Filipinos’ Addiction to Facebook – A Study
SUBMITTED BY:
Herrera, Glenn Joseph L.
Hablo, Rez Michael
Victorino, Vivian
Vicedo, Gracelyn
BSCS II-A
in compliance with the final requirement of the course ENG 6 (Technical Research and Report Writing).
SUBMITTED TO:
Prof. Marco Meduranda
Technical Research and Report Writing Adviser
Navotas Polytechnic College
S.Y. 2010 - 2011
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ABSTRACT
The study aims to determine the effects of Facebook to the Filipino
users, to discuss why Filipinos love Facebook, to know the signs of
Facebook Addiction and to determine the steps how to cope with it.
In the process of researching, the researchers conducted libraries,
Internet and surveys.
This research finds out that aside from being a social trend in the
Philippines, Filipinos love Facebook because of its features which are
really beneficial for its users.
Aside from these, users should be aware of using Facebook for one
may habitually practice Facebook and get addicted to Facebook.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In finishing our technical research, we would like to thank the following:
The Internet, for providing us the best source of information; Malabon
National Library, for helping us to look for the research materials regarding
our research; our parents, for helping us in our financial needs; our
classmates, for their cooperation and support while making this project;
Prof. Marco Meduranda, for giving us advices and suggestions on how
could we make a good technical report. Lastly, we would like to thank our
God, for guiding us in our daily life and for keeping us healthy and safe
every day.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title / Description Page Number
Chapter 1 – Introduction ……………………………. 1Background of the Study …………………… 1Objectives …………………………………… 2Research Question …………………………… 2Importance of the Study …………………… 2Definition of Terms …………………………… 3 - 4
Chapter 2 – Taking a Look at Facebook ..…. 5History …………………………………… 5What is Facebook? …………………………… 5 - 6Facebook Features …………………………… 6 – 11
Chapter 3 – Facebook as a Part of Our Lives….... 12Effects of Facebook to its users ………….... 13
1. Advantages of Using Facebook …. 13 - 142. Disadvantages of Using Facebook 14 – 16
Chapter 4 – Hooked on Facebook ………….... 171. “Why do Filipinos thrive in online social
networks …………………………………… 17 - 192. Facebook Addiction …………………… 19 - 203. Are You a Facebook Addict? …………… 20 – 22
Chapter 5 – Managing Your Addiction …………… 23 – 24
Chapter 6:Conclusion ………………………………..….. 25Recommendation …………………………… 25Bibliography …………………………………… 26 - 28
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Nowadays, almost everyone connects through social networking sites.
I’ve heard people tell an acquaintance, “Yeah, I think I’ve seen you in
(insert site here)!”. Surprisingly, that gets the conversation going
especially if you share the same interests as your New Found Friend
(Villaraza, 2007).
Nowadays, online networking is not only about friendship, but also
about different possibilities which it provides to its users. Friendster, which
is one of the social networking sites to look for friends, ones dominates
Philippines in terms of social networking but as we go to the trend,
Filipinos have moved on to Facebook, which is currently the biggest and
the most popular among social networking sites (Abaño, 2010).
It is said that Facebook had become a part of our life. Facebook
provides features which gives benefits to its users. However, as we are
getting hooked to Facebook, becoming a Facebook addict is inevitable.
“Facebook is just so addictive, it’s better to get logged on than to finish my
project in the morning”, a classmate of mine said (Villaraza, 2007).
Hence, the researchers seek for the objectives why most Filipinos are
hooked on Facebook.
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Objectives
1. To determine the effects of Facebook to the Filipino users.
2. To recognize the advantages and disadvantages of using
Facebook.
3. To discuss why Filipinos like Facebook.
4. To know the signs of Facebook Addiction.
5. To find out the steps how to cope Facebook Addiction.
Research Questions
1. To what extent do the Filipinos use Facebook as their social
networking site?
2. Why Filipinos are easily hooked to Facebook?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook?
4. What are the effects of Facebook to the Filipino users?
5. What will happen to the Filipino users if Facebook will be gone?
6. What are the signs of getting addicted to Facebook?
Importance of the Study
This study is important because it will benefit the following:
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Family It helps them to keep in touch with their
relatives in province and abroad.
