Objective

Socio-demographic

Age

Gender

Religion

Related Literature

According to Madden and Zikkhur

(2011) Social networking sites have been
very popular with young adults ages 18-29.
Between February 2005 and August 2006,
the use of social networking sites among
young adult internet users ages 18-29
jumped from 9% to 49%; during this same
time period, use of these sites by 30-49 year
olds remained unchanged. Since then, users
under the age of 30 continuously uses social
networking sites when compared with every
other adult age group. As of May 2011, out
of ten internet users, eight ages 18-29 use
social networking sites (83%), compared
with seven in ten 30-49 year-olds (70%),
half of 50-64 year-olds (51%), and a third of
those age 65 and older (33%).
According to Comscore (2011)
Globally, women demonstrate higher levels
of engagement with social networking sites
than men. Although women account for 47.9
percent of total unique visitors to the social
networking category, they consume 57
percent of pages and account for nearly 57
percent of total minutes spent on these sites.
Women spend significantly more time on
social networking sites than men, with
women averaging 5.5 hours per month
compared to mens 4 hours, demonstrating
the strong engagement that women across
the globe share with social sites. In May
2013, 74% of women were users of social
networking sites, compared with 62% of
men. (Brenner, 2013)
Many religious communities and
church congregations create opportunities
for social interactions beyond the regular
worship services. They provide a social
network of people in order to attach beyond

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their shared faith. However, although a

long line of literature reviews the
connection between religious phenomena
and
social
bonds
in
religious
congregations, a scholar from Baylor
University notes in a 2011 study,
measurement has often been indirect.
There are powerful and robust relationships
between
embeddedness
in
religious
congregations and all indicators of religious
activity and belief. High levels of social
embeddedness in religious practices were
associated with the following for
individuals: 21.4 percentage points more
likely to have higher levels of supernatural
beliefs; 26.8 percentage points more likely
to take the Bible literally; and 23.4
percentage points more likely to feel their
religion is exclusively correct. The effects of
social networks do, however, vary by
denomination and sect: The relationship
between embeddedness and church activities
is stronger for evangelical Protestants in
comparison to Catholics, but not stronger in
comparison to mainline or Black
Protestants. Although embeddedness effects
are always positive, Catholic congregations
receive diminishing participation returns for
the embeddedness of their members in
comparison to Protestant congregations.
(Effects of social networks on religious
belief and practice, Rozanne Larsen |
December 7, 2011)

Parents occupation and educational

attainment

According to a 2007 article in the

Journal
of
Computer-Mediated
Communication, many social networking
sites are made to support the different
interests of people around the world.
In the current generation of social
media, people need to adapt to fit in. They
need to learn how to use these online
networks in order to not get lost track of
time. Together with the process of

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adaptation is the usage of these SNS. The

more they adapt, the more they discover
how to use it.
According to Dourish, appropriation
is the process by which people adopt and
adapt technologies, fitting them into their
working practices (Dourish 2003). This
statement highlights two sides of this
process: (1) the social element whereby
people modify their activities to integrate a
technology into their practices and, thereby,
create new practices, and (2) the technical
features embedded in a technology that can
be modified according to a (not necessarily)
predefined set of options in different use
situations (cf. (Hall et al. 2009)).

Family income

Access to the internet

March 29, 1994 was the date when

the first Filipino logged in to the Internet.
This was when the countrys first public
permanent connection to the Internet was
obtained by the Philippine Network
Foundation, a consortium of private and
public institutions. (Minges, Magpantay,
Firth and Kelly, 2002). Since then the
number of internet users has grown.
According to the International
Communication Union (ITU) from a mere
4,000 Internet users in 1994, there were
about 8.3 million of Filipino Internet users
in 2009. Although this rate of Internet
adoption is considerably lower than its
Southeast Asian neighbors, the percentage
of Filipino Internet users has exponentially
increased from 0.005% of the total
population in 1994 to 9% in 2009. The
Filipinos, indeed, are getting sucked into
worldwide web (Ho, 2009).
Access to the internet depends on the

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socio-economic classes of the households.

These range from class A being the highest
up to class E being the lowest. Also, the
geographic profile where people lives also
counts, whether they belong to the rural
areas or the urban areas.
Social Weather Survey says that
ownership of computer in the household has
ranged from 3% in 1997 to 7% in 2007,
before increasing to 10% in 2008, 11% in
2009 and 12% in 2010. In absolute terms,
the proportions of households with
computers have increased from about
414,000 in 1997 (out of the projected 12.8
million households) to 2.1 million in 2010
(out of the projected 18.8 million
households). Computer penetration in the
household has always been highest in NCR,
in urban areas, and among middle-to-upper
classes ABC. As of 2010, households in
Metro Manila are twice more likely than
households in the provincial areas to own a
computer.
By locale, computer ownership is
three times more in urban households than
in rural households. The disparity in access
to computer is more noticeable across socioeconomic class: 43% of households in
classes ABC own a computer, twice than the
combined percentage of households in
classes D and E who also own a computer.
Also, access to Internet in the
household is even lower than computer
ownership. The percentages of households
with Internet connection have ranged from
only 1% to 3% between 1998 and 2007,
before it increased to 4% in 2008 and 2009,
and to 6% in 2010. These correspond to an
increase from 230,000 households in 1998
(out of the projected 14.4 million
households) to 1.3 million households in

