How does the media affect people?

[Julianda]

There is one thing I don't like about the media. I always hear "Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon". I'm afraid that for some, it would be an incentive to strive harder but for a lot, it would invoke self pity and encourage mendicancy. I believe that media has a moral obligation to educate people and not lead them to despair. But sigue. How do they measure the "hirap ng buhay ngayon"? From what I have seen kasi is that the poor before could not eat oul but now I see them at Jollibee, etc. The poor before did not have telephones but not anymore. To communicate with love ones before, one had to go to the post office but now may video pa from home. Nuon masaya ka na kung may bisikleta but now may motor ka na and yung bisikleta nakasakay pa sa kotse.

Hindi kaya what the media means by "hirap ng buhay ngayon" is that one has to work in order to have money? E madali lng ang work. Tambay ka lang sa parking, pito dito pito duon, may kita ka na. Or unahan mo yung tumatawag ng taxi. Or mag barker - as if kung wala ka, walang sasakay sa jeepney. So ang dali, diba?

 

What you have stated is clearly the manifestation of culturist (theory) in which "people interact with media to create their own meanings out of the images and messages they receive".

 

In Filipino culture, we have the so-called folklore which constitutes superstitious beliefs, sayings, etc. People used to like to hear and read them. Eventually, the advent of mass media has made them mundane. They are now even susceptible to believe in what the media has ever been creating – fallacies and manipulations.

[haroots2]

What's funny is that actors and actresses who portray villains/contrabida are disliked in real life by some people. The masa think that the contrabida actor/actress are really bad. Goes to show that some people cannot distinguish fantasy from reality.

This is how the administration now doing to Binay. They want to portray him as corrupt (even true or not doesn't matter). The public will believe it because the media say so.

[Larry]

 

 

Kaya nga, kahit siguro ang mga ampatuan, kayang kaya ibida ng kapamilya TV.

 

Kontrolado ng mass media ang public opinion. Naaalala nyo ba nung lumabas sa MMK yung love story ni Ninoy at Cory? Si Piolo at Bea pa gumanap. Abay tignan mo naman, literally pinagwapo at pinaganda ang mga aquino sa masa. Timing naman na the same year, nadeklara ng kandidatura itong si Ngoyngoy.

 

On the other hand, dahil bitter masyado ang mga Lopez sa mga Marcos, sobra naman kung idemonize nila ang buong legacy nya. Parang talo pa si stalin o si Hitler sa pagiging walanghiya. Sa documentary na batas militar (syempre produced by ABS-CBN), hindi man lang binanggit na totoo naman nung mga buwan leading up sa declaration ng martial law, nagspread ang threat ng communism mula China sa buong karatig na asian na bansa.

 

 

The way I see it, the media is so powerful, if it wanted to they can elevate the taste of the public. The public does not have any power nor resources to popularize a fad or a craze. I remember in my teens we had better quality of programming. We had intelligent sitcoms. English sitcoms were being aired and appreciated. In the last decade we imported foreign quiz shows like the weakest link and who wants to be a millionaire which the general public enjoyed.

 

This recent years however, the game keeps changing. Its all about winning the war for ratings and raking in more advertisers and sponsors. Ruse the masses to buy or spend for bullsh!t they don't need. Convince them that sending a text vote for a PBB housemate is an act of patriotism. Sell them false hopes of becoming instant millionaires. Who cares if we keep declining as an intelligent society. The masses are always more useful desperate and ignorant.

 

 

Nung kapanahunan ko, nagkaroon kami ng class memorial na television set per classroom. Para makanood mga elementary students ng sineeskwela mga bandang recess. Eto mga programang nakagisnan ko nung binatilyo ako na matitino.

 

1. Batibot, Pinpin, Awit titik Bilang at iba pa - our local sesame street. Promoted a lot of positive Filipino values sa mga bata

2. Bayani, Hiraya manawari, Sineskwela- Educational, natuto ng science at history mga bata

3. Abangan ang Susonod na kabanata- Very clever satire and commentary about pinoy lifestyle. Kahit patawa, madaming insights naman ang napupulot. There was always one character there from class A to E who was relatable.

4. Magandang Gabi bayan, the inside story, probe team- Insightful documentaries na di naman laging napapalabas kung kelan lahat tulog na. To be fair meron naman tayo nyan noon.

5. Mga noontime shows na tagisan talaga ng talent at katuwaan lang ang papremyo hindi yung tulad ngayon na selling false hopes of becoming instant milyonaryos

6. Talk Shows na kapupulutan ng kaalaman

7. Agrisiete at Negosyete na matagal ding umere at talagang nakakapagbigay ng livelihood skills sa mga manonood.

 

 

Basta marami pa.

