Social media revolution against pork barrel
No system is perfect, and all good things have their disadvantages. The onset and influx of social networking and digital media has revolutionized our lifestyles. Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan’s idea of a “global village” came to reality with new media.
Long-distance relationships have become more bearable via online chat and video call services, mostly offered free. All of a sudden, camera quality, memory space for apps, and Wi-Fi connectivity became deciding factors in buying new mobile phones when what matter used to be just the price and a phone’s ability to receive and send text messages and calls.
I am not that old, but I vividly remember those days when entertainment meant reading books and answering crossword puzzles, and having fun was playing patintero and tagu-taguan with neighbors my age.
A few years back, a high school friend dubbed me “Online Girl” because I was, well, always online. I had accounts in social networking sites before they were even termed social media. Blogs were nothing but online journals no less sacred than a diary under your mattress, Twitter was a microblogging site, Multiply allows users to create personal websites, and aside from doing research for your homework through the helpful Wikipedia, there was practically nothing else to do but watch Youtube videos.
Today, the need to catch up on the activities of your Facebook friends and share your own stories has become nauseating to the point of narcissism. Maybe it is just me, but I do not think that managing too many social accounts is worth the trouble of losing my peaceful me time.
I am missing those years when blogging was a way of reaching out to your loved ones and making new friends, when online fora yielded intelligent discussions and not public bashing, and when writing online was either a passion or a therapy and not income- or fan-based. The number of our Facebook friends does not equate to the authenticity and quality of our relationship with friends. Our followers on Instagram do not denote our likability; neither do our Twitter followers depict the credibility of our posts. The more we cling to social media for connection, the more we detach ourselves from the relationships that matter.
Related video: The Innovation of Loneliness — Awesome Motion
And I say this because I was there — before mainstream media had even considered the potential of new media — and I experienced that.
That I keep this blog as an avenue for my reflections and musings, a journal for my experiences and emotions, and a scrapbook for random things I find interesting, with occasional ramblings and reposts about sociopolitical issues, is my rebellion against the social media bandwagon. Please do not get me wrong. I welcome the digital generation and trust its capabilities to change the norms — if only we use multimedia for advocating rights and raising concern for issues that truly matter and not simply for advertising ourselves.
Clearly, we don’t. At least, many of us don’t. But we’re getting there.
The success of the Million People March on August 26 is enough proof to say that, indeed, things are changing.
Related article: Message, not just medium, drove people to Luneta — Interaksyon
I say this because I was there. •
^ I am not complaining, but look at my shoes and my sister’s after the protest.
^ With my college friend Nathan. I figured we never really had a photo together, hence this picture.
Long-distance relationships have become more bearable via online chat and video call services, mostly offered free. All of a sudden, camera quality, memory space for apps, and Wi-Fi connectivity became deciding factors in buying new mobile phones when what matter used to be just the price and a phone’s ability to receive and send text messages and calls.
I am not that old, but I vividly remember those days when entertainment meant reading books and answering crossword puzzles, and having fun was playing patintero and tagu-taguan with neighbors my age.
A few years back, a high school friend dubbed me “Online Girl” because I was, well, always online. I had accounts in social networking sites before they were even termed social media. Blogs were nothing but online journals no less sacred than a diary under your mattress, Twitter was a microblogging site, Multiply allows users to create personal websites, and aside from doing research for your homework through the helpful Wikipedia, there was practically nothing else to do but watch Youtube videos.
Today, the need to catch up on the activities of your Facebook friends and share your own stories has become nauseating to the point of narcissism. Maybe it is just me, but I do not think that managing too many social accounts is worth the trouble of losing my peaceful me time.
I am missing those years when blogging was a way of reaching out to your loved ones and making new friends, when online fora yielded intelligent discussions and not public bashing, and when writing online was either a passion or a therapy and not income- or fan-based. The number of our Facebook friends does not equate to the authenticity and quality of our relationship with friends. Our followers on Instagram do not denote our likability; neither do our Twitter followers depict the credibility of our posts. The more we cling to social media for connection, the more we detach ourselves from the relationships that matter.
Related video: The Innovation of Loneliness — Awesome Motion
And I say this because I was there — before mainstream media had even considered the potential of new media — and I experienced that.
That I keep this blog as an avenue for my reflections and musings, a journal for my experiences and emotions, and a scrapbook for random things I find interesting, with occasional ramblings and reposts about sociopolitical issues, is my rebellion against the social media bandwagon. Please do not get me wrong. I welcome the digital generation and trust its capabilities to change the norms — if only we use multimedia for advocating rights and raising concern for issues that truly matter and not simply for advertising ourselves.
Clearly, we don’t. At least, many of us don’t. But we’re getting there.
The success of the Million People March on August 26 is enough proof to say that, indeed, things are changing.
Related article: Message, not just medium, drove people to Luneta — Interaksyon
I say this because I was there. •
^ I am not complaining, but look at my shoes and my sister’s after the protest.
^ With my college friend Nathan. I figured we never really had a photo together, hence this picture.