Memes and Social Media as a Way to Escape

Depression

Cholo Marcus S. Getes

Jhon Edward S. Aldave
Jane Mary N.Badiang
Justine T. Evangelista
Gerald D. Quiazon

St. Jude College of Dasmariñas

March 2019

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Copyrights 2019
 Dedication

This research is dedicated to everyone that’s currently or is recovering from

depression. “Depression is the common cold of mental illnesses.” -Sleighman.

We the researchers dedicate this research to any and all people under stress,
pressure and most importantly depressed right now and also to all the readers of this
research with any friend or relative undergoing the aforementioned circumstances; that
everything has an end and after every rain is a rainbow, any pain will end eventually and
you are not alone in you battles.

Our primary goal in this research is to prevent any self-harm being done by the
people suffering depression to themselves and most importantly the suicidal thoughts and
suicidal attempts that would be the last resort of the people suffering from depression as
the best solution to this mental illness.

By clarifying our goals to conduct this research our aim and primary objective is
to promote the usage of online communication through social media as a substitute for
personal communication as a way for the people suffering from depression to safely
reach out for comfort and to be consoled and talk about their problems to other people
and avoid self-isolation, we also want to end the common stigma that the usage of social
media as one of the primary contributor to the increase of depression among people.

We also dedicate this research to the people that creates the memes that we laugh
at when we’re feeling down even though we know that some of them are actually
suffering from depression right now.
 Acknowledgments

The researchers would like to acknowledge our adviser for this research and is
also the teacher for our Practical Research 1, Ms. Katrina Perez for approving our
research and in doing so we the researchers are able to provide some help to the people
suffering depression and help promote awareness about depression to other people.

The researchers would also like to acknowledge all of our teachers that is always
there to help us during the process of this research and as for always helping with the
daily academic struggles.

The researchers would like to acknowledge and give thanks to our respective
family and friends that helped us in doing this research and by giving and providing
moral support to us when everything is not getting well for our group.

And lastly, we would like to acknowledge the people with depression as this
research is dedicated to those people, you are not alone in your struggles, you are not the
only one fighting this battle. We, the people around and the world are ready to help.
 Table of Contents

Dedication ........................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. ii
Chapter I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND ...............................................1
Introduction ............................................................................................................1
Backgound of the Study.........................................................................................1
Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................... 2-4
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................... 4-5
Assumptions........................................................................................................ 5-6
Significance of the Study .......................................................................................6
Scope and Limitations ....................................................................................... 6-7
Operational Definition of Terms ..........................................................................7
Statement of the problem......................................................................................7
Objectives of the study………………………………………………………...…8
Chapter II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Local and Foreign
Studies……………………………………………………………………….. 8-16
Local and Foreign Literatures ...................................................................... 16-33
Chapter III METHODOLOGY................................................................................ 33-34
Research Design
Sampling
Instrumentation
Methods and Procedures
Chapter IV PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ............................... 35-39
Chapter V SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................... 39-50

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 Chapter I
THE PROBLEM AND IT’S BACKGROUND

Introduction

Memes in the modern language is described as anything with dark or sarcastic humor to make
fun about anything of common social norms stereotypes. Memes are first born in the year 2003
in online forum boards like 4chan and 2chan(nii-chan) and is usually dark or sarcastic if not, it is
usually about anime or cartoons.
Memes with its original dark, sarcastic humor and anime/cartoon contents are born in an online
forum and is something that only geeks and nerds thing to an easily understandable entertaining
thing for the common people.
Social media on the other hand is a new form of communication born in early 2000’s like
Friendster however, social media is not only for communication purposes only as it evolved to a
diverse medium of entertainment and source of information with Facebook being founded in
2003 and is still the most popular social media platform today.

Background of The Study

Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel,
the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings
of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional
and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Depression has the following symptoms: sadness, anxiety, isolation, loneliness, lack of interest,
insomnia/hypersomnia, lack of appetite and lastly the most disturbing, suicidal thoughts.

Teenagers from 15-20 years old suffering from depression tends to stay online than interacting
with other people in real life.
In recent studies results shows that people with depression often finds the social media as a
temporary escape or therapy to their depression.
By staying in their own social media accounts, they find other people in the same situation like
them and talk, share their experiences and sympathize with each other and in doing so not only

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they do retain their communication and social skills that is often lost by most people suffering
depression but their feeling of anxiety and loneliness are filled because they feel a lot
comfortable in talking and sharing their experiences with people who also understands them and
there’s no threat of being judged by others which actually leads to the isolation of the people
suffering from depression.
Memes on the other hand is a way for depressed people to vent their dissatisfaction and suicidal
thoughts which ironically makes them more depressed but in doing so they’re suppressing the
thoughts of other people suffering depression like them and with the popularity of memes today
it also raises awareness about depression which is often a taboo to discuss.

