OPINION
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PAGHINGA: Essential ang pahinga Ni Julie Ann Villanueva
M
insan kana rin bang nakaramdam ng pagod na hindi napapawi ng kahit anong tulog? Umaga, tanghali hanggang gabi paulit-ulit ang nangyayari. Kahapon sabi mo magpapahinga ka, pero imbis na pahinga ay nauwi sa pagkawala ng motibasyon sa ginagawa. Kadalasan mula sa pagbangon mo sa higaan at pagbukas ng mga mata ay kasabay nito ang pagpaplano ng gagawin sa buong araw. “Ano kaya ang uulamin ko?” o ‘di kaya’y “Papasok ba ako sa synchronous meeting namin?” minsan din ay “Maliligo ba ako bago magklase?”. Mga simpleng katanungan na nabibigyan din ng agarang kasagutan. Pero ikaw? Naipahinga mo ba ang katawan, isip at puso mo sa buong gabi? Kasabay ba ng pagdilim ay unti-unti mo nang natapos ang iyong mga gawain? Mahirap magpahinga sa lugar kung saan maraming ginagawa, sa bawat sulok may nakakapagpaalala sa’yo ng pagod na dulot ng bagay-bagay sa paligid. Pero huwag ka mag-alangan humiga at huminga. Ang pagpapahinga ay hindi pagsuko o pagtalikod sa ginagawa. Sa pagpapahinga ay maaari ka ring magnilay-nilay kung umuusad kana ba at pagbabalik tanaw sa mga natapos mo na. Isipin mo sa sipag mong ‘yan tila napagod kana, senyales na ibig sabihin gumagawa ka nang makabuluhan na bagay. Napapagod ka hindi dahil sa wala lang, marahil napapagod ka kasi binubuhos mo ang lakas mo para sa isang bagay. Sa dami ng binasa mong articles, sa dami ng pinasa mong requirements, sa dami ng sinulat mong solutions, sa dami ng inayos mo para sa project ninyo, essential din ang pahinga. Hindi lang ngayon ang laban mo, may mga laban ka pa sa mga susunod na araw. Ang pagod hindi sinusukuan at basta hinahayaan. Gaya ng simpleng problema, may solusyon din dyan. Sigurado sa panahon na sapat ang iyong pahinga, mas kaya mo nang gawin ang mga bagay na kailangan mong gawin. Kakailanganin mo ulit ng lakas para bukas, kaya huminga ka rin. At kapag tapos na ang ginagawa mo, sarili mo naman ang unahin mo.
Led Astray or Steadfast on Truth: Social Media in Revealing Who is Who By: Saoirse
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e cannot deny how powerful social media is. It enables effective social interaction and access to news and information, where everyone can share, create, and spread their ideas with just a click. It is now a fundamental force in our society. Because of its accessibility, we can consider it a prime platform for swaying public opinion; unfortunately,
some use it as a tool to capture the public’s attention and lead them to misinformation and disinformation. In Rappler’s Fact Check articles published between October 2021 and March 2022, data shows that fake news and internet propaganda are rampant than ever. Facebook, considered as the top used social media platform, has also topped the ranking for misinformation, joined by Youtube and TikTok. And based on their estimation methodology, they assumed that there are 22.49 million people exposed to fake news.
Nakakabahala. Especially during the campaign period for the election, social media revealed who is who. Those who are steadfast on truth and who are led astray by misinformation, agendas, and propaganda. Sadly, people tend to share fake news and baseless accusations disguised as sharing opinions. Our school taught us how to conduct research and look for credible sources of authentic information. So, whenever I see people posting baseless accusations and spreading fake news on social media, I feel like I am obliged to act. Be it privately messaging them or commenting on their post in a respectful and considerate manner, I will spare my share because starting a healthy conversation was never wrong. It is our responsibility to remind them of their responsibility as social media users. Replying to misleading or fake news posts might not sway the one who posted it, but it has the potential to sway the observers and the readers of the post. However, not everyone is up for conversations like this. There are fake news peddlers who will resort to ad hominem once they cannot address the actual issue at hand. These are the worst kind of people to argue. There is no chance of opening their minds and encouraging them to find the truth themselves. In social media, people are beauty pageant analysts during beauty pageant season. They suddenly become sports analysts during Sea Games and Olympics. They become political analysts during elections. We always have a say about something. And nothing is wrong with that as long as we know what we are saying and we’re not posting just to look cool and sound right. Social media is a great platform to let the world hear our voice, so we must use it wisely. As it reveals the people who are steadfast on truth and those who are led astray by fake news and misinformation, how will you spare your share?
