Nature And Importance Of The Study

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

INTRODUCTION

Nature and Importance of the Study

Social networking has existed ever since society began (Barabasi, 2002). Human beings have always sought to live in social environments. But the internet has produced online social networks" (SNS) where users can stay in-touch with one another (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008, p. 13.)

The proliferation of SNS and their pervasiveness in everyday life is affecting how Western societies manage their social networks. In less than five years, these sites have grown from a niche online activity into a phenomenon through which tens of millions of Internet users are connected, both in their leisure time, and at work (Lenhart& Maddan, 2007).

With SNS such as MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook users have access to a wide directory of user populations relevant to their interests, create profiles, upload specific contents and get recommendations and updates on people and events (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008). Facebook communities afford its members faster and smoother exchange with a bigger and more varied group of people (Young, 2011). Online SNSs, hence, support both the maintenance of existing social ties and the formation of new connections or Social Capital which allows people to gain access to other social actors' resources (Knoke, 1999).

Many students these days who are transplanted from their homes to a new environment use social network sites to connect with their family, friends and classmates in an almost real-time manner. For example, Ellison et al. (2007) found that Facebook use is closely related to the formation, maintenance, and bonding of social capital. However, there seems to be a lack of study about this here in our country. Based on this assumption, this study will find out the extent of VSU college students’ use of social network sites to build, maintain and bond social capital among respondents and learn their motivations in using social network sites. Determining the effects of SNS use is important to understand the potential benefits that VSU college students could get from it.

Objectives

Determine the extent of use of social network sites to build, maintain and bond social capital among respondents

2. Find out respondents’ motivations in using social network sites

3. Find out the socio-demographic profile of the respondents

4. To determine the relationship between background characteristics, motivations and use of social networking sites, and build, maintain and bond social capital.

Scope and limitation of the study

This study will concentrate on the respondents’ motivations for using social networking and their extent of use of social network sites to build, maintain and bond social capital. It will only be conducted among college students of the Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines. The results of this study, however, could be different from other schools and other student groups.

Time and place of the study

The study will be conducted in VSU at Visca, Baybay City, Leyte in February 2013.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this social media era, most students, if not all, are exposed to social networking sites. As of October 2012, Facebook had a billion active users (Vance, 2012). Internet users have increased from 20.6 million in 2008 to 360 million in 2012 (Internetworldstats.com, n.d.). In the last few years, online social networking sites like Friendster and Facebook have become common destinations for young people in the Philippines and in many other countries. Out of one billion Facebook users, 30 million were from the Philippines becoming the 8th largest Facebook user worldwide (Socialbakers.com, 2013).

Social networking sites offer technologies which support a wide range of interests and practices. Users can log in anywhere, create profiles, help strangers connect based on shared interests, political views, or activities, publicly expressing their relationships with other users, uploading photographs and videos, and exchanging comments. A number of studies conducted provided perspectives on the use of SNS, people’s motivations to use SNS, building of social capital with SNS and the interaction between usage, motivation and socio-demographic characteristics.

Social Networking and its Functions

Social networks enable social interaction. According to Wellman (2001), social networking increases users’ interpersonal connectivity and organizational involvement. Despite the argument that Internet use weakens an individual’s social capital because it reduces the face-to-face time with others, a number of researchers claimed that SNS may supplement or replace in-person interactions, mitigating any loss from time spent online (Wellman, Haase, Witte, & Hampton, 2001). Thus, internet users may also improve both their socialization and communication skills.

Richter and Koch (2008) proposed six broad functionalities of social networking, specifically, identity management, expert finding, context awareness, contact management, network awareness, and exchange. As stated by Richter and Koch (2008), the first function of social networking is the management of identity information such as in profiles and group memberships. The second function involves searching for an expert in the social networking sites to gain knowledge about a certain topic. This can be based on different criteria such as name, interests, and company. The third function refers to the awareness of a common context with other people in the social networking sites. This can be information about common contacts, common interests, and the same university one has visited or the same company one has worked at. The fourth function deals with the maintenance of the personal network such as tagging people and access restrictions to profile. The fifth function has to do with the awareness of the activities or the current status of the contacts in the personal network such as news feeds and birthdays. The last function refers to the exchange of information directly or indirectly through photos or messages through bulletin boards.

In parallel to this, Kietzmann, Silvestre, McCarthy and Pitt (2012) proposed seven functional building blocks that can be used to understand social media. These are identity, groups, relationships, reputation, presence, conversations and sharing.