Students It can be used as a medium in learning
and teaching.
Definition of Terms
Applications – (a.k.a. Facebook games) are one of the past times in
Facebook.
Facebook – the most popular social networking site in the world which
provides many features to its users
Facebook Addiction – the devotion and habitually or compulsively
playing or visiting Facebook
Habit – a pattern of behavior acquired by frequent repetition
Liker – the term dedicated to a person who “likes” a status, photo,
comment, video or even another page in Facebook
Logged In – a state of being “present” in Facebook
Notifications – allow users to keep track of all the most recent
notifications of his / her friends
Online – a state of being connected to the Internet
Search Engines – are helpful tools in the web browser / websites used
to give you external links to other web pages on the web correlating to the
terms you have typed in it
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Social Networking – a kind of business wherein one socializes with
others via Internet
Status Updates – allow users to post messages for all their friends to
read
Tagging – labeling the part of a photo to one of your friends on
Facebook. You can also tag friends even in videos
Wall – a space on each user’s profile page that allows friends to post
messages for the user to see while displaying the time and date when the
message was written
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Chapter 2
TAKING A LOOK AT FACEBOOK
History
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook),
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates
and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz
and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the
founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the
Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added
support for students at various other universities before opening to high
school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over. The name of
the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students
at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US
with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.
What is Facebook?
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook),
Facebook (stylized facebook) is a social network service and website
launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by
Facebook, Inc. It is now the most popular social networking site in the
world which provides many features to its users. As of January 2011,
Facebook has more than 600 million active users. Users may create a
personal profile, add other users as friends and exchange messages,
including automatic notifications when they update their profile.
Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by
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workplace, school, or college, or other characteristics. Facebook allows
anyone who declares themselves to be at least 13 years old to become a
registered user of the website.
Today, Facebook is the biggest social networking website, with millions
of members all over the world. It has even surpassed search engines
when it comes to user views (Berry, 2011).
Facebook Features
The researchers have listed the most commonly used features that
can be found on the Facebook website.
Chat - On April 5, 2008, Facebook pre-released Facebook Chat. As of
April 23, 2008, Facebook Chat was released to the entire Facebook user
base. Users are only able to chat with their Facebook friends and on a
one-to-one basis, although a user may chat with multiple friends
simultaneously through separate chat interfaces. Instant messaging
clients that currently support Facebook Chat include AOL Instant
Messenger, eBuddy, Flock, Miranda IM, Trillian, Empathy, Digsby, Pidgin,
Adium, Nimbuzz, FIM (Windows Mobile / Windows Phone 7), Palringo
(Windows Mobile), Meebo, Tokbox as well as QIP Infium with a Firefox
plugin. Windows Live Messenger 2011 (Wave 4) can connect to Facebook
as well. Facebook Chat can also be run on the desktop using Gabtastik, a
dedicated web chat browser. On May 13, 2008, a Facebook developer
announced that they are working on XMPP support, allowing hundreds of
instant messaging clients to interoperate with the service; this functionality
became operational on February 10, 2010. Some Facebook help article
containing all the information required to connect most popular XMPP
supporting IM clients to Facebook's chat service is available.
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Messages and Inbox - Since the website's founding, it has allowed
users to send messages to each other. A facebook user can send a
message to any number of his/her friends at a time. Deleting a message
from one's inbox does not delete it from the inbox of other users, thus
disabling a sender to redo a message sent by him. On November 15,
2010, Facebook announced a new "Facebook Messages" service. In a
media event that day, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "It's true that people
will be able to have a @facebook.com email addresses, but it's not email."
The launch of such a feature had been anticipated for some time before
the announcement, with some calling it a "Gmail killer." The system, to be
available to all of the website's users, combines text messaging, instant
messaging, emails, and regular messages, and will include privacy
settings similar to those of other Facebook services.
