SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IN
GRADE 11 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Myca Liezel Vyn Nicole P. Princess Cindy V. Eduave
Barnachea 11 – Aspiration
11 – Aspiration Cagayan de Oro,
Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
Philippines Eduave.PrincessCindy@g
barnacheamyca@gmail.co mail.com
m
Abstract— This research study aimed to explore the effect
of social engagement on senior high school students’ school
lives and how social media and social media-altered
socialization impacted their quality of learning and
academic performance. This study breaks down the different
effects of social media on the school lives of senior high
school students in terms of their social engagement and their
learning quality. The research employed a qualitative
approach, applying a phenomenological research design
through in-depth interviews with five (5) randomly selected
senior high school students in Grade 11. We conducted a
thematic analysis to analyze the data collected as verbatim
responses and identify common themes and patterns.
Participants reported that social engagement helped with
their school lives. More findings showed that social media
influence on how students interacted with their peers and
teachers showed a positive to little impact on their academic
performance.
Keywords— social engagement, social media, social media-
altered socialization, senior high school students, academic
performance
I. INTRODUCTION
According to existing and official studies, social media
and social engagement affect students' academic
performance, either positively or negatively, depending on
how and for how long they use it. However, if not used
efficiently, and social media is used for entertainment most
of the time, it harms students' academic performance. The
study's objectives are to learn about the effects of social
media use on students' social engagement and why social
media-altered socialization affects students' academic
performance.
This study transpired at the University of Science and
Technology of Southern Philippines' Cagayan de Oro City
branch, with the Grade 11 students as participants. This
study is significant because of the issues associated with
social media usage and social engagement, which affect
student performance by causing them to be unable to focus,
fail to complete tasks on time, and become distracted.
According to observations, students who spend more time
on social media than on their studies fail their exams
(Osharive, 2015). Another finding was that social media
addiction harmed students' mental health and academic
performance (Hou et al., 2019).
SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT IN GRADE 11 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Kate M. Sencero Princess Faith C. Vidal
11 – Aspiration 11 – Aspiration
Cagayan de Oro, Cagayan de Oro,
Philippines Philippines
Sencero.Kate405@gmail.c vidal.princessfaith@gmail.
om com
Too much social media use by Grade 11 students, such
as Facebook, can harm their health and academic
performance. Some exploratory studies found a negative
effect on productivity and task performance in students with
a high Facebook presence (Canales et al., 2009; Kirschner &
Karpinski, 2010) and can lead to addiction because the sense
of failure caused by school stress can lead to a craving for
validation, which is obtained easily through the
aforementioned social media platform. Teenagers addicted
to Facebook stay at home all day, miss out on recreational
activities, and have issues with their academics and social
lives (Masthi et al., 2015).
II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Social media platforms unite people from all over the
world, providing an opportunity for social engagement.
However, social media can be detrimental to academic
performance. The impact of social media and social
engagement on students' academic performance has been a
subject of interest for scholars in the educational sector. This
review examines the influence of social media, social
engagement, and the combination of both on students'
academic performance.
Nti et al. (2021) found that social media usage during
class has a negative effect, while Barton et al. (2021) found
that frequent use of social media can lead to lower grades.
Additionally, Kwok et al. (2021) found that addiction to
social media and smartphones is associated with poor
academic performance and a lack of sleep. Moreover, Kolan
and Dzandza's (2018) case study found that excessive use of
social media can cause distraction and loss of focus, leading
to poor academic performance.
Bowden et al. (2021) found a weak link between
student and institutional success, while Lei et al. (2018) and
Delfino (2019) found a positive correlation between student
engagement and academic achievement. Conversely, Xerri
et al. (2021) concluded that promoting positive relationships
between students and teachers would positively influence
student engagement. Furthermore, Li and Xue's (2023)
meta-analysis revealed that promoting students' learning
engagement and class participation can improve academic
performance.
Gulzar et al. (2021) found that students' creativity and
academic engagement are positively related to their use of
social media, while Hossain et al. (2020) found that frequent
use of social media negatively affects academic
performance and mental health. Accordingly, Akakandelwa
and Walubita's (2018) study found that social media use can
be addictive and lead to stress, while Abdelraheem and
Ahmed (2018) found that moderate use of mobile social
network applications can have a positive impact on students'
social lives and motivation to participate in school activities.
