USABILITY OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN

GOVERNMENT OFFICES

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL

2022
Volume: 6
Pages: 459-465
Document ID: 2022PEMJ450
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7486212
Manuscript Accepted: 2022-25-12
Psych Educ, 2022, 6: 459-465, Document ID: PEMJ450, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7486212, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Usability of Social Networking Sites in Government Offices

Jerson T. Valiao*
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.

Abstract
The study aims to determine the extent of the usability of social networking sites in government
offices. The descriptive method of research utilizing a researcher-made instrument was used to
gather quantitative information. Good and Scates validation form was used to validate the instrument.
Validity score was 4.7 interpreted as outstanding. For the reliability of the instrument, Cronbach
Alpha was used. The alpha value was 0.913 interpreted as reliable. The frequency and percentage
distribution, weighted mean, Mann Whitney U and Kruskall-Wallis were used to analyze data.
Respondents of the study were the 281 government employees of Kabankalan City. The findings
indicated that majority of the respondents were female aging above 35 years old. Most are LGU
personnel, position are indicated as casual employee. In social networking sites, Facebook is the most
visited. The extent of usability of social networking sites in government office varied significantly in
DepEd department, where sex are males aging 35 years old and below. There was a significant
difference on the level of social networking sites in government office in a form of communication in
terms of department and position.
Keywords: usability, social networking sites, government offices, kruskall-wallis, mann whitney u

Introduction
Social Networking is a practice of connecting people,
business and organizations through the use of social
networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, and
forums. According to Finet (2018), the observed trends
in social networking sites are focused on the
Generation Z instead of the Millennials. The oldest
Generation Z is at 22 years old. According to Mateo,
Department of Information and Communication
Technology stated that “Social media has become an
integral part of the public and personal lives of civil
servants”. In addition, the guidelines, rules and
regulations must establish by the organizations on the
safe and productive use of social media (Mateo, 2017).
Department of Information and Communication
Technology (DICT) website on October 10, 2017
stated that, stricter rules will imposed to prohibit civil
servants on the activity through the use of social media
such as making comments without government
approval, disclosure and/or to prejudice the interest of
the public. (GOVPH, 2017).
Due to the prohibition of social networking sites to
civil servants, we all know that social networking sites
still exist in government offices especially during
office hours. In this case, some questions have their
existence. Did social networking sites don’t have use
and value inside the government office? Did civil
servants really do not use social networking sites
inside the office? So, the objective of this study is to
know and reveal the use of social networking sites
inside the government offices, whether they use it in
terms of transaction or in terms of communication.
Research Questions
The study is focused on the usability of social
networking sites in government offices in Kabankalan
City. Definitely, it sought to answer the following
questions:
1. What is the profile of government employees of
Kabankalan City when grouped according to:
1.1. age;
1.2. sex;
1.3. department; and
1.4. position?
2. What is the social networking sites used in
government offices of Kabankalan City
3. What is the extent of the usability of social
networking sites in government offices of Kabankalan
City when taken as a whole and when grouped
according to the profile variables and in terms of the
following purposes:
3.1. government communication; and
3.2. government transaction?
4. Is there a significant difference on the level of
usability of the participants when taken as a whole and
when grouped according to the aforementioned
variables?

