Philippine E-Journals

UTILITY OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AND ITS THEMATIC EXPRESSIONS

Christine Joie Lagmay | Beverly Gunayan | Jaysn Antonette Valles | Mona L. Laya

 

Abstract:

Facebook became a social phenomenon since it was introduced in 2004. It has been considered as the top visited social networking site since then. Some people even regard it as a vital necessity in their daily lives even to the point of addiction. The reasons and purposes why people are hooked to it vary widely depending on the demographics and the needs of the user. The goal of this study is to know the primal utility and the thematic expressions that surround the Facebook timelines of the Fourth Year Liberal Arts students of the University of the Immaculate Conception. The researchers utilized a descriptive-qualitative research method using the emergent approach in identifying the themes. When the utilities were drawn out from the participants, the researchers categorized the themes present on the posts of the participants. The researchers analyzed the drawn out utilities and thematic expressions to identify the principal utility and top 5 themes that are present in Facebook. The top 5 utilities that were discovered are information dissemination and information gathering; communication with friends; outlet for self-expression; and for business/ entrepreneurial purposes. On the other hand, the top 3 thematic expressions found in the participants’ timelines are school-related activities/concerns, followed by interests and rants.