Bridging the empirical gap in the relationship and effect of TikTok on students' engagement: A case of a local college in the Philippines

An empirical gap was observed concerning published scholarly works conducted focusing on the relationship and direct effect of TikTok utilization on students’ engagement. Therefore, conducting an inquiry regarding this issue is highly recommended. In this regard, this comparative, correlational, and causal study is focused on examining the relationship and direct effect of utilizing the said application to the engagement of students in the City College of Angeles, Angeles City, Philippines. Data are obtained by conducting an online survey to a sample of undergraduate students (NMale = 238(38.5%), NFemale = 380(61.5%). Based on the findings, it was discovered that no observed significant variance concerning TikTok utilization [Male (Mdn = 2.67) and Female (Mdn = 2.62), U(NMale = 238, NFemale = 380) = 116236.000, z = -.637 p = .524, r = -0.025)] and students’ engagement [Male (Mdn = 3.29) and Female (Mdn = 3.19), U(NMale = 238, NFemale = 380) = 114478.000, z = -1.451 p = .147, r = -0.058)] with respect to gender. Interestingly, a positive association was observed between the two variables [r(616) = .336, p < .05)]. Finally, it was found that TikTok utilization positively predicts students’ engagement [F(1, 616) = 82.574, p < .001], and the R2 = .118 displayed that the model explains 11.8% of the variance in students’ engagement. Based on the findings, proposals for students, teachers, and future studies are presented as a result of this investigation