I REALLY feel that while we enjoy browsing our social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, we also somehow get affected with the many negative feelings and events that happen around us. Indeed, the social media have somehow connected us notwithstanding the physical distance or even the unfamiliarity that we have against other people.
Last week, a popular donut store came up with their yearly donut sale, this time a dozen free for every dozen purchase. Obviously, as people who love eating these sweet pastries, this marketing and anniversary promo is way too effective that many customers do not mind spending hours and hours in line. Let us not mention that Filipinos also obsess about Buy 1 Take 1 deals and sale events.
When this certain Karla Singson posted on Facebook her discord against those who trooped the donut branches and waited in line for hours, I just can’t believe how social media have given us the power to intrude into other people’s lives and even express our dissent or opinion regarding the choices that others make. In her post, she seemed to criticize those who chose to wait for their turn to avail the donut deal for allegedly wasting their time. She further challenged them to change their “mindset” and “life.”
If I can just comment and share my piece to this lady, I would ask her first-why do you have to get affected when they make this choice for themselves? It is their time that they are using, not yours. I did not even use the word “wasting” because if a person thinks and feels that waiting in line can cause something meaningful for them afterwards, so that person did not even misuse their time.
One comment on her post details how a father, who said that with his meager income cannot afford to buy or eat in fancy restos, saved up P500 to buy the donuts for his daughter and felt proud to have brought home the donuts to his family. That moment indeed is priceless and meaningful given the sacrifice that he had to endure just to be able to buy the donuts.
To Karla Singson, please know that we all are entitled to our choices in life. If you think people wasted their time and that the Buy 1 Take 1 donuts are not worth their time waiting in line, then we respect you for your opinion. But please respect their reasons as well. They have their own mind, they have their own life that is their choice. You have to deal with that too. Do not judge people simply with their choice to avail the donuts because you are way rich that you can afford them even when they are not on sale. Next time, I do hope that you can just keep you thoughts to yourself and do not forget that respect is one of the important things in life.
Decades ago when internet has not invaded our lives, we only get to know things that happen to our family, friends, and close relatives. Other than those who live in the barrio and spend time gossiping the whole day, we would normally care about the things which really are important and relevant to us. Our parents even taught us not to meddle or encroach in the dealings of others. In short, e tamu makyalam kareng aliwang tau.
But this I think, is not the case anymore. As I’ve said before, through our social media accounts, we have also given other people the right to comment and even interfere with our own choices in life. The moment we choose to publicize our thoughts, our activities, and our accomplishments in our social media accounts is bears the consent for others to know more about what we are thinking, feeling, and doing.
My challenge now is, we should be more mature enough to know when to post and when not to post. I know that we are free to do whatever we want with our own social media accounts, but we always have to remember that everything should be in moderation.