Chapter 1

PROBLEM AND IT’S SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the Study

With the advancement of technology, social media has become a main

source of information wherein information dissemination has changed from
traditional to digital. The information that were once retrieved through print
and broadcast media can now be easily accessed online anytime and anywhere.
The development of social media sites have further made the exchange of all
kinds of information easier and making it accessible to almost anyone
worldwide. Most politicians nowadays promote their campaign not just through
personal interactions, but also online on social media platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. People in turn can also either refute,
support, or critique these candidates online through sharing their own
opinions and views of a candidate’s campaign, programs, or performance. With
media-generated information, almost anyone can participate in the evaluation
and assessment of the information’s credibility and impact because of their
wide range of coverage since almost everyone has a social media account. Also,
with the diversified variety of perspectives and judgments it is undeniable that
people who share their opinions online can influence another person’s
perspective.

Most of the younger generation interact daily within social media

platforms and come across news related to politics, political issues, political
talks, campaigns and promotion. With the students’ use of ICT, they gain
knowledge and awareness of various information from which shapes their
individual perspective of a certain issue or topic. The accessibility and
popularity of online information, specifically ones related with politics, give
students basic knowledge or overview of what politics is all about and give
them awareness to which as a result further develop their own cognizance of
the topic.

Social Media becomes a platform for politicians to advertise and promote

their campaign programs which is evidently effective due to an online
platform’s wide coverage. With this, it encourages participation, mobilization
and even increased awareness amongst the users or intended audience.
Additionally, during the peak of election season, political advertisements are
evident online to which political marketing is also present in the online world.
This causes a massive sharing of information from various sources to which
users entertain and accommodate in order to gain awareness on what is
happening in the political world. Such practice is critical not only in
information dissemination, but also in influencing how the masses vote and
support a candidate or party.

In other words, social media is crucial for spreading information to the

general population and influencing how they vote. Several participants do think
that the use of social media has increased voters' involvement in politics. This
suggests that political mobilization can be an effect of political awareness
through social media. However, the increased influence of social media on
political awareness does not necessarily conclude that there is more active
political participation among the youth. The development of social networking
sites makes it easier for people to share and exchange of information of their
views, sales, and opinions. As such, social media serves as a crucial factor in
shaping one person’s perspective since almost every perspective is evident
because of its public online setting and widespread exchange of information.

On the other hand, disinformation and misinformation in social media

have emerged as latent concerns for online audiences. Teenagers specifically,
are frequently exposed to a wide range of online content and are not capable of
filtering information and doing background checks. The widespread fake news
in social media also highly contributes to their access to the wrong sources of
information. This in turn affects whether their increased political awareness
through social media is a positive or negative contributing factor toward
political mobilization and participation.

Despite recent improvements, spotting fake news and disinformation is

still difficult due to its complexity, diversity, multi-modality, and high cost of
fact-checking or annotation (Shu, et al., 2020). With many factors to consider
in order to conclude the reliability of the source, teenagers need to undergo a
proper evaluation to reach a justifiable conclusion. Fake news for instance was
rapid during the elections of 2022. It intentionally influenced users to adopt
biased or incorrect opinions for monetary or political benefit. Users who were
mainly teenagers were quick to share new information with a mass audience
on different social media platforms.

Furthermore, there is a clear mistrust of journalists, media, and

politicians which is why media literacy is a necessity. Escoda, et al. pointed out
that there are three main issues regarding teenagers' ability in having media
literacy. These are belief in the reliability of media, social media's immediacy to
information is appealing, and the lack of knowledge in using tools for
verification. Teenagers of today's digital era may recognize the different fake
news but certain factors such as choosing the most appealing and accessible
outweigh their search for more reliable sources. Other than that, there is a
need for them to also be aware of the different tools for verifying information
rather than simply being aware of how to access information on social media.

Media and Information Literacy as a subject evidently provides the

necessary knowledge and awareness to students in terms of proper information
dissemination in social media. Although this subject exists, there is still a clear
need for students especially younger teens to become more aware in using
social media. As some of the teenagers share personal posts in their public
accounts not regarding the sensitivity of sharing their personal information to
the world.
 And the much-known problem is that almost all teenagers have social
media accounts and use social media as a main source of information. They
are, therefore, more prone to easy access to the wrong information. This is also
the cause of the lack of programs that contribute to effective media literacy for
students of all levels. Hence, it is commonly understood that with this
generation of students, there must be more awareness and responsibility in
being a digital native.

