The effects of the messenger app to the communication skills of grade 11-HUMSS

students’ of the University of Baguio

Jared Averey A. Cawayan

Precious Rubi L. Cayat
Ylaiza Lee S. Lumawig
Trisha P. Ordonio
Ingrid Agape Y. Ticobay

University of Baguio

April 24, 2024

 1

INTRODUCTION

The Messenger app has become an absolute necessity in the lives of students,
especially when it comes to interacting using the app. Many would use the app to make
connections—to interact with people all over the world. For students, some would say
that the Messenger app has a very bad impact on their communication skills, and some
would say that it has a good impact. The usage of the Messenger app by grade 11
HUMSS students is one of the main causes for concern. In far too many ways, the
Messenger app promotes better interaction and surpasses traditional ways of
communicating. The Messenger app is enhancing communication by making available a
wide range of formats, resources, and delivery methods that are not constrained by time,
place, or location.

Background of the Study

The usage of the Messenger app in education is growing due to its ability to
facilitate a wide range of communication for students. This wide range of communication
can also improve their communication skills, which are also important to their HUMSS
strand. At the University of Baguio, they provide synchronous and asynchronous types of
learning in which they always use social media for learning, teaching, and assessment.
Through modern technology, individuals can create an environment where students and
teachers can work together (Pedroso, Tubola, & Aquidado, 2023).

The effect of the messenger app is to promote better communication skills and a
better understanding. It also provides the ability to understand each other's ideas
effectively and it's a good way to have a connection with students and teachers. Using a
messenger app also helps the students to collaborate with their classmates and teachers
for their tasks. Students often use social media to collaborate with their group members,
particularly when conducting research. (Alonzo & Oo, 2023).

This platform has rapidly grown in popularity as a type of online discourse that
allows students to create, share, bookmark, and connect with others. This has closed the
 2

communication gap that existed where people had to just rely on conventional techniques
like letters and phone calls as a form of communication with friends and family.

The results of this study may offer important new information about the
connection between the use of the Messenger app and communication skills among
University of Baguio grade 11-HUMSS students. Students who constantly belittle their
confidence in communicating may find this knowledge useful. We all reside in a nation
that is gradually modernizing and evolving, but that doesn't mean that students like us
will stop placing a high priority on our skills. The outcomes of this research will also
serve as a way of warning students to better yet focus on their communicating skills and
start prioritizing their way of interacting with others instead of always utilizing their
phones to communicate online.

Literature Review
In present times, people have more access to the internet and are freely roaming
most social platforms that allow them to make use of its different applications (Alonzo,
2023). It has been used for academics and gaming. and social networking among others.
Messenger, which is under Facebook, is among those social networking service
applications that is currently being used for efficient communication among individuals
or groups of people (Pedroso et al., 2023). Through the use of the application, Messenger,
individuals are capable of engaging in a conversation with others even with great distance
(Ashby, 2024). The application's significance isn't only limited to being used as a medium
for individuals to communicate with others but can be used as a tool for enhancing other
aspects such as their communication skills (Alonzo & Oo, 2023).

There are several benefits to using social media platforms like Messenger for
communication, as they offer great resources. for adapting students to the virtual world
and teaching them on appropriate methods for online communication. But it's also clear
that this social media platform may be a distraction for students. Just like the phone, the
app can make us lose attention since we're "busy" talking to friends and doing other
things. However, we can't truly deny the influence of social media in the scholarly
 3

community that students can now use social media as a means to develop and employ
their skills (Kochnar, 2020).

In conclusion, Messenger has a lot of positive effects on the students'

communication skills since it helps them improve their way of communicating and
interacting with others. Messenger does not really have harmful effects on students. It
only becomes bad depending on how students use Messenger (Kochnar, 2020). There
might be disadvantages to this platform, although students may avoid it when they choose
to use it correctly. With proper use of the application, it would really help students
improve their communication skills (Forum, 2022).

