Social media is destroying us

Social media is destroying us | Daily Tribune

We live in a time when truth competes with noise — and noise almost always wins. What was once the promise of social media — to inform, to empower, to unite — has turned into a marketplace of anger. Every post demands outrage, every headline seeks division, and every conversation seems designed to exhaust, not enlighten. For many frustrated Filipinos, it feels like we are trapped in a never-ending cycle of misinformation and emotional manipulation.

Once, we turned to social media for connection and awareness. Now, it feels like we turn to it only to be provoked. Stories are twisted, statements taken out of context, and facts exaggerated to feed the algorithm. What should be a tool for truth has become a machine for chaos. We scroll, react and rage — without realizing that our emotions are being engineered.

The tragedy is that what we see online no longer reflects genuine freedom of expression. Much of what appears organic is, in truth, orchestrated. Paid trolls, fake accounts, and “influencers for hire” now dominate the conversation. They flood timelines with pre-programmed sentiment, designed to pit citizen against citizen. This isn’t public discourse — it’s manipulation disguised as democracy. When opinions are bought and emotions are weaponized, we stop being thinkers and become mere reactors.

This digital disorder has turned us into a country of talkers, not doers. We rant about corruption but rarely report it. We complain about poor governance but hesitate to serve. We share inspiring quotes yet forget to live by them. We’ve mistaken expression for action, and noise for change.

But frustration can still be transformed into force — if we choose responsibility over rage. Responsible social media behavior is not silence; it is discernment. It is the courage to verify before sharing, the humility to admit when we’re wrong, and the discipline to disengage from hate. The truth is rarely the loudest voice in the room — it’s the calm one that refuses to shout.

We cannot rebuild our nation by arguing in comment sections. We rebuild it by acting in our communities, by holding on to truth even when it’s unpopular, and by refusing to be pawns in someone else’s digital war.

Let us talk less and do more. Let us stop feeding the trolls who profit from our anger. Let us remember that patriotism is not performed online — it is practiced in everyday life. Because the future of the Philippines will not be written in posts or trends, but in the quiet, consistent work of Filipinos who choose truth over noise, and action over outrage.