Networks, Groups, and Like Pages - Facebook allows different
networks and groups to which many users can join. It also allows privacy
settings on basis of networks. Groups are used for discussions and events
etc. Groups are a way of enabling a number of people to come together
online to share information and discuss specific subjects. They are
increasingly used by clubs, companies and public sector organizations to
engage with stakeholders - be they members of the public, employees,
members, service users, shareholders or customers. A group includes but
is not limited to the following: the members who have joined, recent news
contents, wall contents, photos, posted items, videos and all associated
comments of such items. In this respect, groups are similar to pages but
contain more features. Groups are limited to 300 groups per user, though it
is possible to find some users with more than 300 groups because it was
possible to dodge this limit in a few ways, until recently when they fixed
those exploits. The urls of group pages start with
http://www.facebook.com/group... and do not include the name of the
group
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Individuals or companies can create "Like Pages" which allows fans of
an individual, organisation, product, service, or concept to join a facebook
fan club. Like Pages look and behave much like a user's personal private
profile, with some significant differences. Public Profiles are integrated
with Facebook's advertising system, allowing Public Profile owners to
easily advertise to Facebook's users. Owners can send updates to their
fans, which shows up on their home page. They also have access to
insights and analytics of their fan base. Early on, users had the option to
"become a fan" of the page until 19 April 2010 when the option was later
changed to "like" the page. While an individual with a personal profile can
acquire up to 5,000 friends, a "Like Page" can have an unlimited number
of "Likers". "Like Pages" can also be customized by adding new Tabs
using the Static FBML application. This powerful feature can bring
additional functionality to a page such as e-mail collection, specialized
content, or a landing page for sales activity. The urls of "Like Pages" start
with http://www.facebook.com/pages... and do include the name of the
individual etc. liked.
News Feed - On 6 September 2006, Ruchi Sangvhi announced a new
home page feature called News Feed. Originally, when users logged into
Facebook, they were presented with a customizable version of their own
profile. The new layout, by contrast, created an alternative home page in
which users saw a constantly updated list of their friends' Facebook
activity. News Feed highlights information that includes profile changes,
upcoming events, and birthdays, among other updates. This has enabled
spammers and other users to manipulate these features by creating
illegitimate events or posting fake birthdays to attract attention to their
profile or cause. News Feed also shows conversations taking place
between the walls of a user's friends. An integral part of the News Feed
interface is the Mini-Feed, a news stream on the user's profile page that
shows updates about that user. Unlike in the News Feed, the user can
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delete events from the Mini-Feed after they appear so that they are no
longer visible to profile visitors.
Initially, the addition of the News Feed caused some discontent among
Facebook users. Many users complained that the News Feed was too
cluttered and full of undesired information. Others were concerned that the
News Feed made it too easy for other people to track activities like
changes in relationship status, events, and conversations with other
users. This tracking is often casually referred to as "Facebook-Stalking”. In
response to this dissatisfaction, creator Mark Zuckerberg issued an
apology for the site's failure to include appropriate customizable privacy
features. Thereafter, users were able to control what types of information
were shared automatically with friends. Currently, users may prevent
friends from seeing updates about several types of especially private
activities, although other events are not customizable in this way.
With the introduction of the "New Facebook" - in early February 2010 -
came a total redesign of the pages, several new features and changes to
News Feeds. On their personal Feeds (now integrated with Walls), users
were given the option of removing updates from any application as well as
choosing the size they show up on the page. Furthermore, the community
feed (containing recent actions by the user's friends) contained options to
instantly select whether to hear more or less about certain friends or
applications.
Notifications - Notifications of the more important events, for example,
someone sharing a link on the user's wall or commenting on a post the
user previously commented on, briefly appear for a few seconds in the
bottom left as a popup message (if the user is online), and a red counter is
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updated on the toolbar at the top, thus allowing the user to keep track of
all the most recent notifications.
Phone - On September 2010, rumors of a "Facebook Phone" similar to
Google's Android, circulated in business and tech industry news. In an
interview with well-known technology blog Techcrunch, CEO Mark
Zuckerberg was noted to have said, "Our strategy is very horizontal. We're
trying to build a social layer for everything," while denying that they were
attempting to compete with the Apple iPhone or Android.