Theoretical Framework

Beck's (1967) Theory

One major cognitive theorist is Aaron Beck. He studied people suffering from depression
and found that they appraised events in a negative way.

Beck (1967) identified three mechanisms that he thought were responsible for depression:

 The cognitive triad (of negative automatic thinking)

 Negative self-schemas
 Errors in Logic (i.e. faulty information processing)
 The cognitive triad has three forms of negative (i.e. helpless and critical) thinking
that are typical of individuals with depression: namely negative thoughts about
the self, the world and the future. These thoughts tended to be automatic in
depressed people as they occurred spontaneously.

For example, depressed individuals tend to view themselves as helpless, worthless, and
inadequate. They interpret events in the world in an unrealistically negative and defeatist way,
and they see the world as posing obstacles that can’t be handled. Finally, they see the future as
totally hopeless because their worthlessness will prevent their situation improving.

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 As these three components interact, they interfere with normal cognitive processing,
leading to impairments in perception, memory and problem solving with the person becoming
obsessed with negative thoughts

Beck believed that depression prone individuals develop a negative self-schema. They
possess a set of beliefs and expectations about themselves that are essentially negative and
pessimistic. Beck claimed that negative schemas may be acquired in childhood as a result of a
traumatic event. Experiences that might contribute to negative schemas include:

 Death of a parent or sibling.

 Parental rejection, criticism, overprotection, neglect or abuse.
 Bullying at school or exclusion from peer group.

However, a negative self-schema predisposes the individual to depression, and therefore

someone who has acquired a cognitive triad will not necessarily develop depression. Some kind
of stressful life event is required to activate this negative schema later in life. Once the negative
schema is activated a number of illogical thoughts or cognitive biases seem to dominate thinking.

People with negative self-schemas become prone to making logical errors in their
thinking and they tend to focus selectively on certain aspects of a situation while ignoring
equally relevant information.

Beck (1967) identified a number of systematic negative bias in information processing

known as logical errors or faulty thinking. These illogical thought patterns are self-defeating, and
can cause great anxiety or depression for the individual. For example:

Arbitrary Inference. Drawing a negative conclusion in the absence of supporting data.

Selective Abstraction. Focusing on the worst aspects of any situation.
Magnification and Minimization. If they have a problem, they make it appear bigger than
it is. If they have a solution, they make it smaller.

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 Personalization. Negative events are interpreted as their fault.
Dichotomous Thinking. Everything is seen as black and white. There is no in between.
Such thoughts exacerbate, and are exacerbated by the cognitive triad. Beck believed these
thoughts or this way of thinking become automatic. When a person’s stream of automatic
thoughts is very negative you would expect a person to become depressed. Quite often these
negative thoughts will persist even in the face of contrary evidence.

Conceptual Framework

The major concept of the study is focused on the factors affecting the behavior of
students suffering depression at St. Jude College of Dasmariñas.

Figure 1; shows the relationship of input variable which contain the extent of
school-related factors, friend-related factors and the extent of family-related factors. While in the
process contains the survey, data-gathering, data-analysis and data interpretation. And output
variables contain the analysis of school-related factors, friend-related factors and family-related
factors.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

SCHOOL-RELATED FACTORS Survey An analysis of school-related factors
Pile of school works Data Gathering An analysis of friend-related factors
Rushed deadlines Data Analysis An analysis of family-related factors
Pressure from the teachers Data Interpretation
Low grades
Bullying
FRIEND-RELATED FACTORS
Misunderstandings
Quarrel with friends

FAMILY-RELATED FACTORS
Personal issues

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FIGURE 1. A conceptual paradigm shows the relationship of depression in school-related
factors, friend-related factors and family-related factors.

Assumptions

The following are the null hypothesis for this research:

 There is a significant relationship between depression and school-related factor

 There is a significant relationship between depression and friend-related factor
 There is a significant relationship between depression and family-related factor
 There is a significant change in behavior and condition of the students suffering
from depression when engaged in social media and are occupied by memes.

Significance of the Study

The result of the study will merit the following:

Parents. The result of this study could serve as a reference to check the psychological
condition of their child based on their child’s performance if he or she is suffering from
depression.
Guidance Counselor. The result of this study could help identify the reason of astudent’s
sudden change in behavior if the said student might be a victim of bullying.
Teachers. The result of this study could help identify the reason for a student’s sudden
drop of academic and extracurricular performance if the said student.
Students. This study serves as an eye opener that depression exist and is not something
to be ashamed of and or something to be the reason shun other people suffering from
depression.
Future Researcher. The result of this study can serve as basis for further study on
depression and ways to recover or help people suffering from depression.

