The Use of Communication Technologies by Global Filipinos to Maintain Their Interpersonal Relationships with Their Household in the Philippines

Abstract

Before, it was very hard for people to stay in a healthy relationship when they are far from each other; people tend to become emotionally unattached, and there is a higher possibility of having unresolved conflicts because communication is not available for both parties. But as long-distance communication is now made more available and accessible through the use of communication technologies, relationships separated by distance can now be sustained and even nurtured through constant communication. There had been numerous studies about telecommunications and communication technologies, but there is still a great need for further research on the effect of communication technologies to interpersonal communication, leaving a gap in knowledge involving communication technologies. For this reason, this research aimed to answer the question, "How do Global Filipinos use Communication Technologies to maintain their interpersonal relationships with their household in the Philippines?" This study is a descriptive-exploratory design using the communication, technology, psychology, and socio-cultural science as its disciplinary approaches. The study used purposive sampling of convenience in choosing the participating global Filipinos and household members. The tools for data-gathering that were employed in this research are the interview schedule (to generate information from global Filipinos about the communication technologies that they are using to connect with their household in the Philippines, along with the determinants that they are considering when choosing communication technologies) and survey questionnaires, which are of two kinds — one for the household members, and the other for global Filipinos (to generate data regarding their profile). This study employed a thematic analysis in analyzing answers gathered from the respondents and the documents. The findings showed that among all communication technologies used, telephone applications dominate computer applications, and among telephone applications available, connection through phone calls, especially through landline is the most frequently used technology by global Filipinos and their household members in the Philippines. The Internet Relay Chat is the most popular computer application and follows the landline in terms of being frequently used. In conclusion, the communication technologies that global Filipinos used to connect with their household are computer and telephone applications, but most frequently the landline telephone (telephone application), followed by Internet Relay Chat (computer application). The frequency of connecting with their family depends on their available time, but regarding the use of communication technologies, it is the cost that greatly affects the frequency and duration of their connection The research findings showed that despite the introduction of more advanced communication technologies, many are still using and prefer the traditional ones, and that among the available communication technologies today, there are only certain communication technologies that are most commonly used by global Filipinos to connect with their families. Global Filipinos are willing to spend to connect with their household members, and they tend to connect most frequently with the household member who takes the role as the leader of the household.