Celebrities’ love affair with social media

Almost all celebrities nowadays are dependent on their social media accounts. Aside from getting in touch with their friends and loved ones, it is a platform to update their followers on their careers and other developments. But how much do they have to share on social media and how much must remain in private?

For seasoned actress Janice de Belen, if it’s not work-related, it should stay in private. 

“It really depends. If your actual work depends on social media, then I guess the limits will be set by the person. In my case, my work does not depend on social media, so I get to choose what I want to share,” she said.

For Janice’s younger sister, Gawad Urian Best Actress Gelli de Belen, there’s always two sides to the coin. It may help a celebrity if they share more on social media, but it can also affect the person’s privacy. 

“Yes, for me dapat (It’s a must). Because there are some aspects of your life that should be kept private. Whatever one shares on social media is forever out there na. Free for everyone to scrutinize and see. Social media naman has helped people get to know me more. Whatever I post is a part of who I am and what I am going through at that moment. Whether it has something to do with work or just me, mas nakikilala ako as myself not just the personality. I also get first-hand feedback whether good or bad. It is a balance that is hard to achieve,” Gelli answered.

It’s a different ballgame for media personality and TV5 news reporter Laila Chikadora. Her social media accounts inform her followers on the latest information and her news coverages for the day. 

“It has helped me to a great extent. The stories that I post or repost from our official social media pages (News5 and 92.3 True FM) have also been shared by followers and reshared by their friends on social media. My social media account is at times also the key for me to get side hustles,” she revealed. 

The reporter added that one must know the limit of sharing their private lives online.

“Yes. Just because you are a public figure doesn’t mean that you should post every single detail of your life on social media. Though you owe a lot to your followers, being an open book is also like luring in thieves. Always remember that content does not equate to you being very public about everything that’s going on in your life. Otherwise, shamelessly post a video or photo of yourself while you are pooping in the toilet,” she said.

Gelli and Laila shared their experiences on bashers and their instant solutions that work.

“Yes mayroon. Patol then block. ‘Yun lang din talaga ang challenging sa social media. There will always be someone willing to hurt and be cruel or mangaway because they don’t need to be accountable nor will they ever be confronted face to face. So free for all [on] who want to lash out. Sa akin, ‘wag lang idamay talaga ‘yung pamilya sa bashing,” Gelli said.

For Laila, everything is work-related and most of the bashing comes from netizens who lacks information on a particular socmed post.

“Yes, when I was quite younger, it’s usually a case of mistaken identity or sometimes because of a news item that I produced. I was once accused of being an ‘abuser’ when Apo Whang Od went to Manila for an event that I merely covered. I just told the story but was never part of the events team. A certain director that I don’t even know bashed me and my Whang Od story on social media and it got really ugly. After that unfortunate incident, I realized that they are not worth my time, stress and energy,” Laila revealed.

As of March 2024, these are the top five most followed Pinoy celebrities on Instagram: Anne Curtis (20.74 million), Kathryn Bernardo (20.71 million), Liza Soberano (18.25 million), Heart Evangelista (16.14 million) and Pia Wurtzbach (14.8 million).