colors gone brighter

"Kung ikaw ay katataspulong, puwede kang makisalawsaw!"

Status. Not everyone understands that statement. Those who do, however, will find it interesting to like or comment on it, which literally means, "If you are one of us, you can join (the discussion)." That statement is only understandable to some towns in the Southern Tagalog Region. Not everywhere.

Language is but one part of culture, and I don't have to discuss the scope of culture here. But some very popular posts that get the most share in social networking sites are local food, local scenery, local industry, local arts, even local history. In one of the group pages, online bahay-bahayan was even made possible. It was a way of bonding with town mates all over the world, because all the players knew how it was done in the past. They just discovered that it can be made possible on the web as long as they have a common time to chat and play as if they were on it face time. If you think this is crazy, actually it is not. It is a way of reliving one's childhood, reminiscing the circumstances that went with playing, like being called by parents to run errands, to go home for dinner, or family observance of the angelus. People that played a particular part in their childhood were remembered. It was a way to realize how far they have gone from yesteryears when life was simple and money was scarce, up to the present when they can already afford the comforts of life. It makes one understand how blessed he or she has become, or how hard they toiled to enjoy life now. 

Yesterday,  an interesting bugtungan online led to the story-telling of the characters in Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere. And who said history is boring? The discussion went well like the audience were merely sitting down, watching it being performed on stage! In this process, the young ones who did not experience it in their time, actually learn from the older generation without the latter prodding that the former learn about history and culture.  

I opened a page on facebook in 2008 where I put pictures and encouraged discussions about our town. In no time at all, it reached the maximum number of friends that it can accommodate. Everybody was happily interacting, communicating, reminiscing the past. Then a book was published, and now the network of kababayans has been constantly in touch, planning more projects and more socialization in the physical setting. 

When internet was created, it seemed like the end for cultural awareness to proliferate. It seemed like everything will be global and diversity will totally be gone. But looking at the things happening right now, the social media undoubtedly encouraged love for country, citizens are picking up the pieces of what still remains of local culture, people are constantly searching for roots and history. Those who thought that internet would transform the diversity of cultures into one global thing were all wrong. The social media has become an important vehicle for connection and "re-connecting." 

What is there to look forward to, now that the world has gone smaller? It is already happening! The story of each community will be put together like a jigsaw puzzle and in the process, the people will get to know themselves better. This process of getting to know the self as part of society and as an individual will only lead to one thing: improvement of the self. And once that cultural identity is established, malasakit springs from the heart. That means being concerned with others as part of oneself. Now tell me, has the internet threatened the development of culture and history? I don't think so.    

And I am talking about the majority!