University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Arts and Letters professor and Graduate School researcher Prof. Veronico N. Tarrayo, Ph.D., recently presented a co-authored paper at the Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC) 2024. The conference, themed, “Media Construct, Constructive Media,” took place from October 31 to November 2, 2024 at the University of Social Science and Humanities, Vietnam National University, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Tarrayo delivered his presentation on November 2, during the “Content Creation and Communication Education” parallel session.
Tarrayo’s paper, co-authored with University of the East – Manila professor and researcher Prof. Julius Cesar R. Pascual, Ph.D., is titled “Sliding into Your DMs in 1, 2, 3: Instagram-dating Practices of Filipino Professionals in a Relationship amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.” This study has been published in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)- and Scopus-indexed Q2 journal, International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies.
The paper examined the novel ways Filipino professionals in relationships (FPR) navigated Instagram (IG) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it explored how romantic alternatives were expressed and experienced through Instagram’s ‘My Stories’ feature during quarantine. As Tarrayo and Pascual noted, the study fills a gap in the literature: “No study had been published up until that point on the role that IG-dating plays in the various stages of online-dating practices during the recent lockdowns and quarantine periods.”
The findings revealed that FPR did not view Instagram as a definitive marker of their romantic and emotional relationships. Instead, the platform served as a coping mechanism, helping individuals ease boredom, escape pandemic-related stress, and divert their worries. Consequently, relationships initiated on IG often dissolved through “ghosting” at any stage. The study also coined the term ‘quaranfling’ to describe “no-strings-attached flirting during quarantine, which is basically a casual romantic relationship.”
Pascual and Tarrayo’s work holds significant implications for the fields of communication, media studies, and linguistics. They propose that the phenomenon of ‘quaranfling’ warrants further exploration, particularly in assessing whether online platforms like social media and dating apps contribute to relationship challenges such as cheating and breakups. Their study underscores the need for more research not only in the Philippines but across the Asia-Pacific region to better understand the evolving dynamics of digital intimacy in modern relationships.
By presenting this innovative study at ACMC 2024, Tarrayo continues to make valuable contributions to the discourse on media, culture, and communication in contemporary contexts.
