Social Media Usage of High School Students in the Division of Lipa City: Basis for Curriculum Enhancement

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Young generations are born with technology and they are expecting to use these gadgets and new computer programs in teaching them. Students cannot be separated from the digital world so a careful study must be done on how to use social media for the advancement of education. Social media can also have a positive effect on students’ study if used carefully. With this in mind, this research aims to study the use of social media and academic performance of students as basis for enhancing a curriculum with integration of social media networks.

METHODS

The study used a descriptive type of research wherein the questionnaire was the main guide. The population aggregates of this study consisted of 357 grade 9 students in the Division of Lipa City. The researcher chose five (5) schools through a simple random sampling technique from 15 National High Schools in this division. To identify the students who answered the questionnaires, simple random sampling was also used. The data were analyzed and interpreted with the use of percentage, mean with reference to the majority criterion, as well as T-Test and ANOVA.

RESULTS

Among the 357 grade 9 students who participated in this study, 208 were female and 149 males. The majority of the respondents were of age 14 which constituted 205 or 57.40% and a family monthly income of 5,001-10,000 which comprised 103 or 28.90%. The student respondents strongly agree that Messenger and Google have positive effects on their study, with a mean score of 3.46 and 3.41 respectively. and the majority of the respondents agree that YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Edmodo, and Twitter can be used to improve their academic performance in school. There is a significant difference in the assessment of the usage of Pinterest when they grouped according to age,a significant difference of usage of Facebook when they group according to gender and family economic status. Other Results showed that there is no significant difference in their usage on the types mentioned above of social media when they grouped according to profile. The use of Pinterest varies with age which depends on the interest and needs of the respondents. The use of Facebook differs in gender and family economic status. Male often used Facebook than females. and students belonging to low family income are the ones who often use Facebook website.

DISCUSSIONS

Social media hasa positive effect on students’ performance in school if used wisely. The study recommends for educational social media sites like Edmodo and Pinterest to be used as an extension of the classroom teaching and learning process to further improve the academic performance of the students, particularly when the teacher cannot meet the class due to class suspension like the occurrence of the typhoon. The teacher should integrate different enhancement activities with the use of social media sites to cope with the changing learning styles of digital learners.