Folk Beliefs: Hindrance to Progress

As animists, early Filipinos have embraced spiritual or supernatural beliefs. Until now, these things have continued to be part of our everyday lives. Cutting one's nails at night can bring about the death of a loved one, seeing marching black ants inside the house signifies prosperity, and sweeping the floor at night may "sweep away" good fortune - some of the beliefs that even at this new generation, we still believe that they play an important "role" to our success; a "role" that tries to retract us towards development.

Instead of cutting our nails at night, we tend to postpone it the next morning until we forget to do it because of other works to be done. Instead of working harder, we just rely on certain things for our luck to come like the marching black ants. Lastly, instead of maintaining the cleanliness of our house, we tend to live with the dirt at night for we believe that it's better to keep it dirty than to sweep away the "good fortune" in our house. Folk beliefs brought about unhygienic attitudes and contributes to the slow pace of our lives towards the ladder of progress.

Internet: Connecting and Dividing People

Every day, more and more technological innovations are emerging. Some of these innovations are cars, computers, robots, as well as the internet. Social networking, online games, electronic emails – all these have expanded as the internet continues to develop. People have always thought of it as a way of connecting with others and a way of getting closer to our loved ones.

However, not all the time. The internet may build a relationship but may also cause the collapse of the latter.

My friend and her boyfriend developed this mutual relationship through the internet. As days passed, they became closer and closer leading them to their status right now. Both of them are internet fanatics. They spend most of their free time facing the monitors.

But as time passed by, my friend felt a gap between them, still, because of the internet. He became attached to playing games with his friends forgetting the fact that he still has another “obligation” to attend. The internet has been one of the causes of their frequent misunderstandings and even financial shortcomings. One time, my friend joked me (but actually it was some sort of a serious tone) that she would create a virus for that certain game so that she could take back her boyfriend. She added, “What was once the builder of our relationship becomes the cause of our gradual demise.”

Many things have been organized and have been connected because of the internet. However, there are certain things which are left behind and become divided because of it. The internet can be a source of connection. But too much internet can lead to that connection’s disruptions!