Comparison of Digital Communication and Face-to-face
Interaction: Grade 12 Students’ Preferences
A Research Presented to the Faculty of FCD Central Institute San
Pablo City, Laguna
ROCHELLE B. SUAREZ
ALLYSSA C. MASENAS
STEPHANIE HERCHELLE M. BANATLAO
DIANALYN G. INCIONG
RHAIZA R. TORDIL
EUNICE M. CAVITANA
MA. ANGELLA M. BAROLA
ANTHONY O. MALABANAN JUSTINE
CURT PANGAN
2025
CHAPTER I
Introduction
Communication lies at the heart of all human interactions and is essential for sharing
thoughts, emotions, knowledge, and building relationships. In recent decades, communication
practices have undergone a fundamental transformation due to the rapid spread of digital
technologies. These technologies have reshaped how individuals engage with one another by
introducing new platforms and modes of interaction that transcend traditional boundaries of
space and time. Among the groups most affected by this shift are adolescents in senior high
school, particularly Grade 12 students aged approximately 16 to 18 years. This age group
stands at a critical crossroads, facing significant social, emotional, and academic challenges
that require effective communication skills. Modern Grade 12 students have grown up
surrounded by unparalleled connectivity through mobile devices, social media platforms,
instant messaging apps, and video conferencing tools. This extensive exposure presents both
opportunities and complexities in how they express themselves and maintain personal
connections.
Despite the widespread increase in digital communication, face-to-face interaction
remains a vital, irreplaceable mode of communication. Face-to-face encounters provide
immediate feedback and rich channels that involve verbal and non-verbal cues, such as facial
expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and body language. These elements contribute to more
nuanced, empathetic, and emotionally satisfying exchanges. However, today’s Grade 12
students often face a dilemma in choosing between digital and face-to-face communication,
balancing the immediacy and convenience of digital tools with the authenticity and depth
characteristic of in-person interactions. This study aims to comprehensively compare Grade
12 students’ preferences between digital communication and face-to-face interaction to
uncover the factors influencing their choices and the impacts those choices produce on social
connectivity, academic engagement, and emotional health. Understanding these preferences is
crucial for educators, parents, policymakers, and the students themselves to develop
supportive environments that nurture effective communication practices suited to the digital
age.
Communication is the foundation of human social life and learning. It transcends the
mere transfer of information and enables individuals to express identities, construct meaning,
establish social bonds, and navigate complex social settings. From early childhood,
individuals develop increasingly sophisticated communicative abilities, including verbal and
non-verbal skills required for interpersonal exchanges. The educational environment,
especially high school, serves as a major platform where students practice and hone these
skills, which are critical for their academic success and personal development. Face-to-face
communication has traditionally been regarded as the gold standard of interaction and is
widely studied for its effectiveness and richness. It offers synchronous exchanges where
participants can immediately react to verbal content and non-verbal signals, including facial
expressions signaling emotions such as happiness, confusion, disapproval, or encouragement,
tone of voice modulations indicating sarcasm or sincerity, and gestures providing emphasis or
clarification. Such cues enhance understanding and reduce the likelihood of
miscommunication. Moreover, face-to-face encounters foster intimacy, trust, and empathy—
essential elements for building meaningful relationships.
The latter half of the 20th century and the dawn of the 21st century have seen an
explosion in digital communication technologies. Innovations such as the internet,
smartphones, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, instant
messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger, and video conferencing tools such as Zoom
and Google Meet have revolutionized communication norms. These platforms provide both
asynchronous and synchronous communication avenues that bypass geographical barriers and
offer increased accessibility. For adolescents such as Grade 12 students, digital
communication offers numerous advantages. It enables them to maintain and expand social
networks beyond local communities, including distant friends, relatives, and global peers.
This connectivity can foster inclusivity and cultural awareness. Additionally, digital
communication affords flexibility in timing and location, transcending physical presence
constraints, allowing students to respond at their convenience and manage overlapping social
or academic demands. Certain digital mediums may also provide a perceived sense of control
by allowing students to carefully craft and edit messages before sharing, thereby reducing
social anxieties often present in face-toface exchanges.
However, while digital communication brings convenience and novelty, it also
presents challenges. One significant concern is the diminished presence of non-verbal cues
and immediate feedback, which can lead to misunderstandings or superficial exchanges. For
example, sarcasm or humor might be misinterpreted in text-based communication, lacking
tone or facial expression. Over-reliance on digital communication may also reduce
opportunities for practicing in-person social skills that are critical for emotional intelligence
and conflict resolution. Psychological implications have also been observed; excessive use of
digital platforms has been linked to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, or lowered self-esteem
when digital interactions replace meaningful face-to-face connections. The constant
accessibility of digital communication can result in information overload, social media
fatigue, and difficulties disengaging from digital devices, which negatively impact well-being
and academic focus.
Grade 12 students today are often classified as “digital natives,” a generation raised
with pervasive access to technology and digital media from early childhood. Their familiarity
and comfort with digital platforms are unparalleled compared to previous generations, and
this interconnectedness shapes their identity, communication style, and social expectations.
