Reading Habits and Social Media Use as Predictors of Students' Autonomy in Language Reading Comprehension
This study examined the combined effects of reading habits and social media use on students’ autonomy in reading comprehension among 235 Grade 11 students in a private educational institution in Davao City, Philippines. Despite the critical role of reading comprehension in academic success, many senior high school graduates in the Philippines continued to face persistent challenges in effectively comprehending, analyzing, and applying information from written texts, highlighting a significant gap in foundational literacy skills. A quantitative, descriptive-correlational research design was employed, and data were collected using adapted and validated survey instruments. Findings indicated that students demonstrated high levels of reading habits Mean = 3.62 and autonomy in language comprehension Mean = 3.79, while their social media use was moderate Mean = 3.26. Statistical analysis revealed a significant moderate positive relationship between reading habits and student autonomy, r = 0.530, p < 0.05, whereas social media use showed a significant but weak positive correlation, r = 0.267, p < 0.05. Furthermore, both variables significantly predicted students’ autonomy, with reading habits emerging as the stronger predictor. The study concluded that both factors contributed to independent learning and suggested that integrating digital literacy with traditional reading activities could enhance self-directed comprehension.