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Scope and Limitation
The subjects in this study is only limited to the students of St. Jude College of
Dasmariñas during the Academic Year 2018-2019 ages 15-20 years old, both male and female
but is applicable to any person suffering depression anywhere.

Determining the factors that causes depression and the effects of memes and
social media to alleviate depression was the focus of this research. The information will be
gathered using the checklist style researcher-made questionnaire. All information and
conclusions drawn from this study were obtained only to this particular group of students.

Operational Definition of Terms.

For better clarification and understanding of the terms related to this study,
the following terms are defined conceptually and operationally.

Depression. This refers to psychological disorder caused by sever feelings of despondency and
dejection.
Memes. This refers to an element of culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be
passed down form one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.
Norms. This refers to something that is usual, typical, standard or pattern, especially of a social
behavior that is typical or expected of a group.
Social Media. This refers to a website or application that enables its user to create and share
content or to participate in social networking.
Stereotypes. This refers to a widely hold but fired and over simplified image or idea of a
particular type of person or thing.
Sarcasm. This refers to a mark given by using irony in order to mock or to convey contempt and
dissatisfaction.

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Statement of the Problem

1.How many students consider themselves depressed?

2. Does memes makes you happy and smile when in a stressful situation?
3.How many teenagers uses memes to relieve stress?
4.Can you relate to ironic memes about depression?
5. Does communicating online makes it easier to talk about your problems?

Objectives of the Study

1. To know the number of students suffer from depression.

2. Determine if there is a relationship of memes to the depressed students.
3. To determine the number of teenagers who uses memes to relieve their stress.
4.To determine if they can relate to ironic memes about depression.
5.To know if they can communicate well through online about their problems.

CHAPTER II.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

FOREIGN STUDY
Social Media: Humor And Truth In Anxiety Memes

Reviewer Wendy Boring-Bray, DBH, LPC

Of all the wonderful, and maybe not so wonderful, gifts the internet has brought us in the last
two decades is the meme. This little tidbit of information is like an electronic postcard that
travels all over the digital world as quickly or slowly as those who view it choose to propagate it.

Memes are a way for us to share our thoughts, feelings, opinions, and humor with the world.
We can create original memes or just pass along ones that speak to us. We can view them and

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share them with all of our online friends, or just pass it to one or two of those we know to whom
the meme best relates.

Memes have been around literally since the dawn of the internet, but their popularity today is
due to the overwhelming malleability found in their very nature. Memes can be just pictures,
video clips, just words, or a combination of all three. They can be sent via email, text, chat, and
social media. They are easy to make, and a valuable tool for self-expression in an increasingly
multi-media saturated world.

Depression & Anxiety Memes

For those of us who struggle with heavy issues in our lives, memes can be an important tool for
self-expression. Among the millions of memes floating around on the internet, funny anxiety
memes are readily abundant in that mix. Memes allow those suffering from anxiety and
depression to poke a little fun at ourselves, to relate to others, and to help each other understand
the truth of anxiety behind the humor.

Coping With Humor

It's no wonder memes are so popular. After all, laughter is absolutely the best medicine; there's
no doubt about that. Numbers of scientific studies conducted in the last thirty years have
confirmed the many positive physiological benefits of humor according to Psychology Today.
The more we laugh, the longer we live and the less stress we feel on a daily basis.

Humor therapy is a real thing. Humor can be incorporated into official therapy sessions, or
prescribed as part of an at-home practice in de-stressing. Laughing about all of the funny and not
so funny things in life contributes to the immune system's ability to function, and combats stress
levels in our body.

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Humor has such a positive effect on our psyches; it can be used to reappraise upsetting events or
images according to a Stanford University study conducted on the effects of positive humor.
Lead researcher, Stanford postdoc Andrea Samson said, "If you can teach people to be more
playful, to look at the absurdities of life as humorous, you see some increase in well-being."

That's exactly what anxiety memes do. They allow those who are dealing with often crippling
effects of anxiety, to approach it with a bit of whimsy and frivolity. By addressing it in a
lighthearted way, they experience a little bit of relief, a lightening of the weight on their
shoulders.

The Importance of Storytelling

And while memes may not be the total anxiety cure, it can be part of the treatment. In a way,
memes are not just a joke on the fly, but can also be a way to tell one's story. Storytelling has
been an incredibly important component of all societies since the dawn of civilization.