At the moment, social networking sites have been very popular among celebrities, businessmen and politicians (Rannie & Smith, 2012; Chadda, 2010; Griffith, 2011.) As a matter of fact, celebrities now cross the threshold of social networking to promote themselves, and connect with their fans. Most of them use twitter to "tweet" their current statuses, activities and promote their upcoming shows, concerts and their endorsed products as well (Chadda, 2010). Politicians, likewise, had their own websites and social network accounts or pages for online campaigning for the duration of the 2012 presidential elections. Given the rapid population growth of social network users, politicians use social networking sites for cyber campaigning to reduce their promotional expenses (Rannie & Smith, 2012). Likewise, businessmen use social networking to promote their products and lessen their advertising expenses (Griffit, 2011).

Social network sites are not only for socialization, communication, political campaigning and advertising. According to Lenhart & Madden (2007), one of the major reasons why the majority of the teenagers and even children are addicted to social networking is because it is connected to gaming. Casual games are quickly becoming one of the most popular categories of applications on social network sites today. Google+ and Facebook have games, puzzles and quizzes which online users can gain access to.

Motivations for Social Networking

Intention is an individual‘s subjective likelihood of performing a specific behavior and is the major determining factor of actual usage behavior (Ajzen, 1985). Service providers ought to encourage usage when users are willing to use social network services, including applications, and utilize them. Hence, it is necessary to determine users’ behavioral intentions about social networking (Schaefer, 2008).

Surveys show that high school and university students use SNS mainly to communicate with and find out more about existing offline friends than to meet new persons online (Lampe, Ellison & Steinfield 2006, Lenhart & Madden 2007). Another survey with college students in New Jersey, United States of America (U.S.A.) corroborated this finding. Accordingly, respondents used social networking sites to keep in-touch with friends, for entertainment, to post or look at photos, for diversion when bored, to send message to multiple people, to respond to someone, and for the reason that everyone is using SNS (Coyle & Vaughn, 2008).

In October 2011, a survey on college students’ usage of social networking sites among college students was conducted at VSU (Pasana, 2011). The data revealed that most of the students used social networks for information sharing, entertainment and social interaction. Data also revealed that social networking helped the respondents with their assignments and problems. Moreover, respondents also agreed that social networking helped them to establish friendships. Since most of them were far from home, they used these social networks to build stronger relationships with their family and friends.

Finally, perceived enjoyment that one gets from his or her participation in SNS and perceived ease of use of a particular SNS produce an impact on attitude towards and continuance of intention to use Facebook (Suki, Ramayah & Ly, 2012).

Formation of Social Capital in Social Networking

Numerous studies suggest that most social networks predominantly support pre-existing social relationships and augment traditional forms of communication (Young, 2011). Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe (2007) stated that Facebook helps people form relationships and make new friends. Social media reinforce friendship in a manner akin to the four dimensions of "virtue friendship" which are reciprocity, empathy, self-knowledge and shared life (Vallor, 2012). Vallor (2012) added that this condition particularly becomes true when social media is used to supplement rather than substitute face-to-face interactions. Interactions online, indeed, can be used to form relationships and keep people in contact, even when they move from one location to another (Steinfield, Ellison & Lampe, 2008). However, the extent of online social capital formation is influenced by the usage of SNS. A study by Brandtzaeg (2012) identified five distinct types of SNS users: Sporadics (low level users), Lurkers (people who use SNS but do not contribute or interact), Socializers (people who use SNS mainly for debating and discussion) and Advanced (people who use frequently for almost all purposes such as socializing, debating and contributing). Although at some point these user types share common characteristics, they differed in terms of their activities, breadth of activities and social roles within SNS. Interestingly, as reported, Socializers tend to have higher levels of social capital compared to the other user types (Brandtzaeg, 2012).

In addition, a study by Ballantine and Stephenson (2011) found that participants of a weight watchers Facebook page received community support for their weight loss and weight maintenance goals. But the amount of benefits that members accrued also differed according to the intensity of their participation and interaction with other network members.

On the other hand, a number of studies also yielded contradicting result. For example, only a small association between Facebook variables and social capital was observed in one study (Valenzuela, Park & Kee, 2009). Similarly, Stefanone et al. (2012) found that the self-reported enacted support that SNS participants extended to online friends cannot be attributed to perceived bridging and bonding capital. Interestingly, only popular members tended to benefit from the help of online friends prompting the authors to suggest that expansive mediated networks may produce narrow instrumental benefits (Stefanone et al., 2012). These contradicting research findings make this investigation even more pressing.

