Empirical Study on the Sexual Jokes in Social Media of Grade 10 (Ten) Students of Batangas State University

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In a society where people are becoming too open to sensitive topics that can lead to inappropriate behavior, this study was conducted to evaluate the responses of teenagers to sexual jokes in social media. Social media is one of the main instruments used by people to spread their thoughts. Sexual jokes continue to spread without people realizing that they can be offensive. This research aims to look deeper into a problem that is often overlooked by society and to gain insights regarding the responses and how certain factors affect them in relation to their demographic profile.

METHODS

This study used a quantitative descriptive research design. The number of respondents was obtained through Slovin's formula. Through simple random sampling, self-constructed survey-questionnaires were distributed. The first part covered the demographic profile of the respondents while the second part was to identify the factors affecting the response of the students. The results were tallied using a Likert scale. Percentage and frequency, weighted mean and composite mean, Chi-square, and independent t-test were the statistical techniques used to tabulate and analyze the acquired data.

RESULTS

The data showed that most of the respondents engage to social media particularly Facebook and Twitter for 1-3 hours a day and more than half of them responded that they sometimes encounter sexual jokes in these social media platforms. It was also revealed that the factors affecting the response of the respondents, which involves level of awareness, external and individual factors, do not affect the way they respond to sexual jokes in social media. It seems that most of the students are less aware of media contents that involve sexuality. Personal characteristics, as well as the goals and objectives of an individual, seem to have a very low impact on the way they respond to sexual jokes. These factors also showed a significant relationship with the demographic profile of the respondents.

DISCUSSIONS

It is implied that the profile of the respondents is a factor that can affect the response to sexual jokes. In order to promote awareness and interest, one must be responsible for dealing with the vast scope of sexual jokes in social media. The researchers limited the approach to social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter, and respondents subjected were in Grade 10 students only, thus, giving rise to a new opportunity to seek knowledge in different social media platforms and age bracket.