Conceptual Framework
The Messenger app has become a crucial tool for students, enabling them to
connect globally. Messenger apps allow students to communicate anytime, anywhere,
making it easier to coordinate group projects, share learning materials, and discuss course
content (Kochhar V, 2017). The Messenger app is gaining popularity in education for its
ability to facilitate diverse communication among students, improving their
communication and cognitive skills. Social media offers an easy and effective way to
communicate, interact, and improve student's cognitive skills (Magmanlac, Q. Reyes, A.
C. et.al). Between students and teachers, the Messenger app enhances understanding,
connection, and communication. It facilitates students' understanding of subjects and
allows them to collaborate with peers on projects like research tasks. These social media
platforms facilitate information sharing, informal scholarly discussion, and research
cooperation (Alonzo & Zin Oo, 2023)
 4

Figure 1

According to Jacqueline Graham’s thesis, children initially learn how to engage

with others before learning how to interact with themselves. Worldwide connectivity has
been made possible by this application among students’ in various nations and continents.
The perceived impact of Messenger on students’ ability to interact in person, their
emotions, and finally their level of confidence when it comes to interacting with clothes.
According to the findings, Grade 9 students' growth in physical contact skills had the
greatest average. The importance of self-esteem had the greatest average in grade 10
(3.20), nevertheless. Emotions scored the lowest on average in both grade levels—3.10 in
grade 9 and 3.13 in grade 10.

Significance of the Study

The primary beneficiaries of the study are the students, teachers and the owner of
the messenger app for the following reasons:

Students. This study shows that students can interact with their teachers and work
with their peers on their tasks. Through the use of the Messenger app, this research can
help students improve their communication skills, giving them greater comprehension
and capacity to comprehend ideas with peers. As part of this endeavor, students may also
be able to communicate with their teachers and peers through the Messenger app during
 5

asynchronous learning. Students can also use the Messenger app during synchronous
learning.

Teachers. This study can assist educators in using the Messenger app to connect
with their students regarding the assignments they will be assigned. Teachers can interact
with students using the Messenger app to provide directions and updates on their
assignments. Additionally, this study may help teacher-student communication during
both synchronous and asynchronous learning through the use of messenger apps.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to identify the effects of the Messenger app on
the communication skills of the grade 11 HUMSS students at the University of Baguio.
The study also aims the following:

1. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of the messenger app to the
grade 11 HUMSS students.
2. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the messenger app can help grade
11 HUMSS students on their communication skills.
3. This study aims to determine the impact of using messenger as a communication
tool to enhance communication skills among Grade 11-HUMSS students.

METHODOLOGY

Study Design

This study will use a quantitative research method; therefore, our study will only
use surveys, questionnaires, and statistics that will help us to gather relevant information
through our research method. The statistical method known as descriptive statistics, as
stated by Mishra, Pandey, Singh, Keshri, and Sabaretnam (2019), uses statistics like mean
and median to summarize data. Students who will be surveyed will be given a form to
fill out, giving us consent to use the data they provide for our study. The information we
gathered will show the effects of the Messenger app on the communication skills of
 6

Grade 11-HUMSS students at the UB. And the information that we will gather through
the surveys helped the study determine the pros and cons of the significance of the study.

Sample and Locale of the Study

Participants that contributed relevant data to our study came from the University
of Baguio, Senior High School Grade 11 students from the HUMSS Strand 3 sections,
which are Agpalo, Agoncillio, and Balagtas (excluding Agpalo). The total number of
students that will be participating in this survey will be 10 students per section, 5 males
and 5 females. In which 20 students, 10 males and 10 females will be participating. The
survey will take 5 minutes upon answering the questions.

Data Gathering Tools

The questions will have two parts. The first part will ask personal questions about
the respondents, like their age and gender. The second part consists of ten questions, one
of which will be answered with multiple choice and nine of which will be answered on a
Likert scale.

Data Gathering Procedures

The subject teacher will sign a letter requesting to conduct the survey, which was
also attached to the questionnaire. The importance of the respondents’ responses in
completing the study was also mentioned in the questionnaire. The researchers will make
sure that their responses will be kept confidential and their identities will be anonymous,
in accordance with RA 10173, which is also inserted within the questionnaires. The
questions had to be answered honestly and with integrity. After that, respondents are
given the questionnaire, and they have up to 15 minutes to finish it. The researchers will
collect the data even if the questionnaire is not completed; however, they will not follow
up with the participant after the allotted period has passed. Because the survey was
voluntary, participants may stop at any moment. The researchers will then total and
summarize the information they have gathered.
 7

Treatment of the Data

The following Likert Scale was used to interpret the gathered responses from the
questionnaires.