However, Manu et al. (2021) found that social media can be
a learning tool and enhance classroom learning.
III. OBJECTIVE/PROBLEM/ RESEARCH QUESTION
Students that heavily use social media or seem to be
using the internet excessively experience problems like
being distracted, losing focus, and procrastinating, which
can hinder them from performing well academically. In
addition to this, low and poor social or student engagement
experienced by students can lead to them having a hard time
approaching their teachers or fellow students about
something academically-related, can influence the
participation of the students negatively, and can not nurture
positive relationships between fellow students and teachers,
which also contributes negatively to the academic
performance of the students. The combination of the
mentioned factors also affects a student's studies since it
motivates them to do their work or the complete opposite.
This study explores the effects of social media, social
engagement, and social media-altered engagement on
academic performance.
The findings of this study can help guide future
research and inform the effects of social media and social
media-altered engagement on a student's academic
performance. The study specifically seeks to answer the
following questions:
1. How does social engagement affect a senior high
school student's school life?
2. How does social media influence an individual's
social engagement with others?
3. Does social media-altered engagement affect a
student's academic performance?
IV. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This study employed a phenomenological research
design. As cited in the work of Smith (2013),
phenomenological research design studies phenomena or
individuals’ experiences. It is qualitative research approach
used to understand and describe a phenomenon through the
personal narratives of individuals. The research involved in-
depth interviews to learn about and explore the views and
experiences of Grade 11 senior high school students about
the effects of social media and social engagement on their
academic performance. The data collected from the
interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis,
specifically conventional content analysis.
V. RESEARCH SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND SAMPLING
METHOD
Research Setting
The study took place at the Cagayan de Oro campus of
the University of Science and Technology of the Southern
Philippines. It is a state university filled with senior high
school students. The interview setting consisted of the
participants’ designated classrooms or any preferred area
where they felt comfortable enough to share their
experiences.
Participants
The participants of this research study were the target
population of the research study, Grade 11 students from the
Cagayan de Oro branch of the University of Science and
Technology of the Southern Philippines.
Sampling Method
The researchers of this study used random sampling to
find willing participants from the Grade 11 students present
at the time in the CDO branch of USTP. The random
sampling method, also known as probability sampling, is a
sampling technique that ensures every sample has an equal
chance of being selected as a representative of an entire
population. This sampling method allows for unbiased data
collection that lets studies arrive at conclusions without bias.
The randomly chosen participants received interviews for 5
minutes at most. Conclusions were based on the gathered
data afterward.
Inclusion Criteria
1. Must be currently studying in USTP
2. Must be a Grade 11 Senior High School student of USTP
3. Must consent to be interviewed
On the other hand, the following criteria to exclude
participants:
Exclusion Criteria
1. Not currently studying in USTP
2. Is not a Grade 11 Senior High School student of USTP
3. Does not consent to be interviewed
VI. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The researchers used individual interviews as a
research instrument, a type of interview method conducted
one-on-one. This interview method lets the participant
answer with fewer distractions.
Shown below is a sample of the set of questions used in
the interviews:
 Table.2. Emerged Theme for Interview Question 2
Interview Questions:
Codes Categories Theme
What are the effects, positive or not, that you have
experienced in your interactions with your classmates and
teachers? Finds lessons Lack of self- Self-control
boring, would control failure
Does social media distract you or make you
rather go on
procrastinate? If so, please describe your experience/s.