Maintenance of Social Capital in Social Networking

College students often leave friends from high school to whom they have established strong networks when they move to college (Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe, 2007). These students need to create new social network at college which, in turn, may affect the maintenance of their high school networks.

There are two complementary perspectives on the importance of friendship maintenance: Firstly, relationships help generate social capital for emerging adults which are also important components of psychosocial development. Second, social network sites, like Facebook, may be associated with a person's sense of self-worth and other measures of psychosocial development (Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe, 2007). For the college age populations, sites such as Facebook may play a very important role in maintaining relationships. Social network sites such as Facebook can help maintain one’s social network when one moves to another place (Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe, 2007)

Among young adults, relationships with peers are important both for generating offline benefits, commonly referred to as social capital, and for psychosocial development. Given that SNSs enable individuals to connect with one another, it is not surprising that they have become deeply embedded in user's lives. According to Choi (2006), 85% of study respondents reported that their main intention for internet use included maintenance of pre-existing social networks. Likewise, Boyd & Ellison (2007) argues that social network sites like Facebook enable U.S. youth to socialize with their friends even when they are unable to meet face-to-face. Also, Pew Research found that 91% of U.S. teens who use SNSs do so to connect with friends (Lenhart & Madden, 2007).

Social Capital and Socio-Demographic Characteristics

According to Wei and Zhang (2006), demographics can be powerful predictors of adoption of new technologies. Facebook has been a part of everyone’s daily routine and it has become an addiction, especially to students. According to Thompson and Lougheed (2012), it is not surprising that Facebook is popular among college undergraduates since it originated among the college-age population. College undergraduates have more friends than other account holders, in general, on Facebook.

A study with undergraduates in a Southeastern University in the U.S.A. found a gender difference in Facebook use. Female respondents were more likely to spend longer time in Facebook, lose sleep, and feel closer to their Facebook friends (Thompson & Lougheed, 2012). Hence, there is empirical basis for exploring the influence of socio-demographic factors on motivations for SNS use.

Moreover, a study with students in the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University found some generational differences among younger and older users of SNS. Older users thought that young people were losing their abilities to interact face-to-face and social skills because of their intensive gaming and SNS use. On the other hand, younger users admitted that they use SNS to keep in touch with their friends from junior and secondary school, college, and university (Richardson and Hessey, 2009). In other words, younger generations use SNS to build, maintain and bond their social capital. This is another basis for exploring the influence of socio-demographic factors on SNS users’ motivations.

This study will try to determine if respondents’ sex and age will affect their motivation and use of social networking sites.

CHAPTER III

THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical support for this study is based on the Uses and Gratifications approach (Mcleod and Becker, 1981) and Social Capital Theory (Coleman, 1988). According to Quereshi (2006), social capital existed since small communities formed and humans interacted. Bourdieu, Coleman, Granovetter and Putnam popularized the term in its present form and associated meanings.

According to Knoke (1999), social capital is an individual’s social network that allows members to work together and benefit from each other. It exists between individuals and by extension can be accumulated by the individuals. ‘Such a view of social capital rests on the premise that ‘my connections can help me’ (White, 2000, pg. 260), it is all about establishing relationships purposefully and employing them to generate intangible and tangible benefits in short or long terms. Social capital can affect an individual socially, psychologically, emotionally and economically (Lin, 2001).

According to Jechum (2003), social capital has three dimensions which are the bonding, bridging and linking social capital. The bonding social capital proposes that people get together because they share features in common. On the other hand, bridging social capital explains that an organization’s capacity to generate bridging social capital is influenced by objectives, range of members or users and approach. Lastly, the linking social capital assumes that organizations can reduce the distance that exists between government and the community depending on the type of activity they are engaged in (Jechum, 2003).

Another framework that will be used in this research is Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory which proposes that every individual chooses a particular media that best fulfills his wants and needs (Severin & Tankard, 1997). It also suggests that the media compete with other information sources for audience’s need satisfaction (Katz et al., 1974a). The theory emphasizes audiences’ choice by assessing their reasons for using a certain media to the disregard of others, as well as the various gratifications obtained from the media, based on individual social and psychological requirements (Severin & Tankard, 1997).

According to Rubin (2000), the uses and gratifications theory assumes that media users have their own sets of psychological and social wants and needs, as well as the resources that can be used to fulfill their needs. Therefore, individuals consider the type of communication media that will best meet their goals.

This study focuses on the extent of use of social network sites to build, maintain and bond social capital. In addition, the respondents’ motivations in using social network sites and the relationship between the respondent’s socio demographic characteristics and respondents’ use of social network will be assessed. Socio- demographic characteristics include the respondents’ age, sex, monthly allowance and organizational membership. Uses and motivations for using social networking are the independent variables and formation maintenance of and bonding social capital are the dependent variables. Socio-demographic characteristics are the intervening variables.

