True or False

SOME time after I finished watching all the episodes of a British television show, tea became an important part of my sanity. Making a cup every now and then eases the burden of having to wait for the next season. It lends a sense of continuity and it does soothe the nerves.

That is why I risked fifteen more minutes of procrastination this afternoon to go to the store to buy milk, which I had not realized we were out of until I had already poured boiling water on the tea bag.

I walked briskly in the gathering dusk, fearing that I would come back to a tepid drink, and worrying that this assignment was still a blank Word document.

This story ends, to cut it short, with me inhaling my beloved mug of tea (still hot) in front of my computer. It looks like a happy ending, but it is actually quite sad.

Why?

To begin, the concepts of mass media and values formation must be defined. Mass media is communication on a large scale. Values are principles, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable, and they form as a person is influenced by his family, by education and by society.

Mass media furthers the formation of values as cultural standards are exhibited and set by television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines and so on.

From those media, people receive messages that promote not only products but also moods, attitudes and a sense of what is and what is not important. Through mass media, people learn what is generally accepted.

They learn that they have to behave in certain ways to be able to reach certain goals.

As a student, I see that mass media in the Philippines is generally positive, promoting the traditional Filipino value of diligence in studies. Everything tells me to finish school and finish it well to ensure a happy future. But there are also such things as false values, which have seeped into the Filipino consciousness from God knows where.
I say Filipino consciousness because I assume that what is happening to me is happening to everyone else. I may seem to speak of procrastination as if it was a new scholarly affliction, but to me, it is. I was always a good student. Not so much these days.

A good student overcomes procrastination to the best of her abilities.

Guilt, fear of failure, or a pure desire to make her parents proud overrides her laziness and lets her finish a task. But what happens when she stumbles upon people on the world wide web who seem to have accepted procrastination, who hug it instead of push it away, who declare that giving in is inevitable and it is okay because everyone else does at some point anyway, who seem happier for it?

Look at me, talking about myself in third person. But there is something in putting the past that way. Something apologetic? Because I have tried to revert to the old, better ways, yet continual exposure to an opposing force that has weakened me. Although I had felt guilty for prioritizing a silly ritual over homework, I had shrugged it off and carried on.

I may seem to be saying that the Internet taught me to be delinquent. It certainly formed me, but the fault was entirely mine. I have always had this tendency. (Reference: ‘The Role and Influence of Mass Media,’ www.cliffsnotes.com) (Angela Bernice C. Cabildo of Xavier University)