Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region 1
Schools Division Office of Pangasinan 1
Bayambang National High School
Senior High School
Bayambang, Pangasinan
S.Y. 2023-2024
Perception on Memes with Sensitive Content among Senior High School
Students in Bayambang National High School
Jhonrey M. Abalos
Maribel A. Ballano
Marc A. Camorongan
Vince F. Gomez
Renz Miguel O. Iglesias
Kenneth E. Laxamana
Maynard J. Ocampo
Prince Zyrus V. Santos
Christian Dave I. Tucay
Researchers
Mrs. Djamelen A. Agbayani
Research Adviser
October 2023
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ABSTRACT
In the digital age, internet memes have become a prominent mode of communication,
often evoking a range of reactions from humor to discomfort. This study delves into the
perceptions of students at Bayambang National High School regarding memes with
sensitive content.The focus of this study is to gain new knowledge whether the attitudes
of students on memes that contain sensitive content is disturbing for them or not
because there has been issues about the memes posted on social media that may
contain sensitive content for others. In other words, the goal of this study is to know the
attitude or behavior and the reactions of the senior high school students towards
memes and how they view it. Three questions are set to guide the researchers and
ought to answer later on.
First, what is the level of awareness of Bayambang National High School students on
memes with sensitive content. Second, what would be the possible effects on a person
after viewing memes with sensitive content. Lastly, if there is a significant difference of
awareness of students towards memes in terms of sex. The data was gathered through
an online survey. Based on the data gathered, the researchers have safely assumed
that the students had an average knowledge of awareness from the harmful content that
memes contained. There was no significant difference of awareness in based on sex of
an individual. Students have considered memes as somewhat positive and negative at
the same time. Nevertheless, citizens of the net should be responsible in utilizing social
media.
Keywords: Memes, Sensitive Content, Attitudes
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
I.
Background Of The Study
In the early days of the internet, there were no rules governing user behavior. There still
isn’t a codified set of international laws on information integrity. Eventually ads
appeared on web sites and search engines. People connected with people they
otherwise wouldn’t for good and for bad and to their ideas. As the internet went
mainstream, it also created a new ecosystem for disinformation to thrive.Memes have
been established as objects that bear meaning beyond mere internet frivolity. Studies in
vernacular cultures have framed memes as “the propagation of content items such as
jokes, rumours, videos, or websites from one person to others“, and as a form of “pop
polyvocality” or “a pop cultural tongue that facilitates the diverse engagement of many
voices“. Other studies from media and communications have found that memes are a
“shared social phenomenon“, and still others from the socio-cultural perspective have
asserted them as a “common instrument for establishing normativity“. According to
Hyman (2019), memes are ideas that infect minds. They develop by spreading from one
person to another, like a transmittable disease. Or at least, that was the original idea
proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1976. A meme is an idea that is easily transmitted from
one mind to another through interaction – generally a conversation. Dawkins also noted
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that memes can change and evolve – becoming more fit so they are easier to pass
along and be remembered. Memes evolve to become better at infecting your mind.
The meme concept is an academic concept coined in 1976 by the biologist Richard
Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. He proposed the term meme as a Darwinian,
gene-centered approach to cultural evolution, defining it as "the unit of cultural
transmission". Nowadays it is possible to find the concept of meme almost everywhere
on the internet, not making allusion to the concept created by Dawkins, but relating to
certain kinds of images, jokes or trends popular within the internet. Since 1976, the term
meme has evolved, changed not only by different authors and theorists that follow or
criticize Dawkins' theory, but also by its creator.
According to a study conducted by the Supporting Our Valued Adolescents (SOVA)
in 2018, The majority of modern memes are captioned photos that are intended to be
funny, often as a way to publicly ridicule human behaviour. Other memes can be videos
and verbal expressions. Some memes have heavier and more philosophical content.
“Since 1976, the term meme has evolved, changed not only by different authors and
theorists that follow or criticize Dawkins' theory, but also by its creator”. “The world of
memes is noteworthy for two reasons: it is a worldwide social phenomenon, and memes
behave like a mass of infectious flu and cold viruses, traveling from person to person
quickly through social media.
