EXIT OF DESPIRE

Great predictions begin withone imperative: You need a lot of data.” That alone explains a loton how social media platforms actually work. Also, these different platforms actually compete with each other to achieve three goals: (1) Engagement, they fight to keep you scrolling. (2) Growth, they contest to keep you from coming back to the platform and inviting other people to join the platform. (3) Advertising, they compete to keep their money going. These goals rely on persuasive technology, which according to IGI Global, is the “technology designed with the underlying motive of modifying a certain attitude of behavior, exploiting psychological and sociological theories, such as persuasion and social influence.” Bottomline, we are definitely manipulated by these things that they claimed were tools.

One of the aspects of society that has been affected by this manipulation is the landscape of information dissemination. An MIT Study showed that fake news spreads faster than real news on socmed platforms, specifically Twitter. The MIT researchers also made it clear that it is not the platform’s algorithm that makes this spread faster, it is that people are more susceptible to retweeting false information than true stories. In fact, their report said that fake news are 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than true stories are. Knowing that social media spreads fake news faster in the form of propaganda, conspiracy theories, or rumors, it makes it difficult for the society to discern what is true. Algorithms are designed to provide us with information that is based on our location and it is also affected by the information that our online friends are mostly into. Which explains why the certainty that one’s truth might be different to another’s definition of the truth is inevitable.

Re-entering the door to faceto-face classes, students are exposed to various physical discomforts that can strike at any moment. These unwelcome sensations lurk around campus, ready to afflict the next unsuspecting victim who will have to make a trip to the school’s clinic. However, even after seeking treatment, students often leave the clinic feeling unwell and disheartened, with their bags in tow. A school clinic is typically a place where students can seek medical treatment for their pains. However, at Alabel National Science High School, students who are in need of medical attention are disappointed as the clinic is stocked with expired medicines that are no longer effective. Despite rushing to the clinic in hopes of relief, students may leave without proper treatment due to the lack of viable medication available. Alliah Jay P. Jo, a ninth-grade student who frequents the clinic, has witnessed this issue firsthand.

Jo shared how she dealt with a headache in the school clinic, where she couldn’t find any effective medication. Instead, she had to depend on her adviser to provide a temporary solution through a head massage. Also, the school clinic was understaffed, and when Alliah’s adviser had to leave, she was left alone without any assistance.

Unfortunately, these unfavorable occurrences in AlSci’s school clinic always happen to a student who becomes sick while on school premises. Medications such as ibuprofen, cetirizine, and paracetamol are frequently available in school clinics. The disadvantage of consistently stockpiling these pharmaceutical drugs is that they will eventually expire, resulting in a waste of resources.

Apart from that, AlSci faces the added difficulty of school nurses’ incapacity to provide medical help to students.

Ma’am Cheenee Marie B. Manubag is the only school nurse at AlSci right now. Yet, due to her dual duty as a nurse and a teacher, she finds it difficult to monitor the inflow of pupils into the clinic.

Although the school clinic’s doors remain open to students, unfortunately, it has transformed from an entrance of hope to an exit of despair and agony.

Fortunately, there are people working to help find a solution to this problem. Tristan Harris, Founder of the Center for Humane Technology, has a goal to make social media less addictive for its users. He argued that manipulation has became the center of everything that we do online and that the people behind these platforms should also be responsible on doing something to find a solution to make social media less addictive. However, as the landscape of technology is just getting better, it also gets more incorporated in our lives, and I am afraid to say that we might just have to live with it— to coexist with social media.

Finding a solution to social media addiction is difficult, for not everyone in the society thinks of it as an important problem. But one thing is for sure, if we get a small group of people to detach from their mobile devices and disconnect from social media for some time and share their ideas on how it feels, we can definitely get the whole community to do the same thing. This should serve as a call to action for us to create a community that is safe from the manipulation that corporate greed brings upon us. We don’t want to be manipulated into being models that are optimized to one’s definition of success, because that is how their game works. They use us to be molded just the way they wanted.

In This Section

Malapatan torrents Alabel, 53-29

page 18

Checkmate Game of Kings

page 18

If we wanted to, we would page 19

School Sports

from page 20

Moreover, the highlight of the Intramurals was expected to be the “Mr. and Ms. Intramurals 2023” pageant, where the students would have the opportunity to showcase their personality, poise, and talents on stage. The pageant not only encourages selfexpression but also celebrates the unique qualities and accomplishments of each participant.

The cancellation of these events has undoubtedly left the students disheartened, as they were eagerly looking forward to the opportunity to compete, perform, and bond with their classmates outside the regular academic setting. The Intramurals serve as a much-needed break from the daily routine of studies, allowing students to unwind and engage in healthy, enjoyable activities.

Perhaps virtual events, such as online sports competitions or talent showcases, could be organized to bring the student community together despite the physical limitations. Such initiatives can help maintain the school’s vibrant atmosphere and keep the students motivated during these challenging times.