Recently, netizens of the country, myself included, was startled with the instantly viral Youtube video of a college student with her tirade on a lady guard.
Paula Jamie Salvosa, with her actions, gained notorious reputation from social network users, who made parodies of the same event, expressed offensive comments, and cause the #amalayer hashtag trending worldwide.
Incidents like this one discloses to us how powerful social networking sites are. A person may gain fame or ill-repute with the click of the mouse or the press of a key.
In the same way, circumstances such as this invite us to revive and re-evaluate our values. Respect and responsibility. These two things are little by little slipping away from our usual living. We are not even anymore concerned of the privacy of other people, one of the things that are truly valuable to them. Because of the trends that society is imposing on us today, whatever we find amusing for ourselves, we share to other people, even at the expense of another person’s dignity.
People who have bashed away Salvosa over the internet without really knowing who she is and what had really happened clearly emphasizes the lack of and failure to remember these values. If we put ourselves in the same position that she was, would we not feel dreadful and afraid? On the other hand, we should not let it pass for the person who took the video. Respect and responsibility should have helped him discern on the outcome of his actions, sadly he had the absence of both.
Social networks are supposed to aid in the betterment of our relationship with others and not the reason for its decline. They should enhance our being and not degrade them. In all our deeds “Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.”