Why do a growing number of Filipinos waste time and energy on utilizing Facebook, the most popular social networking site of today? This question is a no brainer, so to speak. But there’s the other side of the story, as they always say. I am not certain if I’d be proud to be part of a country tagged as "The Social Networking Capital of the World." I am admitting that I have reservations and irks on this generalization or stereotyping, if I may. The positive effects on being a netizen have been laid out everywhere so I’ll focus on the nook that roughly seven million Filipinos have not been able to put much weight on – compromising our culture to keep up with Facebook.
I’ll begin with our youth. There’s an interesting insight from a leading psychiatrist, Dr Himanshu Tyagi of West London Mental Health NHS Trust about the effects of social networking sites to our youth. "It's a world where everything moves fast and changes all the time, where relationships are quickly disposed at the click of a mouse, where you can delete your profile if you don't like it, and swap an unacceptable identity in the blink of an eye for one that is more acceptable." He said: "People used to the quick pace of online social networking may soon find the real world boring and unstimulating. "It may be possible that young people who have no experience of a world without online societies put less value on their real world identities and can therefore be at risk in their real lives, perhaps more vulnerable to impulsive behaviour or even suicide." He called for more investigation and research into the issue. Facebook accounts of our youth today is bombarded with not only tips on assignments, group projects, feedback about games, movies, and what have you but also their immature two cents worth about love, life and yes, even careers! Much time is exerted online to seek help from people within their network to get by with a first break-up, first kiss, and all the ‘firsts’ imaginable, articulated on their own | preferred language (Yes, jejemons, I’m referring to you.). You’ll wonder, whatever happened to opening up to parents, just like what we’re used to. Close family ties, where have our ‘ropes’ gone? At barely 18, girls put a profile picture in a seductive outfit. At barely 18! I’m guessing Maria Clara would be astounded had she lived this era. And the boys - courting girls here and there, posting sweet-nothings to win a young girl’s heart. ‘Harana’ has already lost its share on wooing a girl. Sending or posting video or mp3 is their choice than paying a visit to where the girl lives. Why would a boy do that when they can meet and greet over a webcam, right? Silly as it seems, many young lovers thrive on this kind of relationship. For the grown ups, age wise, indicating exactly where you are makes lives of stalkers much simpler. There are a number of ways to discreetly tell your pals to meet you somewhere but never on Facebook where you are seen globally. I get that we are known to be hospitable but allowing strangers, not visitors, into your personal life is suicide by all means. On a lighter note but still in relation with my point, don’t we, Filipinos, love gossiping? So, why then are you posting on your ‘walls’ about your heartbreaks, frustrations, and no-one-will-care-for insights on local, national and international issues? Is this really how we choose to show the world how either dumb or smart we are? Another thing, I don’t know anyone yet who isn’t guilty of this – playing Farmville and Farmtown. We engage ourselves to cyber games like these two even when we’re at work. I wish to charge this to our culture of ‘pakikisama.’ Since most of your colleagues are hooked into harvesting their cyber plants and prettifying their cyber lands, you join the group to stay significant. Perhaps that is the same reason why we ‘like’ what others put on their ‘walls.’ I get that all work with no play is boring but, really at work? I’ve already thought that browsing non-work related websites while working is a crime until Facebook entered our lives. Productivity at work will surely be low when we spend more time prying on people's lives at Facebook than doing what we’re being paid for. The list goes on to illustrate how possibly Facebook connives with Filipinos' culture. Facebook seem to craddle our idiosyncracies from others, be it in a good or bad way. It becomes one of the platforms to showcase our talents and pitfalls. But an old Filipino saying goes, 'Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay di makararating sa paroroonan.' Point is, Facebook offers so many positive things for us but let's not compromise our ethnicity to stay connected. We should all still be Filipinos, sa isip, sa salita, at sa gawa. ==========================================================
Why do a growing number of Filipinos waste time and energy on utilizing Facebook, the most popular social networking site of today? This question is a no brainer, so to speak.
But there’s the other side of the story, as they always say. I am not certain if I’d be proud to be part of a country tagged as "The Social Networking Capital of the World." I am admitting that I have reservations and irks on this generalization or stereotyping, if I may.
