Social Media Consumption, Mathematical Study Habits, and Computational Fluency of Grade 7 Students in the Digital Age: A Correlational Study

Abstract

This study investigated social media consumption, mathematical study habits, and computational fluency among Grade 7 learners in a public national high school in Carcar City, Cebu, under the MATATAG Curriculum. It used a quantitative descriptive-correlational design with random sampling. The respondents were 151 Grade 7 learners drawn from five sections. Data were collected through a demographic profile sheet, a validated Social Media Consumption Questionnaire (SMCQ), a Mathematical Study Habits Inventory (MSHI), and a researcher-made Computational Fluency Test (CFT). Expert validation yielded a Content Validity Ratio above 0.80, while reliability coefficients ranged from Cronbach’s α = 0.85 to 0.92. Frequency, percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, and Pearson product-moment correlation were used for analysis. Social media consumption was moderate (M = 3.29, SD = 1.37), and mathematical study habits were also moderate (M = 2.87, SD = 1.21). Computational fluency was low, with a mean score of 49.16 (SD = 15.49) and 71.52% of learners classified at the Beginning level. Social media consumption was not significantly related to mathematical study habits (r = .045, p = .580) or computational fluency (r = .049, p = .550), and mathematical study habits were not significantly related to computational fluency (r = −.045, p = .583). The findings indicate that the observed computational weakness cannot be explained by simple bivariate relationships among the measured variables alone. The study therefore proposes Instructional Intervention and Digital Habit Management Strategies centered on fluency practice, study-routine strengthening, responsible digital use, and systematic monitoring.