The Philippines made it to the list as the number 1 social media user in the whole world. In a recent study made by We Are Social (2019), the Philippines went beyond the mean social media usage (two hours and 16 minutes each day on different social media platforms) as it set four hours and 12 minutes on the average. 2019 Global Web Index report said that there’s an increase of 15 minutes per day (6 percent) versus the average time reported last year.
A number of working OFWs spend their time using different social media platforms on different medium to communicate with their loved ones in the Philippines. Who would not want to go online, check others’ most recent post, tweet comments using hashtags, post recently cooked food on Instagram, make videos uploaded on YouTube, and many more? Everything is possible in the virtual world.
The downside is the new media could lead anyone to digital addiction, officials said.
Digital pitfalls
For Carrie delos Reyes, 32, and works as an IT Supervisor, her exposure to computers, and gadgets has been a normal part of her life. she usually traces all the transactions made online using a computer, tablet, and laptop.
“I spend more than eight hours in front of the computer and aside from work, I do social media browsing. I get headaches and my eyes are usually painful,” she said.
“After work, I spend my resting hour using gadgets until I sleep. There are times that the gadgets I hold fall in front of my face,” Carrie explained.
Melvin Nakamura is an advertising head and works for almost 10 hours every day. He usually spends his work online. After work, he exposes himself to gadgets and plays different mobile app games.
“Many times I get headaches. My eyeglass grade has reached 120. My doctor said long exposure to computers was one of the many factors for my health problems,” Melvin explained.
He also said that his additional hobby like playing games and browsing social media during free time especially on weekends sometimes lasts for 15 hours.
“There was a time when I played games and surfed the Internet for a whole 24 hours,” he added.
More than the mainstream media
Experts said that Internet accessibility and affordability have made the new media and social media even more popular nowadays especially among Filipinos. This, not to mention mobile telephones’ improvement and affordability. Moreover, cross-platform compatibility of apps and devices are also available now. Social media applications are also so easy to download on app stores – it is quick, easy, convenient, and engaging.
On top of this is that anyone can also get instant gratification (or disappointment) through likes.
With these, the behavior of people also changed, experts said. The advent of social media and new media technology also affects how people act, from the time they wake up until the time people sleep. But how do these social media affects the lives of many when it comes to habits? What are the threats of delving deeper into social media?
Philippe Jose Hernandez, a social media expert from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) said, “Insofar as its original goal of connecting people, social media networks have achieved that. In terms of cost, too, whereas before people had to pay exorbitant amounts of money to call loved ones whether locally or internationally, now, calls are free. All you need is a stable Internet-connection through Wi-Fi or data.”
“Social media networks also give people an avenue of expression. Thus, well-meaning advocacies and ideas are given unprecedented possibilities of being promoted and heard, respectively,” he added.
“Also, people are more connected, information is more accessible, and people are more expressive,” Hernandez explained.
Other than speed, services can be found on social media and the convenience and the immediacy of communication is expected to some extent. This was according to Danilo Arao, multimedia expert and journalist from the University of the Philippines.
“Government and corporate transactions for example, in cases where one can log in using social media credentials are now possible,” Arao said.
But too much use isn’t good
Neurologist, Dr. Mark Sta. Maria said that long exposure of eyes on gadgets can cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting, and even blindness in the long-term.
As long as the eyes can see lights emitted from gadgets like cell phones, blue light can penetrate the eyes. “The length of exposure is much harmful than the distance of vision a human is to the gadgets,” he said.
Limiting the use of gadgets for two hours is impossible nowadays, according to experts. And so break time for using these things is important.
“At least 10 minutes resting in between usage can be helpful,” he said.
Also Sta. Maria added that not exposing the kids to gadgets could save them from addiction.
Patrick Morales, a professional physiotherapist uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube. Youtube is his favorite platform since he just started having a channel.
“I think it depends on the person since I believe there’s a natural way to limit it. If your eyes are tired, then stop. In the case of digital addiction, I think the person needs to experience a life lesson about his social media usage. You can ask the person to stop, but let the experience tell them to stop,” Morales said.
Patrick said social media now is a very powerful platform for everything. All the things an individual needs are here. “Just make sure you use it in a very good and balanced way,” Patrick explained.
“Remember that it can help you a lot but it can also give you problems if you will not use it right. And once in a while, you can also do ‘fasting’ with your social media accounts,” he added.
Derek Dale Bayquen, 25 and working as a physical therapist in the UAE is also part of the “millennial” generation. He usually uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as his major social media platforms. But as a millennial, he knows how to limit his use.
“The gadget’s screen time feature allows me to monitor how much time I do spend on social media,” Bayquen said.
“It’s how you discipline and control yourself. I don’t see any problem using the new media as long as you’re doing all of it for good and you know your responsibilities,” he added.
Asked about the proper use of social media, Bayquen as a millennial gave a piece of advice: “Keep yourself busy. For example at work, never use the phone too much, unless needed. Because sometimes, we spend most of our time browsing posts on social media, and we forget our regular activities.”
Experts advise using platform with purpose. Each social media platform and gadgets have different strengths and weaknesses, they explained. So use them with limit to avoid the habit of relying on social media and gadgets as a form of escape.
Discipline is also a key. This means that keeping yourself interested in other people’s lives sometimes leads you to gossip digitally.
Future possibilities
Experts said that soon, social media will still be around and it will even be more pervasive and invasive in people’s daily lives. They suggest that privacy is very important for one’s account. Just like Instagram stories, which has now the “Close Friends” category so anyone can hide Stories from disinterested parties.
For Arao, ethics is key.
“In terms of digital threats, we have to be careful of the websites visited and the apps installed on devices. It is best to get off the grid if people can afford to do so,” Arao explained.
On the other hand, Hernandez enumerated some of the best and healthy ways of using social media. “We must be educated through media and information literacy, tell the good stories, show what is nice and inspiring, and make social media a better and safer place again,” Hernandez said.
With these, digital addiction can be limited and prevented.
