Is it okay to go outside? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you know that coronavirus cases have been rising exponentially in the Philippines. Hospitals are once again reaching full capacity, and the end is nowhere in sight.

So it’s a bit troubling to watch people on their IG Stories live life like there’s no pandemic going on. While we continue to hold the government accountable, I think we should also acknowledge our own role in improving the state of our country.

The Problem with Instagram Stories

Let’s address the elephant in the room. I look at my IG Stories, and it’s crazy how the people who claim to miss the pre-coronavirus world so much are the ones who have been incessantly going out too. Don’t get it twisted: I said incessantly.

And to unapologetically post videos of themselves in such a public platform too… like, are they trying to get themselves cancelled?

I’m of course, not talking about those who have to leave their house for essential errands. Nor am I talking about going on a quick drive to do something then returning home immediately. Nor the people going on protests!

My issue is with the people who are physically with their friends every day and clearly not observing social distancing outside of their house!

To these people: I’m all about giving zero fucks what other people think, but you have to know why it’s infuriating for your friends who watch your stories, right?

I feel like you’re smart enough and have a big brain on you.

So when the thought came across your mind that you might get flack for posting said story, I wonder why you still chose to do it anyway.

Was there a disconnect between your brain and your finger? Do you just like annoying people? I just want to know the thinking process behind it!

Posting on IG isn’t the bigger issue here, but I would be lying if I said seeing these stories aren’t a little bit triggering.

There are what we call finsta accounts, so if you want to shut up people like me or avoid judgement from your friends, maybe it’s better if you post everything there.

If you’re bored, be thankful.

It would be good to remind everyone that being bored does not mean it is okay to go outside. Out of all the reasons you could have for leaving the house, this is probably the worst one.

I guess it’s just frustrating because there are people risking their lives every day to go to work and place food in their table. They either put up with the hellish commute every day or are always in physical contact with others. If given a choice, they would most probably choose to be bored at home rather than putting their loved ones and themselves at risk.

Boredom is a privilege that you should be thankful to have, because some Filipinos would kill to have it.

I can’t tell you how to live your life. but if you’re privileged enough to live in a house that has food, internet, a bed, and a shower all shouldered by your parents, then please just stay at home. You have everything you need and more!

I’m not even asking you to avoid the outside world completely because frankly, that’s impossible. Just don’t go out pretending like the virus doesn’t exist.

When can I go out?

While every person has a different take on what is “acceptable” behavior nowadays, I think we can all agree on some things that determine wheter or not it’s okay to go outside. Like for one, you start to cross the line of being irresponsible when you go out every single day doing things that you can live without.

Then there are the idiots who refuse to wear face masks, which I don’t see much of in the Philippines thankfully.

Going to your friend’s house? Definitely better than dining out with them.

By no means am I an expert on this topic, so I’m not even gonna impose my beliefs on when it is okay for you to go out. But it would be good to set your own rules that you yourself should stick to. When you do this, you can hold yourself accountable and not end up a hypocrite.

For example, here are the personal guidelines that I stick to when deciding if I should leave the house to do something:

If the answer to any of my questions is a yes, then I simply don’t go out. By having this list in my mind, I am able to hold myself back from making irresponsible trips that could put other people in danger.

Now I want to ask you: what’s on your list?

To sum up how you should act during the pandemic, just remember to always practice sensitivity. I’d just like to remind everyone that you can unknowingly be a bringer of the virus and harm somebody without meaning to. And we definitely don’t need to see you going against quarantine protocols on Insta every day.

It is also important to note that it is okay to go outside the house.

But keep your loved ones safe by reducing the time you spend needlessly going on dates with friends. And when you go out, please be responsible and cautious.

Rule of thumb: if you have to think about whether going somewhere is okay or not, then it’s probably not okay. The fact that you had to pause and ask yourself if it is okay to go outside means that it’s not necessary for you to do so.

You’re a zoomer; you already know what you’re supposed to do so just avoid being a stubborn piece of work.

