The Role of Social Media and The Students’ Self-Esteem: A Parental Assessment Toward A Proposed Guidance Program

Abstract

This study examined the perceived impact of social media on the emotional well-being, social interaction, academic behavior, and online behavior of Grade 6 pupils, as well as its relationship with students’ level of self-esteem in terms of performance, social, and appearance dimensions. The study also determined whether significant differences exist when grouped according to selected demographic variables of parent-respondents. Results revealed that most parent-respondents belong to the lower-income bracket, are primarily employed full-time, have three children on average, and have first-born Grade 6 pupils. Facebook, Messenger, and TikTok were identified as the most commonly used social media platforms, with most children spending one to two hours daily on social media. Parents generally perceived social media as having a Low Impact on their children’s emotional well-being (M = 2.07), social interaction (M = 2.18), academic behavior (M = 2.04), and online behavior (M = 2.12). However, moderate positive effects were noted in areas such as maintaining communication with friends and family and using social media to support learning. Emotional well-being was significantly influenced by the average daily time spent on social media. In terms of self-esteem, findings showed that students demonstrate positive levels of performance self-esteem (M = 2.87), social self-esteem (M = 2.71), and appearance self-esteem (M = 2.56), indicating generally healthy self-perceptions across domains. Correlation analysis revealed that emotional well-being was significantly related to social and appearance self-esteem but not to performance self-esteem. Social interaction showed significant positive relationships across all domains of self-esteem, with the strongest association observed in appearance self-esteem. Academic behavior was significantly related to social and appearance self-esteem but not to performance self-esteem. Online behavior demonstrated significant relationships with performance and social self-esteem. Further analysis showed that most demographic variables—including income, employment status, family size, and type of social media platform used—did not produce significant differences in perceived social media impact or students’ self-esteem. However, birth order significantly influenced performance self-esteem, and type of platform significantly affected social self-esteem. Additionally, average daily time spent on social media significantly affected emotional well-being. Overall, the findings suggest that while social media has a generally low perceived impact on Grade 6 pupils, certain aspects particularly social interaction and emotional experiences are significantly associated with students’ self-esteem.