 

Ang punto ko, 2 decades ago, our programming had variety. Kapupulutan mo ng totoong values at karunungan. Di tulad ngayon na para bang sinasadya talaga ng media pabobohin na lamang tayo

 

 

it's a function of economics.

 

2 decades ago TVs were prohibitively expensive, especially during the 70s and the 80s. It was a pretty common scene back then to have multiple families share 1 TV. You could actually estimate how much a family made by the number of TVs that they had. I still remember being stoked that we had bought a second TV.

 

Back then TVs were owned by the middle class up, poorer families had to settle for radio or in some cases "panood" through the windows of their better off neighbors.

 

Which explains the quality of the shows back then, the TV had content that the middle and upper classes cared about. We even had english newscasts (Harry Gasser, Frankie Evangelista, were guys that could give Walter Cronkite a run for his money) We had local shows that were in English (oh no it's johhny, etc.) and intelligent sitcoms like "abangan ang susunod na kabanata" and Mongolian Barbecue. They all catered to a more educated audience.

 

Then TVs become less and less expensive, and soon you'd see TV aerials on top of squatter's shanties, now everyone had a TV. Content also changed then, the english shows were pushed out and replaced with simpler and simpler shows. Less complicated content that anyone could understand with themes that will attract more and more of the masa. Attract a wider audience and more advertising money will be spent.

 

And that's why mainstream media is how it is today, it now reaches to an almost infinite number of people everyday, the majority of which (especially in the Philippines) are poor and have nothing better to do than stare at the box for hours at a time. And it's not just TV, radio is suffering the same thing. What the programming of AM was before, you can now listen to in FM now. The tacky celebrity talk shows, that annoying palengkera voice you hear on the radio isn't on AM, it's on FM because more people can access FM now. The specialty radio stations that cater to specific genres like jazz and rock are now extinct because it's no longer financially viable.

 

Mainstream media, because of the way its built, will always cater to the lowest common denominator to be able to attract the widest audience possible. It's the way they do business. and it's not just a local thing, it's the same in the US (sh1t reality shows, never ending shows about pawnshops, and auctions, gossip, etc.) They all cater to the lowest common denominator.

 

BUT

 

Like I've always maintained, the internet is the great equalizer.

 

If you don't like mainstream media, head online and get the content that YOU want. there's literally millions of topics waiting to be explored on the net all you have to do is fire it up. From podcasts to web only TV shows, there's millions of gigabytes of content out there just waiting for you. The internet has democratized media, and its wonderful. Whereas before you only had the channels on your TV to choose from, and you always had to bend their way - watch this, eat this, do this, etc. Now you have a choice.

 

And I think that this is the reason why kids (and I refer to the global collective of young people, not just Filipinos) are more intelligent now. A lot of them can now think for themselves, and form their own opinions. I never learned that until I was an adult.

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

 

 

it's a function of economics.

 

2 decades ago TVs were prohibitively expensive, especially during the 70s and the 80s. It was a pretty common scene back then to have multiple families share 1 TV. You could actually estimate how much a family made by the number of TVs that they had. I still remember being stoked that we had bought a second TV.

 

Back then TVs were owned by the middle class up, poorer families had to settle for radio or in some cases "panood" through the windows of their better off neighbors.

 

Which explains the quality of the shows back then, the TV had content that the middle and upper classes cared about. We even had english newscasts (Harry Gasser, Frankie Evangelista, were guys that could give Walter Cronkite a run for his money) We had local shows that were in English (oh no it's johhny, etc.) and intelligent sitcoms like "abangan ang susunod na kabanata" and Mongolian Barbecue. They all catered to a more educated audience.

 

Then TVs become less and less expensive, and soon you'd see TV aerials on top of squatter's shanties, now everyone had a TV. Content also changed then, the english shows were pushed out and replaced with simpler and simpler shows. Less complicated content that anyone could understand with themes that will attract more and more of the masa. Attract a wider audience and more advertising money will be spent.

 

And that's why mainstream media is how it is today, it now reaches to an almost infinite number of people everyday, the majority of which (especially in the Philippines) are poor and have nothing better to do than stare at the box for hours at a time. And it's not just TV, radio is suffering the same thing. What the programming of AM was before, you can now listen to in FM now. The tacky celebrity talk shows, that annoying palengkera voice you hear on the radio isn't on AM, it's on FM because more people can access FM now. The specialty radio stations that cater to specific genres like jazz and rock are now extinct because it's no longer financially viable.

 

Mainstream media, because of the way its built, will always cater to the lowest common denominator to be able to attract the widest audience possible. It's the way they do business. and it's not just a local thing, it's the same in the US (sh1t reality shows, never ending shows about pawnshops, and auctions, gossip, etc.) They all cater to the lowest common denominator.

 

BUT

 

Like I've always maintained, the internet is the great equalizer.