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Research Article
Literature Review
Social Networking Sites as form of Communication
Social networking sites as communication in
government in terms of education, Scott (2015), social
networking sites helped teachers connect with
students, and at the same time students connect with its
classmates and enable to share valuable information.
In Philippine government; according to Karakiza
(2014); social media can change the communication
between citizens and the Government that decisively
contributed to public administration transformation.
According to Russell (2017); social media is now the
voice of democracy where citizens can express freely
their opinions towards the issues that surround the
government.
In terms of public issues and concerns, according to
the report of ABS-CBN on April 26, 2015, the
government agencies such as Armed Forces of the
Philippines and Law enforcement have now tapped
with social networking sites to gather evidences easier
against suspected perpetrators especially in a case
against cybercrimes.
Social Networking Sites as Transaction
In government transactions, according to Alipala
(2017), some cities in different regions prohibit the use
of social networking sites in their offices however in
Zamboanga City, Philippines under Department of
Labor and Employment regional office encouraged
their employees to use social networking sites during
office hours for receiving transactions with their
citizens. According to Vermeren (2015), to build
influence, men gather information they need through
social media. Meanwhile, According to Rouse; the
actual application of social networking is expanding
the number of social connections through
individuals. (Rouse, social-networking, 2016).
According to Saheed (2016), social networking sites
revolutionalized the public relations of the
government. He said that it is recommended to the
local government to be fully equipped with the
materials and personnel needed to integrate the local
government activities.
According to Russell (2017), the study about social
media that was commissioned by the American
Congressional Management Foundation in year 2015,
they found that 76 percent of American policymakers
enabled to have meaningful interactions through the
use of social networking sites.
Jerson T. Valiao
Usability of Social Networking Sites
Vermeren (2015), adult women are more expressive
and willing to share their thoughts and they are
biologically wired for social networking. A national
survey in March 7-April 4 with a total of 1,520 adults
in America, finds that Facebook continues to be most
popular social networking sites (Greenwood, et al,
2016). However, According to Mei-Pochtler (2018);
group of men were the biggest Facebook user ages are
between 18 and 24 years old followed by 25 to 34
years old based on the global Facebook users survey
on January 2017. According to Valdez (2011),
Facebook is one of the most social-networking sites
used widely. It is used by people all over the world for
chatting, sharing pictures, etc. In addition, according to
the report of ABS-CBN on January 25, 2017,
Facebook followed by Whatsapp, Youtube, Tumblr,
Instagram and Twitter has the most number of active
users monthly with over one billion social networking
sites users. In terms of time spent; according to Camus
(2017), the Filipinos spent 4 hours and 17 minutes per
day on using social networking sites. In addition,
according to Mediakix (2016), sending too much time
of using social media appears not only in the
Philippines but also in other countries as well. In U.S
and Canada, their people spent more time in using
social networking sites than watching television.
According to McLuhan (2017), the common social
media sites that people use nowadays naming
Facebook and Whatsapp are leads our way to tap in an
easy and cheapest way of making communication with
the ones we know and also for the strangers.
Methodology
The descriptive research was used in the study.
Descriptive research is a process of data collection that
aimed at casting light on arising problems or on
current issues that enables them to completely describe
the situation. Moreover, it is used to describe behavior
and/or characteristics of sample population.
(Dudovskiy, 2004)
The researcher used descriptive research because its
main target is to get the personal point of view of the
local government employee about the extent of the
usability of social networking sites in government
offices of Kabankalan City. Having their views about
the communication and transaction may help the study
to reveal the real value of social networking sites in the
government offices.
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Psych Educ, 2022, 6: 459-465, Document ID: PEMJ450, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7486212, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Participants the questionnaire, they are going to inform about the

In this descriptive study, a total of 281 number of
respondents from two different government offices
which is LGU Kabankalan City and School Division
Office of Kabankalan City (DepEd). Sample size taken
from LGU Kabankalan City is 240, while a total of 41
respondents are coming from DepEd Kabankalan City.
research, its purpose, the outcome of the research, and
also the confidentiality of their data as necessary. All
of the results were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted
through research statistical tools recommended by the
data analyst expert.

Table 1. Distribution of Respondents in the usability of Results

social networking sites in government offices of
Kabankalan City
Respondent’s Profile

Table 2 presents the profile of government employees

of Kabankalan City as respondents in terms of age,
sex, department and position. Respondents’ profile is
one of the important aspects to get individual
performances on the usability of social networking
sites in government office of Kabankalan City.
Instrument of the Study
Table 2. The profile of respondents in Usability of
The main tool that was used by the researcher to gather Social Networking Sites in Government Offices
data is a researcher-made survey questionnaire. The
questionnaire was used to assess the usability of social
networking sites in government offices. Researcher-
made survey questionnaire has 3 parts. Part 1 is
composed of the profile of respondents; it includes
his/her name (optional), age, sex, designated
department/offices (LGU or DEPED) and position.
Position option includes Head (Salary Grade 18-24),
Rank-in-file (Salary Grade 1 - 16), Casual/Contractual
and Co-terminus.

Part 2 includes the Social Networking Sites used by

the respondents (Facebook/Messenger, Twitter,
Youtube, Instagram, Linkedin, Whatsapp, Viber,
Tumblr, Google+ and Pinterest).

Part 3 of the survey questionnaire composed of 2 sets,

15 questions for Set A (Communication), and 15
questions for Set B (Transaction). Each questions
statement may be rated as very high extent (5), high
extent (4), moderate extent (3), low extent (2), and
very low extent (1).
Procedures
After the validity and reliability of the research
instrument were established; the researcher sent a
letter to the office of the City Mayor of Kabankalan
and in Schools Division Office of Kabankalan City to
conduct the research. After the approval of the
authority, survey questionnaires were distributed to the
respondents of the study. But before that, the
respondents were given instructions on how to answer
The results show that; majority of the respondents are
females, aging 35 years old above. Most of them are
from LGU department and current government
positions are casual employees. Based on the findings
of Vermeren (2015), Women are more expressive and
willing to share their thoughts and they are
biologically wired for social networking. In addition, a
national survey in March 7-April 4 with a total of
1,520 adults in America, finds that Facebook continues
to be most popular social networking sites.
(Greenwood, et al, 2016)
Kinds of Social Networking Sites used in
government offices

