MISTERYOSA.COM

I wish I know how to go with the mainstream flow.

Today’s society is mainstream-ingested because of media. Everyone, or at least almost everyone, is expected to conform to the unwritten rules of being updated with the latest fashion trends and other whatnots. It makes me think that the Philippines is not really for a queer person like myself. I’m not exactly a social deviant, but if the standard of a fun personality would be what the media dictates, then I must be.

One thing I have learned outside school is that the Filipinos, or the mass media audiences in general, are passive media consumers. Passive, in the sense that they only receive the media images they get from advertisements and other media. Most of the time, they fail to be critical thinkers and users of those things they see on TV, hear on the radio, and read on the local newspapers. Maybe they gratify in using products their favorite actors supposedly use, or maybe they just want to be “in.” Some Filipinos are too gullible to think about the effects of different kinds of media to them.

It is both quite ironic and amusing that we construct media to be what it is, and in turn, it shapes our society to be what it is today. It doesn’t matter what station or network a person watches; what matters is that he or she gets to watch a popular show on TV. Media shapes our way of thinking and influences our attitudes towards similar and different things. The problem is that the media, most often than not, filter the information the audience receive. Philippine networks only give to the Filipinos what they think would be a hit, or what they view as what the Filipinos really “need.”

In a continuously changing world, we have to carefully evaluate different things that affect our lives. Some, however, fail to do this. They resonate what they see on soap operas to what happens in their life, hence they tend to empathize with the characters in those shows. I remember in my Media Studies 11 (Reading Media) class, we have discussed about the “mean world syndrome,” when people feel that the world is a violent place to live in because of the shows they see on TV.

It’s not surprising that the top advertised products in the Philippines are health care products. Filipinos are known to be neat with themselves, never mind their surroundings. They’re conscious with how they look because media tells them to. I dare say that the media have played an important part of constructing the ideology of beauty, twisted as it is, here in the Philippines. I think that some people even feel superior to others just because they used certain products that are not effective at all, just as long as they use them.

But taking all these into consideration, no one can deny that the Filipinos are now dependent on the media products they so support. They rely on the shows they watch or hear to bring them to a different world, a means of escaping for a moment the bittersweet life they live in the present. Some bum around instead of actually seeking employment to support his or her family. Some drop out of school just to watch his or her favorite cartoons. And both might happen not just because the people enjoy the feeling of diverting their attention from what’s really happening, maybe they have even watched a show that compels them to do so. Media is a powerful tool that might infuse our minds with powerful messages.

I’m not saying that the Filipinos are too gullible to think about what the media does to them. But some people just think that they are in control of situations, but they’re not. We should choose the media that would be of benefit for us, not turn us into some mindless individuals, bombarding us with mindless advertisements. Maybe the society is improving in terms of the “gullible” part, but the Philippines still has a long way to go.

I think that the true role of mass media in our society is to provide us Filipinos the necessary relevant and useful information that would help us make informed and wise decisions, and be more critical consumers. But because of the abuse in media for money and fame, all we get is mindless entertainment. Media is indeed powerful - more powerful than most people give it credit for.