To address this issue, In recent years, internet memes have gained significant
popularity when considering the ever-increasing popularity of social media platforms
and online forums. While conceptually like traditional memes, yet differing slightly,
contemporary internet memes visually depict an element of a culture or behavioural
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system, in a humorous way that contextually relates to a particular demographic
(Davison, 2012). Typically, internet memes are comprised of an image and short
caption, which are rapidly shared, usually with slight variations of the original. Internet
memes have become a crucial aspect of digital culture that are well established in the
media by consistently maintaining topical and socially salient references often stepping
into cultural and political domains (Shifman, 2013). Increasingly, many pages are
dedicated to sharing memes related to the symptom experience of specific psychiatric
disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression, addition, borderline personality, suicidal ideation.
online social media pages and forums dedicated to mental health memes are often
comprised of a large user base. For example, the online forum Reddit hosts a subreddit
named memes and misery followed by ninety-five thousand individuals, with another
called depression memes followed by approximately over two-hundred thousand
individuals. Humor has the potential to completely disrupt the meaning of a sentiment,
whether decent or reprehensible, as a matter of play owing to its levity. Humor
communicates an implicit message to the receiver that the usual rules of logic and
expectations of common sense do not apply. On the same note, Gender has been a
pivotal theme in humor for ages. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a stressful time
for individuals, in which any media may turn into a factor that can intensify these
feelings. In Puerto Rico, after the implementation of physical distancing measures, a
discussion and proliferation of news was generated through the traditional and social
media that prompted an increase in the dissemination of memes by audiences. These
memes, which were typically shared immediately, reflected in some instances the
public’s perception of a shortage of hand sanitizer and toilet paper, rapid weight gain,
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stressful visits to the supermarket and criticism of the government’s management of the
pandemic. Memes in social media bring a new form of communication in which digital
media generate a bond between individuals and messages and a demonstration of
cultural knowledge (Miltner and Highfield, 2017). According to Davison (2012), a meme
becomes a replicable factor and its spread explains an observable external social
phenomenon that enables actions taken by individuals, in which the transmitted idea
informs their behaviour. In that sense, social networks become spaces where people
participate in social construction through their experience (Tandoc & Takahashi, 2017).
According to Hyman (2019), most menacing aspect of memes is that they attack us
when we are most vulnerable. We all know we should be careful when exposed to
information on the internet. We know there are fake posts, false information, and
conspiracy theories. We should always be critical thinkers, especially when we dive into
the internet.
Perhaps one part of the problem is the medium that internet memes are delivered
make them easy to dismiss. Instagram is just nice pictures with cool filters. Facebook
posts and tweets are ephemeral. You just scroll and move on. With the internet, it’s
never been easier to find good information and be inundated with bad intelligence (USU
Editor., 2022).
Evaluating the issue of students' perceptions of memes with sensitive content is
significant due to its potential impact on students' emotions, classroom environments,
and digital literacy. Addressing this problem requires a multifaceted approach,
encompassing digital literacy education, emotional resilience, peer education, and a
recognition of cultural and contextual differences in online perceptions.
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The study may begin by discussing the potential impact on students' emotions,
classroom environments, and digital literacy.
The Internet has proven to be a platform where memes spread like wildfire. This is
because information becomes more believable when 1) accompanied by an image 2)
seen repeatedly 3) consumers aren’t engaged in critical thinking. All three of these
factors come into play when coming across new memes on social media (Psychology
Today, 2023).
II.
Statement of the Problem
The ubiquity of internet memes in the digital age has led to their worldwide
popularity and constant proliferation across online platforms. People's responses to
memes are notably diverse, with some finding them amusing, entertaining, and
enjoyable, while others consider them offensive, annoying, or insulting. In this
context, the primary objective of this research is to evaluate the attitudes and
reactions of senior high school students at Bayambang National High School toward
memes. To achieve this goal, the following research questions are formulated:
1. How do senior high school students at Bayambang National High School
engage with internet memes, and what types of memes are most commonly viewed
or shared?
2. What are the prevailing emotional responses of these students towards memes,
and how do these responses vary between memes perceived as humorous and
those perceived as offensive?
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3. What are the factors that influence the attitudes and preferences of senior high
school students at Bayambang National High School regarding internet memes, and
how do these factors contribute to the overall perception of memes within this
demographic?