Independent Dependent

Uses of Social Networking

Motivations for using social networking

Variables Variables

Formation, maintenance and bonding social capital

Background characteristics

Sex (Male or Female)

Age

Course

Monthly Allowance

Organizational membership

Intervening Variables

Fig. 1 Conceptualized relationships among variables

Statement of Hypotheses

The following are the hypotheses of the study:

No relationship exists between motivations and use of social networking and formation, maintenance of and bonding social capital.

2. There is no relationship between background characteristics (such as age, sex, course, monthly allowance and organizational membership) and the formation maintenance of and bonding social capital.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Social Networking Sites – refer to web-based services which allow users to interact and make friends online (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). All social networking sites (for example Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.) will be considered in this study.

Use - refers to the frequency of respondents’ social network use. These measures will determine the frequency of respondents’ social network use, how long they had been using social network sites such as Facebook and how much time do they spend in online social networking. The questions that will be used to measure social networking usage are as follows:

How long they had been using social networking

How often do they use social networking in an average week

How useful is their social networking to them

The average number of hours they spend in using social networking

The categories of people who may be in their social networking site

The number of friends they have in social networking

The number of social networking sites they use

The social networking site they use

The top three social networking functions

Who are the persons they usually communicate with

Social Capital - refers to the resources available to people through their social interactions (Lin, 2001; Putnam, 2004). Individuals with an outsized and various networks of contacts are assumed to have more social capital than individuals with small, less diverse networks. Even though people often accumulate social capital as a result of their daily interactions with friends, coworkers, and strangers, it is also possible to make conscious investments in social interaction (Resnick, 2002). This is what transpires when people report that their main reason to join Facebook and to spend time on the site is to keep in touch with old friends and to strengthen bonds with colleagues. By using SNSs, individuals seek to maintain and increase their social networks (Ellison et al., 2007; Joinson, 2008). There are three measures of social capital—formation, bonding, and maintained social capital. These measures were created by adapting existing scales, with wording changed to reflect the context of the study, and creating new items designed to capture Internet-specific social capital (Quan-Haase and Wellman, 2004). There are three measurement scales of social capital that will be used in this study, namely:

Formation of Social Capital Scale - According to Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007), this measure aims to investigate whether usage was more motivated by prior offline contacts or the potential to form new online contacts. This instrument included several items that tapped the use of Facebook to make new friends without any reference to an offline connection. Five items from Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe’s (2007) "Use of Facebook to Meet New People vs. Connect with Existing Offline Contacts" subscale will be adapted and three additional items have been added to create the formation social capital scale. Respondents will be asked to rate this measure using a 5-point Likert scale with 1 as "strongly disagree" and 5 as "strongly agree". The statements that will be used to measure social networking usage are enumerated as follows:

a. I have used Facebook and other social network sites to check out someone I met socially.

b. I use Facebook and other social network sites to learn more about other people in my classes.

c. . I use Facebook and other social network sites to learn more about other people living near me.

d. . I use Facebook and other social network sites to keep in touch with my old friends.

e. . I use Facebook and other social network sites to meet new people.

f. I have found old friends in Facebook and other social network sites.

Bonding Social Capital Scale - Bonding will be assessed using five items from the bonding subscale of the Internet social capital scales developed and validated by Williams (2006). Respondents will be asked to rate this measure using a 5-point Likert scale with 1 as "strongly disagree" and 5 as "strongly agree". These items will be adapted to the context of this study. The statements that will be used to measure social networking usage are as follows:

There are several people here in our local community that I trust to solve my problems

If I needed an emergency loan of 500 pesos, I know someone here in our local community that I can turn to

There is someone here in our local community that I can turn to for advice about making very important decisions

The people I interact with in our local community would be good job references for me

I know people here in our local community well enough to get them to do anything important

My Facebook friends have introduced me to persons I needed to get in touch with.

My Facebook friends have introduced me to persons I have a common interest with.

My Facebook friends have helped me gain new friends.

