Senior High School Students' Use of Social Media and its Perceived Effects on Academic Performance

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

How social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube affect students' academic performance has been the subject of various research. This phenomenological study aimed to determine the students' purpose in using social media, the relationship of social media use and academic performance, and the perceived effects of social media use on the academic performance of Grade 11 students from two prestigious schools.

METHODS

The researchers administered online survey validated by experts to 104 Grade 11 students from Nueva Ecija and Manila, Philippines. The survey collected the students' GPA, their purpose of social media use, the time they use these sites, and the perceived effects of social media use on students' academic performance. The data collected were statistically analyzed. To determine the reasons for students' use of social media sites, percentage was used. To establish whether correlation exists between social media use and academic performance, time spent by the students in using social media and their GPAs were correlated using Pearson r Moment Correlation.

RESULTS

This study has three major findings. First, Grade 11 students used Social Networking sites (SNs) in doing collaborative projects, watching YouTube videos in doing a group study, learning difficult lessons (self-tutorial), and getting updated with trending topics. Second, the amount of time spent in social media sites does not have a significant relationship with senior high school students' academic performance (p<0.05). Third, majority of the students perceived that social media was 70% helpful and 30% unhelpful to their studies.

DISCUSSIONS

Dabbagh and Kitsantas (2011) supported the first finding of this study, stating that through social media, students are able to study lessons collaboratively and can have a Personal Learning Environment where they are able to learn effectively. Second, no significant relationship between social media use and academic performance was noted. Several studies (Mingle & Adams (2015);Alwagait, Shahzad, & Alim (2014); Pasek, More, & Hargittal (2009) supported this finding. Third, most students perceived social media was 70% helpful and 30% unhelpful to their studies. Among these SNs, 82.6% students agreed that Facebook is helpful. Blewett (2018), Hassan (2014) and Prescott, Stodart, Becket, & Wilson (2015) corroborate this result, recognizing the pivotal role of Facebook on students' learning through virtual communication, collaboration and engagement.