Hashtags And Politics: A Mixed-Methods Study On Generation Z’s Influence Of Social Media On Political Participation In Makilala, Cotabato
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examines the role of social media in shaping the political engagement of Generation Z in Makilala, Cotabato, through a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Seventy-five senior high school students, all registered voters with active social media accounts, completed surveys, and seven participated in in-depth interviews. Results show that most respondents were female (70.7%), maintained one to two social media accounts, and favored Facebook for political information. Quantitative findings indicate a moderate influence of social media on political knowledge and a slight increase in online discussion engagement, with a significant moderate positive correlation between information exposure and participatory behavior. Qualitative themes highlight selective exposure to content, critical evaluation, and motivation-driven civic participation. Findings contribute to the understanding of digital civic engagement among Filipino youth, offering insights for educators and policymakers. The study provides evidence-based insights to guide local policymakers, educators, and political actors in promoting informed and responsible youth participation, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 16.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2024 APJETPS, its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved. For all open access content, the Creative Commons (CC) Attribution 4.0 International Public License terms apply.
References
Ali, H. (2024). The Impact of Social Media on the Rise of Independent Candidates in Democratic Systems. Agricultural and Water Management Review, 1(1), 25-40.
Alodat, A. M., Al-Qora’n, L. F., & Abu Hamoud, M. (2023). Social media platforms and political participation: A study of Jordanian youth engagement. Social Sciences, 12(7), 402.
Ahmed, S., & Gil-Lopez, T. (2024). The Company You Keep: Social Interaction Network Characteristics and Political Participation among Adolescents and Young Adults. New media & society, 26(2), 782-804.
Andersen, K., Ohme, J., Bjarnøe, C., Bordacconi, M. J., Albæk, E., & De Vreese, C. H. (2021). Generational gaps in political media use and civic engagement: From baby boomers to generation Z (p. 250). Taylor & Francis.
Avalle, M., Di Marco, N., Etta, G., Sangiorgio, E., Alipour, S., Bonetti, A., ... & Quattrociocchi, W. (2024). Persistent interaction patterns across social media platforms and over time. Nature, 628(8008), 582-589.
Battocchio, A. F., Wells, C., Vraga, E., Thorson, K., Edgerly, S., & Bode, L. (2023). Gen Z's civic engagement: News use, politics, and cultural engagement. In Handbook of Digital Politics (pp. 168-195). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bello, M. (2024). Impact of Social Networks on Access to News among the French Generation Z Population.
Bwire, V. (2024). Youth Engagement in Policy Making: Assessing Perspectives from Kenyan Parliamentarians, Civil Society, and the Youth.
Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., ... & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of research in Nursing, 25(8), 652-661.
Collins, L. (2019). Social Media Usage News Consumption, Behaviors, and Online Civic Reasoning Among Generation Z(Master's thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia).
Demir, S. B., & Pismek, N. (2018). A Convergent Parallel Mixed-Methods Study of Controversial Issues in Social Studies Classes: A Clash of Ideologies. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 18(1), 119-149.
Dizon, N. R. A. (2025). Exploring the Role of Online Community Networks in the Integration Process of Filipino Women Migrants in Japan (Doctoral dissertation, NAGOYA UNIVERSITY).
Egala, S. B., Liang, D., & Boateng, D. (2022). Social media health-related information credibility and reliability: An integrated user-perceived quality assessment. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 71, 5018-5029.
Erikson, R. S., & Tedin, K. L. (2019). American public opinion: Its origins, content, and impact. Routledge.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Flores, K. G., Dumaguin, C. H., Dumo, G. G., Fontanilla, A. Z. G., & Nisperos, K. A. A. (2022). Social Media as a Transformative Agent of Political Behavior among Political Science Students in a Component City. Am. J. Multidis. Res. Innov, 1(2), 78-85.
Guest, G. (2014). Sampling and selecting participants in field research. Handbook of methods in cultural anthropology, 2(1), 215-250.
Habito, C. M., Morgan, A., & Vaughan, C. (2022). ‘Direct’and ‘instant’: the role of digital technology and social media in young Filipinos’ intimate relationships. Culture, health & sexuality, 24(5), 657-672.
Huh, E. (2025). Exploring the effects of quantitative and qualitative cues on social media engagement and user perceptions (Doctoral dissertation).
Ines, J. C., & Tolentino, M. Q. (2024). Beyond Likes and Shares: Exploring the Influence of Social Media on Brand Choices among College of Business Students at a Private Higher Education Institution in the Philippines. Am. J. Econ. Bus. Innov., 3(2), 66-74.
Joyce, D. (2020). Informed the public, media, and international law. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Ji, Q. (2023). Social media and society. Routledge.
Kelly, F. (2024). The impact of digital and social media on the news consumption and democratic engagement of 25 to 35 year olds (Doctoral dissertation, Institute of Art, Design+ Technology).