Poke - The poke feature is intended to be a "nudge" to attract the
attention of another user. Many Facebook users use this feature to attract
attention or say "hello" to their friends. A previous version of Facebook's
FAQ gave additional insight into the origin of the feature, stating: "When
we created the poke, we thought it would be cool to have a feature without
any specific purpose. People interpret the poke in many different ways,
and we encourage you to come up with your own meanings."
There are several applications on Facebook which extend the idea of
the poke feature by allowing users to perform other actions to their friends
—such as "kick" or "wave to". People often reciprocate pokes back and
forth until one side gives up, an event known as a "Poke War".
Status Updates - Facebook has a feature called "status updates" (also
referred to simply as "status") which allows users to post messages for all
their friends to read. In turn, friends can respond with their own comments,
and also press the "Like" button to show that they enjoyed reading it. A
user's most recent status update appears on the user's wall, and is also
noted in the "Recently updated" section of a user's friend list.
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Originally, the purpose of the feature was to allow users to inform their
friends of their current "status" (for example, their current feelings,
whereabouts, or actions) by referring to themselves in the third person (for
example, "George is happy" or "John is with Robert at his house").
However, users are no longer required to write in the third person.
Facebook originally prompted the status update with "Username is..." and
Facebook users filled in the rest. However, on December 13, 2007, the
requirement to start a status update with “is” was removed. The question
"What are you doing right now?" was introduced. In March 2009, the
status update question was changed from "What are you doing right
now?" to "What's on your mind?”
In 2009, Facebook added the feature to tag certain friends (or groups
etc.) within one's status update by adding an @ character before their
name, turning the friend's name into a link to their profile and including the
message on the friend's wall.
URL shortener - On December 14, 2009, Facebook launched its own
URL shortener based on FB.me domain name. From that point on, all
links based on facebook.com can be accessed under fb.me, which are
seven characters shorter.
Usernames - Starting June 13, 2009, Facebook introduced a feature
that allowed users to choose a Facebook username to make user location
easier. The user is able to direct others to their page through a simple link
such as www.facebook.com/username rather than an otherwise complex
URL. This feature on Facebook quickly spread, with more than 1 million
users registering usernames in the first three hours. Usernames are now
available to any existing or newly registered user.
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According to the FAQ, "Facebook reserves the right to remove and/or
reclaim any username at any time for any reason".
Wall - The Wall is a space on each user's profile page that allows
friends to post messages for the user to see while displaying the time and
date the message was written. One user's Wall is visible to anyone with
the ability to see his or her full profile, and different users' Wall posts show
up in an individual's News Feed. Many users use their friends' Walls for
leaving short, temporal notes. More private discourse is saved for
messages, which are sent to a user's inbox, and are visible only to the
sender and recipient(s) of the message, much like email.
In July 2007, Facebook allowed users to post attachments to the Wall,
whereas previously the Wall was limited to text only. In May 2008, the
Wall-to-Wall for each profile was limited to only 40 posts. Recently
Facebook has allowed users to insert html code in boxes attached to the
wall via apps like Static FBML which has allowed marketers to track use of
their fan pages with Google Analytics (Wikipedia, 2011).
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Chapter 3
FACEBOOK AS A PART OF OUR LIVES
Effects of Facebook to its Users
1. Advantages of using Facebook
If you have an account on Facebook, you can actually notice that there
are lots of advantages which you can get from Facebook. Most of us,
Filipinos, think that using Facebook is just like looking for friends, or
playing with the addictive applications in it.
There are 4 main advantages of Facebook. Most of us use Facebook
for certain reasons. These are as follows:
For communication – In one of the discussions in mylot.com,
mimiang, a member of mylot, states that she uses Facebook to
communicate people. She implied that Facebook (particularly to sending
messages) is more convenient than writing letters since her relatives is in
the province and most of her friends are in abroad. Since most of us are
using Facebook, we could also communicate to online friends via
Facebook Chat.
For entertainment - Most of us use Facebook when we’re too bored
and we want to do something in our leisure time. The most popular forms
of entertainment in Facebook are the applications.
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Wikipilipinas compiled the list of mostly played Facebook game
applications. These are the Mafia Wars, Pet Society, FarmVille and
Restaurant City.