III.
Hypothesis
This study seeks to examine the diverse spectrum of attitudes and reactions among
students at Bayambang National High School towards memes containing sensitive
content, considering factors such as individual humor preferences, personal values,
cultural backgrounds, and peer interactions.
IV.
Significance of the Study
The study will benefit the following on Students’ Perceptions with Memes with Sensitive
Content in Bayambang National High School. Moreover, the information that can be
found in this study is advantageous to the following parties:
The Future Researchers
This study can help them gather more information for further elaborations and
improvements.
Parents
They can monitor the content that their child is viewing materials that could be harmful
to others and to their child.
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Bayambang National High School
It allows the institution to promote awareness upon the students responsibility in sharing
materials with sensitive content.
Social Media Users
They will be aware of the risks that might affect them or others and be responsible of
sharing posts that contain sensitive content.
Students
To be able to know what type of contents that should be shared and can be catered to
everyone’s interest without being offended.
V.
Scope and Limitations
The main focus of this study is to gain new knowledge whether the attitudes of students
on memes that contain sensitive content is disturbing for them or not because there has
been issues about the memes posted on social media that may contain sensitive
content for others. The study only limits to the students in Bayambang National High
School.
The study only chooses Bayambang National High School students because of the lack
of
time
and
due
to
problems that hinder us from including other Bayambang
the
National
accessibility
High
School
student respondents. In this study the researchers will use instruments like online
surveys or questionnaires. With the use of this instrument in gathering data, the
researchers could easily compile and gain opinions on the responders.
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This study can be used as information to whether memes that contain have affected
them or not to students of Bayambang National High School.
VI.
Conceptual Framework
Social Media
Platforms
VII.
Memes with
Sensitive
Contents
Students
Perceptions
Definition of Terms
The following terms are operationally defined in this study:
Attitudes
The behaviors of Grade 12 towards humorous materials that contain sensitive content.
Memes
Humorous materials that spreads virally on the internet and may contain sensitive
implications.
Sensitive Content
Materials that contain disturbing, provoking or offensive subject matter to a person’s
feelings.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE
This chapter presents the relevant literature and studies that the researcher examines
existing research and literature on the topic, considered in strengthening the claim and
importance of the present study. This review aims to identify key findings from relevant
studies and contextualize them within the broader context of Analyzing Students
Perceptions: Memes with Sensitive Content in Bayambang National High School.
Review of Related Literature
Memes and Internet Culture
Several studies demonstrate how important memes are in forming online culture
(Shifman, 2013; Milner, 2016). Memes are cultural artifacts that represent prevailing
beliefs, fashions, and public awareness. Memes that contain sensitive subject raise
concerns about the limits of online expression and the influence of humor on online
debate.
Social media, controversy, and humor
Studies on humor in online interactions highlight how it might help people connect and
build communities (Phillips, 2017). Memes with sensitive topics, however, could cross
the boundaries between comedy and controversy, changing the dynamic of
conversations on social media. Humor and sensitivity can be better understood by
looking at user reactions, sharing trends, and the development of controversial memes.
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Ethical Considerations in Online Content Creation
Ethical questions are also raised by the production and distribution of sensitive content
memes. Talks on responsible internet use and the potential consequences of online
content that deviates from social standards can benefit from an examination of the
ethical issues involving the development, sharing, and moderation of memes.
Review of Related Studies
Foreign Studies
Reis et al. (2020) built a dataset of memes related to the 2018 and the 2019 election in
Brazil (34k images, 17k users) and India (810k images, 63k users) with focus on
misinformation. Another dataset of 950 memes targeted the propaganda techniques
used in memes (Dimitrov et al., 2021a), which was also featured as a shared that at
SemEval-2021 (Dimitrov et al., 2021b). Leskovec et al. (2009) introduced a dataset of
96 million memes collected from various links and blog posts between August 2008 and
April 2009 for tracking the most frequently appearing stories, phrases, and information.
Topic modeling of textual and visual cues of hate and racially abusive multi-modal
content over sites such as 4chan was studied for scenarios that leverage genetic testing
to claim superiority over minorities (Mittos et al., 2020). Zannettou et al. (2020a)
examined the content of meme images and online posting activities to identify the
probability of occurrence of one event in a specific background process, affecting the
occurrence of other events in the rest of the processes, also known as Hawkes process
(Hawkes, 1971), within the context of online posting of trolls.