What do you think are acceptable reasons to go out of the house during the pandemic? Share your answer in the comments below! Don’t forget to follow us @ZoomersCornerPH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Featured Image: Ana Madeleine on Pexels

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Dear Facebook, you have effectively killed our democracy by turning a blind eye on fake news and troll accounts. Do we need to start our own Facebook ad boycott in the Philippines to get you to listen to us?

We know you don’t care much when you’re still turning profit from our advertising pesos, but tech giants like yourself need to know your place. Stop messing with how the world operates because if the people get angry enough, we could crush you like the bug that you are.

Facebook is Basically a Military-Grade Weapon

Just weeks ago, something crazy jolted me up from the bed, and into a pool of anger. A lot of my friends and I who had graduated from, or studied in the University of the Philippines, woke up to news that gave me absolute goosebumps. Multiple “duplicate” accounts had been created using our names overnight. These accounts had a default profile picture, which was a huge indicator that they were created by trolls. Oh, and what’s worse is, some of these accounts were sending threatening messages to the real users.

Now, some of you might be wondering why it’s such a scary thing. Well, this happened right at the peak of the #JunkTerrorBill movement that forced a lot of zoomers to speak out online against the government and the Anti-Terror Bill.

With how vaguely the ATB could be interpreted, the writing was on the wall: these duplicate accounts could post something incriminating under your name, like pretending to threaten people for example. If they do that, you could easily be thrown in jail without question.

Later on however, we’d realize that it was not just students and alumni from my school who were being targeted. Most of the victims of this cyber identity thefit situation were those who were vocal about their opposition to the Anti-Terror Bill.

There were a lot of theories as to where the data came from.

It could have been from an algorithm that targets people who had used the hashtag “#JunkTerrorBill” in one of their posts. Another theory is how the trolls targeted users who had signed a Change.org petition against the ATB. One thing is for sure though: with how quickly the accounts were being created, Facebook was once again being used as a weapon by the troll farms.

So after that happened, Facebook said no malicious activity happened, and the National Bureau of Investigation claimed it was a glitch. Pretty sure no one who was victimized believed that.

What kind of Black Mirror episode did I just live through?

How Facebook Killed our Democracy

After that whole thing, I decided to watch The Great Hack on Netflix. It’s a great look into how a data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica, had used our Facebook data to skew elections in different countries with the aid of targeted ads. While that might seem like fair game, they planted fake news and intentionally created dissent in these countries to make their client win. Of course for some reason, they decided to side with candidates who were bigots for these elections.

Here’s the kicker. They were a British consulting firm, but had the balls to test out their strategies on developing countries like the Philippines. Then, once they proved their success in these areas, they then decided to take on the 2016 U.S. presidential election and Brexit next.

Like… are they for real? Why do these people think that they can just swoop in and totally change how other countries operate?

We are not your guinea pigs! If you’re going to pull down your zipper and piss all over the plants, do it in your own backyard!

But besides that, the fact that Facebook is doing virtually nothing to regulate political ads, fake news, and troll accounts shows where their allegiance truly lies: their bank account. Having these things unregulated in a social media-heavy country like ours is tantamount to a dead democracy.

If you don’t have facts, you can’t have truth. If you don’t have truth, you don’t have trust. If you don’t have these two things, you don’t have democracy.

Maria Ressa in a 2019 interview with CIGI

So if you’ve been on the political side of the internet for some time now, you’d know how our current government has used Facebook to create chaos. Paid troll armies are the most notorious example, coming to the defense of the president when he is being criticized. As they grow in number, the divide between Duterte’s supporters and detractors just keep getting bigger and bigger by the day.

Which is exactly what they want. And something that Facebook has done nothing about.

July 2020 Facebook Ad Boycott

Since Americans have caught up to Facebook’s role in democracy and elections, lawmakers have been rightfully grilling Zuckerberg for lack of regulation when it comes to fake news. And now that the 2020 U.S. presidential elections are coming up, the anger of the people has been piling up, as Facebook could very well be weaponized to favor a presidential candidate again.

Additionally, the platform has been used to post hateful content against vulnerable communities, primarily those that include BIPOC. They have refused to take down hate-filled comments in relation to recent killings against POC. One such comment was made by President Donald Trump himself, where he encouraged protesters to be shot. Throughout this debacle, Mark Zuckerburg remained silent about the issue, despite a huge backlash from numerous people and groups.