For having friends - It is easy and painless to make friends on
Facebook (Helium). Friendster, which is one of the social networking sites
to look for friends, ones dominates Philippines in terms of social
networking but as we go to the trend, Filipinos have moved on to
Facebook. You can search for friends and like what was said a while ago,
you can easily communicate with him / her. There’s even a friend
suggestion which recommends you to add a friend which your fellow
friend has added.
For business - Do you know that you can use Facebook for business
purposes too? “As social marketing has become more of an obviously tier
- one communication channel, educational institutions and self-made
gurus have sprung up to offer insights, advice, and tools for leveraging
them. The Asian Institute of Management has introduced an elective to its
degree programs, focusing on social networks for business. Another
indicator was the use of social networks to coordinate relief efforts in the
aftermath of two devastating typhoons, Pepeng and Ondoy” (Hamlin,
2009).
In addition to letting you socialize and keep in touch with people, these
keep you updated on anyone or everyone’s status. Some people use this
website for business and some of them post announcement if they are in
need of people and help. But always be reminded that not all of you find
on the Internet can be trusted. Alwatys make sure that the job is real and
the people can be trusted. If you are in doubt, make calls and surf for
references or reviews of these companies or people (Magsuci, 2010).
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Education means of using Facebook falls under business category.
To have an overview of what advantages do most Filipino users apply,
the researchers conducted a study with regards the discussions of several
Filipinos on mylot.com about the Filipinos’ use of networking sites
(particularly Facebook). The members of mylot.com came from different
parts of the Philippines. The researchers made a pie graph of what
advantages or main purposes do some Filipino members of mylot.com do
in visiting Facebook.
33%
22%
28%
17%
For communicationFor entertainmentFor having friendsFor business
*Results showed that majority of Filipinos use Facebook for
communication means.
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2. Disadvantages of using Facebook
Aside from the advantages above which a user can have in using
Facebook, you can also get “side effects” or simply bad effects while using
Facebook. These are as follows:
Privacy - Last 2010, people was shocked from Facebook’s removal of
information from profiles. But luckily, it turns out that the removed data has
not been deleted from Facebook’s servers, just made unreachable by the
new interface (NYT, 2010). Most of the people don’t like their personal
information removed from their profiles. A user may let anyone to know his
/ her personal information. According to Beth Day Romulo, it gives her an
uneasy feeling why the facts of her life are instantly available to anyone
without her permission. Her reaction to the fact that this kind of information
is somehow an “invasion of privacy” is becoming more common.
Recently, a group of American college students have gone public, not
with more personal data but with the observation that all that stuff about
them may be a liability when they go to get a job. Who needs to know your
favorite music, how often you go for a beer with friends, whether you ever
drink too much, how you do or don’t score with the opposite sex? This is
not the stuff employer needs to know (Romulo, 2010).
Getting Lazy - We know that technology makes our work easier and
faster, but it makes us lazy and unproductive, and so was our daily use of
Facebook.
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Jason, 42, Account Manager – Kids are getting lazier because it
concerns physical activity, but not otherwise. So have their parents. I think
the reason is that these generations of teens have been raised with so
many technological ways to entertain themselves (internet, texting, video
games, etc.) that they have never acquired the habit of doing physical
things for fun. Not much time to ride bikes, play “patintero” or “tumbang
preso,” or Frisbee, etc. when one is hanging out in the house watching the
big screen while texting and posting on Facebook (Bautista, 2010).
New Communication Patterns - Traditional social communication
patterns have also undergone some changes. Via Facebook, people can
‘talk’ directly to the individuals they like. Facebook diminishes the
embarrassment and anxiety related to real life communication.
The new communication patterns are much straightforward and less
dependent on etiquette and socially-established norms.
The question on researchers’ minds is whether online social
networking allows children to become more connective and supportive to
their friends - or whether the quality of their interactions is being
diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular,
extended face-to-face time.
Writing in The Future of Children, a journal produced through
collaboration between the Brookings Institution and the Woodrow Wilson
Center at Princeton University, Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Patricia M.
Greenfield, psychologists at California State University, Los Angeles, and
U.C.L.A. respectively, noted: “Initial qualitative evidence is that the ease of
electronic communication may be making teens less interested in face-to-
face communication with their friends (NYT, 2010).