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Wang et al. (2020) observed that fauxtographic content tends to attract more attention,
and established how such content becomes a meme in social media. Finally, there is a
recent survey on multi-modal disinformation detection (Alam et al., 2021).
Moreover, Recently, there has been a lot of effort to explore the dark side of memes,
e.g., focusing on hate (Kiela et al., 2020) and offensive (Suryawanshi et al., 2020)
memes.
The proliferation of memes online and their increasing importance have led to a growing
body of research on meme analysis (Sharma et al., 2020a; Reis et al., 2020; Pramanick
et al., 2021). It has also been shown that off-the-shelf multimodal tools may be
inadequate to unfold the underlying semantics of a meme as memes are often contextdependent, the visual and the textual content are often uncorrelated, and meme images
are mostly morphed, and the embedded text is sometimes hard to extract using
standard OCR tools (Bonheme and Grzes, 2020).
Also, is. Hu and Flaxman (2018) developed the TUMBLR dataset for emotion analysis,
consisting of image–text pairs along with associated tags, by collecting posts from the
TUMBLR platform. Thang Duong et al. (2017) prepared a multimodal dataset containing
images, titles, upvotes, downvotes, #comments, etc., all collected from Reddit.
Recently, SemEval-2020 Task 9 on Memotion Analysis (Sharma et al., 2020a)
introduced a dataset of 10k memes, annotated with sentiment, emotions, and emotion
intensity. Most participating systems in this challenge used fusion of visual and textual
features computed using models such as Inception, ResNet, CNN, VGG-16 and
DenseNet for image representation (Morishita et al., 2020; Sharma et al., 2020b; Yuan
et al., 2020),
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Local Studies
In the study of Balmore-Paulino (2018), he stated that humor threshold or breaking point
for humor is relative to one person and another; hence, “the humor threshold of a
person may become higher or lower relative to the relational context of the humor
initiator and humor recipient. This may be the explanation as to why some humorous
messages are context dependent. For instance, sarcasm and cursing may be
appropriate for individuals who have a high degree of closeness but inappropriate for
those who have no strong positive relationship. Since humor is viewed as culturedependent, it may be inferred that in order to effectively deliver a humorous message,
one needs to consider the norm, belief, schema, and present situation of the target of
the humor.
Moreover, Non-verbal humor such as facial expressions and gestures may be explained
by the cognition of humor as discussed by Balmores-Paulino (2018). He explained that
“humor involves a cognitive-perceptual component, through which a humor definition
can be extracted” (47). Actions that are deemed comical by the source of humor may
elicit laughter from the audience. This finding shows similarities with the work of Wanzer
et al. (2005) on categories of humorous coping strategies. Nonverbal humor such as
gestures, facial displays, and vocal tones and variety were used by their nurse
respondents as a tool for coping in health care settings. This type of humor is used to
help healthcare workers to cope with stress brought about various situations such as
the death of patients, difficult patients, work relationship, and general stress. Hence, the
finding of this study extends the work of Wanzer et al. (2005) from a health care setting
to an educational setting.
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Synthesis of Related Studies
Memes containing sensitive themes have attracted a lot of attention, both domestically
and globally. Studies conducted abroad, particularly those that deal with delicate
themes, offer insightful information about the complex nature of memes.
Global Viewpoint
Reis et al. (2020) examined memes with an emphasis on disinformation in relation to
the elections that took place in Brazil and India in 2018 and 2019. Huge datasets were
used in the study: 34k photos and 17k people for Brazil, and 810k images and 63k
persons for India each.
Dimitrov et al. (2021a, 2021b): Analyzed 950 memes that were intended to counteract
propaganda tactics. The study explores the complex facets of meme production with an
emphasis on influencing public opinion and will be presented at SemEval-2021.
Leskovec et al. (2009): Presented a dataset of 96 million memes gathered between
August 2008 and April 2009, documenting frequently occurring facts, tales, and phrases
to offer a historical view on meme evolution.
Mittos et al. (2020) investigated multimodal hate and racial abuse material in memes,
especially on 4chan and similar websites. The study explores the relationship between
genetic testing, memes, and assertions of dominance over minorities.