Facebook,
procrastinates
Does usage of social media influence how you interact
with your teachers and classmates? If so, please describe Social media
your experience/s. distracts from
academics, social
media is
The interview consisted of open-ended questions used addicting,
as tools by the researchers to allow for a more flexible surrounded by
response. As such, close-ended questions were followed up social media,
with open-ended questions to gather in-depth information procrastinates
from the participants’ particular experiences and
perspectives, transforming the initial questions to a more Distracted,
qualitative approach. procrastinated

VII. DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND FINDINGS Distracted by

internet,
This research study shows the findings of the gathered unmotivated,
data from one-on-one interviews, which is the primary data procrastinates
source in this study. This research phase involved the
thematic analysis, where the main themes came from Depends on Self-control
highlighting similar phrases or keywords and categorizing mental state, not
codes from the verbatim responses of interviewees. easily distracted,
rarely
Table.1. Emerged Theme for Interview Question 1 procrastinates
Codes Categories Theme
Table.3. Emerged Theme for Interview Question 3
Codes Categories Emerging
Academic Social effects Socialization theme
motivation gained benefits
from friends
Social media life Improves Varying
After regular is directly related academic Impacts
classes more open to relationship performance
and comfortable with classmates,
to voice out no connection
opinions with with teachers -
classmates, more keep teachers out
inclined to really of social media
engage during life, positively
discussions of affects academic
teachers performance

Sharing ideas with Learning Communicate

friend helps with them if
studies having troubles,
Gained improves
information from performance
interactions, not
unaware Usually affects Does not affect
with classmates, academic
overthink what is performance
much

said in GCs and
teachers. Not
totally; becomes
distracted - can’t
say that it greatly
impacts
academic
performance
Not really
affected
Theme 1 – Socialization benefits
Different codes were extracted from varying viewpoints of
the participants’ responses and the theme that emerged is
positive contributions. This theme has emerged due to the
experiences of the responses regarding the effects of social
engagement.
“For positive, I mean self-explanation, me and my friends
we’re really close together. We do a lot of things together
and that really makes me happy and freshen up my mind
and so in turn, I’m very motivated, I get very motivated to
do academic activities.”
“Like naa ko sa social media mag overthink ko so morag
dili gyud siya totally na ano.. unless siguro na comportable
nako na person like regular nami ga sturya ana. Siguro
when it comes to classmates, I became more open and like
comfortable to voice out my opinions while sa teachers, I
felt more inclined to really engage myself during
discussions.”
The responses of respondents show that student engagement
is positively influenced by positive relationships between
students and teachers, which relates in the conclusion of
Xerri et al. (2021).
“Yes kay maka-gain ko ug info sa ilaha, dli ka makuan kay
unaware bitaw ka.”
“I would say na nakatabang sila sa akong studies kay we
have each other baya as I said earlier sa among studies and
then we ano connect ideas and coming up on solution aning
mga ano ano mga problem namo.”
Theme 2 – Self-control failure
Nearly all respondents stated that they get distracted and
procrastinated because of being on social media when asked
if they are distracted and procrastinated due to using social
media.
“If I were to be honest, yes, because I would like to, why
would you choose diba, would you prefer to just stay and
study boring lesson, or would you like, go to Facebook,
share memes or watch videos. Most people including me
would choose that option, so yes. I am the embodiment of
procrastination in everything I do.”
“I would say yes, social media is distracting towards my
academic work. The reason why is because it's easily
Addicting to me. And so when I just go to, like social media
and just watch whatever I want, yes. Like it's in my phone,
right? And when I study, I also use my phone or my
computer and both of that also has social media. And so
when I just go procrastinate and just go to, like social media
and just watch whatever I want, yes.”
“Really depends onsa ang akong mental state ana na time.
OK, I think when like like I consider myself like na time na
normal na healthy na balance gyud akong huna huna di
man noon ko ma distract easily kanang ma set nako akong
priorities…. Ayy mag stop sako ani dilis a ko mag cellphone
kay no buhaton sa nako ni siya.. then if daghan kayo
buhaton ma set ra gyud akong mind… I think aahhh moa
bot siya na time na ma distract ko kanang im not mentally
stable, feel nako I’m not in the mood in ana kay I prefer
dayon na mas syada ma distract sa phone sa video sa phone
kay buhaton nako ang studies kay ma wal-an ko og gana.
Yes, but rarely especially if daghan buhatonon.”
“Yes, yes every time. Honestly yes, pero kabalo nako nga
kuan, yes na sya, pero gagamit gihapon ko.”
