HOW SOCIAL MEDIA SHAPES INDENTITY IN THE PHILIPPINE CONTEXT by: Christian B. Agtarap

As technological advancement continues to reign in the 21st Century, more invention and tools are being developed. One of these is what we call social media. Social media is an electronic platform which lets the users create online content to share information. This technology has been a huge part of people’s lives especially among millennials and the Gen Zs. One reason why social media grew in popularity is the privilege that it offers wherein people can convey their notion and thoughts as their way of self-expression, which paves to the establishment of their own identity.  Identity pertains to the characteristic of an individual or concept which arises in communication with others. Usage of social media has been rampant among the youths especially here in the Philippines. In fact, according to report of We are social, a UK-based consultancy, Philippines topped the world in terms of social media usage. But how does social media shape identity specifically in the Philippine context?

              On Siyanda Mohutsiwa’s TED talk, she emphasized how Africans found a voice on twitter which helped them shape their identity not only for Africans but also for the whole world to know. Through Twitter, she was able to reach more people to gain knowledge and learn collaboratively about their identity. Fortunately, Filipinos were also able to utilize this feature of social media. An example of this is writing and posting photographs of our tourist attractions, fiestas, and cultures from different parts of our country. In doing this, you don’t need to be a very rich and powerful man. All you need is a camera, a social media account, and of course an internet connection. This is what makes social media play a huge role in shaping an identity. Anyone has a voice, even the ordinary people can contribute something in building an identity, which is a good thing! It is very important that everybody can take part so that all angles of the story will be showcased.

By just posting photos, people from all corners of the Philippines can learn from each other about diverse cultures and identities. Additionally, numerous Filipinos also use the social media to advertise their talent giving the world an idea of how talented we Filipinos are. Social media has also been used by the Filipinos to shape an identity of our government. They voice out their opinions and criticize the government through media such as through memes which allows them to communicate as much as they could about the reality of being a Filipino. An example of this is the meme “Juneell” which is a form of bashing and poking fun at the corrupt officials in the government to keep the people woke regarding national issues. With this, social media influences the individual’s point of view and preferences which will affects his / her identity.

              But there are also drawbacks to how  social media shapes identity. On social media, there are a lot of pretenders. People tend to be unauthentic just to get approval and fulfill their shallow need for stimulation. Many pretend to be kind, rich, and beautiful just to get likes and good feedback from their fellow social media users. Bandwagons are also common in social media platforms. Bandwagons tend to favor certain topics that are trending or being agreed to by the majority without even internalizing and consolidating their true preference. Thus, leading the social media to shape misleading identity.

              It is indeed true that social media promotes self-expression for an individual and communities which yields creative collaboration and formation of identities. Generally, social media shape identities by influencing the individual based on what online content he/she consumes. The person might get influenced by a vlogger, social media star, or even his fellow social media user. However, just like a double-edged sword, social media can help underestimated individuals gain power to voice out their concerns at its best. At its worst, social media could actuate people to share aggregate shock without reflection. That’s why we should always be skeptical of the content and identities being shaped by social media and think twice before it affects our own identity.