Zannettou et al. (2020a) used the Hawkes procedure to look at the content of meme
images and online posting activities. This method investigates the likelihood that an
event will occur in the setting of online trolling.
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Wang et al. (2020): Investigated the tendency for fauxtographic content to garner
greater attention, demonstrating how this content becomes memes on social media
sites.
In a recent review on multi-modal disinformation detection, Alam et al. (2021):
illuminated new difficulties in detecting and countering misinformation propagated
through memes.
The dark side of memes was discussed by Kiela et al. (2020) and Suryawanshi et al.
(2020), with an emphasis on hatred and hateful memes. These studies offer a
sophisticated perspective on the possible harm memes may cause to online
conversation.
Challenges and Insights from Foreign Studies
The growing body of research on meme analysis highlights challenges such as contextdependency, uncorrelated visual and textual content, and the morphed nature of meme
images. Off-the-shelf multimodal tools may struggle to unveil the underlying semantics
of memes, necessitating tailored approaches for comprehensive analysis (Bonheme
and Grzes, 2020). Additionally, international efforts, such as SemEval-2020 Task 9 on
Memotion Analysis, showcase the importance of sentiment and emotion annotation in
understanding the rich layers of meaning embedded in memes.
Local Perspective
In the context of local studies, Balmore-Paulino (2018) delves into the relative nature of
humor thresholds and the context-dependency of humorous messages.
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The study emphasizes the importance of considering cultural norms, beliefs, and
relational contexts for effective humor delivery.
Connecting Local Insights
Balmore-Paulino's work aligns with international studies by underscoring the cultural
dependence of humor. The findings complement the broader understanding of meme
creation and reception, shedding light on the intricate dynamics of humor initiation and
reception within various relational contexts.
The synthesis of foreign and local studies paints a comprehensive picture of the
intricate world of memes with sensitive content. The international studies provide a
global perspective, addressing issues of misinformation, propaganda, and the dark side
of memes, while the local study contributes nuanced insights into the cultural dynamics
of humor. Together, these studies offer a rich foundation for understanding the
challenges, trends, and ethical considerations surrounding memes with sensitive
content on a global scale.
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Chapter III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter will focus on how the researchers will gather the required data. The
research design, population, sampling technique, research instrument, and data
collection techniques are all included in this section.
Research Design
The researchers utilize a Phenomenological Research Design as their methodology in
this study. A Phenomenological design involves exploring the meaning of lived
experiences and how they are perceived by individuals. This type of research design
seeks to understand people’s perspectives, emotions, and behaviours in specific
situations. Here, the aim for researchers is to uncover the essence of human
experience without making any assumptions or imposing preconceived ideas on their
subjects. A Phenomenological design is a type of quantitative research. Quantitative
research is the methodology of collecting and analyzing numerical data. The
researchers thought that the Phenomenological type of Quantitative research would be
the best fit for this study.
Sample
Sampling Size
The sample size directs to the number of observations or people included in a study or
experiment. The sample size considerably impacts the credibility of study findings and
the ability to be generalized to a larger population, making it an important aspect to
consider.
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The sample size of this study will include 243 Students atBayambang National High
School. Slovin's formula was applied to establish the sample size of the student
population at Bayambang National High School.
Sampling Technique
Ethical Consideration
The research needs honesty and ethics in addition to talent and diligence. Every
respondent's rights will be respected and upheld during this study. The participants
rights to informed permission, anonymity, confidentiality, and self-determination must all
be respected for the study to be ethical.
Informed consent is one of the significant principles of research ethics, as stated by the
University of Oxford (2021). The researchers will inform the participants that human
subjects will be permitted to participate in the study freely or voluntarily.
According to Barrow (2022), self-determined participants could understand the
questions presented by the researcher and ask inquiries of the researcher. The
researchers will ensure that self-determination is preserved. To respect the participants'
right to self-determination, the researchers will advise participants on the autonomy to
choose whether or not to participate in research investigations.
Confidentiality and anonymity will be upheld to safeguard the participants' privacy.
When reporting or publishing the study, the respondents' identities and the data
gathered will be kept confidential when publicly submitted.
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