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Habitual Play on Facebook - Another disadvantage is that one may
habitually play Facebook applications. You may think about your farm or
your restaurant even when you’re at work or in a business meeting. You’re
more worried that your plants will wilt and your food will be spoiled.
(Jusay, 2009). You may think of those things other than your real work on
life and even your social relationships with the people.
Continuous and compulsively use of Facebook may cause you to be a
Facebook addict.
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Chapter 4
HOOKED ON FACEBOOK
1. “Why do Filipinos thrive in online social networks?”
According to the article of Philstar, “News Report: RP Population on
Facebook is world’s sixth largest. Several Filipinos of different places was
asked to answer, “Why do Filipinos thrive in online social networks?” The
site was updated last November 11, 2010 – 12:00 AM, and the comments
are categorized into different reasons. These are the following categories:
It’s the Trend - According to Joan Cejes of Makati City, “Kasi yun ang
uso, Tayong mga Pinoy, mahilig sa uso, magpauso at makigaya sa kung
ano ang uso. Sa ngayon, para bang mortal sin kapag wala kang
Facebook, Twitter, etc.”
Text Capital of the World - As said by Robert Young Jr. of San Juan,
“Being the text capital of the world, it’s no surprise that the Philippines
ranks sixth in the most number of users on Facebook. Most cell phones
now even provide a connection to social networking sites. Social
networking provides more interesting features compared to texting and is
usually free with an Internet connection. Pinoys are sociable and have
more time to browse the Internet.”
Room for Opportunities - As stated by Tony Gomez of Parañaque,
“There is not much opportunity in our country and Facebook provides
many opportunities and options.
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Friendly by Nature - On the word of Lolong Rejano from
Mandaluyong, “Simply because we Filipinos are friendly and are fond of
interacting with other people even before modern communication
technology existed. In addition, ang pagiging tsismoso at masayahin pa
nating mga Filipino ay hindi magbabago bagkus pinalawak pa ito ng social
networks gaya ng Facebook.”
Ways of Keeping In Touch - According to Carmela Ramento of
Cagayan de Oro City, “This goes to show that Pinoys love being
connected to friends and relatives everywhere. Is it any wonder?”
According to Nestor Chan of Metro Manila, “Filipinos thrive in online
social networks because this is the new way of keeping in touch with
friends, relatives and acquaintances. Aside from interesting games and
applications, social networks (particularly Facebook) update us with the
goings-on in our loved ones’ lives. We also get to watch their photos, and
videos.
Easy to adapt - Miguelito Herrera of Cabanatuan City states, “It is not
surprising because Filipinos can easily adapt and are always ready to
embrace any kind of advancement in technology, plus we really love
gossip. Facebook was probably created to connect with long-lost friends
and it is an irresistible form of entertainment for people who want to talk
about day-to-day activities and who want to have lots of friends including
celebrities.”
A Different Kind of High - As said by Ruben Viray of Antipolo City,
“Every individual who uses the Internet feels a different kind of joy. It is
also the modern means of communication in the world today. Through
online social networking, Filipinos can easily make friends all over the
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world. They can easily join groups or organizations, local or foreign, to
their full satisfaction and enjoyment. Filipinos, too, are noted for being
happy and friendly people.”
Form of Escape - As stated by Rose Leobrera of Manila, “It’s the only
outlet by which Filipinos can forget the troubles in their lives. When one is
in the Philippines, texting and social media are a way of life. It’s the “in”
thing here. Also, many women wanting ti have husbands use the Net to
find potential partners. The business aspect for me is just on the side,
because not many Pinoys are into business. “Monkey business” pa
siguro.”
Channel of Progress - According to Lucas Banzon Madamba of
Laguna, “Online social networks are not only a means of communication
but also a channel of progress for people.”
Freedom of Expression - On the word of C.B. Fundales of Bulacan,
“Filipinos love freedom of expression and online social networks offer
unrestricted fora for ideas unmatched by even the print and broadcast
media.