VALUE INTERPRETATION

1 Never

2 Rarely

3 Sometimes

4 Often

5 Always

The data gathered by the researchers was tallied and strictly analyzed by the
researchers. The gathered data has also been processed manually and has used the Likert
scale to compare the effects of the Messenger app to the communication skills of Grade
11-HUMSS students at the UB. With this method used, our research would be close to
completion and to further understand the effects of the Messenger app on the
communication skills of Grade 11-HUMSS students at the UB.

he descriptive levels, the following was adopted:

5 – Always (A)
4 – Often (O)
3 – Sometimes (S)
2 – Rarely (R)
1 – Never (N)

The descriptive levels will be rated with their corresponding mean:

4.20 – 5.00 - Always
3.40 – 4.19 - Often
 8

2.60 – 3.39 - Sometimes

1.80 – 2.59 - Rarely
1.00 – 1.79 - Never

Ethical Considerations

The researchers made sure that the respondents knew that their responses and
their identities would be kept confidential from the public. Researchers will preserve the
respondents anonymity by not revealing their names. The researchers also made sure that
the data gathered would only be used for academic purposes. The researchers also
ensured to properly inform and disseminate information about the study to the
respondents. Researchers will give oral and written explanations to the students about the
purpose of the study. Lastly, the researchers made sure to fully analyze all collected data
and results without any bias and they can withdraw anytime before, during or after the
survey.
 9

REFERENCES:

Alonzo, D., & Oo, C. Z. (2023). The use of Messenger for research collaboration: An

auto-ethnographic study. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1076340

Ashby, E. (2024, February 23). What is a Messenger App | Helpshift? Helpshift.

https://www.helpshift.com/glossary/messenger-app/

Forum, N. E. (2022, December 8). Students’ views on Messenger as a language learning

tool. NELTA ELT Forum.
https://neltaeltforum.wordpress.com/2022/11/29/students-views-on-messenger-as-
a-language-learning-tool/?fbclid=IwAR1KrM-rS_Luq10CofjvGHVHP513IprhEC
tlGEqhOb5KbAKIBwrO7YWDSSc

Impacts of Text Messaging on Adolescents’ Communication Skills: School Social

Workers’ Perceptions. (2013, May). https://sophia.stkate.edu/. Retrieved March 1,

2024, from

https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1185

&context=msw_papers

Kochhar, V. (2020, February 25). The influence of Messenger apps on students’ literacy.
Androidcure.
https://androidcure.com/influence-messenger-apps-students-literacy/?fbclid=IwA
R0hOmMUxnKPVD3jlRWdZzm9OxLLYvf8USXtPRxxM4F-GY0NktUA2Gg5vsw

Magmanlac, Q. Reyes A. C. et.al (2018). Effects of Social Media to Communication

Students' Cognitive and Social Skills. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and
Sciences, Vol. 5 (4) p. 21-23.
https://research.lpubatangas.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/APJEAS-2018.5.4.0
3.pdf
 10

Marymee, J. G. (n.d.). The linguistic representation: A measurement of progress.

DigitalCommons@UNO.

https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/2976/

Mohd Foozy, C. F., & Anak Apon, E. B. (2020). A Generic Review of Messenger
Application: WeChat and WhatsApp . Applied Information Technology And
Computer Science, 1(1), 202–209. Retrieved from
https://publisher.uthm.edu.my/periodicals/index.php/aitcs/article/view/615

Pedroso, J. E., Tubola, L. F. A., & Aquidado, E. J. (2023). Facebook Messenger: as means of
communication for academic inquiries. Journal of Digital Learning and Distance
Education, 2(2), 491–505. https://doi.org/10.56778/jdlde.v2i2.116

Tang, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2022). Effects of using mobile instant messaging on student
behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement: a quasi-experimental study.
International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 19(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00306-6