreign

The popularity of social media sites has been steadily increasing over the last

few years, and over 70 % of online adults are now using a social networking site of

some kind. Many users of social networking sites have more than one account, and

check these accounts several times daily. But even as social media has been widely

adopted by many users, its use for higher education has also been questioned by

educators. Although faculty in higher education often utilizes social networking sites in

a professional context, many are reluctant to use social networking sites for teaching

and learning. Moreover, even though computing faculty members may have more

experience with the technology, their adoption of social media for teaching purpose has

been at a lower rate comparing to faculty in other fields such as Humanities and Arts,

Professions and Applied Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Web 2.0 (often referred to as the “social web”), with its many benefits such as

social networking and user-generated content, has drawn much attention for teaching

and learning. Learning paradigms have shifted over the last decades from a traditional

classroom setting to include online learning, e-learning, collaborative learning, and

many hybrid forms. This shift indicates a move from instructor-led and instructor-

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centered learning environments to learner-centered environments, which focus on

knowledge creation and building rather than knowledge transmission. At first glance,

Web 2.0 applications such as social networks, wikis, blogging, and micro blogging

seem to be well suited for learner-centered environments, but a closer look reveals that

the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies and applications in higher education learning is

lagging behind the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies overall. Although roughly 90  % of

young adults (18-29 years old) use some social network site, many faculty members

also see limitations and potential problems with the use of online and interactive

technologies in higher education. In a survey, 56 % of faculty members stated that they

see online and mobile technologies as more distracting than helpful to students for

academic work.

Several studies have investigated the use of social media in higher education,

many concentrating on the use of Facebook in their courses. Facebook still dominates

the social media landscape, and is popular across a diverse mix of demographic

profiles, but other sites have gained popularity and many users now participate in

multiple networks. However, the popularity of Facebook has prompted many educators

to integrate some elements into their learning environments.

Some studies point out that it is an obligation to prepare students for what they

will encounter once they graduate from college and enter the workplace. Other studies

examine the connection between social networking and informal and formal learning.

Learning in a constructivist environment focuses on the individual learner and the

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situational context in which learning occurs, and the variety of options and tools that

are available through social networking could support this type of situational learning.

Students with different backgrounds, learning styles, and preferences can choose which

tools they prefer for their individual learning process. In addition, these technologies

may create a higher level of student engagement that will build and support a

community of scholars.

The majority of studies are experimental studies investigating specific social

networking tools (e.g. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter) in specific settings (Business

education, communication, medical school), and several studies focusing on pedagogy,

learning outcomes, or teaching styles are emerging. There is little discussion to date

about some practical concerns for educators when integrating this technology into the

higher education learning process. The fast pace in which technology changes, privacy

and security concerns, intellectual property, accessibility for students with disabilities,

or the increased workload for instructors have not received much attention. Many

educators are concerned about the short lifespan of certain applications. MySpace, for

example, once the top site for young adults, is practically non-existent in the list of

social networks used by this age group. Moreover, it recently resorted to mass-mailing

its former users to convince them to reactivate their still existing accounts. Many young

adults also have moved on from Facebook to other social networking sites, are

participating in several sites, and check only their preferred site frequently. (SOCIAL

MEDIA AND HIGHER EDUCATION: A LITERATURE REVIEW; Yuanqiong Wang,

Gabriele Meiselwitz; 2015)

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Related Studies

Foreign

Newer communication technologies have increased the possibilities for how

people can send and receive information. Social media are one such technology that has

seen increased usage as an information source (Pepitone, 2010). For example, social

media are being used to seek information about serious topics, such as circulating up‐to‐

the minute information about cholera outbreaks in Haiti and identifying clean water

sources during this outbreak (Sutter, 2010). Social media has also seen a great deal of

usage by those seeking health information, with 59% of adult Americans (80% of internet

users) reporting that they have accessed this type of information online (Fox, 2011). As

this Pew Report suggests “people use online social tools to gather information, share

stories, and discuss concerns” (Fox, 2011, p. 5).