And believe me, this just fueled the fire even more.

As a response to their inaction when it comes to racially-charged comments, a prominent number of big and small advertisers have vowed not to run any Facebook ads in the month of July. Activist groups have been working non-stop for more advertisers to join their call to #StopHateforProfit. Yes, there have been many ad boycotts in the past, but this seems to be the biggest one yet.

Why This Boycott Means Something

Even being a Filipino, you’d be able to recognize names of brands who have agreed to take part in this movement: The North Face, Upwork, Ben & Jerry’s, Rakuten Viber, and probably the biggest fish yet, Verizon Wireless.

To provide context, Facebook was able to to earn a whopping $69.7 billion dollars in 2019, with 46.1% of their 2018 revenue coming from U.S. and Canada alone. From those numbers, you’re probably thinking that this boycott will not do anything in the long run, especially when these brands are planning to resume their ads after July anyway. Great, that’s what other marketers are thinking too.

However, let’s look at the bigger picture.

By participating in the boycott, all these companies are using the reach and influence that they have to spread awareness about Facebook’s problem in addressing racist and discriminatory comments. More than that, these advertisers could very much influence how their customers think and feel. Just by explaining why they refuse to run ads for July, they are already educating people on how dangerous the tech giant could truly be.

As this continues to gain steam, the activist groups and brands who joined the boycott have already made a statement. And now that more advertisers are taking part, this story has continued to gain momentum throughout media and news outlets. The best part is almost all of their content gives context on why this boycott is happening in the first place: Facebook’s inaction towards racially-charged comments. While this won’t put a dent in Facebook’s revenue numbers, this movement has been chipping away at their credibility and reputation.

Plus, the public pressure is probably weighing heavily on Mr. Robot right now. If he’ll finally cave in, we will have to wait and see.

Why We Need a Facebook Ad Boycott in the Philippines

What that in mind, imagine if all the big and small local advertisers could come together to create a Facebook ad boycott in the Philippines. We even have our own, extremely valid concern to rationalize this: the weaponization of Facebook against free speech.

Imagine if the likes of P&G, Unilever, and Jollibee Foods Corporation would actually take a stand against disinformation, troll armies, clone accounts, and other shenanigans, by not running any Facebook ads for a certain time.

Having an ad boycott would be a big step in taking back our virtually-dead democracy that we worked so hard to earn. It’s probably true that the advertising revenue from the Philippines is barely a blip in Facebook’s radar, but a movement like this has a ton of potential to create awareness and educate the masses. Media outlets from all over the world and the country would pick it up and help impart our message about responsible regulation of online platforms.

Then, we could inspire the people and truly make a change. Now that’s what I call a power move.

Unfortunately, this all seems like an unreachable and unrealistic dream.

If someone does start a Facebook ad boycott in the Philippines, we’d probably just have other companies taking advantage of the lighter competition on the platform. I also presume that the gesture wouldn’t be appreciated as much as in the U.S., as most of the population haven’t realized the impact of Facebook has had in our democracy yet. Even so, realistically speaking, the big advertisers here don’t have the guts to take part in something as small as a Facebook ad boycott. I’d literally have to see it to believe it.

But hey, we can always stay hopeful that advertisers will be able to realize that they play a much bigger role in society than they’d like to think. Someday, I know that citizens and advertisers alike can put our differences, fear, and greed aside to slay the Facebook dragon once and for all.

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Featured Image: Thought Catalog

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Okay, Boomers and Baby Boomers: we’re turning the tables on you — you’re the reason why we’re living in a hellhole right now. If it weren’t for your dated values and submissiveness, then we’d probably be living in a better world.

If you think the world sucks, take a look at the people running the world.

Well first off, how about we start with the fact that most of the leaders in the world are either from the Boomer Generation or from Gen X, the sneaky little generation who precedes millennials but are also to blame? Some of the powerful men ruling right now include United States’ Donald Trump, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and of course, the Philippines’ He-Who-Must-Be-Named (literally, because of the Anti-Terror Bill). What do they all have in common besides the fact that they’re men? They are all part of your generation.