According to a study conducted on the Agta hunter-gatherer population in the Philippines, "good
storytelling helps strengthen cooperation and fairness." These stories communicate social

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expectations, the moral principles that should be shared by the community such as the
importance of sharing, working together, or treating each other equally.

Storytelling increases empathy for those who bear witness, whether it be listening to the story or
reading the words. In a study published in Basic and Applied Social Psychology, researchers
discovered that people who read stories, mostly fiction, increased their empathy towards others,
especially for those who would be considered "outsiders."

While memes aren't quite fictional novels, they do tell a story. Anxiety memes are a powerfully
concise way of telling the world how you are feeling at a given moment or providing a little peek
into your daily struggles in an off-beat, humorous way. It is a way to tell your own story to
others, one snippet at a time.

The Relevance of Social Media

While the concept of the meme has been around for some time, its popularity has been propelled
forward by leaps and bounds by social media. The power of social media is immense. It can
spark social movements in a fraction of the time massive societal changes took to form in the
past, before the digital age.

It can divide us by highlighting all the differences we have with each other, subjecting ourselves
to judgment and disassociation. But, it can also unite us by gaining an appreciation for each
other's struggles and helping us all find common ground.

Above all, it serves as a lightning fast tool for communication that we can use for good or for
bad. Regarding relating to others, the use of social media to spread funny memes that let us find
humor in some of our biggest problems, helps us identify with each other and see that many of us
suffer from the same problems.

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The Power of The Meme

Why can funny anxiety memes be particularly useful for someone living with anxiety? Well,
many of us who deal with anxiety on a daily basis, particularly social anxiety, have a hard time
connecting with others much of the time. Humor is the great uniting factor. When we
laugh together, we automatically form a common connection. Humor has the power to
bring the most unlikely people together. We use it to poke fun at life and make it through tough
situations.

Social Interaction

We may feel so anxious about social interaction that we avoid it at all costs, thereby increasing
our sense of isolation. This turns into a never-ending cycle of negative talk because we can't get
ourselves to reach out and form the social bonds we want and need.

Social anxiety memes help us tell the world, "Hey I'm dealing with this, but I do want friends,"
in a funny way. They help those around us understand that socialization is harder for us, but not
unwanted. And, it helps them understand who we are behind the anxiety.

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Helping Others Understand You

Often people with anxiety are misunderstood. Some people may come off as stuck up instead of
shy, or rude instead of anxious. When we meet people, we may not make eye contact, or we may
run away instead of staying to make conversation. People understandably may misinterpret this
action as an affront, and take it personally. They may feel that someone who in reality is dealing
with intense anxiety, doesn't like them.

Memes are a way for anxious people to say, "Hey it's not you, it's me!" Sharing social anxiety
memes can let the world know how you're feeling on the inside when you are thrown into a
social situation. It can help others understand where you're coming from, and not take it
personally.

Feeling Connected

No matter what the subject, memes are a way to share with others and connect with those of us
who are like minded. Sharing a funny anxiety meme on your social media feed gives those of us
who are similar an opportunity to reach out with a like or a response to say, "Oh yeah, me too!".

By letting your online circles in on more about you, you can identify and deepen connections
with what would be otherwise casual online friends. Connecting with others, even in the most
superficial, virtual way, is one small step in decreasing those feelings of isolation caused by
anxiety.

Getting It Off Your Chest

One tried, and true method for dealing with any problem is to talk about it, or write about it - to
get it off your chest. That's what memes are great for, getting how you're feeling out, so it's not
just pinballing around inside your head.

It's a funny way of showing your online community what anxiety feels like, and in turn, it can
give you little temporary relief from those anxious feelings that plague you.

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Not A Cure

Sending out a batch of social anxiety memes will by no way cure you of your anxiety. But a little
humor, a bit of telling your own story, and communicating your feelings can help ease the
everyday burden of anxiety in a small way.

No matter how you choose to express yourself, whether it be by talking with others, journaling,
writing letters, sending memes, or finding meaningful forms of creation, make sure you have
tools available to you to help you cope with your anxiety.

While there is no definitive cure-all, you can always reach out to a professional to find out what
kinds of therapies and coping mechanisms will provide the most benefit for you.

And in the meantime, keep passing around those funny memes, anxiety focused or otherwise.

LOCAL STUDY

Filipinos flood social media with jokes and memes to look on the bright side

By: Dan Manglinong

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Flash floods, tangled traffic and soggy socks are a few things that make the rainy season a
miserable time for Metro Manila residents.

