Theoretical Background

This study is anchored on Linda Flower’s Social Cognitive Theory of

writing. This theory emphasizes the influence of society on the product of

the cognitive process which is writing. She argues that social expectations,

discourse conventions, and the writer himself can be voices and forces that

affect writing. This theory emphasizes the idea that these forces (society and

self) create the hidden logic behind student writing.

Social cognitive theory of writing projects the idea that writing is a

constructive process that is influenced in a complex environment not only by

the personality and attitude of a writer but also the society and people

surrounding him or her. Flower believes society and cognitive processes are

influential to writing and its development (Costello et al., 2015).

Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory supported the theory

above. This theory states that social interaction plays a fundamental role in

the development of cognition. Hence, it is very essential for an individual to

be careful of his or her environment. For Vygotsky, progress appears twice.

It first happens between people and within the child. Aside from that, this

theory emphasizes that cognitive development is dependent on the zone of

proximal development of a child. If children are engaged on social

interaction, the said development can be attained. (Culatta, 2018).

 Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory argued that cognitive

development is the result of a complex interaction between environment and

heredity. The theory is projecting the role of social interaction in the

cognitive process’ development such as problem-solving, self-regulation,

and memory (Bohlin et al., 2012).

Another theory that supports the anchored theory is Albert Bandura’s

Social Learning theory. Learning can be a product of watching someone

perform some actions from the environment through the process of

observational learning. It is also acquired through direct observations and

experiences which include imitation and modeling (Bee, H. and Boyd, D.

2015).

Social Learning Theory emphasizes the idea that we learn from our

interactions with others in a social context. Bandura believes that imitation

involves a product which is an observable motor activity. The theory points

out the concept that by carefully selecting the environment, we can influence

what we become (Nabavi, 2012).

These theories proposed the idea that society plays a role in the development

of any person. Social media is part of the environment that most people are

living in. Therefore, it also may influence them in many ways as well. If
society can be a factor that affects the cognitive development of a child,

therefore, even his writing skills can also be affected. Since writing is also a

product of social interaction, his or her writing ability is dependent on how

and where he interacts.

Writing is becoming an increasingly important skill in today’s world.

The need for mastery of this skill is a must, especially in the progressing

world. According to Wax (2018), to improve the writing ability is also to

enhance the thinking skills in constructing arguments and framing issues in

compelling ways. Therefore, being able to write gives improvement to

students, regardless of the field they find themselves. Most importantly, to

write well gives an opportunity for an individual to put a mark on the world.

Though the fluency of an individual in writing is a must, the mastery of the

said skill is difficult to attain due to the following considerations.

First, grammar. Grammar is one of the broadest topics to learn and to master

in the field of writing. For some students, grammar covers a broad range of

rules as well as injunctions such as: never start a sentence with because,

never end your sentence with a preposition, don’t use first person, don’t use

passive voice, avoid fragments, use I instead of me and who instead of

whom, and so on (Denham, K. and Lobeck, A., 2014). These details proves

that grammar is a complex topic to master and the mastery of it takes a lot of
effort. Despite the prevalence of writing in our daily lives, proper grammar

is neglected.

Next is mechanics. The mechanics of writing includes capitalization, correct

spelling and proper use of punctuations. According to Scaros (2016),

incorrect spelling and the improper use of punctuation can be the source of

confusion. The readers you have maybe left guessing what you are trying to

convey. For Nicole Frederick (2015), writing would not be writing without

the rules that shape words and string together sentences into a fluent

paragraph and comprehensive arguments. We use these rules by sending text

messages, writing essays, producing business reports or whenever we update

Facebook status.

Additionally, these following mechanics are essential in organizing and

putting the main points together to form a good composition. Therefore, in

providing well-composed written material, the need for proper use of such

tools is needed (Nordquist, 2017).

Lastly, the structure of writing. According to Arnaudet and Barrett (2018),

well-written paragraphs flow logically from one idea to the other. Most

essays have three parts. These are the introduction, the body, and the

conclusion. The first part includes the topic sentence and other supporting
sentences. After the introduction, the body of the paragraph follows. It

discusses the controlling idea which uses facts, arguments, analysis, and

examples. Lastly, the conclusion is the final part that summarizes the

information written in the body. These parts should have a logical

connection between the main idea and its supporting details.