If you live in one of those countries I mentioned and you do support your leader, then you really have no right to think lowly of the other ones. One is not better than the other, and trying to play that game is like deciding between eating cat piss or horse manure for lunch.

They shove their old-fashioned values down our throats where it’s actually become questionable if their decisions were actually made using a brain. And unfortunately, this has led to more chaos than anything. The only response they know are ad-hominem attacks, underhanded diversion tactics, and violence. All this while suppressing the voices of the minorities, critics, and dissenters.

You settle for scraps. We don’t.

There was this really heartbreaking Twitter video that I couldn’t finish because it hit too close to home. It shows a girl named Marissa, who couldn’t hold back her crying because her mother kept on telling her that it was hopeless to protest, and that she couldn’t change the world. Do you really think we’d want to spend our time fighting for basic human rights, when they should have been given to everyone in the first place? This is just one of many instances that shows how people from your generation are hammering us with the idea that we should just sit down and eat our food. Our idealism is being scoffed at for being unrealistic when history has shown that what we’re asking for is within reach.

As a Filipino, I actually don’t know where you get the audacity to tell me that collective action is useless when the most important we literally overthrew a dictator as a nation. Look, I get that for most of y’all, it’s your maternal instinct kicking in. You tell us these things because you’re looking out for us. But why not try a softer approach that doesn’t involve destroying what’s little left of our hope? Sometimes, whether or you hate it or not, we actually have a point. And speaking of…

You can’t accept that you’re wrong.

The #HijaAko hashtag trended in the Philippines due to a controversy where 19-year old Frankie Pangilinan, or Kakie for short, spoke against an ill-advised, now-deleted Facebook post by the national police that told women to wear less revealing clothes unless they want to be raped. Kakie fought back by accurately saying that rapists should be to blame for rape, and not the survivors. Of course, heterosexual male boomer Ben Tulfo tells Kakie that she doesn’t know what she’s saying, as he condescendingly calls her hija: a term older Filipinos use to refer to a little girl.

Unfortunately, this is one of the annoying problems that we zoomers face every day. You don’t seem to treat us seriously just because we’re younger than you, and I say this as a working adult who has already graduated college. Sometimes, older people look at me and think that I’m crazy for opposing them even if I do bring up valid points. This is most likely a trait predominant in Asian families, but I can’t get one rebuttal in without being told that I’m fighting back (sumasagot ka na ngayon?). Like, no. I’m merely disagreeing with you and telling you why. Let me speak!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned though, it’s that when a boomer resorts to using age as an excuse to end the argument, it means you have won

Your traditions don’t hold up anymore.

Please retire the line of thinking that the way your generation perceives the world is how everybody else does too. The “issues” you regarded as taboo during your time are most likely just normal for us now. Just take a look at the shows being broadcasted in your television and streaming platforms, then you’ll see what I mean.

It’s normal for homosexuals to be in a public relationship. It’s normal for women to get abortions. It’s normal for teenagers to have sex. It’s normal for women to raise a baby by herself. It’s normal for people to smoke. It’s normal to get into open relationships. It’s normal to be atheist. It’s normal to get into an interracial relationship. It’s normal. And the only people making them abnormal is you!

The only reason why they get depressed is because of judgmental and pretentious members of society who think that their morals and virtues are spotless. If you’re a Catholic or a Christian, then even better! Can you stop using Bible verses to rationalize your hateful behavior? You’re not much different from the people who partook in Jesus’ suffering. Here’s a reality check for you: God told His people not to use His name in vain, which in simple terms, means that you should not use God in arguments to justify actions and words that go against His teachings of love.

Stop dragging God’s name through the mud, ya weirdo. I went to a Jesuit high school for twelve years, so I think I know what I’m talking about.

So I know my tone wasn’t particularly friendly here, but I grew up in an environment where I was discouraged to speak up. Regardless, I still do not feel comfortable saying my opinion in front of boomers and baby boomers, because time and time again, they wouldn’t listen. And that’s all I want you to do: listen. It just so happens that most of you don’t listen when we say it calmly.

