As you may or may not know, I work for CGE TV, a channel under the ABS-CBN group of stations which focuses on showing videos uploaded by users to the video hosting site that the network launched around 2010. Quite simply, it’s YouTube with Filipinos as the principal members of its community. Part of my job description is to watch the videos that are going to be shown for the week. As of this writing, I have been doing this job for a year and a half and it’s funny how I have only come to realize recently how the site is reflective of the vanity of Filipinos.
Just make a quick search for cats and you’ll see how there aren’t that much cat videos in the site. Then again, maybe Filipinos aren’t keen on cats, so how about dogs? The numbers are still way too few compared to videos of people singing to any song by Bruno Mars or Katy Perry. Yes, my dear friends. I have listened to “Just The Way You Are” more than I would want to.
Not everyone can sing, so some lip sync, others dance. In a lot of ways, singing in front of the webcam has replaced singing in front of a mirror. What about replacing singing in the shower? Well, no. That would be hard to replace. That doesn’t mean you can’t take a video of that.
Of course, Filipinos aren’t just about feeding their own egos, but others’ as well. There are these slideshows of a user’s tropa or barkada, complete with a name for the said social circle. Still some, provide slideshows featuring their celebrity idols as a means to show support.
Get Real Philippines had a post criticizing the Filipino ego, that it gets in the way of the country’s progress. The points raised do coincide with my observations of Filipinos.
“The Filipino mind is full of convolution and contradiction, which is the reason why we remain who we are today, a nation of braggarts and show-offs”
And we love it. We love the praise, the adulation. Then again, who wouldn’t? But it goes beyond that, because the real downside to the narcissism is the inability to handle negativity properly.
“Most Filipinos get offended so easily from a perceived indiscretion and are often unable to move on to something bigger or higher than such trivial pursuits”
I find it rather ironic that Filipinos have fully embraced the realm of Web 2.0 and beyond, because, just as much as it provides ways for people to present themselves in the vainest possible way, the internet allows people a platform to dish out criticisms, sometimes in the most offensive and degrading manner possible. And I’m not just talking about videos. Blogs, pictures, social media in general. In the Filipino community, people tend to be supportive of another person’s talents, regardless if such talents were drowning in a pool of obvious mediocrity.
My friend told me a story of a celebrity who was refusing to appear on a magazine, stating that she was slighted by one the magazine’s editors over at Twitter regarding her cover in another magazine. Now, I could go into detail, but this is not a gossip blog. What I can tell you that the said tweets were intended for humor, but the local celebrity didn’t really get it and couldn’t seem to let it go. Like an onion, really.
Also, see what I did there? Blind item so as to avoid hurting more egos.
Of course, there is a flipside to it. Filipinos enjoy dishing out insults and criticisms. I do find it annoying when people can’t handle being insulted but have so much to say about others. Alas that is the reality of Filipinos in the web. And it’s a vicious cycle, because Filipinos can’t stand being one-upped. There is this constant need to retaliate as opposed to just letting things be and moving on.
Maybe I’m generalizing. Or maybe what I have just said shouldn’t really matter.
So I Started a Tech Blog... 