Thus, this study investigates the effect of social media to Grade 12-
HUMSS students’ political awareness at Babag National High School-Senior
High School for the S.Y. 2022-2023. Moreover, this will serve as a basis for
Enhanced Multimedia Literacy Program.

Theoretical Background of the Study

The theoretical argument assumed in this research is that media can

highly influence and shape a person's perceptions, beliefs, and values creating
an environment wherein media is the center and how people are highly
dependent on media.

This study is anchored on three theories namely: hypodermic needle

theory by Harold Lasswell, media system dependency theory by Sandra Ball-
Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur, and media ecology theory by Marshall Mc Luhan.

One of the anchors of this study is the Hypodermic Needle Theory or

also known as the Hypodermic-syringe Model, Transmission-belt Model, or
Magic Bullet Theory, which was developed in the 1920s and 1930s after the
researchers have observed the effects of propaganda during World War I and
incidents like Orson Welles' Battle of the Worlds broadcast. This linear
communication theory was very much rooted in the dominant notion of
behaviorism. It is one of the first theories regarding how the mass media affects
viewers and argues that media messages are directly implanted into the minds
of passive audiences.
 Fig. 1 Schematic Diagram of the Theoretical and Conceptual Framework of the

Study.

The theory illustrates itself using the imagery of a "media gun" and a
head by using the analogy of a shooter and their intended victim, suggesting
that the media's effect is unavoidable and that its audience is directly impacted
by it. It suggests that everyone is the same and that everyone responds to
media messages in the same way. However, the lack of empirical research has
led some scholars to question this model, which rests on many assumptions
that are not supported by research. Nonetheless, this theory still has influence
on how we discuss media as many people believes that media really has an
impact on the users.

During the 1930s and 1950, when radio, movies, and ads were
increasingly popular, the influence of the media on public opinion became all
too clear and, in some circumstances, exceedingly scary. The Communication
Theory (2017) during the second World Wide War media played a vital role in
both United States and Germany at influencing the minds of the people. Nazis
in Hitler's Germany used the film industry for propaganda and they produced
many films about their achievements that had a great impact on German
minds. Later, the US also used its Hollywood and produced such films as "It
Happened One Night", "It's a Wonderful Life" and Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington" to portray Germany as an evil force that also affects the American
mind.

In this essence, media has great power over individuals (Guerrero-Sole et

al., 2017). It tends to adopt a kind of magic bullet theory that others are
inevitably influenced by powerful and charismatic media. By saying so, the
media is highly influential and manipulative. As the theory implies, media has
the power to control and shape someone’s view in terms of an issue. This
further supports the fact that the media is influential, especially to a mass of
people wherein if one is contaminated with the information it can rapidly
spread to others. Through this flow of communication, it is easy for information
to be manipulated.

Mehrad et al. (2020) argue that the results and effects of the hypodermic
needle theory are relative, considering the relativity of people’s use of social
media and their mental resistance to it. From this point of view, the media is a
powerful and dangerous source of information since audiences are susceptible
to the effects of specific messages. Considering today's present time which is
labeled as the digital age, the establishment of the Magic Bullet theory is still
relevant today as the audience reacts in an actively passive manner to certain
media contents (Nwabueze et al., 2018). It is known as the "Zombie Effect," or
audience responses to particular media contents in the digital age, proving the
validity of the magic bullet theory in today's time. This suggests that the claims
of the theory about media being a major influence on the opinions and
behavior of audiences are because they accept the intended meaning of the
text. Hence, the audience acts as a passive and powerless recipient of the
message.

Furthermore, the theory’s relevance to the researchers’ study is clear

since it backs up how social media greatly influences people, particularly
students. In this new digital era especially where everyone seems to believe
everything they see and not objectively question themselves about the truth,
social media can easily manipulate and control a mass of people. It can greatly
and easily sway the perspectives and opinions of people through its direct
presentation of information, much more like how a shooter send a bullet to its
target. In this age where social media has become a platform for information
dissemination, users are directly exposed to variety of information, specifically
about politics. Since technology is integrated into this generation, especially
the students, it is inevitable for them to be exposed on information regarding
politics. Therefore, the researchers theorize that political engagement and
information dissemination in social media influences the political awareness
and mobilization of students.

Another theory anchored in this study is the Media System Dependency

Theory by Melvin DeFleur and Sandra Ball-Rokeach in 1976. This theory
focuses on the belief that the media will gain an increasing significance the
more people depend on it in fulfilling their needs, the more the influence of
such technology increase towards the person. The media also, would have
increased control over the person’s perspectives and opinions. It has some
explanatory power, but more importantly, it has predictive power because it
foretells the relationship between media dependence and its importance to an
individual.

