Tiktok Consumption and Level of Class Engagement of Performing Arts Students in the New Normal: Destructive or Beneficial?

TikTok has been widely used by Filipino youths, most especially students, for entertain- ment purposes in between or after class as pass time activity. Previous studies were already conducted in regards to the positive and negative effect of using TikTok to students’ aca- demic performance. This present study aims to determine if TikTok can predict the level of engagement of students. 103 college students currently enrolled under the Bachelor of Performing Arts at City College of Angeles participated in this study. Independent T-test analysis was performed to examine the difference between gender in terms of TikTok con- sumption and level of engagement; Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was also used to determine the relationship between TikTok consumption and level of engagement; lastly, Linear regression was utilized to predict the relationship of TikTok consumption to the level of engagement of students. The findings revealed that there is no significant difference between TikTok consumption and level of engagement in terms of gender. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between TikTok consumption and level of engagement. Finally, TikTok consumption positively predicts the level of engagement of students. In line with this, recommendations were proposed based on the results of this study. This present study offers new standpoint in the smart and responsible use of TikTok application and how it can positively affect the level of engagement of students in a local college setting.


INTRODUCTION
In this post-pandemic time, most of the educational institutions in the Philippines have started implementing a limited face-to-face class from the basic education to the tertiary level. However, in the current situation of City College of Angeles, students are still in the online class setting due to college's infrastructure development and it is being used by the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Angeles as vaccination center. Most of the students are staying home and still enters their respective classes through online educational platforms. Due to loads of coursework that they need to fulfill, students mostly rely on TikTok as one of their pass time activities, aside from other social networking applications. In this present study, this aims to understand the relationship between the use of TikTok to the level of engagement of the students. Due to rampant consumption of students on the said application, this present study would also like to further determine if the use of the said application may positively or negatively affect the engagement of the students on their online class. In order to examine the effect of the said application to students' engagement, further investigation should be performed. This present study will provide insights that will help both professors and students on how TikTok may affect engagement of students and how it should be addressed based on the findings that this present study will obtain.

LITERATURE REVIEW The TikTok Application and Class Engagement
TikTok (formerly known as Music.ly) was founded by Zhang Yiming in September 2016 (Montag et al., 2021a).
In a just short span of time, this application has been one of the successful apps from Chinese origin in terms of global distribution. Most especially in Angeles City, Philippines, this application has been widely used by various generation. It has become an increasingly popular app for people of many different ages to use (Mekler, 2021b). Added by Mekler, this application allow users can create their own videos they want on this application and post it for anyone to see as well as for entertainment purposes. In this, the said application has attracted a lot of people most especially college students. This application has been considered as the holy grail of students -aside from other social media applications -most students use this application as their recreational activity after their online class and finishing tons of course work. The involvement of students is one of the determinants of academic success (Chiu, 2022;Sneck et al., 2022). Student engagement, in general, refers to the active participation in a variety of academic and co-curricular, as well as commitment to achieving learning objectives (Ginting, 2021). Students who are highly engaged academically are more likely to devote their time and effort to achieve their goals. This also refers to the effort of the learner to promote his or her psychological commitment, or invest (McKee & Ntokos, 2022), to stay engaged in the learning process to acquire knowledge and build critical thinking (Rajabalee et al., 2020;Reinke, 2019). Added by Rajabalee et. al., this is also associated with the learner's feeling of personal motivation in the subject or course, which keeps the learner active in order to interact with the course contents, professors and classmates respectively. Relationship between TikTok consumption and https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajet Am. J. Educ. Technol. 1(1) 1-9, 2022 level of class engagement There are already previous studies that were conducted regarding the positive and negative impact of the use of TikTok application to the academic performance of students since the start of the pandemic (De Guzman Jr., n.d.; Hayes et al., 2020;Kaur, 2020;Mekler, 2021a;Montag et al., 2021;Putu et al., 2022;Vhatkar, A., & Mali, 2021) which are highly supported with strong theoretical and conceptual underpinnings and robust findings. Previous studies have also shown the possible application and implementation of TikTok as an education tool which may lead to academic success of students (Ismail et al., 2021;Putri, 2021;Sajonia, 2022). However, there are only few previously conducted studies which focuses on the relationship of TikTok -its positive and negative effect -to one of the determinants of academic success which is the engagement of students, most especially in a local setting, meaning further investigation should be performed. In this, this current study aims to determine TikTok application's effect to the class engagement of students.

