Unfolding the Role of Social Media Platforms in Creative Writing

Abstract

This qualitative-phenomenological study navigates the perceptions of the students in UM Tagum College. The purpose of this study was to explore and unfold the experiences and perceptions on the role of social media platforms in Creative Writing of Third year BSED-English and AB-English students. This study is gleaned through the theories of Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, Atkinson’s Socio-cognitive Theory and Bronfenbrenner and Morris’ Ecological Theory of Writing and as cited in the study of Cheng (2010) stating that writing is a process of social interaction which is also influenced by the computer and ICT roles in online or social networking environments. There was a total of fourteen students (14) both from BSED-English and AB-English whom seven (7) participated individually in the in-depth interview and another seven (7) for focus-group discussion. As to the participants’ perceptions on the role of social media in creative writing, five major themes emerged: serve as a reference, provide easy access to use, serve as an enrichment tool, expose one to unreliable sources of information, and must be used responsibly. Lastly, with regards to the influences of social media exposure in creative writing, five major themes emerged: enriching students’ ideas, affecting writer’s originality, having poor diction, diminished creativity, and committing plagiarism. The results are deemed significant to students, teachers, administrators and other stakeholders to create and support programs to surpass the changes brought by social media platforms.