If your kid or student isn’t telling you these things, then it’s probably because you’ve groomed them into submissive, obedient members of society. Is that something you should be proud of? I don’t know. But if the world is still alive (no thanks to climate change) in forty years, I don’t want my grandchildren thinking that we just went with the status quo.

And to all my fellow Gen Z folks & zoomers reading this, I hope you become better than me and continue standing your ground.

Featured Image: Alev Takil on Unsplash

The post Boomers and Gen X are Ruining the World: An Open Letter appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

Aggressive fandoms going after each other and celebrities is killing the enjoyment of social media, as they grow more rabid and hostile by the day. And unfortunately, it’s also been taking people’s lives.

What is stan culture, anyway? Well, to answer that, it’s important to know what ‘stan’ truly means. The word ‘stan’ comes from a song named “Stan” released by Eminem and Dido back in 2000. The lyrics of the song is written from the point-of-view of Stan, a dangerously crazy, psychopathic stalker who happens to be obsessed with Eminem. And since we’re on the topic, feel free to watch the beautiful music video of this modern classic here:

To put it simply, being a stan of someone means being a dedicated fan of someone or something. You can be a stan of celebrities, idols, TV shows, TV characters, and maybe even political figures.

The word ‘stan’ has made way into our lexicon today, and is pretty standard Gen Z slang. However, it has been repurposed to mean something a bit lighter and less violent. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say that they stan someone and mean it unironically. But even so, it has always carried around a negative connotation, especially because stans have always had questionable behavior. Not only are they the first life of defense for the idols and celebrities they worship, but when you go against whomever they admire, they will relentlessly come at you like a pack of hyenas.

Stan culture is the culture online where dedicated fans come together to rain support, and discuss all the details about their favorites. Unfortunately, what’s supposed to be a good thing has devolved into an arena where stans go against each other to prove that their idol is better than the others. While there are positive ways to show their support like fancams and endless praises, toxic things like fan wars, online bullying, and cancelling someone are all encouraged in here. And in some cases, the people who are meanest to celebrities are their stans themselves.

So it’s no surprise that people who are not part of this culture look down at those who partake in these things. It seems crazy looking from the outside, but once you’re there, it’s not hard to be sucked into the whole mess. I mean, we all have that one thing we can’t shut up about, and only a handful of people also appreciate.

Listen, I am a self-proclaimed stan of certain celebrities, and I even have a stan account (a separate social media account for the sole purpose of fangirling over things you stan) that I handle. I am a pretty active reader of different subreddits that are meant for fandoms to come together. So this is not just another article villainizing being a stan, but it’s a precautionary measure to hopefully make you think twice of your actions.

Why do we have to cancel people and keep on making #IsOver parties?

Twitter is probably where the stan culture is at full effect, and every week, it seems like there’s always a new celebrity receiving massive hate for small things. I’m not talking about racist, homophobic, or transphobic comments that could genuinely harm people, but petty drama reserved for trashy reality TV.

Of course, who could forget the #TaylorSwiftIsOver party back in 2016 that forced her into hiding for sometime? Ever since then, it seems like there’s someone finding and replacing the hashtag with the name of a celebrity. While I personally enjoyed the drama it gave us, can we just talk about how it always achieves nothing? Since then, Swift had released two albums and went on a globally successful tour. Not once did she ever become irrelevant, and the same can be said for the other people who found themselves getting “exposed” on Twitter.

Let’s reserve those hashtags for scumbags like the cops, Brock Turner, Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, and countless others — people who actually put people’s lives in harm.

Have you ever noticed how much more women celebrities get “cancelled” as opposed to their male counterparts?

A lot of people preach about feminism and female empowerment, but they don’t realize the amount of hate they give towards successful women. Often, the reasons for cancelling them are often unfounded. They could just be liking a tweet that implies they do not get along with someone, and they’d get massive backlash over it. While I’m not a fan of Demi Lovato myself, it’s crazy how much flack she’s getting for daring not to be friends with Selena Gomez.

