1 FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION TRANSCRIPT

2 Interviewer: Good afternoon! My name is Neil Raver Balmes and I will be facilitating the
3 discussion this afternoon. This is Christian Albao and he will be taking notes and helping me.
4 Thank you so much for taking the time to be here today. We will conduct an interview about our
5 research about exploring the role of social media on GenZ identity and Self-expression and we
6 are interested in finding out from you what you know about the role of social media on GenZs
7 identity and self-expression. This information will be anonymised and will be treated as
8 confidential. If at any point you do not want to continue participating in this discussion, you are
9 free to leave the group and we will no longer be asking you any more questions. The information
10 discussed today will help us to understand the role of social media for GenZs identity and self-
11 expression.

12 We would like to record this discussion. Even though we will be taking notes, we are not able to
13 write everything down and want to be able to go back and listen to any information we might
14 have missed. All notes and the recording will be kept safely and securely. Is everyone okay with
15 recording this conversation? (They all agree through answering yes) We ask that you please take
16 turns while speaking and do not interrupt anyone. We are interested in what all of you have to
17 say, so please be respectful of each other’s opinions. This discussion will last about 45 minutes.
18 Before we begin, does anyone have any questions? They don’t have any questions.

19 Dodong (R1) Pedro (R2) Linda (R3)

20 Isabela (R4) Brenda (R5)

21 Interviewer: What are some common ways you express yourself on social media?
22 R1: Some common ways that I use enable to express on social media is through the use of
23 shared post. So, we are aware naman na kun ano it shared post diba so through posting and
24 through post, shared posting and posting sugad ha mayda niyo dump account, ngadto kamo
25 nag rarant you are able to express what you feel bagat na lelessen bat kuan mga sugad.
26 [noise]
27 R2: Common ways to express yourself in social media is syempre pag post hit aton mga
28 nangyayari ha atun buhay tapos it common ways talaga nga gin gagamit it social media pag
29 eexpress it ira talaga mga daily lives/ daily activities. [noise]
30 R3: I usually express myself on social media using [noise] just like what the other said shared
31 post or usually notes on messenger. [noise]
32 R4: [noise] Ako liwat dire gud ak into social media like mayda ko mga shared post pero only me.
33 [noise]
34 R5: Kuan ako usually man gud it akon the way ko express tak sarili is through humor, I rarely
35 share, rarely la talaga ak na sharedpost or na use, actually on my other account I’m really
36 active there pero in my main but in my main dire gud ak nagkukuan kay dire ak expressive
37 tak emotions or feelings pero in my other account mas kuan ak didto kay like mas it akon
38 makakakita hit ak mga post is mas magegets nira tak mga life situations kumbaga.
39 Interviewer: How social media platforms help you share your thought and feelings?
40 R1: [people chattering] Ha notes kay ha notes manla ak dire naka only me [noise] nae-express ko
41 hiya pag ano like dire gud ak na nagamit hin direct na language nga kuan nga amo tun tak
42 nafefeel na emotion like ada kita ha emoticon or ha iba nga language.
43 R2: [noise] On social media, helps me a lot to share my thoughts and feelings kay kun ha social
44 media kasi bagat mas na eexpress ko in a way nga bagan natatype ko tak mga thoughts pero
45 kun in real life kasi bagat it’s hard to explain asya through social media bagat mas
46 napapadali pag express tak emotions ngan thoughts. Tapos so we being a keyboard warrior,
47 mas mas oo mas napapadali ko gihap it bagan in a way bagan in some way na kukuan mas
48 na puput into words ko it akon mga na fefeel kaysa gin didirectly ko ginyayakan tas indirect
49 man gud ako so bagat if ha if ha if through social media ako nag rarant or something like
50 nag eexpress dire gud sugad ka dramatic kay gin hahaluan kun sarcasm sugad hiton
51 (laughing)
52 R3: Ah social media helps a lot because it becomes a gateway tas bagan express way kasi hiya
53 pag pag share hin thoughts and feelings without without the fear of being being
54 misunderstood aw namrahaw puyde ka gad ma misunderstood pero compare kasi ha in real
55 life mas mas dakot tendency na misunderstood ka tas ha it social media kasi bagan bisan ka
56 mag ano, mag ano ngada mashashare mo, kaya mo ma share bisan bisan pa waray may naka
57 gets tim humor puyde kala gihap magshare so amo ito amo tak na kukuan nga it social
58 media bisan ikaw nala it naka gets tim jokes, ikaw nala it natawa (noise) so helpful la gihap
59 hiya.
60 R4: [noise] Dakot bulig talaga hit social media na makag express hit akon feelings kay usually
61 there are unsaid feelings na makuri nat ipagawas, normally [noise] normally in real life so if
62 there are some cases na ma feel mo gusto mo magshare pero waray ka mashashare-an adat
63 kuan hmmm social media.
64 R5: [people chattering] how social media platforms help you share your thoughts and feelings, so