Design
This study is a quantitative in design which aims to describe the level of TikTok consumption and class engagement of students. It also aims to determine if there is a significant difference in the application consumption and class engagement of students based on gender. Additionally, it also seeks if both TikTok consumption and class engagement are correlated to each other. Lastly, this study would also like to further determine if TikTok can predict the class engagement of the students.

Population and Sampling
The target respondents of the study are students who are currently enrolled in Bachelor of Performing Arts (BPeA) program this Academic Year 2021-2022 under the Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences at City College of Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines. This study has utilized Judgment Sampling to gather participants for the study. Also called as purposive sampling, a sampling technique where the researcher deliberately chooses participants for the study due to the qualities the participants possess (Etikan, 2016).

Instrumentation
There are two instruments that were utilized on this study. The first questionnaire was adapted from De Guzman Jr. (n.d.). From the original eight scenarios stated in the questionnaire, the researcher has only used one out of the eight scenarios to be fitted for the study. It is a 24item questionnaire which describes the extent of Social Networking Sites (SNS) consumption of the students. Also, the researcher replaced some words such as "SNS" to "TikTok" to tailor fit and align it to the main purpose of the study. The responses of the students will then be recorded on a 4-point Likert scale from 1 'strongly disagree' to 4 'strongly agree.' The second questionnaire was adopted from Handelsman et al. (2010) which is the Student Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ). It is a 23-item questionnaire which describes the level of class engagement of students. Responses of the students are then recorded on a 4-point Likert scale from 1 'not at all characteristic of me' to 4 'very characteristic of me.' Data Gathering Gathering of data was made possible by the approval from the Dean of the Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences. The questionnaire was floated via online survey through Google Form. The said online questionnaire can be filled-out by the students within 5-10 minutes. All gathered data from the Google Form was then be exported into an excel file to be used for data analysis. After the data gathered were used for the analysis, the excel file was encrypted with a password where the researchers has only the personal access to it.

Data Analysis
Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Test (α or coefficient alpha) was used to measure the internal consistency of the questionnaires to be used for the study. It is a measure of internal consistency, i.e., how closely related a set of items are as a group (Sileyew, 2019). It is considered to be a measure of scale reliability. From the pilot testing that was made to non-BPeA students (N=50), Table 1 illustrates the reliability test of both SNS Scale and SEQ which resulted to a Cronbach's Alpha value of .897 and .947 which are both very reliable. In this, both of the questionnaires can be used for the conduct of the study. grounded on Sigmund Freud psychoanalysis theory of development focusing more on the development of the ego, the part of the personality which is partly conscious and partly unconscious which carried our identity and the sense of self which says who we are (Widick et al.,1978). In order to recognize the appropriate statistical test to be used in the research study, normality test was conducted. Table 2 revealed that results of Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk. It was shown that the p-value of TikTok consumption and level of engagement for both male and female are higher than .05 (>.05); as a result, the data are considered normally distributed. In this, a parametric test is appropriate for this study. Frequency (f) and Percentage (%) were used to describe the number of students who have answered the survey based on gender. Mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD) were also utilized to describe the level of TikTok consumption and level of class engagement of students. In order to interpret the results on the level of application consumption and engagement of students, the researcher have employed a point-scale interpretation based on the average weighted mean of each statement which is shown in Table 3. Independent Samples T-test was also applied to determine the significant difference between TikTok consumption and engagement by gender. A parametric test which tells whether there is a statistically significant difference in the mean scores for the two groups or not (Gerald, 2018). Pearson Correlation Coefficient was also used to determine the relationship between TikTok consumption and level of engagement of students. This is a measure of an association between variables (Schober & Schwarte, 2018). Lastly, Linear Regression was operated to predict the relationship of TikTok consumption to the level of engagement of students. A modeling technique where a dependent variable is predicted based on one independent variable (Kraemer & Blasey, 2016). In this regard, the following are the formulated hypotheses that were tested on this study according to statistical analysis used for each data shown in Table 4:      Table 6 illustrates the level of class engagement of students. The results revealed that most of the statements that were asked to students garnered an interpretation of 'very high' and 'high' respectively. The highest notable statements (corresponds to 'very high') which all garnered the highest mean among the statements from the respondents are coming to online class everyday (M = 3.51, SD = .558); putting fourth effort (M = 3.45. SD = .573); and, listening carefully to class (M = 3.45, SD = .555). In summary, the level of engagement of BPeA students was found out be very high (M = 3.29, SD = .430).  Table 7 illustrates the result from the independent t-test analysis used between the level of TikTok consumption of the students being independent of gender of BPeA students. According to the Levene's test for equality of variances, the sig. value is .012 which is lower than α = .05. This means, that the assumption of equal variance has not been violated, therefore interpreting the t-value provided in the equal variances assumed line. It was found out that there is no statistically significant difference between gender t(60.2) = .410, p = .683, even male (M = 2.75, SD = .534) has a higher TikTok consumption than female (M = 2.71, SD = .330). Table 8 illustrates the result from the independent t-test analysis used between the level of engagement of the students being independent of gender of BPeA students. According to the Levene's test for equality of variances, the sig. value is .884 which is higher than α = .05. This means, that the assumption of equal variance has been violated, therefore interpreting the t-test value provided in the equal variances not assumed line. The results found out that there is no statistically significant difference between gender, t(101) = 1.090, p = 2.77, even female (M =3.35, SD = .425) has a higher level of engagement than male (M= 3.25, SD = .432). Table 9 illustrates the    (2-tailed). relationship between TikTok consumption and class engagement of BPeA students by utilizing Pearson correlation coefficient. The results found out that TikTok consumption has a positive significant relationship to class engagement (r = .367, p <.001). The analysis revealed that TikTok consumption has a significant positive relationship with engagement (β = .374, p <.001). TikTok consumption accounts for 13.4% for the variance in the level of engagement of the students F(1, 102) = 15.691, p <.001. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajet Am. J. Educ. Technol. 1(1) 1-9, 2022

