45 International Peer Reviewed Journal Facebook Use as Mechanism in Understanding Emotion and Self-regulation JOEL T. ACLAO ORCID No. 0000-0001-5507-5868 joeltaclao@gmail.com Misamis University, Ozamiz City, Philippines JOEY A. CABRERA ORCID No. 000-0002-49581294 joeyacabrera@gmail.com Misamis University, Ozamiz City, Philippines ELL JUNE S. ABUCAY ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1740-7424 elljuneabucay@gmail.com Misamis University, Ozamiz City, Philippines CLEO WENDELL JADE Z. COLEGADO ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7113-1065 cleocolegado@gmail.com Misamis University, Ozamiz City, Philippines ABSTRACT Schools and school administrators regulate the use of social networking sites especially Facebook in the campus as they consider it unfavorable to students’ academic life. This study looked into the positive contribution of Facebook to students’ life. It correlated students’ frequency of Facebook use and their level of emotion regulation. This descriptive-correlational study utilized Emotion Regulation Questionnaire to collect data from the 130 student-respondents. The study revealed that the Misamis University High School students used Vol. 14 · October 2013 Print ISSN 2012-3981 • Online ISSN 2244-0445 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v14i1.234 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research is produced by PAIR, an ISO 9001:2008 QMS certified by AJA Registrars, Inc. 46 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Facebook for 1-2 hours a day on average. As the students increase their frequency of Facebook use, their level of understanding and regulating their emotion get better. The study reconsiders revision of the school policy on Facebook use in the campus and integration of the same in instructional practices. Keywords – Educational Psychology, Facebook Use, Understanding Emotion, Self-regulation, Descriptive-Correlational Study, Philippines INTRODUCTION Facebook (FB) is a popular social networking site (SNS) used primarily to communicate and stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Students adopt it for academic and non-academic purposes (Lampe, 2008; Roblyer, 2010; Bakar, 2009). Many psychologists and researchers afterwards posed recurring questions about the detrimental effects of Facebook use to individuals who frequently use the social site. Compulsive use of the networking sites may have deleterious effects on the user’s psychosocial well-being, (Tokunaga & Rains, 2010). On the positive side, Facebook provides emotional support on teens who suffer emotional problems related to their academic studies (Erjavic, 2013). The features of Facebook impact the emotion of its users and its format can intensify feelings (Mod, 2010). Users enjoy collaborative learning and can direct their emotions through posts. Hence, expressing one’s emotion and learning something becomes easy. These strategies specify how people go about managing a particular unwanted emotion. Failure to regulate emotions affects the advancement of the affective domain (Gratz, 2009). Emotion regulation (ER) is a strategy we use to maintain components of an emotional response (Schmidt, 2008). It is also the process responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reaction in order to accomplish one’s goals (Mcewen&Flouri, 2009). Emotional regulation comprised a multitude of physiological, cognitive, and behavioral overlapping processes (Sim&Zeman, 2006). Emotion regulation is the process of maintaining, modulating, or changing the occurrence and intensity of physiological processes (Eisenberg et al., 2000). The maturation of these ER capacities is central to the individual’s growing abilities to handle stress, develop coping skills, and modulate attentive and learning processes (Shen& Zhang, 2012). Inability to regulate emotions can cause maladaptive ways of modulating emotional arousal, difficulties in controlling behaviors during emotional distress, and failure to use 47 International Peer Reviewed Journal emotions as information (Gratz, 2009). Many issues rise as the use of Facebook is becoming popular. Bullying has become more prevalent because of profane photo or video comments and irresponsible post (Mazer& James, 2012; Litwiller&Brausch, 2013). Social networking sites such as Facebook have evolved as a combination of personalized media experience within the social context of participation. In SNSs like Facebook, profiles, friends and comments are publicly visible (Ahmad, 2011). In sum, social interaction is now more open causing openness also on the issues on irresponsible posting, degrading comments, and even war of words. With these issues, a total ban of Facebook is the battle cry of many. Schools and academic institutions safeguarded their subjects by a total ban of Facebook use in the school premises. Many researchers attempt to explain the effects of Facebook use on the individuals. However, they failed to associate Facebook use on the affective domain specifically on the emotion regulation aspect of the learners. This paper will take a different view and see how Facebook use can impact a person’s emotion regulation skills. Result will support revision of policies regulating Facebook use inside school campuses and using it as a platform of instruction. FRAMEWORK Emotion regulation is an ability of human beings to express their emotions in productive ways. It consists of people’s active attempts to manage their emotional states. People use different strategies to regulate their emotions. Maximum development of emotion regulation occurs when teens are given the opportunity to pursue goals and engage