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Psych Educ, 2022, 6: 459-465, Document ID: PEMJ450, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7486212, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
Table 3 presents the top 10 list of social networking
sites that are commonly used in the Philippines by the
government employees is an important aspect to
determine what social networking sites are applicable
to use inside the government office of Kabankalan
City.
Table 3. Social Networking sites commonly used by
government employees
Based on the result, it shows that Facebook has many
users. According to Valdez (2011), Facebook is one of
the most social-networking sites used widely. It is used
by people all over the world for sharing pictures,
chatting, etc. In addition, according to the report of
ABS-CBN on January 25, 2017, Facebook followed
by Whatsapp, Youtube, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter
has the most number of active users monthly with over
one billion social networking sites users.
The Extent of the Usability of Social Networking
Sites in Government Offices
Table 4 presents the extent of the usability of social
networking sites in government offices of Kabankalan
City is an important aspect to determine the capacity
of government communication and government
transaction through the use of social networking sites.
Jerson T. Valiao
Table 4. The Extent of Usability of Social Networking
Sites
The results show that; the average score based on
communication and in transaction has high usability to
the respondents whose age are 35 years old and below
than those respondents whose are above 35 years old.
According to Mei-Pochtler; group of men were the
biggest Facebook user where ages between 18 and 24
years old followed by 25 to 34 years old based on the
global Facebook users survey on January 2017. (Mei-
Pochtler, 2018). While; in terms of sex male use social
networking sites more often as government transaction
and communication than females. According to
Vermeren (2015), to build influence, men gather
information they need through social media.
In terms of department it is found more often in DepEd
than in LGU. According to Scott (2015), social
networking sites helped teachers connect with
students, and at the same time students connect with its
classmates and enable to share valuable information.
In terms of position, the results show that; the average
score based on communication has high usability to
the respondents whose position is office head and high
usability in transaction whose position is casual.
Usability of Social networking sites in government
offices result of findings proves that more government
employees are using it for communication; the actual
application of social networking is expanding the
n u m b e r of s o c i a l c o n n e c t i o n s t h r o u g h
individuals. (Rouse, social-networking, 2016). In
addition; according to Karakiza (2014); social media
can change the communication between citizens and
the Government that decisively contributed to public
administration transformation. Moreover, according to
Russell (2017); social media is now the voice of
democracy where citizens can express freely their
opinions towards the issues that surround the
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Psych Educ, 2022, 6: 459-465, Document ID: PEMJ450, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7486212, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
government.
The Significant Difference on the Level of Usability
of Social Networking Sites in Government Offices
Table 5 presents an examination of the results of
significant difference test using Mann-Whitney U test
for mean differences in terms of age, sex and
department which contains two independent groups.
While, Kruskall-Wallis test is used for the different
position which contains more than two independent
groups.
Table 5. Significant difference on the level of usability
of social networking sites
Based on the result, there are significant difference
both in terms of department and position with the
variable communication; however, the rest among
respondents profile and variables are found not
significant.
Discussion
A total of 281 respondents are government employees
41 from DepEd and 240 from LGU Kabankalan City.
The results showed that the majority of the
respondents ages above 35 years old which are
females. Most of them are casual employees under
LGU department. When it comes to social networking
sites, Facebook is the most visited and commonly used
by the respondents followed by YouTube and
Google+; on the other hand some social networking
sites have few users like Tumblr, LinkedIn and
Whatsapp.
In usability of social networking sites, when referring
to its purposes which are the communication and
transaction, 35 years old and below are the
government employees who use social networking
Jerson T. Valiao
sites as medium and means of government
communication and for government transactions where
most of them are males. In department, DepEd uses it
mostly than with the LGU’s. In position, office heads
are commonly used social networking sites in terms of
communication but in transactions casual employees
are most benefited to it.
Furthermore, the results revealed that the mean
differences of the level of usability of social
networking sites in government offices through
communication when grouped according to age and
sex were found not significant. In addition, the mean
differences through transaction when grouped
according to age, sex, department and position found
not significant. The significant difference was found
on the level of usability of social networking sites in
government offices through communication when
grouped according to department and position.
Conclusion
From the results and findings of the study, the
following were reasonably concluded: (1) Based on
the findings of the study in usability of social
networking sites, Therefore it was been concluded that
females are more active than males. In government
office more employees that are above 35 years old are
using it and the existence of non-permanent employees
is higher than the regular employees. (2) For different
kinds of social networking sites, some employees use
more than or equal to two social networking sites.
Therefore it was concluded that the social networking
sites which are known and used commonly by
Filipinos are Facebook, YouTube, and Google+. (3)
The level of usability of social networking sites in
government offices, therefore, concluded as useful in
terms of different ages, sex, department, and position
of the social networking sites user. (4) Generally,
so cial n etwork ing sites as a go v ern ment
communication and government transaction, therefore,
concluded that was been used inside the government
office.
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Affiliations and Corresponding Information
Jerson T. Valiao, MPA
West Visayas State University
Himamaylan City Campus, Philippines
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