Kemp, S. (2023). Digital 2023: The Philippines. DataReportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-philippines
Kim, S. J. (2023). The role of social media news usage and platforms in civic and political engagement: Focusing on types of usage and platforms. Computers in Human Behavior, 138, 107475.
Labudová, L. (2024). Current leading social media platforms used by marketers and its benefits. In Proceedings of the 11th European conference on social media, ECSM 2024(Vol. 11, pp. 394-401)
Lee, C. M. (2025). Usability of Social Media Technologies: How it affect our Personal Everyday Life? The Millennial Qualitative Research Study.
Lewis, K. B. (2024). A New Day in American Democracy: Explaining How Social Media Affects Voter Participation and Civic Engagement (Doctoral dissertation, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College).
Lim, M. (2024). Social media and politics in Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press.
Luttrell, R. (2025). Social media: How to engage, share, and connect. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
Maev, I. (2024). FORMATION OF DIGITAL IDENTITY THROUGH POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION IN GENERATION Y AND GENERATION Z. Psychological Research (in the Balkans), 27(1), 25-34.
Magnusson, E. (2023). Information, news, and politics gathering through social media by Generation Z: A semi-structured interview study.
Malinen, S., Koivula, A., & Koiranen, I. (2020, July). How do digital divides determine social media users’ aspirations to influence others?. In International Conference on Social Media and Society (pp. 141-147).
Mannheim, K. (1952). "The Problem of Generations". In Kecskemeti, Paul (ed.). Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge: Collected Works, Volume 5. New York: Routledge. pp. 276–322.
McCrindle, M., & Fell, A. (2019). Understanding Generation Z: Recruiting, training, and leading the next generation. McCrindle Research Pty Ltd, 5-17.
Morrow, R., Rodriguez, A., & King, N. (2015). Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method. The psychologist, 28(8), 643-644.
Ngov, M. (2024). The Impact of Political Content Consumption from TikTok on Civic Engagement and Online Political Participation Among Gen Zs A Case Study in Cambodia(Master's thesis, Northern Illinois University).
Nickolas, S. (2024). What does it mean if the correlation coefficient is positive, negative, or zero? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032515/what does-it mean-if-correlation-coefficient-positive-negative-or-zero.asp
Njegomir, N. M. (2016). The impact of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube on Millennials' political behavior. Gonzaga University.
Gempes, G. P., & Obenza, B. N. (2025). Integrating Conceptual Frameworks in Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to Design and Application. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Higher Education, 2(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.70847/619380
Ofei, O., Kayode, E., Apeakhuye, A. L., Precious, O. E., & Emuke, E. (2024). A Review of Social Media as Alternative Medium for Political Participation. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 5(1), 489-497.
Remmling, G. W. (2020). The Sociology of Karl Mannheim (RLE Social Theory): With a Bibliographical Guide to the Sociology of Knowledge, Ideological Analysis, and Social Planning. Routledge.
Safiullah, M. D., Pathak, P., & Singh, S. (2022). The impact of social media and news media on political marketing: an empirical study of the 2014 Indian General Election. International Journal of Business Excellence, 26(4), 536-550.
Samala, A. D., Rawas, S., Criollo-C, S., Fortuna, A., Feng, X., Prasetya, F., ... & Hidayat, R. (2024). Social media in education: trends, roles, challenges, and opportunities for digital native generations-a systematic literature review. Asian Journal of University Education (AJUE), 20(3), 524-539.
Seyfi, S., Hall, C. M., Vo-Thanh, T., & Zaman, M. (2023). How does digital media engagement influence sustainability-driven political consumerism among Gen Z tourists?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(11), 2441-2459.
Supriyanto, T. (2024). The Influence of Social Media on Political Participation in the Digital Era. International Journal of Social and Political Sciences, 1(1), 43-54.
Tandon, S., Singh, N. V., & Tripathi, D. (2022). Like, Share, and Comment: Gen-Z and Political Memes on Social Media. Special Education, 1(43).
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. & Brady, H. 1995. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Vromen, A., Halpin, D., & Vaughan, M. (2022). Why Do Personal Narratives and Stories Matter for Online Political Engagement?. In Crowdsourced Politics: The Rise of Online Petitions & Micro-Donations (pp. 95-115). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Wallace, M. B. (2025). Politics in 30 Seconds: How TikTok's Emotional Appeals Influence Gen Z Voters (Doctoral dissertation).
Wamsler, C., Osberg, G., Panagiotou, A., Smith, B., Stanbridge, P., Osika, W., & Mundaca, L. (2023). Meaning-making in a context of climate change: supporting agency and political engagement. Climate Policy, 23(7), 829-844.
Wick, K. M. (2024). Development of a multidimensional measure of well-being for emerging adults utilizing a convergent parallel mixed-method design (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln).
Yusoph, R. A. (2024). Social Media as a Tool for Peace? Mapping Online Engagement among Mranaw Youths.