in challenging and collaborative learning experiences (Gross, 2002; Boekaerts and Corno, 2005; Fredricks et al., 2004). One’s ability to regulate emotion is crucial to psychological and physical well- being (Ahn et al., 2013). Deficiency in emotion regulation skills negatively affects the affective domain of the students (Gratz, 2008). Knowing that affective domain development is one of primary goals in learning (Sherry, 2005), it is thus imperative not to underestimate the role of emotion regulation in the learning processes. Emotions are processes that unfold over time, and its response components are interrelated as the emotion unfolds (Gross, 2002). Behaviors can change emotions, often these effects are unintended or incidental or even implicit or outside awareness. It entails the modification of ongoing or newly created 48 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research emotional responses through the active engagement of regulatory processes (Williams, 2009). This study considers the use of Facebook as the students’ strategy to regulate emotions. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study assessed the frequency of Facebook use and the level of emotion regulation among the high school students in Misamis University. It also aimed to explore significant relationship between students’ Facebook use and their level of emotion regulation. METHODOLOGY This descriptive-correlational research design aimed to describe the relationship between students’ frequency of Facebook use and their level of emotion regulation. Descriptive correlational research describes relationships among variables where the researcher has no control over the independent variables (Lappe, 2000). The study randomly surveyed 130 high school students in Misamis University High School Department on August to September 2013. The study employed demographic profile survey to ask students’ frequency of Facebook use a day, gadget used upon visiting Facebook, and Internet connection access. The study also used Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) to assess the students’ emotion regulation. ERQ is part of the Social Skills Checklist of the Psychological Services Department of Escambia County School District. The study tested the tool to ascertain its applicability and reliability level. Results showed that the four subscales of the ERQ are within the acceptable level of reliability, to wit: Understanding Emotions (UE) – 0.85, Self-regulation (SR) – 0.73, Flexibility (FL) – 0.73, and Problem Solving (PS) – 0.70. The researchers preserved the integrity of the respondents by maintaining anonymity of the completed questionnaires. They asked student-respondents, and their parents to sign an informed consent prior to answering of the questionnaires. The researchers computed the descriptive statistics such as counts and percents, mean and standard deviation to describe the frequency of Facebook use and students’ level of emotion regulation. The study measured the strength of correlation of the variables using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation test (Pearson’s r). 49 International Peer Reviewed Journal RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Frequency of Facebook Use and Level of Emotion Regulation Data (Table 1) revealed that most of the students (60.77%) surveyed visited Facebook 1-2 hours a day on average. A few of them (26.15%) use Facebook for 2-4 hours a day and the least minority (13.08%) hang out with Facebook for 5 hours or more a day. Misamis University High School students used Facebook for 1 – 2 hours a day. Finding shows that the students have lesser time in socializing friends via Facebook. This finding means that the students do not have the affluence time on Facebook. They can only access the social networking site outside the school or at home because the school regulates its use in the campus. However, the 1-2 hours student engagement in Facebook is already enough for them to express their emotions about academic pressures that have transpired during the day. The students’ level of emotion regulation along the four subscales is at the good level (Table 1). The finding suggests that the high school students can identify their likes and dislikes, can demonstrate affection and empathy towards peers, can refrain from aggressive behaviors, do not exhibit intense fears or phobias, can interpret body language and can vary voice tone to convey messages. In short, the students have the understanding on when and how to express appropriate emotions. This study found evidence that the students can define their emotions portrayed by different scenarios and circumstances. Since emotions are indicators of how things are going on in people’s lives, these students find it easy to understand why things are going upside down. The students regulate their emotions themselves by allowing others to comfort him/her if upset or agitated, by accepting teases without becoming upset and by ending conversations appropriately. Self-regulated students develop realistic expectations, create goals with specific outcomes, and identify plans to maximize success (Zimmerman, 2008). The students consider best learning to occur when they observe their own behaviors. This means that students learn to decrease negative behaviors and increase positive behaviors. In Facebook, the students cope up in decreasing negative behaviors by posting shout-outs, photos, and by bullying enemies. They also learn to increase positive behavior by liking and appreciating friends’ album, posting announcements, and by expressing feelings through comments and posts. 