Maintaining Social Capital Scale – According to Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007), this original scale was inspired by their pilot interviews in media coverage of Facebook, and anecdotal evidence that suggested that keeping in touch with high school friends was a primary use of Facebook. These items were adapted from traditional measures of social capital which assess an individual's ability to mobilize support or action but focus on the ability to get assistance from a previously inhabited community ( Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007). Respondents will be asked to rate this measure using a 5-point Likert scale with 1 as "strongly disagree" and 5 as "strongly agree". Also, these items will be adapted to the VSU context. The statements that will be used to measure social networking usage are enumerated as follows:

I’d be able to find out about events in another town from a high school acquaintance living there through my Facebook friends

If I needed to, I could ask my high school acquaintance to do a small favor for me through Facebook

I’d be able to stay with a high school acquaintance if traveling to a different city because I have my Facebook friends

I would be able to find information about a job or internship from a high school acquaintance using Facebook

It would be easy to find people to invite to my high school reunion using Facebook

Motivations – the expressed desire for gratification in a given class of situations and seen as originating in the person’s basic needs (McLeod and Becker, 1981). The motivations that will be measured in this study will be categorized adopting Katz, Gurevich and Haas’ motivation framework. Moreover, motivations will be measured by adopting the motivations for using social networking sites developed by Papacharissi and Mendelson (2010), Silius and Miilumaki (2009), and Nyland (2007). Respondents will be requested to rate these motivations using a 5-point Likert scale with 1 as "strongly disagree" and 5 as "strongly agree."

Background characteristics - refer to the respondents’ social status

Sex - refers to whether the respondent is male or female.

Age – refers to the number of years of the respondent from birth to the time of the study.

Course – refers to the degree program where the student is officially enrolled in (i.e. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, BS Development Communication, Education, Civil Engineering etc.)

Monthly Allowance - an amount of money, given or allotted to provide for students expenses good for 30 days or one month

Organizational Membership –refers to the organization(s) where respondents’ belong to.

CHAPTER IV

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The one-shot survey design will be followed to determine the extent of use of social network sites to build and maintain and social capital among respondents, find out respondents’ motivations in using social network sites and find out the socio-demographic profile of the respondents. It will be conducted among 120 college students of VSU who have accounts in social networking sites.

Location of Study

This study will be conducted in VSU, Visca, Baybay City, Leyte. VSU College students are members of various social networking sites and most of them are away from their homes.

Sampling Procedure

For this study, stratified random sampling will be followed in selecting the respondents where 20 respondents will be drawn from each year level from first year to sixth year. Only respondents who use a social network site will be included in the sample. The randomly selected respondent who does not use a social networking site will be replaced by another respondent on the sampling list.

Research Instrument

A survey questionnaire will be developed to gather the needed data. It will be prepared in English. The questionnaire will have the following parts: background characteristics of the respondents and respondents’ uses and motivations in using social networking. It will also include social networking sites usage measures, such as time spent using social networks and other items to assess whether social networks are used to meet new people or to establish an online connection to pre-existing connections. Also, the three social capital measures – formation, maintenance and bonding–will serve as the dependent variables.

Questionnaire Pretesting

Before conducting the study, the questionnaire will be pretested among six students of VSU. The purpose of the pretest is to determine whether the questions can be easily understood and the questions are logically sequenced. Results of the pretest will be used to decide whether revisions are needed to make the questions much easier to understand.

Data Collection

Data will be gathered through a self-administered questionnaire with randomly selected respondents to determine the motivations and respondent’s social network use in building and maintaining social capital.

A focus group discussion (FGD) will also be conducted and will be participated by 8 to 10 students to validate the survey results. The objectives of the FGD are to determine the respondents’ motivations for social networking, their use of social networking and determine how respondents’ use of social network sites can help them build, maintain and bond social capital. To effectively facilitate the discussion, an FGD guide will be prepared.

An invitation letter will be sent to the students who will be selected by random sampling prior to the conduct of the study.

Data Analysis

Survey data will be encoded in a spreadsheet program (Microsoft Excel) and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the respondents’ background characteristics that will be presented in tabular and graphical form.

To test the relationship between the independent and dependent variables such as, the uses of social networking, motivations in social networking usage, and formation, maintenance and bonding of social capital, the nonparametric Spearman’s rank correlation will be used. On the other hand, the chi-square test will be used to test the relationships of the background characteristics of the respondents (sex, age, course, monthly allowance) and formation, maintenance and bonding of social capital. A chi square (X2) statistic is used to examine whether distributions of categorical variables differ from one another or not. Generally, categorical variable yield data in the categories and numerical variables yield data in numerical form.