However, being digital natives does not equate to a universal or uncritical preference for
digital communication. Their choices are influenced by intersecting factors such as
personality traits (introversion or extroversion), the intimacy of relationships, situational
contexts (academic versus social), cultural backgrounds, and school policies regarding
technology use. Some students may prefer digital communication to reduce social anxiety but
still value face-to-face interactions for deeper conversations and emotional support. Others
might find digital media more efficient for group projects, while preferring in-person
meetings for conflict resolution or personal discussions. Understanding this nuanced
landscape is essential for supporting adolescents’ communication development.
A broad array of studies has compared digital and face-to-face communication among
young people. Many highlight digital communication’s role in expanding social networks and
fostering peer support. Conversely, researchers emphasize face-to-face interactions in
conveying emotional depth and non-verbal information. Nevertheless, much of the existing
literature focuses either on broad youth populations or college-age students. There is less
targeted research explicitly examining senior high school students, particularly Grade 12
pupils, who face unique social and academic pressures such as preparing for college or
employment. Furthermore, fast-evolving technologies continually shift communication habits
and preferences, creating a need for up-to-date, context-specific research. Understanding how
Grade 12 students balance and prioritize digital and face-to-face communication provides
critical insights for schools aiming to foster social and academic success amid these changes.
Throughout most of recorded human history, face-to-face interaction was the primary
channel for these interactions. The human voice, sustained by the infinite expressions and
gestures, conveyed not only words but emotional and relational complexity. Researchers have
claimed that these nonverbal signs for a great deal of communicative meaning, an argument
reaffirmed in recent research on interpersonal dynamics (Kang et al., 2021). According to the
Pew Research Center (2023), mobile phones, instant messaging, and video conferencing tools
have bridged distance barriers, allowing people to communicate from any place and time. For
younger people, who have become accustomed to living in a world where connectivity is
everywhere, digital conversation is just as natural as speech itself (Lee & Chen, 2022).
Within the course of one human life, there has been a transformation from the
measured tempo of handwritten letters to the instant heartbeat of electronic messages. What
in the past would have taken days or weeks now arrives in a matter of a fraction of a second.
The breakthrough in digital technology has changed how people, particularly students,
interact and communicate. In modern education systems, communication is not only done
through conventional face-to-face encounters but more and more through digital mediums
such as video calls, messaging platforms, and online learning platforms.
This study seeks to fill this gap by focusing explicitly on senior high school Grade 12
students. Its goals are to explore students’ communication preferences, identify factors
influencing those choices such as convenience, emotional connection, social anxiety, or
academic demands, and examine the perceived impacts of these communication modes on
relationships, emotional well-being, and academic performance. The findings will generate
valuable knowledge for educators designing communication-friendly curricula, for parents
guiding healthy communication habits, and for students learning to navigate a dynamically
evolving communication environment.
Statement of the Problem
The way people communicate, particularly among students, has changed dramatically
as a result of the quick development of communication technologies. Social media,
messaging apps, and video conferencing are examples of digital communication platforms
that have taken over as the primary means of academic collaboration and interpersonal
interaction (Johnson & Smith, 2021; Cruz, 2022). On the other hand, Communication is
important for us to know how effective it is and how much it will affect the preferences of
Grade 12 students, even in different variants such as digital and face-to-face. We need to
know and test how valuable it is and what potential problems it may have.
1. Students in Grade 12 will lose confidence in interacting with others and in being close
to others when they communicate more often through digital communication than in person.
2. There may be confusion about whether the information they want to convey is correct
or incorrect compared to face-to-face.
3. Information may be misunderstood in digital communication compared to in-person
conversations.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the preferences of Grade 12
students between digital communication and face-to-face interaction. In today's modern
world, technology has significantly transformed the way people communicate. With the
increasing use of smartphones, social media, messaging apps, and other online platforms,
many students now rely heavily on digital communication in their daily lives. However, face-
to-face interaction remains a traditional and essential way of building relationships,
expressing emotions, and engaging in meaningful conversations.
This study aims to understand which mode of communication, digital or face-to-face,
is more preferred by Grade 12 students and in what contexts (academic discussions, social
interactions, personal conversations). It also seeks to explore the reasons behind their
preferences, such as convenience, emotional expression, comfort level, effectiveness, or
social pressure. By gathering insights directly from students, the study will help identify the
perceived advantages and disadvantages of each type of communication from their
perspective.
Furthermore, this research will provide valuable information on how communication
preferences may affect students' interpersonal relationships, academic collaboration, and
overall social development. Understanding these preferences can help educators, parents, and
school administrators create better strategies for communication, whether in teaching
approaches, peer engagement, or guidance programs. Ultimately, the study hopes to
contribute to the ongoing discussion about how digitalization is shaping human interaction,
especially among the youth.
Research Question
How does digital communication affect the way Grade 12 students build and maintain
relationships compared to face-to-face interaction?
Research Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis (Ho)
There is no significant difference in the way Grade 12 students build and maintain
relationships through digital communication compared to face-to-face interaction.