50 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Table 1. Frequency of facebook use and the students’ level of emotion regulation Variables f % Understanding Emotion Self- regulation Flexibility Problem Solving Frequency of FB Use M SD M SD M SD M SD 1 – 2 hours 9 60.77 2.44 0.515 2.62 0.502 2.83 0.569 2.69 0.501 3 – 4 hours 34 26.15 2.74 0.403 2.90 0.609 2.85 0.520 2.87 0.449 5 hours or more 17 13.08 2.67 0.623 2.81 0.556 2.87 0.591 2.73 0.890 Overall 130 100.00 2.55 0.519 2.72 0.549 2.84 0.556 2.74 0.554 Notes: Emotion Regulation Scale: Very Good (3.26 – 4.20); Good (2.51 – 3.25); Poor (1.76 – 2.50); and Very Poor (1.0 – 1.75). Correlation between Students’ Facebook Use and their Level of Emotion Regulation The results (Table 2) of the test of correlations between the frequency of students’ frequency of Facebook use and their level of understanding emotions yielded a highly significant mark or moderate correlation (r = 0.632; p = 0.007). Further analysis of the data (Table 1) reveals that the students who used Facebook for 2-4 hours a day had a higher level of understanding emotions (M = 2.76) than that of students who used Facebook for 1-2 hours (M = 2.44). This finding supports the idea that when students increase their time socializing in Facebook, they get better opportunities of understanding their emotions. This finding of the study strengthens the argument on allowing the use of Facebook. The ability to understand emotions serves fundamental roles in decision-making and reasoning. In facing moral decision-making, we may consider other people’s emotions resulting from physical pain. The ability to interpret emotional cues is important in maintaining psychological functioning. Further, a coordinated understanding of emotional state can lead to appreciation of the relationship between how others perceive and think about one’s actions. The finding supports further evidence that Facebook use can inhibit social adjustment just like understanding one’s emotion (Yang & Brown, 2013). Data (Table 2) also show a significant marked or moderate correlation (r = 0.481; p = 0.040) between students’ frequency of Facebook use and their level of self-regulation. This could mean that somehow by increasing the time of Facebook use, the level of self-regulation among student-users will improve. 51 International Peer Reviewed Journal The comparison of the means (Table 1) between the groups of 1- 2 hour and 2-4 hour Facebook users reveals that the later group had a higher level of self- regulation (m = 2.90). This finding implies that when students maximize their time socializing in Facebook for 2- 4 hours a day, they will be able to achieve better self-regulation. It is evident that the students manage their emotions to achieve positive goals such as maintaining good relationships, learning, etc. Furthermore, they are well- equipped in terms of monitoring their own learning, providing own feedback and performance evaluations, and viewing errors and criticism as opportunities to learn rather than as reasons to give up (Perry and Vandekamp, 2000). The students also involved in the development of constructive behaviors that affect learning. They adapt the processes to support the realization of personal goals. With the advent of internet, specifically the Facebook, the students taught themselves to become self-regulated learners by the integration of social sites for learning purposes. Table 2. Correlation between frequency of Facebook use and students’ emotion regulation Variables Understanding Emotion r (p) Self-regulation r (p) Flexibility r (p) Problem Solving r (p) Frequency of Facebook Use 0.632(0.007)** 0.481(0.040)* 0.043(0.623) 0.107(0.225) Notes: (1) ** Highly Significant at 0.01, * Significant at 0.05. (2) r-value interpretation is based on Calmorin&Piedad (2009) r- value Description 0.00 - 0.20 - negligible 0.21 – 0.40 - low or slight 0.41 – 0.70 - marked or moderate 0.71 – 0.90 - high 0.91 – 0.99 - very high 1.00 - perfect 52 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research CONCLUSIONS The study advances the idea that high school students use Facebook for about 1-2 hours a day, and they have a good level of regulating emotion. The students’ frequency of Facebook use is associated with their good level of understanding emotion and self-regulation. The higher the frequency students use Facebook, the better their level of understanding and regulating emotion become. The study concluded that Facebook use could be a mechanism in understanding emotion and self-regulation among high school students. Hence, banning Facebook inside the school campus is not commendable. The study recommends revision of policies regulating Facebook use in academic institutions. LITERATURE CITED Ahn, H. M., Kim, S. A., Hwang, I. J., Jeong, J. W., Kim, H. T., Hamann, S. and Kim, S. H. 2013 The Effect of Cognitive Reappraisal on Long-Term Emotional Experience and Emotional Memory. Journal of Neuropsychology. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/rNUMCz. Ahmad, A. 2011 Social Network Sites and its Popularity. International Journal of Research and Reviews in Computer Science (IJRRCS), 2(2). Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/rN8K9s. Bakar, N.A. 2009 E-Learning Environment: Blogging as a Platform for Language Learning. European Journal of Social Sciences, p. Vol. 9. Retrieved on February 22, 2014 from http://thehunni.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/ blogging-for-ell-and-literacy.pdf Boekaerts, M. and Corno, L. 2005 Self-Regulation in the Classroom: A Perspective on Assessment and Intervention. Applied Psychology, 54, 267–99. