What does it mean to post something in social media? I think this is a question that not a lot of people have been thinking about.
I don’t know if you’re aware but there seems to be a scandal making waves in social media right now. It’s something about Via Gonzales and Lance Centeno.
Netizens’ reactions are varied. Some are supportive of Via, saying that people should stop spreading her videos. Another group is bashing the girl, saying that this was the second time she did something like this. Then, there’s a group of people who doesn’t care at all and just want to join in on the “fun” by wanting so see/share the video.
Suffice to say that when it comes to scandals like this, people are fast to share, comment, and react on this issue. It’s a hot topic that practically anyone can be invested on. The scandal is not like some news piece that you’d see in TV, the radio, or in your newsfeed. It’s something that evokes a more visceral sense.
For me, this scandal highlights the reminder like think before you click/post. Everything you post, I mean EVERYTHING, will be immortalized in the internet. You can just look at Cat Arambulo who bashed Filipinos for going out amid the home quarantine implementation, the viral stories circulating about the catfisher Sam Morales, and who knows who else that posted something in social media that they’d rather not have posted at all.
I suppose my point is, just don’t post anything polarizing in social media. It’s too much of a hassle. I know that people are entitled to their own opinions, nevertheless, I stand with my opinion of not getting involved in the social media drama at all.
As a benefit to not being involved and just being a wallflower on the wall, you won’t get bashed by people “triggered” over your opinions. You also won’t be labeled as being partisan.
Going back on the Via and Lance scandal, I believe that this is something much worse altogether. You know, this scandal reminds of what happened to Michaela Baldos. That one went really viral and it seems like the Via and Lance scandal is going the same way.
As I pointed earlier, my opinion is to not post anything at all in social media. I think of social media as a free-for-all battlefield. It’s a place that anyone can fight anyone with practically little to no repercussions. I believe that this is what makes people say whatever they want.
Filipinos are kind, loving, and happy people but when it comes to social media, Filipinos lose all inhibitions. I suppose it’s liberating that there’s a platform you could speak your mind with relative anonymity.
In the end, I think the cases of Michaela, Via and Lance, and the other people that went viral because of scandals is just saddening. Their reputations are permanently scarred. So, I believe we should do what any self-respecting Filipino would do for them: respect their privacy, support them in times of hardships, and DON’T BRING UP THE SCANDALS EVER AGAIN!
Photo Courtesy: ashfield.notts.sch.uk, nexusconsultancy.co.uk, harrisrichard.com