If Justin Bieber circa 2013 were a woman, his career would be over. But because he’s an attractive young boy, he got a free pass and went on to have success in music. Hell, his bad boy persona probably sold him more records. Do we even need to talk about Chris Brown who beat up Rihanna, and is still getting hits? Or how about Dr. Luke who is publicly known to have abused Kesha, but just made a Hot 100 comeback with “Say So”?

Why are women getting all the heat for the littlest things? Fellow stans, we can do better than this. I’d like you to be a little more mindful about the gender of the people you hate, and see if the reasons you have for not liking them are justified.

Why do we need to undercut the success of other celebrities?

I don’t understand why some stans can’t be happy for other people, and keep on parading their idols around like they’re the best thing in the world since sliced bread. Okay, I am calling out myself on this. Do you all remember the Grammys this year when Billie Eilish swept the four major categories? Lana del Rey and Ariana Grande stans alike were furious as their idols lost out on to Eilish for the Best Album award.

While there was a lot of uproar over this decision, a lot of people got angry at Eilish herself even when she was not part of the selection process. Moreover, she went on stage to literally say that Ariana deserved the award. So why do we have to send out hate to her?

Why can’t we accept genuine apologies?

This one really gets under my skin. It seems like stan culture can’t accept any apologies, and once you are caught guilty of doing something irresponsible, you can’t try and mend those fences no matter what you do.

I will hold out on naming any examples, because doing so would imply that I agree with the apologizer’s actions. But my point is that we shouldn’t be accepting apologies just because they did, but it’s always good to read or listen to them without judgement beforehand. It’s not good being cynical all the time either. The lack of empathy and genuine intent to listen from stan culture is pretty alarming. It’s pretty common for celebrities to say their piece, and just be made fun of even if they got their point across. We can’t preach forgiveness and mercy when we can’t practice it ourselves.

Why can’t we be kinder?

I am still heartbroken today, weeks after the death of Terrace House and rising professional wrestling star Hana Kimura. After receiving huge backlash from her stint in Terrace House, she took her own life. As a fan of both the Netflix show and professional wrestling, I was pretty devastated, especially when I remembered that she was just my age and had a bright future ahead of her.

It was crazy because only a week prior, I had watched the scene in Terrace House that seemed to launch all the haters against her. People were sending her death threats, or wishing for her to kill herself. And even after the fact, I saw tweets that celebrated her death. Could you imagine what was going through her head when she had read those things? Probably not. All of this hate from dedicated fans of the show contributed to her death, and it is honestly sickening.

While I have been through a personal event that changed my view on cyberbullying, this just helped me even more in realizing that I need to be kinder in social media, even to celebrities. Because as Hana’s death reminds us, the people on our screens are just like us: they want to be loved. Celebrities are frustrating, but most of the time, they haven’t done anything grave that warrants being burned at the stake. We can’t keep losing people to harsh words and hate.

So where do we go from here?

I think it’s high time that we reevaluate how we interact with each other in the stan landscape. This is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed by the social media giants who have the power to regulate the posts that we see in our feeds.

On the individual level though, there are a lot of things that we can do to encourage positivity within our own communities. As much as celebrities need to change, we also have to pick up our own weight, and practice empathy. Support the people you want, but not at the expense of others. Hold people accountable and be critical of their work all you want, but don’t be mean. If you really can’t stop hating someone, just keep your hateful thoughts to yourself. There are already too many Negative Nancy’s in the world, and we don’t need another one.

Instead, with all the turmoil in the world, why not use your platform to help out others? I already see countless stan accounts raising awareness on movements, educating others on issues, and encouraging them to sign petitions, donate, etc. The followers of your stan account are probably people whom you don’t know personally, so you could reach those who are not too familiar with global issues.

Hey, if the K-pop stans you hate so much are doing their part in the movement by overloading despicable hashtags like #WhiteLivesMatter with fancams, then maybe stan culture isn’t so bad after all. And in true stan fashion, I will now end this post by telling you to stream eight by IU and SUGA!

Featured Image: Jon Tyson on Unsplash

The post Why Stan Culture is Problematic, Written by a Stan appeared first on Zoomers Corner.