Rice toppings: Sex, celebrity and technology

People above 50 years of age may be wondering why the next/younger generation of seemingly well-educated and well-informed professionals get involved in scandalous situations that almost certainly will be known around the world.

Many of us often shake our heads in disbelief when we see billboards upon billboards of scantily clad men and women promoting physical perfection, vanity and sensuality.

On top of it all, many silently wonder how all of the sexy magazines our parents used to call “smut” or “pornography” have become the best selling — most prominently displayed magazines called adult reading material.

All these of course are the “Dark side of the Force” we call technology and tolerance. The scandals that we can now watch over and over again on You Tube have become nothing more than “entertainment” to fill our voyeuristic desires or to satisfy our need for revenge from “celebrities” acting badly or from the wicked and the sinful.

Here in the Philippines we are only just beginning to wake up from what started as “ a dream come true” where technological advancements in telecom equipment freed us from monopolies, geography and isolation. The technology even compressed our accessories where a cell phone also became our watch, our organizer, our camera and now our television and computer. It seemed like the perfect solution.

But now we discover that it has become a national nightmare. Thanks to telecoms companies the next generation has become more materialistic, more status conscious in relation to having the latest technology and dangerously impersonal and reckless in their social activities and conduct.

Now we are grappling with the nightmare where cell phones are being used as instruments for the invasion of privacy by “peeping toms, voyeurs or frustrated porn stars”. Even the trivial use of cell phones while driving has become a matter of serious irritation as users on the road add to the already slow pace of vehicles.

The telecoms companies and the distributors of cell phones in the Philippines have certainly failed in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility to educate their subscribers concerning responsible use of technology.

Where are the advertisements, billboards and handouts teaching people not to text and drive? Where are the MTV materials telling the youth about the risks and real dangers in making text mates out of complete strangers? Have you ever seen any advertisements warning you that someone may be recording your movements or invading your privacy at a party, at the beach or just gathering “clips” that will later be re-assembled to embarrass you or destroy your life?

The cell phone manufacturers and distributors have spent the bulk of their multi-million-peso advertising to promote more materialism and sales but hardly any on protecting the safety and interest of buyers and cell phone users.

Considering the billions of pesos these companies have earned from Filipino users and subscribers, we should all condemn the profiteers for not even spearheading a serious consistent campaign to stop the sale of stolen cell phones or lending assistance to murdered victims of cell phone robberies or privacy violations.

Now would be a good time for the telecoms companies and phone distributors to invest on the safety and protection of their consumers. Now would be a good time to give back!

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Tolerance used to be a good word. But even world leaders have started to realize that tolerance has been subject to abuse often by those who clamor for it or demand it.

Religious tolerance is suppose to be about respecting everybody’s faith and beliefs, but it eventually got to the point where one religion decided they should be the only religion and started killing non-believers or enemies of the faith.

Freedom of expression was based originally upon speaking out against a tyrannical monarchy and God given rights. It was about righteous living and conduct. But as with all things human, people started citing it to attack, abuse or dishonor anyone including God. Art and expression were eventually distorted and raped in order to justify smut and pornography.

So now in our “tolerant” society in the Philippines we have been overrun by the beliefs, rights and practices of minorities.

The largest island in the Philippines namely Mindanao, is being claimed by a religiously intolerant minority who are not even ten percent of the population.

 Nearly a fourth of the seats in the House of Representatives have been given to Party-list Representatives which technically is an oxymoron since the Representatives are suppose to represent everybody’s interests in every district and not just a special interest.

Thanks to the same “tolerance” children are now constantly exposed to the almost naked pictures of celebrity mothers and celebrity status seeking women who gladly pose almost fully nude in magazine covers for FREE.

Ironically, one of the most popular selling “men’s magazine/adult entertainment material” in the country even brags that they have never had to pay any of the women who modeled naked in their magazine covers!

The most disturbing behavior I have learned of is that men especially fathers have even sent their daughters or their wives to buy FHM, Maxim, and similar men’s magazines.

Are their wives and daughters merely being tolerant of being used as messengers or buyers of these magazines? Or are they merely being tolerant of the dishonor and disrespect that the men in their lives have subjected them to?

Yes “tolerance” was once a good word. But when a man buys smut or magazines that talk about lurid sex acts or show naked women, how long will it take before they compare their wife or girlfriend to these pictures and stories?

Just look at the billboards on our highways. They use to be about products and creativity. Now there is no creativity and sometimes you simply wonder what are they selling? The almost naked guy? a porn film?