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2010 (out of the projected 18.8 million

households).
From 1998 to 2010, households with
Internet connection in NCR have ranged
from 7% to 18%. In provincial areas,
though, Internet penetration remains well
below 10%. Internet penetration in urban
households has gradually increased from 3%
in 1998 to 10% in 2010, but in the rural
areas, Internet access was zero until in 2006.
By
socio-economic
class,
Internet
penetration among households in classes
ABC has ranged from 12% to 29%, in
contrast to among households in class D
where it ranged between 1% and 6%, and
among class E where Internet penetration
was zero until 2009.
Social networking sites used by respondents

Retrieved on cn.nielsen.com (2011),

females ages 18-34 make up the majority of
visitors to social networks and blogs, while
males are more likely the majority of
visitors of LinkedIn.
The combination of communication
and technology has brought a convenience
to mankind's way of transmitting messages,
from the traditional handwritten letters up to
sending messages through the use of internet
and now widely use all over the world --Social Networking Sites.
"The true test of an equitable
information society is the extent to which
today's
powerful
knowledge
based
communication tools are able to connect
different people across all geographic,
economic and information divides". (Manila
Bulletin, 2008).
My Space, Facebook and Twitter are
among the most popular sites, especially to
highschool and college students. Unlike
most sites wherein users only spend minutes

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a week and look at a couple of pages, users

of social networking sites often spent hours
a day, viewing and disclosing information
about themselves and their friends. (Dulay,
2008)
Label the extent of internet use measured by

Frequency

Time spent

Thirty percent of Filipino Internet

users are frequent users, or those who use
the Internet at least once a day. Majority use
the Internet less often, with 33% who are
moderate users (using the Internet at least
once per week), and 37% who are infrequent
users (using the Internet less than once per
week). Internet users who are from higher
socio-economic class, who are college
graduates, and have computer and Internet
connection in the household tend to use the
Internet more frequently than other sociodemographic groups. About three-fifths of
classes ABC are frequent users, in contrast
to majorities of classes D and E who use the
internet less often. Two-fifths of the college
graduates are frequent users, compared to
about one-fourth of the less educated who
are also daily users. About half of Internet
users in households who own computers and
54% of those in households with Internet
connection are also frequent users.

Several past research studies focused

on the frequency of students in using social
media. As cited in the study of Cruz, et al.,
(2011), 10.67% of the 225 respondents
spend 30 minutes or less per visit on their
SNS accounts while 22.22% spend more
than 30 minutes to one hour per visit. 39%
spend more than 2 hours while 10.22%
spend more than 3 to 4 hours.
An average of about 6 to 9 hours
every day surfing these networking sites was

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spent by the majority of the students. More

than 1 hour every day, ranging between 10
to over 15 hours being spent every week
was spend by 28% of them. (The Effects of
Social Networking Sites on Personal Lives
of the People, Raizada et al, 2009).
Level of exposure of the respondents to SNS
(No index card)

My Space, Facebook and Twitter are

among the most popular sites, especially to
highschool and college students. Unlike
most sites wherein users only spend minutes
a week and look at a couple of pages, users
of social networking sites often spent hours
a day, viewing and disclosing information
about themselves and their friends. (Dulay,
2008)

respondents browsing skills on SNS

(No index card)

According to Dourish, appropriation

is the process by which people adopt and
adapt technologies, fitting them into their
working practices (Dourish 2003). This
statement highlights two sides of this
process: (1) the social element whereby
people modify their activities to integrate a
technology into their practices and, thereby,
create new practices, and (2) the technical
features embedded in a technology that can
be modified according to a (not necessarily)
predefined set of options in different use
situations (cf. (Hall et al. 2009)).
The phenomenon of appropriation
can be portrayed as an ongoing process of
adaptation or tailorisation of technology to
suit specific needs. This would appear to be
possible because as one gains experience
with an artifact it presents new resources
for action (Salovaara 2007). These
resources, unlike those that are said to be
independent of personal interpretation, are
intimate and personal resulting from direct
or indirect interaction with a technology.

