AS ONE of the highly urbanized cities in Northern Mindanao with a total of 676,000 population, vehicular traffic has been a common occurrence in Cagayan de Oro City.
Adding the fact that there are ongoing road works and heavy rains nowadays, 10-30 minutes (even an hour!) worth of traffic is bound to happen.
Sitting down for said minutes while waiting for the vehicle to reach your destination seems like a boring option, especially for millennials who are used to the fast pace set of the society today.
As such, here are some of the things passengers do when they are stuck in traffic.
Listening to music. These days, you can see youngsters with their headphones/earbuds on, listening to music while gazing at whatever they see outside the window.
"Puro music jamming tapos pakantakanta lang (I jam to music while singing)," said Kyla Janelle Caballa, a college student.
Using Facebook. #freedata as Ela Adame, a fresh college graduate, said describing how she usually spent the time Facebooking while stuck in traffic.
Aside from posting your own status, you can actually get yourself updated on what is happening, especially at present since Cagayan de Oro City has been on the receiving end of heavy rains that has flooded the main streets, which causes traffic.
Playing games. Since mobile games are downloadable and some don't even need the use of internet to use, playing games in your phones is another way to pass the time.
Watching videos or reading stories online. Personally, I tend to read stories online on sites such as Archive of Our Own, Inkitt or Fanfiction.net. I even have accounts on said sites as I also post my own stories there.
Though, for people who aren't fond of reading, they lean more on watching videos, especially Korean dramas, in their phones via Youtube, Netflix, iFlix and others sites.
There are more things you can do to entertain yourself as long as you have your smartphones. But one should be wary, as you probably won't notice that the person beside you is a possible snatcher or a thief who is out to get the phone of unsuspecting persons like you.
So better keep your phones safe in your bag.
Now without your trusty device, how can you still survive the boredom of being stuck in a traffic jam?
Chatting. If you're lucky to have someone with you during the trip, you can have a nice, long chat with them about anything and everything.
However, if you have no one and you're friendly enough, it will be a good opportunity to strike a conversation with whoever it is seated beside you. This way, not only will you be able to prevent yourself from getting bored, you will also gain a new friend.
"Minsan may sitwasyon talaga mapipilitan ka maging fc [feeling close] (Sometimes there are situation that forces yourself to act like your close to someone)," said Tricia Ann Makasakit, a government worker.
Sleeping or daydreaming. According to Adame, if she doesn't have her smartphone with her, she sleeps inside the vehicle.
Sleeping may be a nice option but you have to be aware of the people within your vicinity. You can still daydream but you should also keep yourself alert for there might be bad people lurking just around the corner, waiting for signs of weakness to strike.
Whichever you choose to amuse yourself, you should also keep in mind, especially when meeting someone or on your way to school or work, that you should get out of the house 30 minutes or even an hour early so you won’t be late to your appointment.