Pinoy Youth

Conclusion

The Filipino youth of today are living under the huge shadow cast by the mass media. Whether we like it or not, mass media has already taken the job of educating the youth about what is right and what is wrong. Radio, TV, and more recently the Internet has had a great impact on the sensibilities of the Filipino youth.

This paper has explored the habits and usage of Filipino youth of the Internet and all that it has to offer. Although there is more to mass media than just the Internet, this paper has not covered the popularity of text messaging or of radio stations and TV shows in promoting the message of the Bible. The Internet tends to be used more in urban settings, yet, slowly, it is also creeping to the countryside and even among the youth who belong to the lower strata of the Filipino society.

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A Center for Youth Culture Studies?

Youth culture is very dynamic. We often hear of the terms Baby Boomers, Generation X, and other labels being used among the youth. Such labels work two ways. They both describe and prescribe the kinds of behavior that the youth have. Corporations are always monitoring trends in youth culture so that they can use these in developing new products or modifying existing ones. These trends will also help them how to market their products and effectively advertise them to young people.

In this regard, the Philippine Bible Society and other Christian groups should establish a think tank body or agency that focuses in monitoring and even conducting research studies on youth culture. The message of the Bible remains the same yet the manner of presenting it might have to be modified.

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Towards a Framework of Promoting the Bible

Mass media, including the internet, has been the major force in modernizing the culture of the Filipino youth. It is responsible in shaping their consumption patterns, sense of fashion, recreation and leisure, political awareness and involvement, delinquency, and even their attitudes toward religion. The leisure time of young people are usually used in enjoying shows and products churned out by mass media (Lanuza, 2003).

Good thing, however, the youth are now becoming more sensitive to the signs and the messages that are being presented to them (Lanuza, 2003). Hence, they can avoid becoming helpless victims of the messages presented by mass media.

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Characteristics of Filipino Youth in Relation to their Internet Use

In looking at these popular websites, it can be gleaned that Filipino youth nowadays are looking for interactivity—they want to participate in the creation of their virtual world. Apparently, they do not want blind acceptance of what is offered to them, they want to have a choice on what messages, tools, and items they will include in their online identities. This is especially true in the case of Friendster. In the case of online chat, the youth can explore different areas of their personality. In fact, they can even mask their true personalities and take on different identities online. Chat protocols may even be ways in which young people can explore their sexuality. They may even engage in cybersex in these chat protocols. This is especially true among homosexual young people (Lanuza, 2000).

There is an adverse effect generated by the mass media, however. Too often, young people want quick fixes and hurried solutions to the problems life poses to them. Hence, they would not want to spend a great deal of time and effort in coming up with excellent solutions. They might simply go for the easy way in achieving their goals (Sebald, 1994).

Furthermore, because of the overpowering bulk of information they have to absorb, they tend to exhibit the symptoms of the “hurried child syndrome” (Elkind, 1986) and fail to enjoy their childhood as they should.

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Media, the Internet and the Filipino Youth

In the midst of these issues, young people tend to rely more and more on their peers and on the media in determining what is right and wrong. The McCann-Erickson Study (cited in Philippine Commission on Population, 2003) confirmed that media is indeed becoming the guide of young people in determining what is right and what is wrong. The priorities and the things considered by youth as important are heavily influenced by media. This is supported by the findings of the Young Adults Fertility and Sexuality Survey III (Ogena and Berja, 2003).

Different forms of media are highly accessible to Filipino youth. TV viewing is very high among young people—they can spend up to 14 hours daily in watching TV shows. The Internet is being used more in urban areas and by students. Unfortunately, only about 6% of young people are using the Internet and most of them are found in the urban areas. This creates a kind of technological divide among the youth. In 2002, only about one in every five youth used Internet for various reasons. In the Metro Manila area, 15% of youth use the Internet. Notably, around 55% of young people have been exposed to pornographic materials through the media they have been exposed to (Ogena and Berja, 2003).

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