For all scale items in respondents’ uses, motivations, and formation, maintenance and bonding of social capital, Cronbach’s alpha will be calculated to determine the reliability of the scales. Computation of alpha is based on the reliability of a test relative to other tests with same number of items, and `measuring the same construct of interest (Hatcher, 1994). Moreover, reliability tests are especially important when derivative variables are intended to be used for subsequent predictive analyses. If the scale shows poor reliability, then individual items within the scale must be re-examined and modified or completely changed as needed. (Santos, 1999)

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APPENDICES

Appendix A

Data Requirement Matrix

Research

Objectives

Instrument/Questions

Variables

Data Analysis

Find out respondents’ motivations in using social network sites

What benefits do you seek from using social networking?

What motivates you in using social networking?

Motivations of VSU college students’ in using social networking

Cognitive needs

Affective needs

Personal integrative needs

Social integrative needs

Tension release needs

Descriptive statistics

Descriptive statistics

Determine the extent of use of social network sites to build and maintain social capital among respondents

Do you come in contact and interact with people in VSU?

Do you still contact and interact with your high school acquaintances?

Do you know people in the local community well enough to get them to do anything important?

Formation of social capital

Maintenance of social capital

Bonding social capital

Descriptive statistics

Descriptive statistics

Descriptive statistics

Describe the background characteristics of the respondents

What are the respondents’ background characteristics?

Sex

Age

Course

Monthly Allowance

Residence

Respondents’ background profile

Descriptive statistics

F Find out

relationships among background characteristics and formation and maintenance of social capital

What is the relationship between:

- Sex and formation and maintenance of social capital

-Age and formation and maintenance of social capital

-Course and formation and maintenance of social capital

-Monthly allowance and formation and maintenance of social capital

-Organizational membership and formation and maintenance of social capital

Intervening variables: background characteristics

Dependent variable: Formation and maintenance of social capital

Chi-square test

Appendix B

Research Instrument

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITES TO BUILD SOCIAL CAPITAL

AMONG VSU COLLEGE STUDENTS

Dear Respondent,

Good day! I am a senior student in Development Communication Major in Development Journalism. As a requirement for our course in DC 200-A (Thesis Manuscript), I am conducting a study entitled "Use of Social Network Sites to build Social Capital among VSU College Students." This study aims to find out what motivates VSU college students to use social networking and find out the relationship between use of social networking sites and formation of social capital

In this connection, I would like to ask for your help by providing the data I need on this questionnaire. Please be frank in answering the questions. Rest assured that your information will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used for research purposes.

Thank you so much for your help in this research.

Sincerely,

John David M. Agpalo

Respondent #:

Date:

Socio-demographic profile of VSU College Students

Name: ________________ Course___________

Sex: __________________ Monthly allowance in peso_______

Age: __________________ Hometown___________

II. Motivations for Using Social Networking

Instruction.

1. Encircle the number that describes your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements.

Social Networking helps you.....

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

To get news and information

1

2

3

4

5

To get access with my assignments and study

1

2

3

4

5

To share my problems

1

2

3

4

5

Because it is entertaining

1

2

3

4

5

To participate in group/class discussion

1

2

3

4

5

To debate topic on specific issue

1

2

3

4

5

To create friendship

1

2

3

4

5

To build up stronger relationships with my family and friends

1

2

3

4

5

To express thoughts and feelings which I cannot do in face-to-face communication

1

2

3

4

5

To spend free time

1

2

3

4

5

To avoid feeling bored when I have nothing to do

1

2

3

4

5

To relieve dullness when I am alone

1

2

3

4

5

To use functions such as games and quizzes

1

2

3

4

5

To maintain profiles online

1

2

3

4

5

To send messages online

1

2

3

4

5

To discuss important matter related to study

1

2

3

4

5

Because it is the thing to do

1

2

3

4

5

Because everybody else is doing it

1

2

3

4

5

Because it is cool

1

2

3

4

5

To keep in touch with family and friends

1

2

3

4

5

To keep strong ties with love ones

1

2

3

4

5

To establish new contact online

1

2

3

4

5

To avoid household tasks

1

2

3

4

5

To avoid people whom I do not like to meet

1

2

3

4

5

Social Networking Use (Please check the blank before the item that best corresponds to your answer)

Note: Use blanks, not encircle because encircling takes up more time.

What social networking sites do you use?