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(Papantoniou et al. 2003). In this manner a

technology is continually being appropriated
and re-appropriated as one continues
discovering
its
(hidden)
resources
(Salovaara 2007).
The process of appropriation is also
portrayed as ongoing because needs may
change and people would extend their
knowledge of technology when faced with
new circumstances. In a more general sense,
the appropriation of technology is, as it
were, the digital counterpart of the
personalization or singularization of objects
whereby these are marked as private and
personal. Under this view, the appropriation
of technology is not necessarily utilitarian,
but may be symbolic in that it is made part
of the landscape of everyday life. (Rojas
2011)
Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are
virtual communities wherein they allow the
users to create their own profiles, which
enable them to interact with their real-life
friends virtually and meet other people. The
use of social networks on the Internet could
potentially be a cause for concern,
particularly when paying attention to the
growing amounts of time people spend
online. (Kuss, 2011)
Social media technology (SMT)
offers various uses by application. This uses
are not merely limited to social networking,
video sharing, or blogging but it includes the
totality of digital products and services. This
enables on-line, user-generated social
behavior and exchanges around primarily
user-generated content. (Davis III, 2010)
The entire range of social media
applications has the ability to enable social
behavior through 2 way communication
multiple-way discussions providing the

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opportunity to discover and share new

information (Solis, 2008).
Social networking sites considered
as a new type of entertainment. Before it
was just traditional cable TV and radio, but
with the technological innovation SNS
keeps the user overwhelmed with its
features like being updated about what's
happening to their friends and relatives or
even their favorite artists and shows. SNS is
used mostly for its entertainment value and
the application it offers to its users.

Purpose of the respondents for using SNS

Seeking for friends or exchanging

information, opinions, and experiences on
their common interests are what most of the
users of virtual communities are doing
(Ridings & Gefen, 2004). There are several
benefits of virtual communities that can be
used and enjoyed by the users. Majority of
individuals of specific communities can use
this to interact and reach a diverse group of
people. Also, they can gather and give
information or express their opinions which
can help consumers to find information
about specific company, product, and
service. The levels of interaction can be
chosen
by participants
of
virtual
communities.
Respondents perceived influences of SNS

Study habits

Social media can be distracting,

according to an article on the Psych Central
website. Teens who checked Facebook at
least once during a 15-minute study period
had lower grades. In addition, those teens
who used Facebook more often are more
likely to display narcissistic behavior,

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antisocial behavior, mania, aggressive

tendencies, anxiety and depression. On a
positive note, however, teens on Facebook
were better at showing empathy to online
friends, and social networking can help
provide tools to help teens engage with
others. The Dept. of Labor also noted that
teens with disabilities can socialize
anonymously, which may be beneficial in
some cases.
In an article by Tressa Catherine
Aulenbach, in her section "study how
younger students", it says that those
involved in extracurricular activities, and
those who wants to avoid punishment or
receive an award are more likely to use
social media for a social purpose. Also, she
said that Students who do not like an
educational task, but value the task, will
utilize new media more frequently for an
educational purpose.
It is common to first year college
students to acquire depression and stress
from
roommates,
schoolwork,
and
separation from parents. They get through
all this stress and depression by using social
media as an outlet to their longing. They can
stay connected with their loved ones and
develop friendships that go farther than the
classroom. (Ruthig et al.,)
Research revealed students preferred
blackboard over facebook when the school
communicated with students. It was evident
students wanted to keep facebook for social
purposes and would rather use blackboard
for educational purposes. (Sesterhenn)
Research showed that 92% of the
students who took the survey used some sort
of social media. Over half of this 92% said
they would do better in class if they stayed
away from social media. The survey
revealed Twitter was the most popular social
media site followed by Facebook, other,

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Instagram and Pinterest rounding out the top

5. The survey asked whether students agreed
if social media affected their study habits.
The chart below shows 48.15% strongly
agreed while only 3.70% strongly disagreed.
A team of psychologists studied 219
university students between the ages of 19
and 54, according to London's Daily Mail.
They found out that those who use
Facebook while they study or opens it in the
background, get grades that are 20 percent
lower than those who do not. (Hatch, 2010)
"The problem is that most people have
Facebook or other social networking sites,
their e-mails and maybe instant messaging
constantly running in the background while
they are carrying out other tasks," Paul
Kirschner
Also, according to the research,
students who used Facebook had grade point
averages of 3.06, which doesn't seem too
bad when the scale goes from 0.0 to 4.0.
However, those who turned off the social
media network when it came time to hit the
books had a typical GPA of 3.82.
Most students joined Facebook
because Facebook was associated with
university-level education (Madge et. al.,
2009).
This same study also found out that
Facebook is commonly used to keep up with
social aspects of college life and it is a part
of the students' daily routine. However, they
did not seem to agree that Facebook helped
their get high grades (Madge et. al., 2009).
Other studies have found that when students
are asked why they did not put more effort
into schoolwork that Facebook distraction
was a regular explanation (Yazedijan et al.,
2008).

Socialization

Other things that students would do

if theyre not using social networking sites
would be socializing or hanging out with

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friends. 40% said that they would be

studying or reading novels and books. 8%
said that they would be doing some other
things like social work, sports, pursuing
their hobbies etc. Why students spend their
time surfing SNS rather than doing other
things mentioned above is the capability of
making more friends, staying in touch with
existing friends, finding old friends, sharing
love relationships with other people and
interacting to others with common interest
are the thoughts. The things that makes
more and more students use networking
sites is the longing to find old friends
together with the need to communicate with
their existing friends which can be both
done through SNS. It was only a rare case
that people tend to use SNS in order to look
for love relationships. Also 20% tend to use
these sites for making new friends (The
Effects of Social Networking Sites on
Personal Lives of the People, Raizada et al,
2009. ).

Home responsibility

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