But some budding creative’s are keeping their cool and looking to the bright side by providing
memes and jokes for entertainment.

Memes for a rainy day

As Filipinos brace for another rainy day in the city, social media becomes the go-to avenue for
channeling one’s frustration.

Some are trying to keep cool even as the daily commute starts to look more like preparing for a
dangerous trek.

Some are sending their calls for divine intervention in meme form. This tweet meanwhile shows
how requests to LGU leaders can also be done in social media through memes.
This web comic by artist Sskait tries to show how even the sun has feelings and doesn’t like
being an option.

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Manila has seen intense rains and flooding with the onslaught of Tropical Depression Henry and
Tropical Storm Inday.

Memes and jokes of course are not enough to keep one going as the rainy season draws on.

The Department of Health has issued warnings about the dangers of leptospirosis, a deadly
disease that can be contracted from the urine from sewer rats.

To avoid leptospirosis, health practitioners advise avoiding wading in the floods. Should that be
impracticable, as may be the case for most commuters, wearing boots and maintaining
cleanliness may be the best line of defense.

Various health organizations have also cautioned against influenza, another common sickness
during the rainy season.

FOREIGN LITERATURE

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Depression memes are becoming popular as people learn more about what it’s like to suffer from
depression. With the growing awareness, some are even more comfortable talking about their
depression. Not only that, they’re finding fun ways to express what it’s like to suffer from
depression. Funny depression memes have become increasingly popular over the last few years
and are surprisingly accurate portrayals about what it is like to suffer from depression.

Depression Memes

We’ve put together 15 depression memes. Some of them are funny depression memes in that
they bring humor to a very serious mental health condition. See if you can relate to these memes
about depression.

Most people who suffer from depression go through a period of time in which they the need to
convince others that they are not depressed. Acting like everything is fine (putting on a fake
smile) takes its toll, but it’s something that is common for those who suffer from depression.

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This depression meme depicts the extraordinary amount of pressure on people to have everything
in life figured out. The reality is that at any stage in life, a person can feel lost. Those feelings of
not having a direction or ambition can cause a great deal of anxiety, which often leads to
depression.

When one is depressed, they feel very vulnerable. Depression causes a great deal of scary
feelings and because of that vulnerability, it can feel safest to cut yourself off from the world.

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While people mean well, without proper understanding and empathy it can be easy to give
misguided advice to a person who is depressed. This depression meme speaks to that. One of the
lies about depression is that if you just do things that make you happy, then you won’t be
depressed. Major depression is not just sadness, and there is no quick fix. It’s a mental illness.
Being patient, empathic and understanding of a person’s depression does more for a depressed
person than just trying to make him or her happy.

Depression can sneak up on you at any time. Even when everything is going well in life and
there are many reasons to feel content and happy, depression can rear its ugly head. That’s
because major depression is a psychiatric condition that has nothing to do with how much money
you have or how many parties you’re invited to.

Animals can be incredible companions and emotional support for people with depression.
Though not for everyone, having an animal that provides support and comfort can be very
advantageous for someone who is suffering from depression. Just keep in mind that animals are
also a huge responsibility, as you are responsible for the animal’s physical and mental health as
well.

If you have major depression, here’s a crippling depression meme I’m sure you’ll understand.
People with depression rarely show how they feel. Someone may look fine on the outside but is
hurting and suffering on the inside.

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When feeling depressed, it’s not uncommon for a person to isolate themselves from the world
and from the people who love them. It can be hard to believe that others want to be there for
them, even if they intellectually know there are people who care deeply for them and want them
to be well.

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Like the tree in this depression meme, people who suffer from depression often feel empty
inside. This can result from feeling numb, expendable, unseen, unheard or unvalued.

This is not a funny depression meme. Depression is painful, especially for children and teens
who do not understand what they are

going through. In this pain can come a strong desire to die or disappear; to not have to deal with
life or living.

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Part of the stigma of depression is people with depression are sometimes depicted as being lazy
and weak. While depression is a debilitating illness, even people who live with it sometimes
question themselves: “Is it the depression or am I just plain lazy?”

This funny depression meme may bring a knowing smile to your face because you understand
that insomnia, hypersomnia and sleep issues are common symptoms of depression. Depression
causes chronic fatigue, so no matter how much you sleep, you’re still exhausted during the day.

People with depression struggle to manage stress and anxiety. It’s hard to relax and to feel
comfortable. The depressed mind always finds a way to cause inner turmoil.