Apart from the considerations mentioned above, the researchers seek for

several factors affecting the writing skills of an individual. One of which is

Age. According to the statement from World Education News Reviews

(WENR), the required age range of Senior High School students are from 16

to 18 (Macha et al., 2018). In accordance to the age requirement, it is clear

that the ideal age to be in college is from 18 to 19. Knowing that the students

from the Senior High School already experienced the two additional years, it

is expected that by the age of 18 or 19, they have mastered one of the macro

skills which is writing.

Another factor is gender. Gender differences and self-perceptions help

an individual shape their competency. There are various competency

perceptions in male and female. In general, males prefer more in enhancing

their physical ability, appearance and math ability. They strive for

stereotypically masculine areas and usually enroll themselves in programs

like science, engineering, mechanics, and athletics. On the other hand,

females engage themselves more in reading, verbal skills, and social

relationships. This is why they are more interested to enroll in programs

such as nursing, library science, education, and law (Daniels, D. and Meece,

J., 2008). Therefore, gender can be a factor that influences the academic skill

of a student, especially in writing.

The number of social networking sites joined and the number of hours spent

on those sites are also the factors. A report from CNN News (February

2018), states the data from the 2018 Global Digital Report that there are

more than 67 million Filipinos who spent almost four hours on social media

every day in 2017 up until January 2018. Among all social media, Facebook

stayed as the most social media platform in the world with more than 2

billion users. In regards to the data mentioned, if an individual spent most of

their time in social media, then, this may affect his writing skills.

A study conducted by Tessa Strain-Moritz (2016) in St. Cloud University

entitled, “The Perceptions of Technology Use and Its Effects on Student

Writing,” sought to explore the effects of specific types of technology use on

students’ writing and achievement in secondary level. The different

perceptions coming from the teachers and as well from the students are

gathered in this study. These perceptions were about the effects of

technology use in writing. It concluded that a great deal about technology’s

effect on writing concerns in the area of plagiarism, effort and writing skills.

Even though technology has some good effects in developing writing skills,

it is still a must that the proper use of technology should be taught

comprehensively to help students write appropriately.

Another study conducted by Marwa and Sabrina (2017) in Algeria seeks the

impact of social media on student’s academic writing in the Department of

English at Tlemcen University. To make the study valid, 20 male and 20

female respondents were given questionnaires. The results obtained were

analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. It revealed that texting impacts

their writing proficiency.

A study conducted in Bangladesh entitled, “Influence of Social Media in

Writing and Speaking of Tertiary Level Student,” by Anika Belal (2014),

showed that digital social media has positive and negative effects in the

writing and speaking of tertiary level. This study includes a sample of 16

teachers and 160 students from 5 Universities and 3 Public Universities. A

survey questionnaire was used to collect data from the students while a

semi-structured interview questionnaire was for collecting data from

teachers. The analyzed results from the gathered data showed that even

though social media has positive effects in writing and speaking of students,

it is also has negative influences. Students tend to use a short form of words,
incorrect grammar and sentence structure of their formal writing and

speaking.

Jose Cristina M. Parina and Kristine de Leon (2013) conducted a

study entitled, “The Significance of Language Exposure with Writing Self-

Efficacy and Writing Apprehension of Filipino ESL Writers” which

investigates the relationship of English Language exposure, writing

apprehension and writing self-efficacy of 64 college students from De La

Salle University of Manila. The study uses three sets of Likert Scale type of

questionnaires namely: language exposure questionnaire, writing

apprehension test and writing self-efficacy in writing scale to 64 students (24

males and 40 females). These questionnaires were administered inside a

classroom during their English Communication class. The data were

gathered and analyzed using Pearson R. The results revealed that language

exposure plays a role in the writing self-efficacy and writing apprehension of

students. Hence, the writing skills of the students will be negatively affected

if they are exposed to poor language environment.

Thus, several studies revealed that social media negatively affects the

writing skills of the students. These effects include poor grammar, spelling,

and inappropriate use of words. The bane of social media to writing unable
the students to write proficiently. Therefore, too much involvement of social

media leads to the decline of good writing.