2. Facebook Addiction
Are you not getting enough of Facebook, are you bothered of not
getting “logged in” in Facebook in a day or less than an hour? Are you
worried of your plants getting rotten in your farm on Facebook? If all of the
answers on these questions are “YES”, maybe Facebook Addiction has
already infected you.
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Markable.me discussed, “Because there are so many things you can do
in Facebook, it’s not surprising you spend more time in here than
anywhere else. It’s also not impossible to get hooked or addicted. With
those examples and more, becoming a Facebook addict is inevitable.”
According to Elmo Cruz of Manila, philstar.com, “Whatever their
purpose in social networking is, they find communication here easy, fast
and cheap, P10 to P20 per hour in Net cafes. The only problem I see is
that Internet aficionados are getting addicted to it.
The problem is Facebook addiction can get in the way of your normal
life. It becomes much easier to build online relationships than personal
ones. It reduces your work effectiveness and leads to depression and
anxiety if you cannot access it even just for a day (Berry, 2011).
3. Are you a Facebook addict?
The researchers have found out that there certain things to know if a
person is already a Facebook addict.
Do ever find yourself doing the following?
Checking your Facebook profile every 10 minutes
Spending more than half of your day in the social
networking site
Updating your profile and status messages
Adding plenty of friends
Tracking your profile even in your mobile phone
Then there’s a huge possibility you’re already addicted to Facebook
(Berry, 2011).
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In November 25, 2009 issue of Tech 101 – Manila Bulletin, Jusay
discusses the things on “How to know if you’re a Facebook Addict?”
(Jusay, 2009).
1. Your everyday conversations with friends are peppered with
references to Facebook, as in: “wow! Couple X broke up already? I
saw her post it this morning.”
2. Facebook is blocked in your office so you bring your own laptop
with your own broadband connection.
3. You use Facebook Mobile. You surf Facebook even on your phone
and when you feel you’re urge to, which is very OFTEN.
4. You derive immense pleasure in showing off your old photos to
everyone on your friends’ list, even if it takes 12 hours to scan
them.
5. You think about your farm or restaurant even when you’re at work
or in a business meeting. You’re more worried that your plants will
wilt and your foods will be spoiled.
6. Even your friends are amazed at your level of prowess in Facebook
games. You’re the Poker King, master farmer in Farmtown and
gourmet queen in Restaurant City.
7. Google and Twitter come second in your life. FB has reached a
point where it’s more important than work (ouch!).
27
8. You’re Miss Facebook Congeniality. You don’t really know too well
half of your friends in your network.
9. You go out of your way to add friends.
10.You attend a party and your standard line is: “add me in Facebook
plz!”
11.You attend a party and your standard line no. 2 is: “say cheese!
This photo is for Facebook!”
12.You update your Facebook status five times a day.
13.You spend 20 minutes thinking of a witty status update.
14.You’re excited about your coming trip to Bahamas (or insert name
of place here). But you’re more excited at the prospect of showing it
all off on FB.
15.You love FB so much, you even grown to love those Facebook ads.
16.You met your boyfriend on Facebook.
17.Facebook has replaced Yahoo Messenger and Googletalk in your
list.
18.You’ve deleted your Friendster account.
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Though we keep the truth, most of us do the same things on Facebook.
There’s nothing wrong with using Facebook, but one must effectively
manage the uncontrollable urge to check it all the time.
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Chapter 5
MANAGING THE ADDICTION
The researchers have looked for the ways on how to cope Facebook
Addiction.
In an article on http://ezinearticles.com, Nelson Berry discussed the
Ways on Reducing Facebook Addiction. Though it may take a while
before you can get rid of addiction, you can definitely do it. Begin with
following tips:
Reduce Facebook Tracking - You can gradually reduce the number
of times you open your Facebook account. For example, instead of
opening it every 10 minutes, you can do so every 30, then every hour,
then every other day, until you can survive not opening at all.
Consider other alternatives - Substitute the time you spend on
Facebook with something else. Rather than sitting there for hours, you
can go to the gym and take a stroll around the neighborhood. You can
pamper yourself by going to the spa or the salon.