This theory also proposes three relationships: the relationship between

society and the media wherein it discusses the importance of media in the
societal aspect namely on its political, economic and cultural systems. The
second relationship is the relationship between media and the audience
wherein it discusses how the influence of media is reliant on a person’s needs,
motivation to seek thus increasing the dependency on the medium. Lastly, the
relationship between society and the audience wherein a person is influenced
in using media by the society.

On the other hand, DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach believed that there are
three media needs that determines how media is important to a person in any
moment. First is surveillance, in which an individual has the need to
understand the social world. This need is performed by most of us, especially
when an issue arouses the curiosity of the general public. One example is
during the COVID-19 pandemic wherein many people turned to the internet for
information. Second is social utility or the need to act in that social world. This
need can be seen with social media influencers or those who are active in social
media for the purpose of information dissemination or for promoting social
change. Lastly is fantasy-escape or the need to have a getaway from that world.
This is a need wherein us humans use technology as a place wherein we can
take a break from the real world and indulge ourselves in a virtual world of
excitement and thrill.

Some employ mobile apps and softwares such as games and role-playing
sites wherein they surround themselves with an environment wherein they can
be themselves or just for plain entertainment. Such needs are evident in the
current times regardless of age and current events. With almost any content
made available online, these three needs are adequately satisfied. This
theory further delves into how media is deeply integrated to a person’s daily
life, from basic needs to information requisites, heightening the chance of a
person’s dependency on media and technology.

Whether dealing with the consumption of online goods and services,

news, entertainment and other online content, online activities of people who
consume electronic content is rapidly increasing and proves that humanity’s
use of media is based on their needs rather than by habit (Yang et. al, 2003).
The Internet’s wide variety of offers of services and goods such as healthcare,
shopping, and personal finances makes it very beneficial to people especially
during the height of the pandemic (Howard et.al, 2001). With greater
dependency results to a higher opportunity for media to influence a being’s
decisions and outlook towards the society. As such, media also gives people the
convenience and freedom to almost any service and has drastically influenced
their lifestyle (Nawi et.al 2020). These reasons further exemplifies how social
media is part of a person’s everyday living.

Discussing more into picture the students’ interaction with online

media, technology is integrated into their lives both as a student and a person.
During the time of the pandemic wherein learning was greatly challenged,
students were directly exposed to social media and various online platforms
that aid the new educational system, giving them direct exposure to various
online content especially the ones which are usable in their studies. Because of
this, the students’ dependency on technology and media increased. With their
continued exposure on social media, it is inevitable that they come across
information related to politics and political issues, especially during campaign
elections, political advertising, and even news about the government.
Considering the fact that a massive number of teenagers nowadays have and
account and interacts with their peers and other members of the society
through online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and Youtube, their
exposure to various news regarding politics is likely (Nawi et.al, 2020).

Taking into account the fact that social media platforms serve as a
medium not only to communicate with others but also for information sharing
and dissemination, it is evident that even several politicians and political
candidates have taken advantage of the technology. In the 2016 political
campaign in the Philippines, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte advances to
victory even with less face to face political machinery because of the popular
use of social media platforms such as Facebook amongst millennial voters
(Salvador et.al 2017). Through the use of this advancement, political
campaigns and advertising are done online, saving costs and time in
promotions. With this information, it is apparent enough that with both
factors; numerous people―95, 200,000 people in the Philippines, at least
82.7% of the entire population whom are Facebook users, (NapoleonCat.com,
2022) ―and online sharing of political issues and news are enough to
contribute to a person’s political awareness.

Moreover, it heavily influenced the relevance of the theory’s anchor in

the researchers' study. With worldwide access and patronage to social media,
numerous individuals rely on it to fulfill their needs and desires. Once these
are satisfied, their dependency on media increases, and with their regular use
of the internet and social media platforms, the level of contact with news and
information increases their awareness and grasp of a certain topic or issue. To
exemplify the significance of the theory for the research study, the theory
explains how people rely on and become dependent on media and how this
influences a person’s perspectives.

Additionally, the internet became a highly valued source of information

in specialized and various areas wherein age as well constitute how a person
views internet information as useful (Riffe et al., 2008). In this case, teenagers
are mostly the ones who have access to social media and as they've grown, the
development of social media also has. Social media has also been incorporated
into education as well to further motivate students to learn. With this, it is
unavoidable to not view social media as a vital source of information.