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Does this depression meme strike a chord with you? Depression has a way of generating the
worst negative thoughts about ourselves. Our minds focus on the negative and it takes a toll on
us. Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings, which increases the intensity of depression

symptoms. Habitual negative thoughts can turn to obsessive negative thoughts if not properly
challenged and managed.

This final meme about depression addresses anger as a symptom of depression. Depressed
feelings can often be masked by other emotions, like anger. Sometimes anger outbursts are
manifestations of deeper feelings of depression.
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LOCAL LITERATURE
LOOK: Lit Pinoy memes that have not disappointed so far this 2018
by: Tyne Villan

When it comes to local social media behaviour, Filipino netizens have proven that humour
persists even in serious times. These memes have captured the overall gist of Pinoy life and
have become somewhat of a “reflection” of how we react to certain issues, political or
otherwise. With a combination of wit, creativity, sarcasm and mind-blowing editing skills,
count on Pinoys to put fun even in news segments, movies, advertisements and viral
videos.

Here’s a compilation of this year’s memes, including their origins.

1. “Wala na, finish na”

In one of Aksyon TV5’s segments, 25-year-old Bethoven Delmar Jr was arrested for
attempting to rape a woman. When asked why he did such horrible act, he proudly
admitted that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Despite what
happened, Delmar was still thankful, “Swerte pa „ko kasi hindi pa si Duterte „yang
nakaupo. Eh kung si Duterte, wala na finish na.”

Now his line has been used as template for everything #relatable:

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2. “Advance ako mag-isip”

Albert Mangapit, a 25-year-old call center agent, was arrested during an undercover
operation against illegal drugs. Aside from flaunting his “wealth”, Mangapit said that
the act was done out of pure intention, and that is to help the Philippines.

“There‟s a lot of things you can do about the money from the Kush, 1.5 per kilo. I
can change the Philippines. I can run for politics. Advance ako mag-isip. Look at
Antipolo, how much is the land, land area of Antipolo? Unused. Good for farming
marijuana.”

Now it has been used in different relatable contexts:

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3. “Obyus ba?”

This one may not be as grave as the previous ones. An unidentified woman with her
child entered a private van and refused to get down despite making it clear to her
that the van isn’t for public use. When the driver asked her again to leave, the
woman seemed rather annoyed:

Girl: Bakit nang-iistorbo ka?!

Driver: Natutulog ka ba?
Ate Girl: Obvious ba?!

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4. “Bakit ako matatakot?”

Seized by the authorities due to illegal possession and discharge of firearm, a drunk
man named Jun Calumpiano dared president-elect Rodrigo Duterte to a gunfight.
“Duterte, mag-draw tayo! Bigyan mo ako ng baril, Sige, walang problema. Ba‟t aka
matatakot?!”

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5. Unique Salonga memes are… unique

Well even before Unique Salonga left the band IV of Spades, there’s no doubt about
the amount of attention he has been getting from his fans. However this attention
seems to have gotten a little bit far.

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6. Cardo Dalisay’s unquestionable immortality

Yes, even Cardo Dalisay spawns the funniest memes on social media!

So the question is: when?!.

7. Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo memes

Instead of getting furious about Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo being the newest
Speaker of the House, netizens just thought of a comical way to make the
situation lighter, and that is by way of memes!

Get you a girl who can do both?

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 GMA as your Jollibee crew or GMA as Shan Cai?

With all the things that have been happening in our country today, a little positivity
from these memes won’t hurt, right? Thanks to all the Pinoy meme lords who never
fail to seize a definitely meme-worthy opportunity.

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 Chapter III
METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The research was designed to know the number of depressed teenagers ages 16-18yrs.old
in St. Jude College of Dasmariñas Cavite and to prove that memes especially the social
media can be used as a therapy to subdue the effect of depression.

Locale of the study

This research was conducted at St. Jude College Cavite, located at Salitran IV,
City of Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Sampling Technique

This study used random sampling so that the result for effects of memes and social
media to escape depression of Grade 11 ICT students of St .Jude College of Dasmariñas
Cavite is fair.

Respondents of the study

The respondents of this study are the Grade11 ICT students of St. Jude College of
Dasmarinas Cavite, sixty(60) students participated in this research.

Instrumentation

The instruments used to perform this research are various online references and studies
and a researcher made questionnaire in a yes or no format.

35
Methods and Procedures

This research was done by searching from various online and offline references
and by doing a survey by having the respondents from the ICT answer a researcher made
questionnaire.