The positive effects on being a netizen have been laid out everywhere so I’ll focus on the nook that roughly seven million Filipinos have not been able to put much weight on – compromising our culture to keep up with Facebook.
I’ll begin with our youth. There’s an interesting insight from a leading psychiatrist, Dr Himanshu Tyagi of West London Mental Health NHS Trust about the effects of social networking sites to our youth.
"It's a world where everything moves fast and changes all the time, where relationships are quickly disposed at the click of a mouse, where you can delete your profile if you don't like it, and swap an unacceptable identity in the blink of an eye for one that is more acceptable." He said: "People used to the quick pace of online social networking may soon find the real world boring and unstimulating. "It may be possible that young people who have no experience of a world without online societies put less value on their real world identities and can therefore be at risk in their real lives, perhaps more vulnerable to impulsive behaviour or even suicide." He called for more investigation and research into the issue.
Facebook accounts of our youth today is bombarded with not only tips on assignments, group projects, feedback about games, movies, and what have you but also their immature two cents worth about love, life and yes, even careers! Much time is exerted online to seek help from people within their network to get by with a first break-up, first kiss, and all the ‘firsts’ imaginable, articulated on their own | preferred language (Yes, jejemons, I’m referring to you.). You’ll wonder, whatever happened to opening up to parents, just like what we’re used to. Close family ties, where have our ‘ropes’ gone? At barely 18, girls put a profile picture in a seductive outfit. At barely 18! I’m guessing Maria Clara would be astounded had she lived this era. And the boys - courting girls here and there, posting sweet-nothings to win a young girl’s heart. ‘Harana’ has already lost its share on wooing a girl. Sending or posting video or mp3 is their choice than paying a visit to where the girl lives. Why would a boy do that when they can meet and greet over a webcam, right? Silly as it seems, many young lovers thrive on this kind of relationship.
For the grown ups, age wise, indicating exactly where you are makes lives of stalkers much simpler. There are a number of ways to discreetly tell your pals to meet you somewhere but never on Facebook where you are seen globally. I get that we are known to be hospitable but allowing strangers, not visitors, into your personal life is suicide by all means. On a lighter note but still in relation with my point, don’t we, Filipinos, love gossiping? So, why then are you posting on your ‘walls’ about your heartbreaks, frustrations, and no-one-will-care-for insights on local, national and international issues? Is this really how we choose to show the world how either dumb or smart we are? Another thing, I don’t know anyone yet who isn’t guilty of this – playing Farmville and Farmtown. We engage ourselves to cyber games like these two even when we’re at work. I wish to charge this to our culture of ‘pakikisama.’ Since most of your colleagues are hooked into harvesting their cyber plants and prettifying their cyber lands, you join the group to stay significant. Perhaps that is the same reason why we ‘like’ what others put on their ‘walls.’ I get that all work with no play is boring but, really at work? I’ve already thought that browsing non-work related websites while working is a crime until Facebook entered our lives. Productivity at work will surely be low when we spend more time prying on people's lives at Facebook than doing what we’re being paid for.
The list goes on to illustrate how possibly Facebook connives with Filipinos' culture. Facebook seem to craddle our idiosyncracies from others, be it in a good or bad way. It becomes one of the platforms to showcase our talents and pitfalls. But an old Filipino saying goes, 'Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay di makararating sa paroroonan.' Point is, Facebook offers so many positive things for us but let's not compromise our ethnicity to stay connected. We should all still be Filipinos, sa isip, sa salita, at sa gawa.
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Resources:
Digital Nation?.Michael Alan Hamlin.02 August 2010http://computerworld.com.ph/tag/social-networking/
Filipino internet users most engaged in social media: survey. abs-cbnNEWS.com.04 August 2010 http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/04/08/10/filipino-internet-users-most-engaged-social-media-survey
Filipino netizens clock in most hours on social networking sites in region -- study.Laurice Claire Peñamante.April 2010 http://www.thepoc.net/breaking-news/media/5832-filipino-netizens-clock-in-most-hours-on-social-networking-sites-in-region-study.html>
UP study aims to explore effects of Facebook on Filipinos.Team YEHEY Blog.23 February 2010 http://carillon.up.edu.ph/?p=1350