ADVANCED happy birthday to Lester Pascua and Bubpha Thamwanish who mark their birthday tomorrow, August 15. Lester and Lily (the nickname which her Filipino tourist clients call Bubpha) are two very good friends who, in separate ways. make my life easier — and more fun. They fill in some of the many gaps in my life — for which I am blessed. Indeed, if we all had a Lester and a Lily in our lives, trust me, we’d all grow old later!
Talking about growing old, it used to be said that ignorance was bliss. Of course, anything that is bliss in life is a good thing, and in many ways, ignorance helped us grow old slower and later. At rock bottom, ignorance allowed us to avoid (escape?) unnecessary worry, especially in cases where there wasn’t much we could do anyway. That’s why there are people, to this day, who don’t want to know what, for example, is ailing them health-wise, because they don’t want the worry. This can be a good thing, yes, but only for as long as what is really ailing them is not a critical issue. In which case they may be able to escape the worry — but not a shorter life!
‘With emotions running high and biases at the forefront, uncurated information that flows freely on social media can cause immeasurable harm to a society already deeply divided on issues.’
Others also have this “don’t ask, don’t tell” principle which they apply to such aspects of life as infidelity. Again, it may be a good thing but if and only if both parties could keep a lid on the matter. Failing that, what’s out is for social media.
Then again, social media is what I see as today’s most powerful double-edged sword when it comes to ignorance. For those seriously intent on looking up matters or issues on which they know little and wish to know more, a few clicks on social media and a whole world of information opens up to you. Which should be a good thing — except that social media may also be the worst thing that ever happened to the ignorant. Not properly curated, the information one can access on social media can indeed be more dumbing to anyone than enlightening.
Social media is the perfect — and preferred — tool for anyone who wishes to thumb down a certain segment of our society, which makes ignorance a risk.
The risk rises whenever people are called on to use their collective wisdom to decide on key matters of importance to society, such as during election time. With emotions running high and biases at the forefront, uncurated information that flows freely on social media can cause immeasurable harm to a society already deeply divided on issues. It is an opportunity that can be exploited to the hilt by those interested in stirring up and capitalizing on the deep divisions and the fragile unity.
Many will say that ignorance is greatly enhanced by poverty, and yes, poverty and ignorance do often go hand-in-hand, with the less fortunate segments of society usually also the more ignorant. And while they both pose a serious problem to any society, in my book, ignorance is the bigger problem of the two.
No longer a matter of bliss: ignorance is a risk.
