As one of the older millennials, I grew up without social media and mobile phones. Back in the 90s, in the province, we would set a schedule in advance if we wanted to hang out on a weekend. Of course, that came with a warning that if you dared to not show up, you’d get the ire of the gang. That almost always didn’t happen because if someone was late, we’d always go to that friend’s house to pick them up and then pressure them to get going.

The horror of witnessing how mainstream social media became a cesspool of zombie clout chasers

I was already an adult when social media became a thing, when Friendster was launched. So, imagine our excitement because of that new and modern way to connect. Then came Facebook, IG, and so on. Blogging also became mainstream, but I was no techie, so I was late in the game.

I found social media was a good way to share stories before I learned to tinker with a blog. It was fast; you could share photos and text without having to access a dashboard. But more importantly, people were generally sociable and genuine. Even strangers left wonderful comments on a story or photo shared on IG, for example.

When I finally learned how to blog, social media content creation became my means if I just wanted to satisfy my urge to write something. It was a good community until around 2016 or 2017.

Then influencers suddenly became a thing on social media. They were like celebrities (and somehow treated by netizens as such). Pasikatan. Paramihan ng followers. Nauso ang follow-for-follow, then suddenly they would unfollow you. I think that was when toxicity on social media started.

Somewhere along the way, comments and interaction became more and more offensive and foul. The younger generation was blaming the older ones (or those belonging to Gen X & Y). For me though, these older ones were the people who made social media a truly warm (and, again, sociable) community.

Although I wouldn’t discount the observation of the younger ones. I guess that’s because we older people have a somewhat uptight way of holding to our values, so we call out what we believe is not right.

On the other hand, the younger ones are more global and more exposed to different cultures, especially Western philosophy; that’s why they tend to challenge the norm or what we say “nakagisnan na natin.”

Not really a generalization but just an observation, the toxicity on social media comes mostly from a specific economic or even political segment, no matter the age group. The monetization model also doesn’t help, as content has become trashier, seemingly churned out by mindless clout chasers whose only goal is for their next post to go viral and make them big.

Content creators who are educational and who make sense are only a handful. Even so, you’d still find their comment sections riddled with senseless remarks from online zombies.

In any case, the negativity on social media led many to turn away from mainstream platforms and seek new ones. That includes me. It feels good to discover Substack, a safe place for sharing just about anything, from personal angst to the nonsensical stuff. And nobody would judge you for it (in fact, people will even celebrate you for it if they get to relate to you). I pray that Substack stays this way.

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