___ 1) Friendster

___ 2) MySpace

___ 3)Facebook

___ 4) Twitter

___ 5)Multiply

___ 6)Tumblr

2. How long have you been using social networking?

___ 1) Less than 1 year

___ 2) 1 to 3 years

___ 3) 4 to 6 years

___ 4) 7 years or more

3. How many social networking accounts do you have? ______________

4. Please list at least three functions of social networking based in your own experience.

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

5. What social networking sites do you use now (Please encircle the number all that applies)?

___ 1) Friendster

___ 2) MySpace

___ 3)Facebook

___ 4) Twitter

___ 5)Multiply

___ 6)Tumblr

___ 6)Others (please specify) ________

6. What service or function do you like most that the social networking sites provide?

___ 1) Use functions such as games and quizzes

___ 2) Sharing photographs and other media files

___ 3) Express thoughts and feelings which I cannot do in face-to-face communication ___ 4) Share my homework and projects with my classmates

___ 5) Send messages online

___ 6) Establish new contact online

7. How often do you use social networking in an average week?

___ 1) Less than 1 week

___ 2) 1 to 3 weeks

___ 3) 4 to 6 weeks

___ 4) 7 weeks or more

8. How many hours you spend in using social networking weekly

___ 1) Less than 1 hour

___ 2) 1 to hours

___ 3) 4 to 6 hours

___ 4) 7 hours or more

9. How many friends do you have in your social networking sites? (Please write the number of your friends on social network/s you are using).

___ 1) Friendster

___ 2) MySpace

___ 3)Facebook

___ 4) Twitter

___ 5)Multiply

___ 6)Tumblr

___ 6)Others (please specify) ________

10. Below are categories of people who may be in your social networking site. Please encircle the number/s of categories that can be found in your own list. (Please encircle all the numbers that apply).

___ 1) Family or relatives

___ 2) Friends and classmates

___ 3) Teachers

___ 4) Others (Please specify): __________________

11. Who are the persons you usually communicate with in your social networking site?

___ 1) Family or relatives

___ 2) Friends and classmates

___ 3) Teachers

___ 4) Others (Please specify): __________________

12. Encircle the figure that describes your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements.

Statements

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

1. Social networking is a part of my everyday activity

1

2

3

4

5

2. I am proud to tell people that I have an account in different social networking sites

1

2

3

4

5

3. Social networking has become part of my daily routine

1

2

3

4

5

4. I feel out of touch when I haven’t logged onto my Facebook, Twitter, etc. for a while

1

2

3

4

5

5. I feel I am part of the Cyberspace community

1

2

3

4

5

6. I would be sorry if Facebook and other social network sites will shut down

1

2

3

4

5

III. Formation of Social Capital (Use of Social Networking for Prior Contacts and Meeting New People)

1. Encircle the figure that describes your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements.

Statements

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

I have used Facebook and other social network sites to check out someone I met socially.

1

2

3

4

5

I use Facebook and other social network sites to learn more about other people in my classes.

1

2

3

4

5

I use Facebook and other social network sites to learn more about other people living near me.

1

2

3

4

5

I use Facebook and other social network sites to keep in touch with my old friends.

1

2

3

4

5

I use Facebook and other social network sites to meet new people.

1

2

3

4

5

I have found old friends in Facebook and other social network sites.

1

2

3

4

5

I use Facebook to learn more about my new classmates

1

2

3

4

5

V. Bonding Social Capital

1. Encircle the figure that describes your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements.

Statements

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

1. There are several people at Visayas State University I trust to solve my problems

1

2

3

4

5

2. If I needed an emergency loan of 500 pesos, I know someone at VSU whom I can turn to

1

2

3

4

5

3. There is someone at Visayas State University I can turn to for advice about making very important decisions

1

2

3

4

5

4. My Facebook friends have introduced me to persons I needed to get in touch with.

1

2

3

4

5

5. My Facebook friends have helped me find new friends.

1

2

3

4

5

6. My Facebook friends have helped me find and know people who also live in our hometown.

1

2

3

4

5

7. My Facebook friends have helped me find organizations who share

1

2

3

4

5

8. The people I interact with at Visayas State University would be good job references for me

1

2

3

4

5

9. I know people at Visayas State University well enough to get them to do anything important

1

2

3

4

5

VI. Maintaining Social Capital

1. Encircle the figure that describes your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the statements.

Statements

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

1. I’d be able to find out about events in another town through my Facebook friends

1

2

3

4

5

2. If I needed to, I could ask my high school acquaintance to do a small favor for me through Facebook

1

2

3

4

5

3. I’d be able to stay with a high school acquaintance if traveling to a different city because I have my Facebook friends

1

2

3

4

5

4. I would be able to find information about a job or internship from a high school acquaintance using Facebook

1

2

3

4

5

5. It would be easy to find people to invite to my high school reunion using Facebook

1

2

3

4

5

6. I’d be able to find out about events in my hometown through my Facebook friends

1

2

3

4

5

7. I’d be able to know current events and other important information about my high school batch mates through Facebook

1

2

3

4

5

8. It would be easy for me to find my high school batch mates through Facebook

1

2

3

4

5

THANK YOU!

