Their 'Facts' Insult Our Knowledge and Education

A Billy Joel verse says, "Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue."

     Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, among others are the easiest ways to voice out our ideas, feelings, activities at the moment, and plans for the future. These platforms become the stage to show the 'filtered performances' of our lives. We get to post how happy we are. We get to reciprocate the feelings of our online friends by pressing 'like', 'love', 'wow', and even 'angry'. Social media squeeze our cyber spaces to become smaller thus we get closer. Ideally, the closer we get, the more connected we should become. Because we become closer and more connected, this closes the gap and knocks down the barrier. But does this happen? No.

     Since social media bring us closer, we started getting to know our online friends better. We share moments, memories, and thoughts. We spend hours and hours online every day. In effect, we know what time our friends wake up. We crave for the breakfast they posted on Facebook. We track their location because of the rant about a traffic on their way to school or office. We are updated if it's their payday because they take selfie in a restaurant during lunch. We know that their location is flooded because they are stranded. And we know that they are following and reading a page or an individual because they share it on their wall or retweet it.

     But how do you react if the breakfast they post, the traffic they complain about, the restaurant they take selfie in, the flood that stranded them, and the page or tweet they read and follow are ALL IMAGINED FACTS. Just ignore them? Call them out? Like? Love? Hahaha? Wow? Sad? Angry? Remember, social media make us more connected; thus, we become closer. This connection and closeness make us more knowledgeable about them. Isn't it their facts insult our knowledge of who they really are? Social media are powerful tool in shaping how we want to be perceived by our friends.

     The fact is, schools teach us how to be critical. If your school does not, oh boy, leave right away! Because education acquired in schools must mold us how to determine white from black, gold from silver, respect from disrespect, truth from lie, real from fake.

     Maybe a gentler way is to unfollow, unfriend, snooze off, or block. But are we facing the insult? No. This gentler way is cowardice! If we don't face the insult, it becomes a vicious cycle. Consequently, this cycle never end the insult.

 If you ask me how to handle it, the instances below show. (Hidden Truth PH. Ka-resbak Pinas)

 If we opt to ignore, HONESTY will remain LONELY because everyone is so UNTRUE.