Similarly health professions and organizations are seeing the advantages of

adopting social media because it is seen as an information equalizer allowing access to

health care information to populations who, in the past, would not have this access

(McNab, 2009). It provides a sense of privacy for the information seeker in that he/she

does not have to disclose personal information in order to obtain health related

information.

However, a major question surrounding the use of social media as an information

source is how people assess the source credibility of this information (Westerman,

Spence & Van Der Heide, 2012). This question becomes especially important to answer

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for users of social media, as the gatekeeping function switches from producers to

consumers of information for newer technologies (Haas & Wearden, 2003). These newer

channels provide new pieces of information not available in “legacy” channels which

may be used to make credibility judgments, such as the ability to see how quickly and

recently a page host updates their page. The current study examines how this piece of

information impacts a viewer's cognitive elaboration and their perceived credibility of the

source.

Social media are a general category of channels and applications that highlight

collaboration and working together to create and distribute content. This collaboration not

only consists of creating content together, but also discussing the content in an attempt to

improve it collaboratively and to come to a shared understanding of it. Thus, social media

are built upon a fundamental characteristic of Web 2.0: they are sites for harnessing

collective intelligence (O'Reilly & Battelle, 2009). Many examples of social media exist

(e. g., Digg, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr), but one that holds great promise as a social

medium for information is Twitter. Twitter is a micro‐blogging service that began in

March of 2006.

In this study, a positive relationship between recency of updates on a Twitter page

and the cognitive elaboration that viewers of that page would partake in was

hypothesized and found such that faster updates were associated with greater cognitive

elaboration. The current research also predicted a positive relationship between

credibility and cognitive elaboration. Significant correlations were found between

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cognitive elaboration and each of the individual factors of source credibility and the

gestalt credibility measure. Thus the data were consistent with this prediction as well.

Based upon these findings, a post hoc model predicting that faster updates would lead to

increased cognitive elaboration, and increased elaboration would lead to increased source

credibility was tested. The data were consistent with this post hoc model.

The findings suggest that recency of updates might not have a direct impact on

source credibility, but instead, that cognitive elaboration is a mediator in the relationship

between recency of updates and credibility. This suggests that cognitive elaboration is an

important variable to consider in future studies of source credibility. It also suggests that

Sundar's (2008) notion of the machine heuristic may operate in part because system‐

generated cues can create a situation that consumers of information need to think more

about, and this thinking leads to higher judgments of credibility.

These data also suggest that there are heuristic cues that people attend to when

making credibility judgments about information presented through social media. The

immediacy of updating that is a hallmark of Twitter (Levinson, 2009) is likely a major

reason this channel is growing in use for informational purposes, including under

situations of risk and crisis. The changing nature of risks and crises has contributed to

concerns about the best ways information about them can be obtained, and to accomplish

this goal, people are apparently turning to Twitter and other social media to share

information, react to the situation, and rally support, as other examples in this paper

suggest. As new technologies allow the public to obtain information faster and under

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circumstances that even a few years ago were virtually impossible, use of such new

technologies may be another direction for increased future research.

The current study examined how recency of updates on a social media page

impacted source credibility and cognitive elaboration after exposure to the page. As

social media becomes a more heavily used information source, even for things as critical

as risks and crises, the gatekeeping function of that information also falls more into the

hands of the page users, rather than the page creators. As such, it is important to continue

learning more about this process, and learning about how and why credibility judgments

are made about social media information. (SOCIAL MEDIA AS INFORMATION

SOURCE: RECENCY OF UPDATES AND CREDIBILITY OF INFORMATION;

David Westerman, Patric R. Spence, Brandon Van Der Heide; November 8, 2013)

Conceptual Framework

This study used IPO Model to illustrate the major points of this study. IPO Model

indicates the input, the process that will be used to collect the data, and the expected

output of the study.