Appendix C

USE OF A SOCIAL NETWORK SITE TO BUILD, MAINTAIN AND BOND SOCIAL CAPITAL AMONG VSU COLLEGE STUDENTS

(Focus Group Discussion Guide)

Introduce the moderator and participants.

Inform the participants of the objectives and significance of the study.

Specify objectives and information needs of FGD.

Break down major topics into discussion points.

Prepare probe questions.

Encourage everybody to participate in the discussion.

Assume that their answers are all correct.

Discussion proper

Introduction

I am John David M. Agpalo, a senior student in Development Communication Major in Development Journalism at the Visayas State University (VSU). I am currently conducting a study on "Use of Social Network Sites to Build, Maintain and Bond Social Capital among VSU College Students". As all of you are selected as respondents for my study, I have requested you to participate in this discussion. Guaranteed that the information I’ll get from our discussion will be used for my study purposes only.

Theme 1: Motivations for Social Networking Use

1. What motivates you to use social networking? (Give me at least 3 reasons.)

Theme 2: Social Networking Use

1. What social networking functions do you use most of the time?

2. How useful is your social networking in providing you with the things you are seeking?

3. How does social networking affect your relationship with your friends here at VSU and n your respective hometown?

Theme 3: Formation of Social Capital

Have you used Facebook and other social network sites to check out someone you’ve met socially?

Do you use Facebook and other social network sites to learn more about other people in your classes?

Do you use Facebook and other social network sites to learn more about other people living near you?

Do you use Facebook and other social network sites to meet new people?

Do you use Facebook to learn more about your new classmates?

Theme 4: Maintaining of Social Capital

Would you be able to find out about events in another town from a high school acquaintance living there?

If you needed to, could you ask your high school acquaintance to do a small favor for you?

Would you be able to stay with a high school acquaintance if traveling to a different city?

Would you be able to find information about a job or internship from a high school acquaintance? Why? How?

Theme 5: Bonding of Social Capital

Are there several people here in our local community that you trust to solve your problems?

Is there someone here in our local community that you can turn to for advice about making very important decisions?

Do you think that the people you interact with in our local community would be good job references for you?

Do you know people here in our local community well enough to get them to do anything important?

Do you know people at Visayas State University well enough to get them to do anything important?

Appendix D

Letter for the Respondents

DDC.jpg

DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION

College of Agriculture

Visayas State University

Visca, Baybay, Leyte

__ February 2013

Mr. /Ms. _________________________

Greetings! I am a 4th year Development Communication student Major in Development

Journalism. I am doing my thesis on "Use of Social Network Sites to Build, Maintain and Bond

Social Capital among VSU College Students". You have been chosen to be among the 120

students randomly selected to participate in the study. In this regard, I would like to invite you to

join me for a survey that will be conducted at VSU Multimedia Development Center (MMDC)

on the following schedules.

February 18, 2013 (M), 4pm to 7pm.

February 19, 2013 (T), 4pm to 7pm.

February 20, 2013 (W), 4pm to 7pm.

February 21, 2013 (Th), 4pm to 7pm.

February 22, 2013 (F), 4pm to 7pm.

Please contact me in this number 09065062933 (Globe) or email address

[email protected] to confirm your attendance and please indicate on what date you are

available. Your help would be very valuable to me and the success of my research. Free snacks

will be given after answering the questionnaire.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

John David M. Agpalo

BSDC-4

Noted: Dr. Monina M. Escalada,

Adviser

Dr. Editha Cagasan

Head, D

Appendix E

Letter for the Department Heads

DDC.jpg

DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION

College of Agriculture

Visayas State University

Visca, Baybay, Leyte

February 2013

_________________________

_________________________

Dear Ma’am/Sir,

Greetings! I am a 4th year Development Communication student Major in Development Journalism. I am doing my thesis on "Use of Social Network Sites to Build, Maintain and Bond Social Capital among VSU College Students". The following students in your department were randomly chosen to be part of my study. In this regard, I would like to ask for your assistance in informing the students about their selection.

Names of students

____________________________ 6. _______________________________

____________________________ 7.________________________________

____________________________ 8. ________________________________

____________________________ 9. ________________________________

____________________________ 10._______________________________

Hoping for your positive response. You may contact me at this number: 09065062933 (Globe) and you may also give my number to the students so they can contact me.

Sincerely,

John David M. Agpalo

BSDC-4

Noted: Dr. Monina M. Escalada

Adviser