65 social media platforms help me share my thoughts and feelings uhmm I, for me, I use social
66 media as a way to cope my kuan sugad if ever nga nag gusto ko mag isog or gusto ko
67 iggawas ig vent out tanan na ak anger any unsaid feelings nga adi haakon I use social media
68 to do that, with that bagat na lelessen bagat naiibanan bat bugat pag na kukuan mo even
69 though nga danay waray man na react sugad hiton ikaw lat nakaintindi yakan pa pero as
 70 that since nga social media you were able pero na kukuan manla gihap bagat nae eexpress
71 mo la ba it bagat importance you were able to express regardless of anything so yeah okay.
72 Interviewer: What are your experiences with making social media in a way of self-identity
73 and self- expression?
74 R1: So, for me, ha kadamo man gud it mga posts ha social media about their own perspectives ha
75 life iba-iba na mga kuan bagan mas nawiwide-an iton ak knowledge ngan bagan mas na
76 kikilala ko tak kalugaringon nga ano whats wrong with this kuan nag kaka ada ak aw
77 nakakag develop ak hin bago bago na perspective time to time nga nag titikadamo tak
78 nakikitan nga kuan nga post ha social media i think beneficial inin hiya haakon para ha self-
79 improvement ngan pag biling tak kalugaringon self-identity kay may often often times huh
80 aw often often times kasi uhmmm tak pinanshashare is this sometimes dire dire direk naka
81 relate or sometimes sugad may trip ko la trip ko la tapos may time liwat na gin kukuan ko ha
82 social media for me to express my situation and life so sometimes dire ko ghap nakukuan
83 kun ano tak tak tak (laughing) tak oo tak sarili. [noise]
84 R2: For me, para liwat ha akon i i i disagree nga it social media to be made as made iton ba nga
85 way hiya hit self-identity and self-expression aw na dire ak na kuan ay ba bagan slightly na
86 vent ako ha more on dire ka pag kuan kay for me haakon it social media ngan in reality
87 puyde hiya ma alter iton ba nga so the social media kuan ka hin malipayon ka hin duro tas
88 aw singon natun ha social media extroverted type ka pero ha ha ha reality ngay an kuan ka
89 hin hin hin introvert ka so i think social media can be can be a way of self-identity and
90 self-expression because iton liwat magiging way hiya hit self-identity and self-expression
91 because due to people in real life dire hira natatagan hin chance ig express it ira sarili tas
92 kun anot talagat ira nararamdaman.
93 R3: As for self identity i don't think that kuan nga meda ko ghap experience nga na kuan na influ
94 aw dire mayda gad influences pero dire gad na influence an akon mismo identity so mayda
95 la instances danay nga diba danay pag nakita kitan mga post nga ay naka relate ak hini
96 sugad hini iton nga kuan bagat nakukuan nim kun ano ka ba talaga sugad ba hiton through
97 with that nga bagat mas nagiging kilala mo tim sarili bagat yeah and ha self-expression as
98 mentioned kanina diba aaa ha social media (laughing) bagat na eexpress mo kun ano tim
99 humor kas ano ka ba talaga sugad mag papatawa ganon tas kun ano la tim mga mga gusto ig
100 kuan sugad gusto mo ba ig vent out ganun tas na eexpress nim kas kun ano kaba sugad hiton
101 it mga shared post diba it iba nga tawo makita tim social media account mayakan ay sugad
102 ngayn ini hiya sugad ngani ito nga mas nakikilala kapa nga kun ano ka through the use of
103 social media parang ganon.
104 R4: Di di di ko gud nagagamit it social media as a way of self-identity since gingagawas ko gud
105 ngadto tak hini nga pagkatawo most of the time pero dire talaga hiya naka alter tak self-
106 identity as meda ko na talaga iton
107 R5: Ako liwat ewhh he ako maaram ak dire ak into kuan [noise] dire man hiya naka influence
108 haakon ha self-expression ngan self-identity ha social media like kun ano ak ghap ha
109 personal amo ghap tak gin papakita ha social media [noise]
110 Interviewer: How has social media influenced the way you communicate with someone
111 compared to traditional methods?
112 R1: [noise] Uhhh....social media talaga influenced the way I communicate with someone
113 compared to tranditional methods.... uhhh ha personal ha traditional methods kase ha
114 personal life dire ak natatagan hin chance to practice it because most of the time I'm with the
115 same group of people so bagan wray ngada kuan dire ko naprapractice it how I can
116 communicate with someone I bagat dire ko gud kilala.....so I think social media kay ha
117 social media kase puydi kaman makig-chat or makig-interact bisan dire nim kilala so...so
118 Ithink social media is a great practice to communicate with someone specially to someone
119 you dire ka gud familiar.
120 Interviewer: For follow up question, it social media pano nakaaffect haimo, in a positive
121 way or in a negative way?
122 R1:Uhhhhh.... like I said kanina I think social media help me positively with how I can
123 communicate because through social media I can practice how I can communicate with
124 someone nga bisan dire ko hiya kilala bisan.... like kaka-friend pala nam.. ha socmed la
125 kami magkilala pero nakikigistorya la ghap ak so I think it is a great practice for me... so
126 when I try traditional methods dire naak maninibago bisan dire ko kilala tak kaistorya
127 mayda kona idea how I can communicate..because that is the influence of social media... In