Significance of the Study
This study was beneficial for the following:
Students - Communication is important for students. This will help Grade 12 students
because they will learn more and know where they can learn the most. Their skills will be
honed more if they know their capabilities and where they can learn the most.
Teachers - In this study, teachers will learn where students excel, and based on that, they will
know the appropriate teaching strategy to use for Grade 12 students.
School Administrators - If the findings of this study benefit school administrators, the first
step toward its potential use in their programs, activities, and policies would be to provide
them with guidance on balancing their offerings of digital and face-to-face communication to
equip students with both skills necessary for achieving academic and future professional
success.
Researchers - The present study may serve reference for those research fellows who want to
carry out more studies in the transforming dynamics of communications among students
adapting to technological advancement and a changing learning environment.
Overall, this research study will be beneficial to Students, Teachers, School Administrators,
and Researchers.
Scope and Delimitation
Scope: This study aims to comprehensively investigate the preferences of Grade 12 students
regarding digital communication and face-to-face interaction, with a particular focus on
understanding the underlying factors that influence their choices, the perceived benefits and
drawbacks of each mode of communication, and the potential implications for their social
relationships, academic performance, and emotional well-being. Through examining the
subtleties of students' communication preferences, this study aims to offer important insights
into the intricate relationships between in-person and digital communication in the lives of
Grade 12 students.
Delimitation: This study will focus exclusively on Grade 12 students enrolled in selected
public or private schools, specifically targeting those between the ages of 16 and 18. It will
compare digital communication methods, such as social media, messaging apps, and email,
with in-person interaction, focusing on students' preferences for academic and personal
communication. The study will use a survey or questionnaire to gather quantitative data from
a sample of Grade 12 students. However, the research will not examine other forms of
communication, such as phone calls or video conferencing, nor will it explore communication
preferences in professional or extracurricular contexts. Additionally, limiting the sample to
this age group and using a quantitative survey approach may restrict the generalizability of
the findings to other age groups and reduce the depth and nuance that qualitative or mixed-
methods approaches might provide.
Conceptual Framework
Mode of Relationship Building and
Communication Maintenance
Digital Relationship quality,
Communication (e.g., social connectivity,
social media, messaging academic engagement,
apps, email) emotional health,
Face-to-Face Interaction communication
effectiveness
This study focuses on the mode of communication as the independent variable,
comparing digital communication, such as social media, messaging apps, and email, with
face-to-face interaction. The research examines how these communication modes affect key
outcomes including relationship building, social connectivity, academic engagement,
emotional well-being, and communication effectiveness among Grade 12 students.
Several factors influence students communication preferences and outcomes, such as
the context of communication (academic or social), personality traits, relationship intimacy,
convenience, social anxiety, school policies, and cultural background.
The study controls for age (16 to 18 years), grade level, and school type to maintain
focus, aiming to provide a clear understanding of how these communication forms impact the
social and academic experiences of senior high school students in today’s digital age.
Paradigm
The research paradigm shows that the study focuses on how the mode of
communication—digital or face-to-face—affects important outcomes for Grade 12 students,
such as their relationships, social connections, academic involvement, emotional well-being,
and communication clarity. This relationship is influenced by several factors like the
communication context, personality, closeness of relationships, convenience, social anxiety,
school rules, and culture. These factors shape how students experience and prefer different
communication modes, ultimately impacting their social and academic lives.
Digital Communication
Independent
Variable
Face-to-Face Interaction
Context of
Communication
Process
Personality Traits
Relationship Building and
Maintenance
Dependent
Social Connectivity
Variables
Theoretical Framework
Definition of Terms
Communication - The process of conveying information, ideas, or feelings through various
means, including verbal and nonverbal methods. It involves a sender transmitting a message,
which is then received and interpreted by a receiver.
Digital communication - The electronic exchange of information, messages, and ideas using
digital technologies and platforms. It encompasses a wide range of methods, including email,
text messaging, social media, and video conferencing, where data is transmitted and received
via electronic devices and networks.
Social Media – The websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or
to participate in social networking.
Platform - A flat horizontal surface that is usually higher than the adjoining area.
Academic – Education or things that relate to the work done in schools, colleges, and
universities, especially work that involves studying and reasoning rather than practical or
technical skills.
Technology - The application of scientific knowledge to practical purposes, often involving
the creation of tools, processes, and systems to solve problems, improve human lives, and
achieve goals.
Feedback - The response a receiver gives to a message, indicating how the message was
received and understood.
Adolescents - The period of life between childhood and adulthood, generally spanning from
ages 10 to 19. It's a time of significant physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development,
where individuals experience rapid changes that shape their identity and prepare them for
adult roles.
Emotions - A complex, subjective experience encompassing feelings, bodily sensations, and
behavioral responses, triggered by events or situations. It's a conscious mental reaction, often
strong and directed towards a specific object, accompanied by physiological and behavioral
changes.
Face-to-face - direct, in-person interaction between two or more people, enabling the
exchange of information, emotions, and ideas through both verbal and nonverbal cues. It
allows for a richer understanding due to the ability to observe body language, facial
expressions, and tone of voice.