Meet up with your friends - You can utilize Facebook to keep in touch
with your friends and schedule meet-ups. After all, the main reason why
you’re using Facebook is you want to reach out people, especially those
you haven’t met for a very long time.
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Activate Facebook blocking applications - An excellent Facebook
addiction self help is to download applications that can block the social
networking website. You can activate it during those times when you need
to work or attend to a very important chore.
Buy a mobile phone with no Internet Capabilities - The truth is you
don’t really need a mobile phone with Internet capabilities. When you have
to stay connected, you can always look for café. Besides, non-Internet-
capable phones are way cheaper and don’t tempt you to download
Facebook applications.
Use self help CDs - There are plenty of self help CDs and self help
tapes that are customized to those people who want to end their
Facebook addiction. Majority of them contain subliminal messages or
affirmations, which provide the inspiration and motivation they need to
never give up.
Share your thoughts - Your friends and family members can help you
eliminate your addiction only if you allow them to. So share your feelings
and ask for moral support.
Managing your addiction to Facebook will not be as easy as one, two,
three. It is like a requirement which tells you to limit yourself from a habit
you always do. One must learn to control himself of having a space
between him and Facebook.
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Chapter 6:
Conclusion
The researchers found out that aside from being a social trend in the
Philippines, Filipinos love Facebook because of its features which are
really beneficial for its users. Filipinos also love the Facebook game
applications which are really enjoyable. But beware from playing it
thoroughly for too much use of Facebook may cause a person to
habitually visit it and later, it causes addiction.
Recommendation
The researchers recommended one must learn how to manage the
time using Facebook or any social networking site and do not let someone
to get addicted to Facebook to prevent addiction. And if a minor user is
about to use Facebook, the parents or guardian should make guidance on
what is the right thing to do in using Facebook.
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Bibliography
Internet Articles
Abaño, K. (February 4, 2011). “Filipinos on Facebook”.
http://angbagongfilipino.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/filipi
nos-on-facebook
Berry, N. (February 28, 2011). “Discovering the Ways to Reducing
Facebook Addiction”. http://www.ezinearticles.com/
?Discover-the-Ways-to-Reducing-Facebook-
Addiction&id=5912365
Aijc ( February 4,2011). “Survey Internet Access”.
http://www.aijc.com.ph/survey-inter
net-access.pdf
Helium (February 4,2011). “How Facebook Affects Society?”
http://www.helium.com/items/1940499-facebook-and-
society-how-facebook-changed-society
Mylot (February 4,2011). “Discussions About Facebook”
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/2478542.aspx
Philstar (February 4,2011). “News Report: RP Population on
Facebook is the World’s Sixth Largest
http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx? Article id=6289718
publication subcategory id=134
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Stone,Brad ( February 4,2011).”Microsoft to pay $240 million for
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/technology/24cnd-
facebook.html?-r=2&oref=slogin
Thomas,Crampton ( February 4,2011). “Why Friendster Lost the
Philippines to Facebook?”
http://www.thomascrampton.com/Philippines/friendster-
philippines-social-media-asia
Toral,J. ( February 4,2011). “More than 600000 Filipinos login to
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http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?Title= Top-10-
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Magazines
Hamlin, M.A. “Social Networks at Work”, Computer World
Philippines. November 2009. Vol.20.No.5.p.10
Romulo, B.D. “Your Life is an Open Book”, Philippine
Panorama.June 20,2010.p.11
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Newspaper Articles
Bautista, Jaye C. “Are the Kids are getting Lazier (part 2)?”, Tech
101, Manila Bulletin.May 5,2010.p.6
_________.“Facebook Apps brings back Data”, Tech 101, Manila
Bulletin. May 5,2010.p.2
Jusay,Annalyn S. “Facebook: The New Frontier”, Tech 101, Manila
Bulletin.November 25,2009.p.6
Magsuci,Malorie D. “How to Improve your Job Search”, Manila
Bulletin Classified January 6,2010.p.BB4
NYT.”Antisocial Networking?”, Tech 101, Manila Bulletin. May
5,2010. p.4
Villaraza,Alexei F.”6 Degrees of Separation in Cyberspace (part
1)”,
Manila Bulletin. October 1,2007. p.D3
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