With modernization going beast mode and technological advancement soaring to infinity and beyond, the world feels smaller even as the possibilities expand. Connecting lives and exchanging information has never been this easy—from fast-paced to instant to automatic.
Gone are the days of waiting for newspaper deliveries and scheduled TV shows. Current events are now served instantly in our social media accounts, making us feel relevant in an ever-changing world even when we are on our bed, under our covers, with full aircon on and lights off.
Messages that took weeks and months via snail mail, take only seconds before reaching their destination—making LDRs with the bae easier, and flirting, a game of well-played pick-up lines and late night PMs. The beshies and the bros are also literally seconds away, in case of emotional emergencies and quarter life crisis.
The authors we love, the movie actors we admire, and the songs we’re in LSS in are all easily accessible, ready to salvage our sanity in trying times. For the jetsetters, the travel bloggers and the weekend warriors, travel destinations are just one search away, further fueling wanderlust in an ever intensifying need to chase travel goals and bucketlists.
And the fun never stops in the cyber world.
There are the memes and the online banters to help us chill when life is literally provoking the demons out of us. There are the hugot lines to express feelings so deep we never thought they existed.
There’s also the everyday struggle of food photography—of coffeedates featuring a cup of coffee shot from different angles, with no date in sight; of re-arranging utensils and food to make even the soggiest and oiliest fries look like a gourmet delight.
And of course, the trip down the memory lane has never been this close to feeling like literally tripping—or sliding, or being pushed—down the past. No more traditional photo albums we can hide in our closet when visitors come—just online albums and pictures, randomly re-surfacing every now and then to remind us of just how much puberty has done us well.
Indeed, the internet has come a long way in making our lives colourful, convenient and connected. But amidst all the craziness of dancing baby sharks, filters gone wrong, and jaw-dropping oppas, may we never forget to use this platform to spread love and kindness.
There are countless opportunities to make a difference—however small it seems—and the internet makes all these opportunities within our reach. No more waiting for school outreach activities, company-sponsored CSRs, and star-studded charity events, because the opportunities to help are now one Google away and one like away.
There are various tutorial sessions we can attend—teaching the kids, having wefies with them, and enjoying the way their smiles look more genuine than all celebrity weddings combined. For the nature lovers and the hikers-at-heart, there are tree planting activities, Pasig River clean up drives, and other initiatives waiting to be included in the next squad goals. There are also storytelling activities and feeding programs to make a romantic Sundate even more meaningful.
Truly the internet has made the voices of the weak echo louder than ever. In this poverty-stricken world, the internet lends its strength to help us drive bitterness away and spread the good vibes. We only have to care enough and love enough.
As technology progresses ever aggressively, we hope that each one of us will be able to leave indelible marks that go beyond selfies, tweets and IG stories. It is indeed more fun volunteering and being part of a bigger call.
Lorraine Rañoa, iVolunteer Philippines
iVolunteer Philippines 