The last theory is media ecology which as indicated, the environment we

live in today revolves around digital media thus this theory remains important
and relevant. With the continuing change and evolution, massive growth is
happening especially in terms of media. The new environment created has
media at its center. It has now become a part of the culture and even
someone's identity. This theory further describes the current digital
environment as one in which individuals constantly connect with one another
and with a variety of media that are consequences of our technological reality.

With a clear focus on their evolution, consequences, and forms, Media

Ecology Theory examines media as environments and environments as media.
The media has three assumptions, vaguely that media is integrated in to our
lives, media influences our opinions and perceptions, and lastly that media
interconnects the human community (Portman, 1986). It includes a theory
about the intricate relationships among people, technology, media, and the
environment with the intention of raising awareness of related impacts. Hence,
media ecology investigates the cultural effects of how media evolve—and alter—
us over time.

With ample relevance to the theory, Milberry (2012) pointed out

that media ecology is a field that explicitly considers the evolution,
consequences, and forms of media as well as media as habitats. It includes a
hypothesis about the intricate relationships among people, technology, media,
and the environment with the intention of raising awareness of related impacts.
Taking into account that the study coined media as a wide virtual environment
with countless pieces of information, it is evident that politicians can intervene
and plant a heavy influence on people through the use of social media, molding
people’s perspectives and promoting social changes.

The interaction between people and various communication tools, such

as literature, radio, television, and the internet, creates a media environment.
Gutierrez (2016) argues that media ecology is a meta-discipline that examines
a complicated web of connections, or the connections among symbols, media,
and culture. The term ecology indicates the study of settings, including their
structure, content, and social impacts. In the study conducted, it was further
explained that media ecology is the analysis of methods, forms of
communication, and codes as the primary elements of an interconnected
ecosystem producing different impacts in a particular setting. With this,
Gutierrez has attached the connection between media and social impacts.

Ruotsalainen and Heinonen (2015) claimed that an eco-systemic

approach can help people better understand and address some of the major
challenges facing society today, such as climate change, social inequality, and
the impact of technology on people’s lives. The study suggests that by
understanding the complex interplay between different elements of society and
the environment, people can develop more effective strategies for tackling these
issues and creating a more sustainable and equitable future. The arguments
presented that it is increasingly crucial to use an eco-systemic approach to
understanding society as people transition to a more digital and linked world.
This entails examining how media and technology interact with one another as
well as with other societal components including politics, economy, and
culture.
 In the case of this research, indeed social media has become more than a
place of communication and a source of information. It can now be considered
a new environment, technology, language, and culture of society. During the
different campaigns of the political candidates, they have used social media as
their platform to communicate not only to everyone but mostly to the youth.
Political candidates take advantage of social media as it is widely used by
everyone, further increasing their chance to be seen and supported. Its usage
as a communication system is widely exercised as it is also a system wherein
promotion and advertising are deemed effective. Most of the things anyone can
do in real life are made possible by the use of media and the issues faced by
the nation or even internationally can also be viewed through media. As the
world evolves, the media also follow.

With the continuing evolution of social media, its effects and influence on
students' must also evolve and develop. Specifically targeting students' proper
usage of social media to increase their political awareness and mobilization. As
these students will be the future leaders of the country, they must learn to
exercise their rights and uphold their responsibility in voting for wise leaders.
To accomplish that, schools must implement different programs relating to
media information literacy and strive in building a media-literate youth.
Moreover, educators must teach and start with the youngest generation who
are also considered to be digital natives. By implementing this way of teaching
as early as possible, there would be more awareness and careful use of social
media among teenagers.

This is especially relevant in this study as students are heavily

influenced by social media and use it as a main source of information for
almost everything because of its fast and easy accessibility. As social media
has become a platform for political news and issues and a source gathering
information regarding politics, teenagers of today must know how to access the
right information. When different evaluation tools in assessing information are
used, they are able to gain critical skills and become more media literate in the
digital world.

THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

This study investigates the effect of social media to Grade 12- HUMSS
Students political awareness at Babag National High School-Senior High for
the S.Y. 2022-2023 as basis for Enhanced Multimedia Information Literacy
Program.

Specifically, this answers the following sub-problems:

1. What social media sites do respondents use for the following purpose:

1.1 Gather Information;

1.2 Political engagement and participation; and

1.3 Information dissemination

2. What is the respondents view about politics?

3. How has social media influence the respondent’s political awareness in

terms of:

3.1 Social Astuteness;

3.2 Interpersonal influence;

3.3 Networking ability; and

3.4 Apparent sincerity

4. Based on the findings, what Enhanced Multimedia Information Literacy

Program can be proposed?