Level of TikTok Consumption and class engagement of students
In the analysis on the response of students regarding their consumption of TikTok, most of the statements that were interpreted as very high and high are those which particularly highlights their responsible and smart use of the said social networking application. Based on the analysis, it can be construed that students uses TikTok as a form of entertainment during their break or as a free time activity, and most of the respondents answered that TikTok should not be a hindrance on their academic performance. From the findings of Vhatkar & Mali (2021a), it was revealed that most of the students use TikTok is only used as pass time activity and for relaxation (Jayarathne, n.d.); and should not be a hindrance in their academic engagement and performance. During this pandemic, students cannot carry out activities in school outside their homes that is why TikTok is one of the entertainment chosen to everyday life (Putu et al., 2022) by the students. Based on the analysis on the response of students regarding their level of engagement during online class, the results yielded that most of the BPeA students are participative, attentive, and highly engaged during their classes. This result is highly significant because even we are still in the midst of post-pandemic, students are still highly engaged on their studies even in an online class setting. Meaning, the more they are highly participative and engaged in the teaching and learning process, it can result to exceedingly performing students.

Difference in TikTok consumption and level of engagement according to Gender
From the independent t-test that was utilized, the result found out that there is no statistically significant difference found between TikTok consumption and gender of students. On the other hand, from the comparison of means, it was found out that male has a higher consumption compare to female students.
Opposite from the study findings of (Montag et al., 2021b), it was seen that female uses the platform more than males. However, the scope of Montag et. al. study is more focused on a global scale rather than a specific set of population. Result of this finding may be extended to other set of population to confirm if there is a difference in the consumption of the application between gender. Ergo, in this study, it can be construed that regardless of gender, both are equal in terms of consumption of the application.
It was also found out that there is no statistically significant difference between level of engagement and gender of students. Study of Nugroho et al. (2021) supported the finding of this study, wherein it was found out that there is no significant difference in the level of student engagement in terms of gender during COVID-19 Pandemic. Findings of Baloran et al. (2021) also revealed that there is no statistically significant difference in student engagement in terms of gender in online learning. Based on the comparison of means, it was found out that males are highly engaged than female students. Contrary to the result of Korlat et al. (2021), where females are more highly engaged than male students on their online class during this pandemic. Hartono et al. (2019) also found out that the score of female engagement is higher than male students on their history subject. Overall, based on the t-test analysis, it can be stated that regardless of gender, all BPeA students are highly engaged to their online classes.

