Reading in the Digital Age: Teaching Cyber Literature through Social Media-Based Learning
Keywords:
Cyber Literature, Social Media-Based Learning, Digital Reading, Classroom Action ResearchAbstract
This classroom action research examined the effectiveness of social media-based learning in teaching cyber literature to third-semester students of the Publishing study program at Politeknik Negeri Media Kreatif PSDKU Makassar. Cyber literature, digitally native narrative forms such as Wattpad serialized fiction, Twitter/X microfiction, and Instagram-based short stories—was selected as the object of study because of its growing relevance to the publishing industry's shift toward digital-first content. Using a two-cycle Kemmis and McTaggart action research design, the researcher integrated social media platforms directly into classroom instruction: students read serialized cyber-fiction excerpts, analyzed reader-comment interactions, and produced short critical responses shared within a closed class social media group. Data were collected through literary-digital comprehension tests, observation sheets, and student questionnaires. Results showed that students' mean comprehension and critical-response scores increased from 60.5 in the pre-cycle to 70.2 in Cycle I and 81.4 in Cycle II, alongside marked gains in engagement and willingness to produce peer feedback. The study concludes that social media-based learning, when structured with clear analytical tasks, can effectively support Publishing students' understanding of cyber literature as both a literary form and an emerging publishing format. Implications for curriculum design in digital-era publishing education are discussed.
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