The Impact of Social Media Usage on Effective Communication Skills of Senior High School Students

Abstract

Technology has been improving quickly these past few years, becoming necessary for daily needs. Social media has been more than just for entertainment. It is used as an easier and faster way to communicate. This is why this study aims to determine the impacts of social media on the respondents' communication skills and how it affects other aspects of their lives. The descriptive method of research was used, which applies social cognitive theory. The study also applied the simple random technique. Questionnaires were administered to 118 senior high school students in General De Jesus College. The results showed that most of the respondents agreed that social media affects their communication skills, no matter the different factors, such as the respondents' visual skills, writing skills, and social communication skills are affected by social media usage. Too much social media usage may lead to losing confidence regarding face-to-face communication skills. The results concluded that the respondents need to manage their screen time or social media usage, as it may adversely affect their communication skills, especially regarding social communication skills. It produces positive effects for others, but some become too reliant on their devices. To achieve practical communication skills, it is necessary to manage the time that should be spent on social media communication and the time that should be spent on face-to-face communication.