 

If you don't like mainstream media, head online and get the content that YOU want. there's literally millions of topics waiting to be explored on the net all you have to do is fire it up. From podcasts to web only TV shows, there's millions of gigabytes of content out there just waiting for you. The internet has democratized media, and its wonderful. Whereas before you only had the channels on your TV to choose from, and you always had to bend their way - watch this, eat this, do this, etc. Now you have a choice.

 

And I think that this is the reason why kids (and I refer to the global collective of young people, not just Filipinos) are more intelligent now. A lot of them can now think for themselves, and form their own opinions. I never learned that until I was an adult.

Now if only they would increase the speed of local internet to handle the huge amounts of gigabytes that comprise these alternative content. I think the Philippines has one of the slowest internet speeds in the world if I'm not mistaken.

[Julianda]

Now if only they would increase the speed of local internet to handle the huge amounts of gigabytes that comprise these alternative content. I think the Philippines has one of the slowest internet speeds in the world if I'm not mistaken.

 

It's true, our country has (one of) the slowest internet speeds not only in Asia but in the entire world. And I can only surmise that the continuous increasing number of internet users in PH might one of the reasons - aside from its enormous cost (distribution of internet infrastructure throughout the country) and corruption in the government.

[Larry]

 

It's true, our country has (one of) the slowest internet speeds not only in Asia but in the entire world. And I can only surmise that the continuous increasing number of internet users in PH might one of the reasons - aside from its enormous cost (distribution of internet infrastructure throughout the country) and corruption in the government.

 

 

the cost isn't that enormous, it's just that PLDT doesn't want to shoulder it.

[haroots2]

 

 

the cost isn't that enormous, it's just that PLDT doesn't want to shoulder it.

Because there is not much competition in the market.

[maxiev]

Yeah that's true. Before there was a lot of competition. Smart, Talk and Text, Extelcom, Islacom, Globe, Digitel, etc. Then the big companies bought out the little ones and before anyone knew it, we now have only two major telecom players: Smart/PLDT and Globe. Like we're back in the bad old days of monopolies.

[DDL]

walang ngipin ang batas sa atin in terms of protecting consumers on telecommunication. in other countries, people paid for the data they consume, not on the speed of the internet. unlike sa pinas, unlimited internet access pero mabagal naman ang speed.

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

Yeah that's true. Before there was a lot of competition. Smart, Talk and Text, Extelcom, Islacom, Globe, Digitel, etc. Then the big companies bought out the little ones and before anyone knew it, we now have only two major telecom players: Smart/PLDT and Globe. Like we're back in the bad old days of monopolies.

Right. Whereas spin-offs was the name of the game years ago, today, it's mergers that are limiting the number of players in the market. Don't we have anti-trust laws that make this illegal?

[Julianda]

That says it all.

 

Misleading advertisements

During the hearing, DTI Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba also pointed out that telco companies only mention maximum Internet speeds in their advertisements, but do not talk about the minimum speeds that consumers could possibly experience.

"We should advertise what is our assured speed and people should be paying on the assured speed and not based on ‘up to’," Senator Aquino told reporters after the hearing.

"DOJ is also coming out with a memorandum circular stating na iyong advertisements ng ating telcos, kailangan ding mas malinaw para sa mamamayan natin," he added.

 

 

 

[Larry]

they protect themselves from that by putting "speeds of UP TO 5mbps" so it's not false advertising per se.

[glut_func]

in fairness, kahit hindi ganun kabibilis ang internet natin dito sa pinas ok na rin for daily usage - kahit pa sabihin mong frequent downloader yung gumagamit. mas gugustuhin ko na yung packages na meron tayo dito kesa yung saksakan nga ng bilis dami naman restrictions at censorship sa usage.

[Bugatti Veyron]

walang ngipin ang batas sa atin in terms of protecting consumers on telecommunication. in other countries, people paid for the data they consume, not on the speed of the internet. unlike sa pinas, unlimited internet access pero mabagal naman ang speed.

We need consumer advocates like Ralph Nader to protect consumers, not only in the telecommunications industry but protection for consumers across the board including but not limited to airline services, hospital services, public transportation services, etc.

[DDL]

We need consumer advocates like Ralph Nader to protect consumers, not only in the telecommunications industry but protection for consumers across the board including but not limited to airline services, hospital services, public transportation services, etc.

Agree pre! How I wish we have someone like him in the RP.....medyo may mga umaalma na "activist-turned-solons" and civil rights / NGOs like Gabriela or Neri Colmenares na nasa limelight whenever women or the "poor" ang dehado, but you can still see a stint of political interest sa mga pinaglalaban nila.

 

I had adored what former sen. lito lapid did before, kahit na medyo kakaiba ung ibang bills na sinumbmit nya like the junk food bill, he still protected consumer on medicine, legal assistance etc.