Relationship between TikTok consumption and its effect to the level of engagement of students
The relationship between TikTok consumption and level of engagement of students was found out to be significantly related based on the Pearson correlation coefficient analysis. The findings of this study can be supported by Salasac & Lobo (2022) that confirms the relationship between the two variables. In the linear regression analysis utilized to determine the effect of TikTok consumption to students' engagement, the results yielded that TikTok consumption has a significant positive relationship with engagement. It can be construed that TikTok consumption has a positive effect to students' engagement. Supported by the study findings of Nepali (2021) revealed that 90% of the respondents have positively retorted that social media (e.g., TikTok) helped them on their academic performance; a result from highly engaged students. The claim of this study can also be supported by the study of Hayes et al. (2020), where the findings revealed that TikTok can be used to enhance undergraduate engagement. On contrary, based on the findings of Mekler (2021c), it was found out that the more college students spent on TikTok each day, the more they become distracted when they are trying to pay attention in class and complete course works. In this, TikTok can impact college students' abilities to be able to pay attention in class and get their schoolwork done or may have the possibility of doing worse in class if they have and use the app TikTok, added by Mekler. The same result was discovered by Vhatkar & Mali (2021b), that the said application has a negative impact to Management students due to 1-2 hours of daily use for entertainment purposes. It was also found out that students who are obsessed to TikTok, aside from facing less concentration on studies, are more prone to issues such as mental instability and depression (Kaur, 2020)

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
Based on the result from the independent t-test analysis, it was found out that there is no statistically significant difference between gender and TikTok consumption. Also, there was no significant difference observed between gender and level of engagement. These rejects the hypotheses tested for this study. Based on the results, it can be concluded that regardless of gender, both groups are equal in using the application and highly engaged in their online classes. Also, from the Pearson correlation coefficient analysis performed, the findings revealed that there is a significant relationship found between TikTok consumption and level of class engagement of BPeA students. Thus, rejecting the hypothesis tested for this study. Since most of the responses from the students focuses more on the smart use of the application, it can be concluded that the higher the level of TikTok consumption of students in a smart way, the level of engagement is also increasing. Lastly, after the Linear regression analysis, the result yielded that there is a positive significant relationship between TikTok consumption and level of engagement of BPeA students. In this regard, it can be concluded that TikTok has a positive effect to the level of class engagement of students. The present study on the effect of TikTok consumption to students' class engagement establishes that the smart consumption of TikTok application may positively increase the level of engagement of students towards their online classes. There are several limitations that this study has. First, this study only focuses on Bachelor of Performing Arts students and does not generalize the entire population of students at City College of Angeles. It is highly recommended to include other programs from the Institute of Education, Arts and Sciences including from the Institute of Business and Management, and Institute of Computing Studies and Library Information Science to further determine if the results will able to support the findings of this study or not. Second, the result of this study may not be applicable in another higher education institution. Hence, future researchers may find interest to conduct in-depth studies by comparing the results among different higher education institutions. Also, this study may be expanded to primary and secondary educational institutions since TikTok has been widely used by various ages. Future researchers may also be curious in adding moderating or mediating variables on the relationship of TikTok consumption and engagement to further determine the relationship between the two variables.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings revealed in this study, the following are the recommendations: 1.Based on the findings of this study, it was found that students are highly using TikTok application positively as a form of entertainment and recreation. Even the results turned on a positive note and as a helpful tool, previous conducted studies also revealed its negative effect to students. In this, the institute shall work hand-in-hand with the College Guidance and Formation Office (CGFO) in providing important information about the positive and negative effect (e.g., such as excessive consumption) of using TikTok application through seminars/webinars.
2.Numerous studies were conducted about the possible use of TikTok application as an educational tool. In this, instructors and professors may also use this application as another tool to provide a better and more engaging classroom environment. It can be used to disseminate important information about a topic and to showcase students' talents and understanding of the topic through short video clips.
3.Since students were seen as highly engaged in their online classes. Teachers should sustain this level by reserving more time for collaborative active learning. In this, students should have more time for collaborative active learning with their peers. Students do not need to have everything explained to them upfront -in fact, students learn more when they are given the autonomy to make academic discoveries on their own. 4.Students can become active and highly engaged in their own learning if they have structures for autonomy. In the traditional classroom setting, when students are working independently, the instructors' role is to support the students by checking students' work and provide coaching and feedback. In this current online class setting, teachers should gradually empower students to self-track their progress, coach their co-classmates, and turn to each other and their resources to seek for an answer to their questions. Students quickly become adept at personalizing the learning to one another's need.
5.Students should understand what they are expected to learn and achieve. In connection to this, teachers should provide learning targets, by breaking them into different sections so that students may be able to understand what they are expected to perform by the end of the lesson. Targets should be provided with success criteria so that students can self-assess and also track their own learning progress. This creates a structure where students can take ownership on their learning progress. 6.Monitor students' level of engagement and make adjustments if necessary. The most effective way to monitor engagement is to involve students in the process by having them use the learning targets and success criteria provided to them. These keep students to be focused and provide you a concrete way of measuring whether students are engaged in their learning.