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 fromhttp://goo.gl/E5GnlA. Eisenberg, N., Guthrie, I. K., Fabes, R., Shepard, S., Losoya, S., Murphy, B. C. 2000 Prediction of elementary school children’s externalizing problem 53 International Peer Reviewed Journal behaviors from attention and behavioral regulation and negative emotionality. Child Development, 71(5), 1367-1382. Retrieved on February 22, 2014 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/1467-8624.00233/abstract Erjavec, K. 2013 Informal Learning Through Facebook among Slovenian Pupils/ Aprendizaje informal a través de Facebook entre alumnoseslovenos. Comunicar, 21(41), 117-126. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/MlcgNh. Escambia County School District. (n.d.). Retrieved on July 08, 2013, from Escambia County School District:http://goo.gl/JBg3th. Fredricks, J.A., Blumenfeld, P.C. and Paris, A.H. 2004 School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/EuX6nz. Gratz, M. T. Tull, D. E. Baruch, M. A. Bornovalova, & C. W. Lejuez 2009 Extending Extant Models of the Pathogenesis of Borderline Personality Disorder to Childhood Borderline Personality Symptoms: The Roles of Affective Dysfunction, Disinhibition, and Self- and Emotion- Regulation Deficits. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 49, 603-615. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/bPeUpG. Gross, J. J. 2002 Emotion Regulation: Affective, Cognitive, and Social Consequences. Psychophysiology, 39 (3), 281-291. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/2vYQRx. Lampe, C., Ellison, B., &Steinfield, C. 2008 Changes in Use and Perception of Facebook. Proceedings of the 2008 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work (pp. 721- 730). New York: ACM. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http:// goo.gl/FTErwB. 54 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Lappe, J. M. 2000 Taking the Mystery out of Research: Descriptive correlational design. Orthopaedic Nursing, 19(2), 81. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/PmreTq. Litwiller, B. J., &Brausch, A. M. 2013 Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying In Adolescent Suicide: The Role of Violent Behavior and Substance Use. Journal of youth and adolescence, 42(5), 675-684. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/ m5f17F Mcewen, C., &Flouri, E. 2009 Fathers’ Parenting, Adverse Life Events, and Adolescents’ Emotional and Eating Disorder Symptoms: The Role of Emotion Regulation. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18(4), 206-16. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/jZVm7a. Mod, G. B. B. A. 2010 Reading Romance: The Impact Facebook Rituals can have on a Romantic Relationship. Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 1(2), 61-77. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http:// goo.gl/pR5qt4. Perry, N.E. and Vandekamp, K.J.O. 2000 Creating Classroom Contexts That Support Young Children’s Development of Self-Regulated Learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 33, 821–43. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/jbJ4Kk. Paler-Calmorin, L., &Calmorin-Piedad, M. L. 2009 Statistics with Computer. Manila: Rex Book Store. Roblyer, M. M., Webb. M., Herman, J. & Witty, J. V. 2010 Findings on Facebook in Higher Education: A Comparison of College Faculty and Student Uses and Perceptions of Social Networking Sites. Internet and Higher Education, 13, 134-140. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/UNAm1C. 55 International Peer Reviewed Journal Schmidt, L. A. 2008 Handbook of Emotion Regulation. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 270- 271. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/gqK5hO. Shen, X., & Zhang, W. 2012 The Effect of Temperament on Emotion Regulation among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Teacher Emotional Empathy. International Education Studies, 5(3), 113-125. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/Dui86Z. Sim, L., &Zeman, J. 2006 The Contribution of Emotion Regulation to Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating In Early Adolescent Girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(2), 207-216. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 fromhttp://goo.gl/k7AaRx. Tokunaga, R. S., & Rains, S. A. 2010 An Evaluation of Two Characterizations of the Relationships between Problematic Internet Use, Time Spent Using the Internet, and Psychosocial Problems. Human Communication Research, 36(4), 512- 545. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 fromhttp://goo.gl/x3jhoQ. Williams, L.E., Bargh, J.A., Nocera, C.C. & Gray, J.R. 2009 The unconscious regulation of emotion: nonconscious reappraisal goals modulate emotional reactivity. Emotion 9, 847-54. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/iH6vHf. Yang, C., & Brown, B. B. 2013 Motives for using Facebook, patterns of Facebook activities, and late adolescents’ social adjustment to college. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(3), 403-16. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/8sVNYY. 56 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Research Zimmerman, B. 2008 Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166–83. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://goo.gl/b2QU1v. Pursuant to the international character of this publication, the journal is in- dexed/ aggregated by the following agencies: 1) Public Knowledge Project, a con- sortium of Simon Fraser University Library, the School of Education of Stanford University, and the British Columbia University, Canada; 2) Philippine E-Jour-nals; 3) Google Scholar; and 4) The JournalTOCs.