128 a way wray maka apekto haak it social media since nag ..... ummmm ano ini ... nagstruggle
129 talaga ako hit communication...in real life pero not in a way na kuan socially acquired
130 mayda ko man ghap mga close friends na waray problema hit communication... so
131 makayakan ak na it social media waray maka-apekto haakon...with communication
132 (Continuation of answers in question 4)
133 R2: It social media umm... actually does not affect on how I communicate with someone in
134 traditional method...so I know by the fact nga in personal, mapa-personal man I am capable
135 of communicating, but not in through na mga deep feelings, sugad na mga engagement la,
136 mga sangkay-sangkay. I am able to do that bisan pa mag-kakafriend pala kami tas
137 magcomment hiya tak mga post, rereplyan ko kay nadire ak na ma-awkwardan hiya [noise]
138 same goes in personal, pag may magkuan haak ginbabaton ko ghap same attitude la han ak
139 binuhat ha socmed dire ba nagcocontradict . But for some deep feelings, I have hard time in
140 communication regarding to my feelings . I am not able to express on how I feel danay, like
141 special someone danay, sugad nagkaka-misunderstanding dire gud ak nakakag-express kun
142 ano tak gusto iyakan. With the use of messenger and new kuan social media influences kaya
143 ko lugod mabutang didto ha words, kaya ko mayakan ha words if ever na sugad hiton mga
144 intimates na mga bagay..... so amo tun...
145 R3: Ako liwat, dire hiya nakaka-influence fudge it pagcommunicate hit social media....ha...
146 pero....like diba yana.... ha school...ha messenger... ha imo classmate...kuan ha feeling, pero
147 like kun ha ano.... like kun ha damo na tawo it ither friends na dire mo talaga kilala in real
148 life dire talaga ak nakig-socialize ha social media (laughing) even ha traditional methods ..if
149 dire kilala then no!..(laughing)
150 R4: Uhhhhh..... ha social media ngan traditional methods, iba kase tak persona oo kay
151 personality between ha social media and traditional methods.....kay kun ha social media
152 bagat if dire.... dire kita close tas nakikitan niyo tak mga pinankukuan ha social media.....itun
153 ngadi ma dire niyo nakikitan nga sugad ngayan ak.....if dre kita close in person napapausa
154 nala nga hala sugad ngayan ini hiya kay another thing liwat ha traditional methods...kun
155 nakikigcommunicate ak in person may sometimes na dire ak dire ko maexpress tak mga
156 mayayakan compared ha social media ngan kaya ko dayon maexplain or mayakan tanan naak
157 thoughts....asya la....
158 R5: So an akon kuan communication abilities nakabubulig dinhi na part madako an social media
159 [crunch] first of all damo it critiques ha social media tapos when we’re viewing different
160 kuan ngadto opinions syempre time to time mas nagiging self-conscious ak so mahihibaro ak
161 kun aanhon ko ini when in terms of kuan,...tapos mas friendly man gud ak ngan interactive
162 ha social media bagan na syempre..... ammm ...awwww....ehhhhh....emm. Specially han time
163 han pandemic puro la social media mas han hadto na time nakagyakan ak na nakag-improve
164 nak communication abilities pagbalik han F2f kay nakahibaro al ngan mas naginself-
165 concious ak an mga... kun aanhon ko pagdara hin conversations.....
166 Question 5: What advice can you give to social media users to have a positive environment?
167 R1: To create a positive environment my suggestion or tak advice ha mga kuan other other
168 people who were using social media do not love or ayaw gud igkuan it iyo sarili ha social
169 media more on more bagat kuan like pakig kuan gihap in real life, dire gad na ginkukuan ko
170 nga diba it iba nga tawo ginkukuan it social as a coping mechanism but you don't need to
171 uhmmm bagat ig buhos tanan dida tim effort or tim time kay kay maaram man kita using
172 using using social media there are other mayda pros and cons in using that. Some it pros and
173 cons we all know naman it na mga cyber bullying or it na mga cyber kuan, other thing is
174 naruruba tat mata so more likely balance it balance using it. May advantages hiya yes but
175 there are some disadvantages so we need to take care some of it. [noise]
176 R2: So, I think to have a good environment all throughout the usage of social media is to use, is
177 to actually use social media as a as a stepping stone to [noise] what we can do in internet. So
178 kun baga be good ha social media para para tim kuan maging good gihap hira haimo.
179 R3: Para mayda natun positive environment..... Ayaw kita pag denulge ha into kuan kun mayda
180 natun disagreements ayaw kita dayon pagkukuan hin context, maupay gin pag iiristoryahan
181 anay before kita magkuan magyakan hin dire mag upay against this someone or whatever
182 [noise] know your limits [noise]
183 R4: Tak advice na mahahatag through pano maging aw pano mag deliver hin positive
184 environment ha social media is uhmm do not ahhh believe everything na adtu ha social
185 media and just like what other other respondents say is pakig kuan gihap ahhh in real life, in
186 person tas hin if if you are interacting if ever you are in interacting in social media uhmm
187 spread also a o positivity. That's all.
188 R5: [noise] Kuan tak mayayakan la, kuan ayaw ngadto Twitter. [noise]