Significance of the Study

 This research study, which focused on the students' social media use and
political awareness, would benefit the following entities:

Students. This research will raise awareness on the students' social media
use and how it affects their literacy in politics. Thus, this will help students
identify their gaps in information seeking and appraise their practices in
finding relevant information online. In addition, this research will aid them in
learning how Social Media affects their practice of information seeking.

School Administrators/ Teachers. This study will aid school

administrators/teachers, in particular to those who specialize in Media
Information Literacy and Technology related subjects, to further learn how
students use social media in information seeking. With this, they may be able
to implement interventions or lessons related to the importance of social media
in information literacy and media literacy.

Future Researchers. This can be use as reference for future researchers

who can delve deeper into this topic or issue.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Disinformation refers to the intentionally transmitted false information

intended to deceive others.

Misinformation refers to false information that is spread regardless of

the intent to mislead individuals.

Media Literacy is the term employed to describe the competencies

necessary for development that is conscious and independent in the modern
communication environment of the information society: digital, international,
and multimedia.

Digital Natives refers to the individuals who are very familiar with
technology due to the fact that people have grown up with such tools. It is one
of several terms, including "net generation," "Google generation," and
"millennials," that strongly suggest the importance of technologies in young
people's lives.

Media literate generally refers to a person who can decode, assess,

examine and create both print and electronic media.

Works Cited

A. Journals

Alami, A., Mohd Adnan, H., & Kotamjani, S. S. (2019). Examining the
impact of using social networks on political knowledge and political attitude
by Iranian University students. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of
Communication, 35(3), 125-140.

Atanoza, V. L. E., & Camasura, J. M. (2012). The Information Seeking

Strategies of Digitized Resources in Cebu Technological University,
Philippines. EDITORIAL BOARD, 79.

Flores, K., Dumaguin, C., Dumo, G. G., Fontanilla, A. Z., & Nisperos, K. A.
(2022). Social Media as a Transformative Agent of Political Behavior Among
Political Science Students in a Component City. American Journal of
Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation, 1(2), 78-85.

Ghani, A. (2020). Social Media a Tool of Political Awareness and

Mobilization: A Study of Punjab, Pakistan. International Journal of creativity
and Change, 14(5).

Ghani, F. (2020). Role of social media in creating political awareness among

the youth in Lahore; Pakistan. Journal of Research and Reviews in Social
Sciences Pakistan, 3(2), 916-927.

Howard, P. E., Rainie, L., & Jones, S. (2001). Days and nights on the
Internet: The impact of a diffusing technology. American behavioral
scientist, 45(3), 383-404.

Ibardeloza, K. B., Badillo, L. T., Macatangay, J. M. H., Dela Cruz, K. R., &
Malabanan, M. P. (2022). Students' Exposure to Social Media and Their
Radical Involvement on the Societal Issues in the Philippines. International
Review of Social Sciences Research Vol, 2(1), 47-60.

Intyaswati, D., Maryani, E., Sugiana, D., & Venus, A. (2021). Social media
as an information source of political learning in online education. SAGE
Open, 11(2), 21582440211023181.

Nawi, N. W. M., Alsagoff, S. A., Osman, M. N., & Abdullah, Z. (2020). New
media use among youth in Malaysia: A media dependency theory
perspective. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(9),
3097-3112.

Pérez-Escoda, A., Pedrero-Esteban, L. M., Rubio-Romero, J., & Jiménez-

Narros, C. (2021). Fake news reaching young people on social networks:
Distrust challenging media literacy. Publications, 9(2), 24.
Salvador, P., Vivar, P. C., de Vera, E., Inocian, R. B., & Rosaroso, R. C.
(2017). Influence of Facebook to Voters’ Political Practices. Asia Pacific
Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences, 4(1), 15-23.

Shu, K., Wang, S., Lee, D., & Liu, H. (2020). Mining disinformation and fake
news: Concepts, methods, and recent advancements. Disinformation,
misinformation, and fake news in social media: Emerging research challenges
and opportunities, 1-19.

B. Online Sources

Cabalza, C. (2014). Political participation through social media in the

Philippines. https://tinyurl.com/3ymv36kz

Pernia, R. (2023). Education, media and politics: The Gullas family of Cebu,
Philippines. Media and Politics: The Gullas Family of Cebu, Philippines
(January 15, 2023). https://tinyurl.com/y4x6zff8