-Students’ time spent

on Social Media in
acquiring information.

 Evaluation and  Enhance usage

-Barriers faced during
the acquiring of collection of data of social media.
information in Social through  Effective as a
Media. questionnaires. reliable source in
 Analysis of data acquiring the
through needed
-Most used Social statistical information.
Media platforms as treatment.
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source in acquiring
information.
 Figure 1

Paradigm of the Study

This study sought to identify if Social Media can be effective as a source in

acquiring information to the Grade 7 and Grade 8 Students of TFBC School Inc. The aim

of this study can be achieved by determining the duration of time spent on using Social

Media, the barriers encountered using Social Media as their source, and the students’

most used Social Media platforms as their source of information. These data can be

acquired through the use of questionnaire, and can be analyzed through statistical

treatment. After that, the possible outcome of the study can enhance the usage of Social

Media and can be a reliable source of acquiring information.

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 Chapter 3

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

This specific chapter discussed the design, respondents, instruments and

procedures that were used and followed by the researchers to successfully conduct their

study. This certain chapter deals with the methods of the study to acquire the needed data

from respondents.

Research Design

This study is a quantitative type of research which uses scientific method and

statistical treatment of data to gain the needed results of the study. The researchers used

the descriptive type of research design. Descriptive research design is a method which

involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any

way. The researchers of the study chose descriptive design because this study described

how effective social media as a source in acquiring information to students.

Respondents of the Study

The researchers of this study selected the Grade 7 to Grade 8 High School

Students of TFBC School Inc. as their subjects of the study. The technique that was used

in sampling is the simple random sampling. In this technique, every student in Grade 7 to

Grade 8 has the chance to be chosen as a respondent. This technique was used to pursue

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the fairness of sampling. The researchers assembled 7 females and 3 males, with the total

of 10 students as their respondents.

Research Instrument

The instruments that were used by the researchers to gather data from the

respondents are survey and questionnaire. The questionnaire and survey were constructed

by the researchers to help them acquire the needed data from the respondents. The

instruments that were presented is going to be answered by the respondents to describe

their perspectives about the effectiveness of Social Media as a source in acquiring

information to students. Their answers determined the final results of this study.

Data Gathering Procedure

Researchers need to comply with the procedure that was divided into various

steps. The first step before going to the testing paper is to make the list of respondents.

Upon approval, the researchers messaged their respondents. In the conduct of the study,

the researchers solicited the support of the first- and second-year high school students of

TFBC School Inc. allowing them to read and answer the needed data.

The researchers will ask the permission of the first- and second-year high school

students to allow the researchers use their time to let them read and answer the provided

questionnaire that will be sent individually and virtually. The result of the test will be

recorded by the researchers so as to have valid and reliable information. The data will be

tallied, analyzed and interpreted according to the specific problems set forth.

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Statistical Treatment

In order to effectively and objectively depict the data that were acquired from the

respondents, the researchers used the following statistical treatments. The Percentage,

Mean, and Likert Scale are the tools that were used to depict the data.

1. Percentage

This tool will define the percentage and frequency of variables of the respondent.

F
Formula: %= x 100
N

% is the percentage

N is the sum of respondents

F is the Frequency

100 is a constant value

2. Weighted Mean

This tool will be used to assess the respondents with regards to their wide variety

of scenarios.

Σx
Formula: Weighted Mean =
n

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 Whereas:

∑ x = summation of all sample

n = population size

Likert Scale

To determine the effectiveness of Social Media as an information gathering tool

for students, Likert Scale will be used.

Point Scale Verbal Interpretation

5 4.1 – 5 Strongly Agree

4 3.3 – 4.09 Agree

3 2.5 – 3.29 Neither Agree nor Disagree

2 1.7 – 2.49 Disagree

1 1.0 – 1.69 Strongly Disagree

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