TikTokracy: Utilizing TikTok as a New Literacy Practice among College Students during Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to investigate college students new literacy practices in utilizing TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic. Quantitative-descriptive approach was employed in this study. The respondents were college students who were enrolled in Purposive Communication. Online survey questionnaire was the main research instrument. Results show that majority of the respondents are females which are more than half of the individuals responded to the survey. This suggests that females are more active in TikTok. They also belong to the family with more than Php 25,000 estimated family income which is the average family income in the Philippines. The college students- respondents utilize TikTok because they find entertaining or funny videos for relaxation, get some inspiration from anyone in the social media application, and be aware of new places and culture of the people. Moreover, based on these top 3 reasons, showing appreciation, reading public posts, motivate and increase engagement through informative contents, and comments on posts and profiles are the new literacy practices observed from the college students. Hence, the relationship between new literacy practices and gender of the respondents; relationship between new literacy practices and estimated family income of the respondents are both significant. The findings of this study were used in the development of TikTokracy, a digital literacy training matrix to improve the students engagement during the HyFlex learning. This will help the teachers and curriculum planners to design learning packages suitable for the new literacy practices of the college students.

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