Chapter IV
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

MEMES AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO ESCAPE DEPRESSION

YES NO

1.Do you consider yourself depressed? 30 30

2.Does memes makes you happy and smile

when in a stressful situation? 58 2
3.Does memes really helps you to relieve your stress? 56 4
YES NO

4.Can you relate to ironic memes about depression? 54 6

YES NO
5.Does communicating online makes it
easier to talk about your problems? 58 2

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1.What is the demographic profile of students?
Table 1.1 presents the demographic profile of students in terms of age and gender of the Grade
11 ICT students in St. Jude College.

Table 1.1
Distribution of respondents by Age

15-16 6 10% 2
17-18 50 83.33% 1
19-20 4 6.67% 3
Total: 60 100%

90%
AGE
80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
15-16 17-18 19-20

15-16 17-18 19-20

As revealed by the table above-majority of the respondents are in the age between 17-18 which
comprise of eighty-three-point thirty three percent(83.33%) or fifty, ten percent(10%) of the
respondents were in the age of 15-16 or about six(6)respondents. Meanwhile, there is six-point

37
sixty-seven percent(6.67%) of respondents were in the age of 19-20 or about four(4)
respondents. It is evidently seen that those who belong in the age of 17-18 are the one who
commonly use memes and social media to escape depression.

Table 1.2

Gender of the Respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage Rank

Male 22 36.67% 2
Female 38 63.33% 1
Total 60 100%

In terms of gender, it could be gleaned from the table that female have the majority number of
respondents which is thirty-eight(38) where the percentage is sixty-three(63%) as rank 1 and,
rank number 2 for male who got twenty-two(22) respondents which is thirty-six(36%).This
showed that female students of St. Jude College are the one who uses memes and social media
the most to escape depression.

Table 2.1

Summary of Responses of the Respondents

1.Do you consider yourself depressed?

OPTION PERCENTAGE
YES 30 50%

NO 30 50%
TOTAL 60 100%

38
2. Does memes makes you happy and smile when in a stressful situation?

YES PERCENTAGE
58 96.67%
NO PERCENTAGE
2 3.33%
TOTAL 60 100%

3. Does memes really helps you to relieve your stress?

YES PERCENTAGE
56 93.33%
N0 PERCENTAGE
4 6.67%
TOTAL 60 100%

4.Can you relate to ironic memes about depression?

OPTION PERCENTAGE
YES 54 90%
NO 6 10%
TOTAL 60 100%

39
5.Does communicating online makes it easier to talk about your problems?

OPTION PERCENTAGE
YES 58 96.67%
NO 2 3.33%
TOTAL 60 100%

Chapter V
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

 Teen respondents from ages 17-18 years old tends to suffer from depression, then
people aging from 19-20 years old has the lowest frequency of people suffering
from depression.
 Females tend to suffer more from depression than males.
 The number of depressed people form non-depressed people are just about the
same.
 All respondents use social media and have their own social media account.
 All the respondents know about the existence of memes.
 All of the respondents use social media networks for entertainment purposes.
 Majority of the respondents understand that a certain meme is about depression
and can somehow relate to it while the remaining minority of the respondents
don’t understand and or can’t relate to memes which concerns depression.

CONCLUSION

40
 In this research the researchers was able to provide a proof that memes and the
usage of social media can be used as temporary substitute for a therapy to subdue the effects of
depression and as a follow up therapy after a proper medical treatment to on a recovery from
depression.

RECOMMENDATION

The study’s central focus is the lived experiences of teenagers that has depression, who uses
memes and social media to escape depression the recommendations were based on the summary
of findings and the conclusion of the study.

For Parents
1.That they will understand the attitude of their children.
2.That they will understand the problem of their children.

For Teacher

1.That they will be aware on the student’s condition.

2.That they will be careful of their words towards the students.

For Depressed Teenagers

1.That they will not let the sadness take over them
2.That they can express their feelings through social media.
3.That they will cope negative criticisms against them

For Normal Teenagers

1.That they will not judge, the teenagers that has depression
.2. That they will support and cheer up the teenagers who has depression.

41
Future Researcher
1.That they will know the difference between depressed and non-depress students/teenagers.
2.That they will greatly benefit from this research study.

APPENDIX

INFORMED CONSENT

STUDY TITLE: MEMES AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO ESCAPE DEPRESSION

DATE: MARCH 15.2019

Greetings you are invited to participate in a research study conducted by the student
from ICT-3 Grade 11 of the Saint Jude College Dasmarinas Cavite

We are asking you to take part in this study because we want to know the effects of
memes and social media to escape depression.

Your Participation is voluntary and would consist of an interview with the use of voice
recorder which will be an instrument to help transcribe and analyze your answers,and will
only take for more or less than 15 minutes, defending on the length of our conversation.

