“Have the difficult conversations with family and friends. If you don’t know something, ask. If you already read something [at] hindi mo pa rin naintindihan, discuss. Don’t be afraid to ask.” 

This is according to Tv Host and advocate Bianca Gonzalez who shared her insights on maximizing the voice of the youth in social media during a one-hour SAMAHAN Webinar via Zoom last June 18.

Pioneering the SAMAHAN Webinar Series, the event, titled “Sulong Kabataan! Maximizing the Voice of the Filipino Youth in Social Media,” discussed tips on establishing a critical voice while emphasizing the ‘good’ and the ‘ugly’ sides of social media.

“Be willing to learn. Be willing to listen to the other side,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzales further encouraged the youth not to be a part of ‘cancel culture’ because people are always prone to mistakes.

“If nauso ang cancel [culture] noon, I wouldn’t have grown and learned,” she admitted. 

The TV Host-Advocate pointed out that people should be willing to learn by listening online and offline, and not ‘cancel’ other people at the same time

While Gonzalez initially claimed that social media ‘is a reflection of real life,’ she highlighted that people must maximize their actions in the real world.

She shared that it is necessary to do the ‘real work’ before posting on social media.

“When you are finally confident enough to post it on social media, you know that you put the work in to know about it,” she said.

Gonzalez ended her talk by advising the youth to ‘take a step back on social media and listen to yourself and your beliefs.’

 “It is so important that, [in order] to maximize your voice on social media, you spend time off it, to listen to yourself because when you go back to social media, alam mo kung saan ka; you know where your stand is,” she said.