Roguel, Ma. Angelica C.

Soc Anthro / Section 3

BS Architecture Ms. Marian Gongora

“Social Media and its impact on the Filipino People”

A way of communication all people can access using internet technology is Social Media. It is a
combination of website application and networking. It is also used in advertising, TV, radio,
newspapers, and the latest now is through online and websites application. In the Philippines,
social media plays a huge part and role in our society. It helps people and organization to remain
connected and updated in everything that was happening to our country. Social media in this
modern technology has so much to give to Filipino people, they help people find ways, help people
to find recent news and help people with advertising.

According to We Are Social's Global Digital Report 2019, there are 76 million active Filipino
social media users, which is 71 % of the entire population. An average of four hours a day on
different social media platforms was spent by a Filipino, considering the country’s bland internet
speed which averages at 15 Mbps. With 75 million monthly active Filipino users, Facebook still
takes the lead as most visited social media site and overall website. Comparing the percentage of
social media users among Asia, Philippines (71%) is larger than that of most technologically
advanced countries such as South Korea (30%) and Japan (19%).

Social Media is considered as a social issue for its number of negative impact on society. One of
them is Internet addiction, it may cause lack of family bonding, social problem, increase in alcohol
and cigarette use, depression, lack of sleep, and the most important is lack of healthy food that will
take in our body. Social media is often described as being more addictive than cigarettes and
alcohol. Another is Internet dating, many teenagers engage in sex online because of the influence
of online networking. It allows young people to explore a sexual interest, hidden personality that
can cause young people in trouble. Along with it is Pornography, it is one of the problems of most
Filipino parents now in social media. They know that pornography helps to expose some material
or pictures that cannot be seen by teenagers yet when they open some sites in networking they can
automatically see and open all the malicious videos, pictures, and unprotected sex videos.

In terms of health, there are two areas being affected by social media, these are the physical and
mental health. Depression is a very alarming mental health issue anyone may encounter. A young
adult may encounter depression because of the effect of social networking. A lot of people have
died because of suicide and social media have been one of the factors for oneself to intentionally
end his/her own life. On top of increased rates of anxiety and depression, spending too much time
on social media can lead to poor sleep. Numerous studies have shown that increased use of social
media has a negative effect on your sleep quality. And it can cause a lot of health problems such
as weakened immunity, diabetes, risk of heart disease, weight gain, etc.

To solve the issue on social media, it is best to also use this platform to spread awareness on its
positive and negative impacts on a person and the society. Propagating such will create a better
understanding of how to use our social media platform for a greater benefit.

References:

 11 Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body. (2019). Retrieved 23 August 2019, from
https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body#1
 Estares, I. (2019). 4 MORE Reasons Why Social Media in the Philippines is HUGE | EYE ON
ASIA. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://www.d8aspring.com/eye-on-asia/4-more-
reasons-why-social-media-in-the-philippines-is-huge
 Social Media in The Philippines: A Year End Report - House of IT. (2019). Retrieved 20
August 2019, from https://houseofit.ph/understanding-social-media-in-the-philippines-a-year-
end-report/
 The Effect of Social Media in the Philippines | Lookupgrade. (2019). Retrieved 20 August
2019, from https://lookupgrade.com/en/blog/english-the-effect-of-modernization-on-social-
media/