There is no anticipated risk to your participation and any information obtained in

connection with this study that can be identified with you will remain confidential. The
information collected about you will be coded using a fake name (pseudonym) or initiate
and numbers (e.g. abc-123). The information which has your identifiable information will
be kept separatedly from the rest of your data.

You will receive a gift for your participation. You will be given a copy of this form.

If you have any question about this research study , please contact

42
 Jane Mary N. Badiang-09391649158 or facebook.com/janemary04

Approved by: Katrina Perez

Sincerely,

Jhon Edward S. Aldave

Jane Mary N. Badiang

Cholo Marcus S. Getes

Gerald D. Quiazon

Justine T. Evangelista

Co-researcher’s Parent/Guardian
Signature Signature

43
 CURRICULUM VITAE

LAST NAME: GETES

FIRST NAME: CHOLO MARCUS

MIDDLE NAME: SALVA

GENDER: MALE

DATE OF BIRTH: FEBUARY 02, 2001

PLACE OF BIRTH: BACOOR, CAVITE

AGE: 18

SCHOOL: ST. JUDE COLLEGE OF DASMARIÑAS

STRAND/ABSTRACT: ICT

44
LAST NAME: EVANGELISTA

FIRST NAME: JUSTINE

MIDDLE NAME: TORRE

GENDER: FEMALE

DATE OF BIRTH: JULY 05, 2000

PLACE OF BIRTH: SAGALA, CAVITE

AGE: 18

SCHOOL: ST. JUDE COLLEGE OF DASMARIÑAS

STRAND/ABSTRACT: ICT

45
LAST NAME: ALDAVE

FIRST NAME: JHON EDWARD

MIDDLE NAME: STA. ANA

GENDER: MALE

DATE OF BIRTH: MARCH 17, 2002

PLACE OF BIRTH: DASMARIÑAS

AGE: 16

SCHOOL: ST. JUDE COLLEGE OF DASMARIÑAS

STRAND/ABSTRACT: ICT

46
LAST NAME: BADIANG

FIRST NAME: JANE MARY

MIDDLE NAME: NAVALES

GENDER: FEMALE

DATE OF BIRTH: SEPTEMBER 01, 2001

PLACE OF BIRTH: TALABA, CAVITE

AGE: 17

SCHOOL: ST. JUDE COLLEGE OF DASMARIÑAS

STRAND/ABSTRACT: ICT

47
LAST NAME: QUIAZON

FIRST NAME: GERALD

MIDDLE NAME: DELOS SANTOS

GENDER: MALE

DATE OF BIRTH: JULY 19, 2002

PLACE OF BIRTH: BACOOR, CAVITE

AGE: 16

SCHOOL: ST. JUDE COLLEGE OF DASMARIÑAS

STRAND/ABSTRACT: ICT

48
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., & Harrison, R. (1983). Cognitions, attitudes and

personality dimensions in depression. British Journal of Cognitive

Psychotherapy.

Aaron T. Beck is one of the leading clinical theorists of the last half century. Coming of
age at a time when dynamic theory was monolithic and psychoanalysis the dominant
method of treatment, he began his career by seeking to confirm the primacy of
unconscious motivations and ended up formulating a theory of disorder that emphasized
the role of inaccurate beliefs and errors in thinking that were largely accessible to
conscious introspection. This novel cognitive theory led him to formulate principles of
change that he codified into a cognitive therapy that has become one of the most widely
practiced and best empirically supported interventions in the field today (DeRubeis &
Crits-Christoph, 1998). Beck has been the recipient of numerous honors and is the only
psychiatrist to have received research awards from the American Psychological
Association, the American Psychological Society, the American Psychiatric Association,
and the Institute of Medicine. He has lectured throughout the world and was named one
of the most influential psychotherapists of all time by the American Psychologist(July
1989). Perhaps the capstone of his career came when he received the Lasker Award, the
nation’s most prestigious medical prize (New York Times, September 17, 2006). In
announcing the award, Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, the chairman of the Lasker .

REFERENCES

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/anxiety/social-media-humor-and-truth-in-anxiety-
memes/

https://www.healthyplace.com/depression/effects/15-funny-depression-memes-people-
with-depression-can-relate-to

49
https://pop.inquirer.net/55999/look-lit-pinoy-memes-that-have-not-disappointed-so-far-
this-2018?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed
https://www.google.com/amp/www.interaksyon.com/breaking-
news/2018/07/20/131001/filipinos-flood-social-media-with-jokes-and-memes-to-look-
on-the-bright-side/amp/

50