“I would say na distracted ko intern, intern pag naa ko sa
interns home because I kind of feel ano aahh not motivated
much when let's see, naa tay online class in ana like I feel
not motivated so like I do a lot of procrastination in, in, in,
in another time. So yeah, I would say na I need. I would say
I procrastinate during when I'm home, when I have free time,
I actually study first or like mga one hour lang if dili ko ko
mag study na kalimot lang ko like I want to relieve my stress.
Yeahh, during na night ra pod mga from 7 to 10 in ani ma
tulog na dayon ko.”
The respondents reported to be distracted, addicted, and
have procrastinated because of social media, like how the
study of Kolan & Dzandza (2018) and Akakandelawa and
Walubita (2018) found that students are distracted and
addicted when excessively using social media.
Theme 3 - Varying Impacts
In regards to the participants’ social media usage, while
some said that their engagement did not impact their
learning quality much, some said it improved their
performance.
“Yeah, I definitely think my use of social media affects my
interactions with my fellow students and teacher. And
particular with the students because the memes I share, the
messages, the jokes I said is really to my friends and my
classmates. So thought that we share the same humor, the
same mindset and the same with making jokes about things,
we’re seeing same things. So with that because my social
media life is directly related to my relation with my
classmates. It brings it in the school even when we’re in
school we still say those jokes. We see the interest together
and so again it cost my morality. And for the teachers, I
don’t have really, i can’t really think there’s a connection,
so ako kay my relationship is very, very good but like not
really because of social media or they have not been
problems with social media because I keep them out of my
social media life, my social life. I really don’t include my
teachers, strictly as a student-teacher basis. Like I said last
time, I, truly for some reason, it positively affect my
academic performance because it helps me deload when my
brain constantly working.”
“Yes, kung maglisod ko, mag-communicate gyud ko sa ilaha.
It improves my performance as well.”
“Yes, siguro kay makaaffect siya kay katung gi ingon nako
ganina mas like sometimes like ga overthink ko sa akong gi
pangyawyaw sag gc, or sa akong ga pang sturya or sa
akong teachers even... kana ganing mangutana ta sa teacher
gani kailngan pata og script kay kuan baya like dili ka sure
if respectful ba siya paminawon so gina overthink nimo ang
everything so mana I think ang effect sa ako ahh. Not totally,
like ma distract ko pero like makabalik ra gyapon ko so dili
ko maka ingon na dako siyag effect… specially you know
kuan kay ko sa akong studies so dili ra gyud totally maka
affect ang social media sa ako.”
“Like… dili man kayo affected kaayo yeah.”
The studies of Gulzar et al. (2021) and Abdelraheem and
Ahmed (2018) supports the statements of the respondents,
where their engagement is positively related to their social
media usage.
This study explored the experiences of Grade 11 Senior
High School students, and identified three (3) themes that
were the effects of social media, social engagement, and
social media-altered engagement on learning quality. Each
theme are analyzed through further exploration. The
findings show that social engagement gives positive
contributions (Theme 1) to students, especially Grade 11
Senior High School students. However, social media is
found to be addicting which made the respondents
experienced addiction and distraction (Theme 2) and
procrastinated on their studies. It is also found that despite
social media affecting students’ engagement, it still had
little impact (Theme 3) on the learning quality. The
recurring themes found in the findings of this study showed
the experiences of the participants and the effects of social
media, engagement, and social media-altered engagement
on their learning quality.
VIII.CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In conclusion, Grade 11 senior high school students’
social engagement aided school life because the students
maintained positive relationships with their peers and
teachers and approached them about school-related issues.
However, because social media is addictive, it prevents
them from focusing on their studies which negatively affects
their quality of learning. Moreover, the students stated that
social media changed how they interact with their teachers
and classmates, but mostly with their classmates. And lastly,
the students said their social media-altered socialization had
little impact on their academic performance.
It is recommended to conduct more research studies
about how social media-altered socialization affects the
academic performance of students. Additionally, more
research studies about how engagement with teachers
affects academic performance should be done, since most of
the respondents stated that only their engagement with their
classmates significantly affected their academic
performance.
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